Great leadership integrates opposites

I won't embarrass myself with my lack of knowledge about Taoism, but the concept of yin and yang holds many lessons for leadership and life. One, in particular, is the integration of opposites.

We are familiar with the light and dark teardrop shapes representing universal interconnectedness. There are also small circles of opposing colors inside each teardrop. In each of the opposing forces, there is an element of the other. Each side exists in the other and needs the other to exist.

This same dynamic also appears in the Leadership Circle Profile. When operating from the Creative dimension, Relationship and Task are interconnected. Statistically, every element in the Creative half of the LCP positively correlates with everything else - Relationship and Task are in a dynamic dance. The opposite is true in the Reactive.

When working with leaders, I point them to leadership experiments that integrate Relationship and Task—not simply balancing or "doing" both but integrating them within each other.

We will often try to develop a title or label for their leadership brand that holds and integrates the polarity between getting things done and bringing others along. Examples include:

Heartful Strategist
Edgy mentor
Player coach 
Resolute collaborator
Compassionate disruptor

The leverage in Creative Leadership comes from embodying and integrating BOTH Achieving AND Relating into everything you do. The Reactive mind wants to separate and categorize. Creative leaders know that each aspect of their leadership depends on and is part of the other.

A Both/And mindset is The Way.