Michelangelo's Reactive moment

At 23, the young Michelangelo was already gaining a reputation as a brash but extraordinary artist. Ten years before he began the Sistine Chapel - and two years before he would sculpt David - Michelangelo completed one of his first and most important works of art - La Pietà.

His associates in Rome expressed disbelief that such a young and relatively unknown sculptor could create such a remarkable work.

When visiting his Pietà one day, Michelangelo overheard a group of Lombards critiquing his masterpiece. He was enraged to hear them attribute the work to Cristofor Salari, a well-known sculptor 15 years his senior.

According to historians, Michelangelo returned to the Pietà that night with torch and chisels and carved his name across Mary's sash. "Michelangelo Buonarroti of Florence made this," he asserted. It was the first and only time he ever signed his art.

In later years, Michelangelo shared that carving his signature across the beauty of La Pietà was one of his greatest regrets. A reactive moment carved into stone for all time.

To empathize with the young Michelangelo, you don't need to be an artist. His drive, ambition, and vision produced some of the world's great masterpieces. But in that moment, on that night, alone with his Pietà, Michelangelo's need for recognition, credit, and significance was in control. It had him - he didn't have it.

Fortunately, our reactive moments are typically not carved in stone for the world to see. They come in the form of an email we regret sending or an unsupportive comment during a meeting.

Had Michelangelo worked with a coach, I hope he would have received the advice I often give leaders - Stop, put down the chisel (or your iPhone), and sleep on it. Take a few breaths. Step back from the momentary insecurity and anxiety and recover to your bigger purpose.

Ambition and drive can be valuable propellants in our careers so long as they remain subservient to our bigger purpose and better angels.