Starting Somewhere

My love affair with Renaissance leadership began during a study abroad trip to Florence, Italy. One of the guiding "textbooks" used was How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Everyday by Michael J. Gelb. We were studying leadership of the Renaissance time period through the eyes of Leonardo da Vinci, the influence of the Medici family in Florence, and the social-political upheaval that forever changed Europe. This immersive experience placed me in a group of 20 strangers with a common thirst for knowledge about leadership, development, and transformation. It so happened that one of the most incredible engineering feats of that time became a metaphor for how we moved together through this journey; Brunelleschi's Dome.

Brunelleschi's Dome, Florence, Italy - The "Duomo"

The The Duomo of the Santa Maria del Fiore was the “center” of our explorations in Florence. The class would meet at the church steps each day, using the Duomo as their guide to get there. Others who wanted to explore the city, getting lost in the side streets, could always look to the Duomo to orient them to where they are or wanted to go. When the official class day was through people would agree to meet at the “steps of the Duomo” for dinner or drinks because everyone could find their way there. This became the center of our universe; our "true north." No matter where one was in the city, they could always find their way back “home.”

 The Duomo as a metaphor for leadership is twofold; first as an anchor, and then as an instrument of discovery.  As an anchor, the Duomo represents the mission, vision, and values of a person or an organization. These are the things that never change. They represent foundation and stability. When one is lost in the world, confused, or simply disjointed, they can always revisit their beliefs and values as means of finding a direction. Living in accordance with one’s beliefs and values is like being anchored or finding one’s center.

An instrument of discovery is something that assists in investigating the unknown. It is that “something” that moves us beyond fear. In some cases it is faith. Other times it is curiosity. It helps one to move beyond their existing boundaries and limitations and into uncertainty. The Duomo, because it is immoveable, gives a kind of permission to leave it because if one ever wants to, they can always come back “home.” It is the way out and the way back. In this way, the Duomo is the tension and duality of “sfumato.”

Gelb (2009) says that Leonardo da Vinci “plunged deeper into ambiguity” and “as his awareness of mystery and opposition deepened, his expressions of paradox became more profound” (p. 146). Was he coming or going? Was he lost or found? More, did he deliberately get lost to find his way back? Did he find a new truth on his journey, and then seek beyond that newfound knowledge? Of course he did. How would one know what convictions they truly hold without exploring outside themselves finding another perspective to compare it by?

Not so coincidentally, I started a blog in 2015 with the title Something in Italian. I was searching for a name, still hanging on to the memories of my trip and continuing to vividly recall all that I had experienced, felt, tasted, smelled, enjoyed an so on. I stated my goal, get a business license and do something, though I was unclear what that was. A suggestion was "something in Italian." One could say I also found my 2ru North.

Gelb, M. J. (2009). How to think like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven steps to genius every day. Dell.