A couple of months ago, I described in this column how security professionals could unify a divided country. I chose a mask as a symbol of that cohesiveness. But that thin piece of fabric worn around the mouth and nose can also be a gag — a barrier that distances leaders and stifles communication.
Consider the famous quote by Thomas Edison that, “Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration.” The corollary might be that leadership is 1% perspiration, 99% inspiration. Inspiration, which comes from the Latin for “breathing life into,” means infusing someone with an animating influence — literally passing on part of one’s life spirit. It connotes physical and spiritual closeness.