Spring has sprung here in Vancouver! It’s going to be a wonderful day! I hope that even if the weather is not as nice where you are, your hearts are filled with thoughts of renewal and regeneration.

I had a lovely conversation a few of days ago with an actor friend of mine; the second woman I know who has played the part of Lady Macbeth professionally in the Scottish Play. (Old superstitions die hard!) Both of these women tell surprisingly similar stories of portraying the character and its effect on their psyche and soul (in the psychological sense). And both insist that Lady Macbeth is not evil. They uncovered a deep humanity in the character, and it seemed to me that was what makes her so terrifying for anyone in her presence.

I appreciate that for most of us we haven’t seen or thought of the Scottish Play since high school. I do though recommend finding a film version, or even better a production of live theatre, of it. And your ‘homework’ is to “think leadership.” How do you see your own ideas and behaviours around leadership played out or not played out in the story? I can also recommend the work of a teacher of mine from a decade or so ago, Richard Olivier in London, and his work in using Shakespeare’s plays as lenses through which to look at leadership. http://www.oliviermythodrama.com/default.asp

What my friend and I talked about the other day was how in the story Lady Macbeth calls on the ‘spirits’ to “unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty.” (Act 1 Sc 5) Most often we interpret this simply on the gender reference, and that her ‘natural feminine’ style would be maternal and caring, just the opposite of “direst cruelty,” and she needs to ‘man up’ to get the job done. I wonder though if we take a cue here and dive a little deeper into the choices we make about forcing ourselves away from our deep, authentic being in order to become what we perceive as successful? Perhaps this is beyond simple sexist thinking that only men can be cruel, or women are just too nice naturally, and more clearly about the lengths to which we go to achieve power, fame and fortune, believing that they will make us happy.

There is an old rabbinic story of the materially successful man who goes to the best tailor in the world for a suit. A few days after his initial measurements are taken he comes back for a fitting. As he pulls the pants on, one leg is shorter. The tailor explains, “oh, don’t worry, if you walk just so, with a bend in your knee it’ll fit perfectly, and so it does. He puts on the jacket and one arm is shorter, and again the tailor explains, “if you bend your arm like this, it’ll fit perfectly”, and so it does. He notices though that it’s tight around the back, and the tailor says, “if you bend your back like this, it’ll fit perfectly.” And so it does. Walking down the street wearing his new suit, two old women walk by him. One says, “look at that poor man, bent out of shape like that”. The other says, “what a great suit he’s got!”

To be the best leader we can be, we must first be authentic, true to ourselves. Trying to make ourselves into something we are not, or wearing a suit that does not fit will only cause us and those around us pain, anguish and more often than not drive us mad.

May this week be filled with being who we are and wearing clothes that fit.