I offer Part 5 in a series of leadership mindsets I introduced last year. I hope you find it helpful in your leadership journey.
Leadership Principle Five:
Work should be fun, not toil!
A recent sampling of several weeks from my life revealed a somewhat surprising distribution of time: 40% of my life—more than 55% of my waking hours—is spent at work. If nearly half of our lives are devoted to our careers, it cannot feel like drudgery. It must offer more. It must bring fulfillment—and even joy.
Several years ago, in the wake of a global pandemic, I attended a conference where the keynote speaker was Marcus Buckingham, a behavioral psychologist, leadership expert, and best-selling author. In his latest book, Love and Work, Buckingham explores the connection between love and the work we choose to do to support our lives. His compelling conclusion: we must find at least a minimum measure of love in our daily work. Without it, our creativity, inventiveness, and resilience all suffer measurably—especially when we face inevitable challenges.
Metaphorically, Buckingham describes the aspects of work we love as “red threads” in a tapestry. He urges us to intentionally weave those red threads into the patchwork of our day. Doing so helps us access the best version of ourselves—and produce our best work. We’ve all heard the old adage, “If you find work in what you love, you won’t work a day in your life.” Buckingham counters that this is an illusion. There will always be headwinds. Every vocation comes with difficulty. But it’s the presence of red threads, not the absence of hardship, that fuels meaningful work.
A beautiful poem titled The Weaver by Grant Colfax Tullar offers a parallel insight:
The dark threads are as needful
In the Weaver’s skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver (or red)
In the pattern He has planned.
Whether you’re a person of faith or not, there’s profound wisdom in this stanza. Our lives—like any woven tapestry—are made richer and more beautiful through contrast. The dark threads (challenges and setbacks) are just as essential as the bright, vibrant ones. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the demands or difficulties of life and work. But both Marcus Buckingham and Grant Colfax Tullar remind us that we must be intentional about weaving in the red threads.
What is the lesson in this metaphor for leaders?
For leaders, the lesson is this: you are both a weaver and a guide.
You must not only be intentional about weaving your own red threads—finding and protecting those aspects of work that give you energy and meaning—but also help your team identify and integrate theirs. Great leadership means creating an environment where fulfillment isn't an accident, but a priority. That doesn’t mean eliminating the “dark threads” of pressure, deadlines, or complexity. Those are inevitable. But it does mean making space for joy, creativity, and personal alignment.
Leaders must ask:
- What gives each person on my team a sense of purpose?
- What tasks make them come alive?
- How can I help them spend more time doing what they love—and less time on what drains them?
By helping others discover and weave their red threads into the fabric of their work, you foster resilience, engagement, and excellence. In this way, leadership becomes not just about managing output, but about shaping meaningful, sustainable human experience.
