Enter the Dragon Adept

I have always liked dragons. As a young child, my parents listened to Peter, Paul and Mary, so Puff was my very first dragon image (leaving aside any herbal or medicinal references). I discovered The Hobbit while in middle school, with Smaug the dragon being one of the antagonists. And, during my sophomore year in college, one of my favorite albums of all time came out, the self-titled debut album by Asia. This was back in the last glory days of vinyl albums, when album art was at its peak and the dragon on the cover was a good match for the awesome prog rock on the inside.

I kind of have my own dragon mythology. It is obvious that dragons represent power but they represent so much more to me. I like some of the Asian thoughts on dragons. Dragons are not merely fearsome beasts to be conquered by the heroic knight in shining armor. My dragons are indeed powerful, but they are also benevolent and compassionate. They can change human lives for the better. In many Eastern myths, dragons have the ability to change shape in order to bring about good. The wise man at the waterfall who changes your life just might be an ancient dragon. I like that.

A leader is a dragon. She is someone who has the ability to change herself to adapt to circumstances, yet she retains her essential character and values. She is compassionate and wise, powerful and benevolent. She interacts with others to generate positive change. She goes with the flow yet never loses her overall sense of direction and purpose.

This brings me to the other word in my blog title, the word “adept.” An adept is a skilled practitioner in ways of secret knowledge, such as alchemy. It is a word that was used in late medieval times to describe someone gifted with secret knowledge and wisdom. In my case, the secret subject matter is leadership. I make no claims to be skilled in the ways of leadership but I have spent much of my life exploring various aspects of leadership. This blog is a continuation of my exploration; a way for me to test some of my thoughts, observations, and experiences regarding leadership by writing them out, sharing them, and getting feedback from the larger community.