Good afternoon from a sunny and warm Vancouver! I hope the sun is shining, at least figuratively where ever you may find yourself this week.

Last week I was exploring the difference between what I called “black cloud” people and those people who bring light into our workplaces. I received, as I do periodically, some comments and questions. One note, from my great friend Danae Johnson (www.thinkingpartners.ca ) . She wrote in part, ”I have the capacity to be a dark cloud - the extent to which & who I share those thoughts/behaviours with is my choice (some of the time). I can also be a source of light, positivity, humour/levity and conscious/aware choice - on a good day perhaps or even if just for a few moments. I am both. I think that others that I may experience as one or the other, are also both as well as many other shades inbetween. There was something in what you wrote that inspired me to respond as I felt that there was a sense of being one or the other, an us & theming, an either or. And in my experience/belief, we have it all inside of us & we get to choose and be both.” I thanked her when I received her note, and am inspired for this week’s edition to riff on her very important point.

I did inadvertently imply “an us and theming.” And Danae is very correct, the dark cloud and the light are part of who we all are, as humans, as well as leaders. We all too often describe others as the ones with the ‘dark cloud’ and thinking that we are the ones who bring light to the world. In fact one of the single most difficult learnings as a leader is to recognize our own dark side, our own gollums for example as I wrote about a few weeks ago http://www.alisdairsmith.com/index.php/leadership-notes/35-lnotes/281-gollums-and-intention . We need to see, recognize and learn to accept our dark sides as part of who we are, and to honour the strength that part of us will often give us. We  then work on making the choice to use that strength to focus on the light we bring to ourselves and to our workplaces. It is a complex and difficult journey. And it is THE journey.

Thanks to Danae, and to all of you who engage with these notes, your comments are inspiring.