Each of us has a defining moment that has influenced what we see when we look out the window. Some of us have more than one. Defining moments are those experiences we have in which we become aware of something about which we were previously not conscious. These experiences are the shapers of our character, the inspiration for our decisions, and the starting point of our life journeys.
We open this section with an article by CEO of Best Buy, Hubert Joly, who analyzes his initial reluctance to utilize the help of an executive coach in his business life and describes how his life and career were transformed once he began work with Marshall Goldsmith. He is particularly emphatic about the critical importance of being open to feedback in order to grow as a leader. Rita McGrath then summarizes some key themes she has learned across her academic and professional career, concluding with what she has found about Marshall Goldsmith’s advice that “feedback is a gift” and the practical implications of starting with a good theory. In her article, Beverly Kaye explores the importance of acknowledging your “flat side” and finding ways to move outside your comfort zone and do things to challenge yourself to grow and become a more well-rounded and effective leader. Catherine Carr draws on her many years of humanitarian experience serving around the world as part of Doctors Without Borders to explain the importance of opening one’s heart to both joy and sorrow in order to expand and grow and connect to the world in more meaningful ways. Jeffrey Kuhn describes the “strategic myopia” that affects so many leaders and organizations. He draws on Peter Drucker’s concept of looking out the window at what is “visible, but not seen” to suggest new paradigms and possibilities for developing your strategic eye. Prakash Raman draws on his adolescent experiences – both successes and failures – as a world-ranked tennis player to offer advice to business leaders seeking to bridge the gap between inspiration and operation in their own personal and professional lives. And Margaret Wheatley discusses the critical need for leaders to think and reflect on where they’ve been before deciding where they would like to go next, and describes how cultivating a new way of seeing can open up new choices. She emphasizes the need for a new type of leader in today’s world and describes the crucial role of leadership at the local rather than the global level.