52 Leadership Tips- #26

Disegno

Disegno is the outdrawing that the artist had in mind before beginning to carve his work. The concept of disegno is related to the inspiration of the artist and his imagination. The renaissance intellectuals believed that the disegno was the model of God's creation. -Wikipedia

A perfect example of this is Michaelangelo. When he was asked about his sculpture David, he said: "David was always there, in the stone. I just had to chip and chisel away the extra stone that was hiding him."

What a powerful concept for great leadership. Disegno requires great vision. It took great vision for Michaelangelo to see David in the stone. But next it takes great detail and action to chip away the extra stone. This great detail can not normally be accomplished by a leader, it requires a great manager to craft and pay attention to the details.

Point- very few people are great leaders and great managers. Know who you are and stick to your strengths. If you are a great leader, then surround yourself with some great managers, they can carryout your vision. If you are the manager, fall under the authority of a great visionary, one day you will be able to sculpt the David that your leader saw within the stone!

tags: leadership | management | michaelangelo
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