Passionate Connections: Leaders Out of Control by Chip R. Bell

     Larry Smith lost it! He lost it in the big-deal executive meeting. He went over the edge in his impassioned plea for some issue. No, he didn't pound the table...although he demonstrated gestures that would be the envy of any thespian. But, what Larry did do in his "out of control" passion crossed all normal bounds of boardroom decorum. And yet, he engaged the hearts...and commitment...of every person in the meeting. People were moved. Stuff happened.

     The "Larry loses his cool" incident led me to reflect on the true meaning of contemporary leadership. I thought about how much "in charge"-land contained artifacts of control and "keeping your cool." And, how little these artifacts had anything to do with SPIRIT and PASSION in ANY other context of life... except corporate America.

     People don't brag about their rational marriage, their reasonable hobby or their sensible vacation. There's rarely "in control" behavior when Junior rounds third base. But, somehow all that spirit is an unwelcomed distraction after the time clock is passed. And, the closer one gets to mahogany row, the less tolerance there seems to be for "sounds of the heart."

     To be sure, logic is more elegant, more sensible, and surely more prudent. And, one feels more secure and calm with the rational. But, predictability never made the heart race…while passion leaves a person feeling free, alive and somehow "a whole person." And, when leaders surface that feeling in us, we are somehow more energized...like a knight ready for battle.

     "Whoa!" you say. We can't have unbridled emotion and out-of-control desire. What would the stockholders say? After all, is it not the role of a leader to bring forth a sense of "order when all around us is loosing their head?" Should leaders not strive to be more anchors than sails? "No!"

     Enterprise offers far more "predictable" than is predictably required. The truth is that RATIONALITY oozes from the seams of every business encounter. Leaders do not have to bring order, sanity, rationality or logic. Every dimension of business life reeks with those qualities. Sane leaders foster insane passion. Memorable leaders call up in each of us a visit with the raggedy edge of brilliance. When we feel inspired...incensed...ennobled....we have visited the magical realm of passion.