Listening & following the truthful wolf

There is a Native American myth that two wolves live inside each of us. A fearful wolf, walks in ego, anger, envy, and greed. The second, a truthful wolf, walks in love, kindness, appreciation, joy, and empathy.

The fearful wolf hollers: “You have to fit in!,” “Don’t rock the boat!,” “Do as your told!”

The truthful wolf whispers: “Follow your heart.”, “Let go.”, “Live with integrity.”

As leaders, these two wolves can influence the decisions we make.

Culture is set by what we tolerate. If the fearful wolf controls the narrative and decisions of a leader, then the difficult decisions and conversations cannot possibly happen. Excellence is found in leaning into the tough decisions or conversations.

It’s essential to feed the truthful wolf for the values & vision to prevail. The conviction of the direction the company is heading must be ingrained to direct the organization to true north.

I’ve been thinking more about Isadore Sharpe of Four Seasons and how he danced with fear and leaned into the teachings of the truthful wolf when he was instilling the values into what would become the best hotel chain in the world. The Four Seasons hotel had a bold vision and very clear values that he courageously upheld.

Upholding values requires courage. Peter Thiel once wrote: “Courage is in shorter supply than genius.”

Having the courage to lean into the values and the whispers of the truthful wolf. Century’s values are officially in operations when we have the tough conversations and make the tough decisions.

Feeding the truthful wolf is essential to elevate the whispers to courageously uphold the values in difficult conversations.

Onward,

Matt

* Hat tip to Tom Shadyac Life’s Operating Manual