Lion’s Den

There’s a lot that’s been said lately about both presidential candidates and interviews they agreed to with reporters and news networks that were not necessarily aligned with their views. One pundit after another repeated that the two prospects for the highest office in the land were “entering the Lions’s Den!” As if they were gladiators about to wrestle with real man-eaters.

I am sure more than a few of you reading this post consider Board Meetings a proverbial ‘Lion’s Den’. And, as with anyone about to enter a coliseum with a known Jungle King, or pride of them at that, you suit up accordingly. In other words, you prepare to defend- as if your life was on the line.

Or, for others, it may be an annual review with your boss, or the presentation of a doctoral thesis, or pitching a new concept at a prestigious entrepreneurs start-up conference … Regardless of the occasion, I suspect we all resort to the well-known fight or flight construct, and with flight not being a reasonable option, begin preparing a defensive posture.

Taking stock of our embodied stance we quickly realize our breath is shallow, eyes are alert, heart is pounding. Sweat beads on the temple and the throat becomes dry. We silently wish we had a glass of water at arms-length.

This, however, is the part of the movie known as ‘breaking the fourth wall’. I’m going to break from character, in this case as the narrator of a trailer for a cheesy horror film, and ask you to consider taking a different approach; to use an alternate mental model if you would. What if, rather than a Lion’s Den, it was a Field of Dreams? Instead of parched bones being scattered about on the dirt floor it was brilliant yellow sunflowers as far as the eye could see.

Instead of moving away from the center of action, move towards it. Gather an armload of these charismatic efflorescences, imagine the look on your loved one’s face when you show up for dinner, early for a change, with this bountiful bouquet!

All it takes to switch from this one frame to another is to change your belief. And, here’s the really good news: changing your belief is neither painful nor expensive. It does not require weeks of preparation nor does it require ensuring you have adequate financial resources, aka cash, at the ready.

Changing one’s belief is simply a request you make to yourself to reconsider the situation. Once your initial, often embedded, belief has been sufficiently suspended consider anew how best to prepare for this alluring construct. How can I gather from this saffron sea of abundance? How might I enlist others to support harvesting this bumper crop of knowledge and wisdom?

We all know the shop0worn adage: if you want to be a better writer, read more. Similarly, if you want to be a better leader: reimagine more! Leadership requires confidence, competence and creativity- if you want others to follow. Competencies come in many shades and no one possesses all of them, although, truth be told, I’ve met more than a few windbags at cocktail parties -and board meetings- who might think, behave or perform as if they do. Confidence is another story. Creativity can be cultivated.

Once you have exhausted studying the attributes of other successful people, (BTW: ‘studying’ might include attending lectures and seminars, taking a class, subscribing to podcasts hosted by subject matter experts in your field, or creating an informal body of personal-professional advisors aka mentors.) you might set aside some time to consider how best to project that vast wisdom and knowledge you have gleaned over the years. Pro-tip: It does not involve talking more. Counter-intuitively, it involves talking less. And, if you’re going to talk less, choose your words carefully.

Speaking of lion’s dens did you know the NYC library, and many others, have two lions on either side of their entrance, Fun fact: Fondly, they are nick-named Fortitude & Perseverance.

Perhaps, next time, you feel thrown to the lions you’ll imagine they mean placed in a library/ a sacred institution (hallowed ground) full of wisdom and knowledge!