My wife loves scented candles. I have grown to like them, and I love her so I’m learning to love scented candles. By having these scented candles around the house I have observed a lovely lesson in leadership through the fire on the wick of the candle.
Let’s call it the Fire of Life, shall we. You could correlate the Fire of Life as inspiration, needed encouragement, energy, and probably the biggest one-HOPE.
The two things that fire needs to stay a flame is oxygen and a host, or a substance to burn. Fire cannot stay burning without oxygen, and something to burn. Just put the lid on a scented candle and you’ll see that the flame quickly dies. Why? Because it cuts off the oxygen supply that the fire is needing.
Fire must have oxygen to burn, but the force at which oxygen hits fire can breath it into a big flame, or put it out. If you put a candle in a room and seal the room air tight, the candle will still burn even though the room is air tight and no fresh oxygen coming in or out. But put the lid on the scented candle and it goes out within seconds. The fire can still burn with a sealed amount of oxygen being available for it, but you can tell how much oxygen it needs by how strong the host of the flame is.
As a leader it is important to see where the individuals you are leading are at in their journey, and encourage them accordingly. They may just need a gentle and kind breath of oxygen because they are only able to host a small flame at the time, and the wisdom of properly assessing the needed fuel of the flame will determine how successfully you empower the flame to grow brighter and stronger.
Good sports coaches live this insight. Not every athlete responds the same to every approach, and excellent coaches know how to speak to the entire team where they are at collectively, and how to speak to each player differently according to what drives them into greatness.
This analogy is vital when it comes to good leadership, which is about leading a company of people into a bigger vision while drawing out each individuals greatness in the process. It is of massive importance to be able to see where the host of the flame is at in life, where they are in their ability to burn, and how much support they need to be the best them they can be.
Look at another aspect. If fire must have oxygen to burn, then why does a candle go out when you blow on it? We are blowing more oxygen on it after all, aren’t we?
Now take a fire in a fire pit for example. When you blow on the embers of a well built and supported fire it brings a quickening to the fire. It stokes the foundational heat and this in turn allows the fire to host more substance to burn.
It is a much needed skill set to know how much oxygen to supply to the flame, and in what force we apply it. A raging forest fire grows at rapid rates with a strong wind, but a candle can’t even be lite in strong winds and even a small campfire can be blown out entirely with strong enough winds.
All fires can get bigger and brighter, but they must be built and cultivated correctly in order to position themselves to host a bigger flame that lets off more heat to more in its proximity.
Leaders should be stoking the flames according to what the host needs in that moment. When we move in kindness, wisdom, and servanthood as leaders we not only stoke the flame but we position the host of the flame for a greater capacity to hold a flame.
Upgrade Your Thinking 