Fortress of Solitude

One of my favorite scenes from the 1978 Superman movie is when Clark Kent / Kal-El / Superman (starring the late actor Christopher Reeve) builds his "Fortress of Solitude" and speaks with a hologram of his father, Jor-El (played by legendary actor Marlon Brando).  Superman's "Fortress of Solitude" first appeared in DC Comics in Superman #17 as his "Secret Citadel", a secret hide-out built on the outskirts of the city of Metropolis.  By Superman #58, Superman's headquarters was known as the "Fortress of Solitude" and was a secret hide-out built far away from civilization in the frozen tundra of the Arctic.  It is a place where Superman can go and find peace and solace, and both in the comics and the movie, it's where he first learned about his true identity, heritage, and purpose on Earth.

Leaders today could certainly use their own "Fortress of Solitude"!  Here's the interesting question though.  Why do so many leadership experts (and leaders I personally know for that matter) talk about the "loneliness of leadership"?  For example, I've often mentioned that leadership can feel lonely at times (see "It's lonely at the top", "12 O'Clock High", and "Reflections on leadership").  Based on these observations, one could certainly argue that leaders have all the solitude they want and more!  But that's missing the point - the so-called "loneliness of leadership" refers to the fact that when individuals become leaders, they are no longer really part of the group.  Mandy Gilbert, writing for Inc. magazine said, "As the person in charge, it's inevitable that you'll be treated with a different regard than when you were a regular member of the team...You're no longer one of the gang.  You're one of them."

When I talk about the need for a "Fortress of Solitude", I am referring to the fact that in today's world of constant communication and information overload, leaders need time and space to reflect and think.  The American author and essayist William Deresiewicz often talks about the need for solitude.  Deresiewicz delivered a speech in October 2009 to the first year (plebe) class at the United States Military Academy at West Point titled "Solitude and Leadership" in which he argues that solitude is essential to become a successful leader (he also wrote an essay on this topic entitled "The End of Solitude").  Deresiewicz would argue that if you want others to follow, you should learn to be alone with your thoughts!  

The problem, according to Deresiewicz, is technology.  He writes, "Technology is taking away our privacy and our concentration, but it is also taking away our ability to be alone."  Deresiewicz further builds on this theme in the speech he gave to the West Point plebe class, "Here's the other problem with Facebook and Twitter and even The New York Times.  When you expose yourself to those things, especially in the constant way that people do now - older people as well as younger people - you are continuously bombarding yourself with a stream of other people's thoughts.  You are marinating yourself in the conventional wisdom.  In other people's reality: for others, not yourself.  You are creating a cacophony in which it is impossible to hear your own voice, whether it's yourself you're thinking about or anything else."

Ralph Waldo Emerson said that "he who should inspire and lead his race must be defended from travelling with the souls of other men, from living, breathing, and writing in the daily, time-worn yoke of their opinions."  Leading demands that we put ourselves at the front of the herd.  It requires that we think for ourselves.  How do we accomplish that?  By seeking solitude.  Using time and space for ourselves, reading, thinking, and reflecting.  

I once knew a Surgeon-in-Chief at a large academic children's hospital who used to schedule every single morning (usually the first hour of a long day) to read, think, and reflect.  While I was certainly impressed, I was somewhat in disbelief that he would take a full hour out of every morning for just himself and instead of getting on with the demands of his busy job.  As I've grown older and maybe a little wiser, I've realized what an investment that Surgeon-in-Chief was making in not only his professional growth and development as a leader, but also in the overall success of the organization.  

Deresiewicz concluded his talk with the following passage, "I started by noting that solitude and leadership would seem to be contradictory things.  But it seems to me that solitude is the very essence of leadership.  The position of the leader is ultimately an intensely solitary, even intensely lonely one.  However many people you may consult, you are the one who has to make the hard decisions.  And at such moments, all you really have is yourself."

So take time for yourself.  Find your own "Fortress of Solitude" and read, think, and reflect about what it means to be a leader and how you can become a better one.  It will do you good.