I’ve been reflecting on journeys recently, in large part because of my upcoming trip to the South Pacific. (By the by, this will be the last Leadership Notes until the first week of September due to my travel schedule and potential limited internet access.)

The journey is an ancient and deep metaphor for life and leadership. Have a look, for example at the work of Richard Olivier (yes, the son of Lord Laurence Olivier) at http://www.oliviermythodrama.com/  Olivier, and frankly, a host of other thinkers from the Ancient Greeks to writers in the pages of Fast Company, Harvard Business review and other prestigious journals all point to this powerful metaphor. And a key part of the metaphor is the journey inward, that which Dag Hammarskold the late UN Secretary General called “the longest and most difficult” journey. Leadership, that is the work of working in the places where we have been given responsibility, is fundamentally about congruence, about the alignment of what I believe with how I behave. And I am never really able to be clear about my beliefs until I have examined them, through the long dark night of the journey inside.

So what does that journey actually look like? Well, first off, our individual journeys will be unique, but there is the lovely old image of an autobiography in five chapters:

"An autobiography in 5 Chapters. Chapter 1, I walk down a road and fall in a hole. It's not my fault. Chapter 2, I walk down the same road and fall in the same hole. It's still not my fault. Chapter 3, I walk down the same road and fall in the same hole. It is my fault, and I climb out quicker. Chapter 4, I walk down the same road, see the hole and walk around it. Chapter 5, I walk down a different road."

I shared this in a couple of conversations yesterday, and a young woman, was quiet for a moment after I shared it with her and some friends. She then said, “and there are times when I think that jumping in the hole is just so much fun, I go for it.” I think she is clearly on the journey inwards.

I’m really looking forward to my physical journey in the next month and to spending some more time in reflection and “inside.” I wish the same for you.

Safe travels for all of us!