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Leadership Masterpieces
Monday, August 9, 2010 at 05:24PM 
The Fife Player - Edouard Manet (1866)
I feel incredibly fortunate to have experienced with dear friends nearly 100 paintings at the DeYoung Museum exhibition The Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musee d'Orsay. I now understand why collectors pay millions of dollars for an original work of art that captivates their attention - holding some deep part of them ransom. Viewing these masterpieces up close I could see the innovative brush strokes, thickness of paint, exquisite use of color and light in the artistry of Monet, Renoir, Degas, Sisley, Manet, and a number of other extremely talented impressionists. The experience nourished my soul.
A day after we visited the exhibit, I received emails from each person in our small group about their experience of these leadership masterpieces. Exceedingly powerful were the thoughts on the exhibit and leadership sent to me by my friend Obejoyful Lynd. With her permission I am sharing her words verbatim with you.
The Dancing Lesson - Edgar Degas (1873-76)
"I relate so passionately to the underlying yearning of the defiant 'New Painting' artists. What strikes me is the leadership that history reveals they contributed. Not 'merely' leadership breaking through the thick ice of the hyper-academic art establishment. The common urge they shared for recognition notwithstanding, this was an incredibly diverse group of artists giving expression to something that was yearning to happen, something new that was try to emerge in the system, something boisterous, unruly, 'bold and outrageous', and fully alive."
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The Floor Scrapers - Gustave Caillebotte (1875)
"Each of these artists was propelled forward by her or his own life, talent, challenges, resources, vision. Wishing acknowledgment within a derisive, hostile establishment, they still followed their own GPS, discovering similarly inclined others along the way. Just like the mavericks in your Leadership Journeys of a Lifetime, they were drawn forward into terra incognita to discover what was trying to emerge."
"What an inspiration!"
What is yearning to emerge in your business, organization, or industry? Let that inspire you as a leader.
Pont de Maincy [Maincy Bridge] - Cezanne (1879)