Windex, Windows, and Leadership

I couldn’t stand it any longer. I can only take looking at streaked and water stained windows so long, and my tolerance was at its end. So this weekend, on a whim, I geared up with last week’s newspaper and a bottle of Windex and prepared to attempt what few seek out to do… clean windows. I only needed to clean a couple of windows, but my Maximizer strength kicked in and before long I had all the windows facing the front and the side of the house cleaned inside and out!

How did such a small project lead to such a large undertaking? Well, I made a rookie window-cleaning mistake.

Instead of cleaning one window at a time both inside and out, I cleaned each window on the outside first and just kept going. Sure I cleaned a few more than I’d planned, but the inside didn’t need to be done so the time equaled out. Right???? Wronggggg.

Those of you with more window cleaning experience than me know you can’t just clean the outside and have shiny, clean windows! You gotta get to the inside! I found it very fitting that to get the best shine and clearest view the inside of the window needed just as much attention as the outside.

Isn’t this true in life? How often do we just try to clean up on the outside? Why not, isn’t that what people see? We pay special attention to the clothes we wear, our fashionable hairstyle, our physique, the words we speak and the facial expressions we use. And what about the title or position with which we identify ourselves?

All these exterior examples are just the outside of the window. When what we are on the outside doesn’t match what we are on the inside, conflict and unhappiness surely follow. Or, as my window cleaning experience proved, we’ll never get our best shine.

We shine best when we can be on the outside who we are on the inside.

As a leader, how can you ensure your inside is matching your outside?


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  • c2 says:

    Well said let “Your inside personal Light shine through”

    Your leadership style is defined not by the situation but by who you are and what is in your heart. I only wish everyone would read your blog regularly and cancel the political facade in place of true leadership characteristics that will always work and tell the story.

    Thanks for your insight

    c2

  • DGK says:

    Excellent Post!