Happy Monday Everyone,
In case you didnโt know, itโs the fall equinox today, September 22nd.
Itโs a tradition in my house to watch Over the Garden Wall every year at the start of autumn. ๐ ๐
And I gotta say, for a kids' show, itโs got some excellent exploration of what it means to be a leader, particularly the themes I explored in my newsletters last week: trust versus faith.
Go watch it if you havenโt. Ahead, there be spoilers.
Do your leaders ask you to have faith in them or trust them?
โWe need to do our part to make the world a better place.โ
Greg, Episode 3, โSchooltown Follies.โ
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป, ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ช๐ถ๐ฟ๐.
The Woodsman
The Woodsman embodies blind faith in the narrative he is told by the Beast, and his faith is weaponized via guilt and grief.
All of his authority and purported help comes in the form of warnings, such as โStay on the path,โ which is not trustworthy, nor transparent. There is no "why."
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐' ๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ต, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ, ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ต๐ถ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฐ๐๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐บ.
The Beast
The Beast is very clearly the archetype of a manipulative leader, both in form and function. He thrives on faith, giving the illusion of certainty only when framed via the followerโs loss and hope for redemption.
The Beastโs power, however, is a lie, and he cannot ask the Woodsman to trust him because there is nothing for that to rest on.
๐๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฝ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ฐ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ with his lantern, a trap maintained by exploited unquestioned faith to keep control.
Wirt
Wirt, one of the main characters, is in my mind an emergent leader.
His arc throughout the story shows his growth from insecurity, distrusting himself and others with faith in nothing, to trusting in his own agency regardless of what the outcome will be.
At first, he is comforted by the Woodsmanโs faith, but thatโs because of the positional authority the Woodsman holds as an adult.
As he comes to realize, the Woodsman actually has no actual answers or capacity to keep him and his brother safe; Wirt thus chooses to face his own guilt and fear, trust his brother's goodness, and other characters shift towards honesty.
๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ธ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ต๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ผ.
The Unknown
All of this takes place within the โUnknown,โ a liminal, uncertain place where nothing makes sense.
Faith in the Uncertain realm is dangerous because it does not allow for inquiry, self-determination, or empathy.
Trust, on the other hand, becomes more and more of a moral compass throughout the show.
Healthy, empowering leadership in uncertain times comes not from demanding faith in authority and the right answer, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ด๐ด๐น๐ฒ, ๐ต๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ authentic ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ as we figure out what the best answer under the conditions can be for all of us.
๐ฆ๐ผ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐: ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐?
If you tuned into my Substack Live last Friday or watched the recording and read the additional thoughts I sent out in my newsletter, you might recognize the question I asked of myself regarding having faith versus trust in myself and how it relates to authenticity.
I think the difference might be a bit easier to understand in the context of how our leaders relate to us.
We never say that โfaith is earned,โ but rather that we must just have it.
Trust, however, is always earned.
This is why authenticity as both a leader and an individual is so important. We cannot ask someone to have faith that we are being authentic; we prove it over and over and over.
๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ.
If your leaders continually ask for faith in them but donโt build trust, the ripple effect is that you never have a predictable environment to work in, you retreat inward to rest on your capabilities, and you seek to escape your situation rather than grow as a leader in your own right.
Now, if youโll excuse me, I need to go watch a frog with 10 names sing the theme song to Over the Garden Wall while on a steamboat. ๐ธ
Until Next Time,
- Chris
Contour Lines is my anecdotal newsletter segment that weaves personal musings from my life with my thoughts on leadership, as well as personal and organizational development.
If something resonates, leave a comment, or reach out to chat - I always love hearing peopleโs stories.
Want to chat about personal growth or walking a path of authentic leadership but arenโt sure were to start? You are always welcome to book a free call to either get fresh perspective or see if weโd work well together in cultivating your capacity to lead.