Glass Blowing and the Art of Leadership

“True power lies in the tension between control and surrender.”

There’s an art I have fallen in love with, one you might not expect from a leadership advisor. It’s not particularly common or practical, but I find myself returning to it again and again as a metaphor for everything I believe about how great leadership is formed. That art is glass blowing.

Several years ago, my wife gave me a class as a gift. I stepped into that workshop as a curious novice, surrounded by fire, fragile material, and the rhythmic dance between heat, breath, and form. What I thought would be a one-time experience became something else entirely: a mirror for the creative tension at the heart of leadership. Now, I don’t pretend to be a master. My pieces are functional at best — they won’t be appearing in a gallery anytime soon. But they taught me something I haven’t stopped thinking about since.

Because when you’re working with molten glass, everything is a paradox. The material is both solid and liquid. It yields, but only under the right conditions. You have to move with precision, but also with feel. You don’t dominate the process — you collaborate with it. And that, to me, is what true leadership feels like.

Leading Like a Glass Blower

When I think about the leaders who leave a lasting mark, who create companies that feel more like living organisms than performance machines, I think of glass blowers. These leaders understand that pressure alone shatters. They know that timing, attention, and attunement matter just as much as drive. They don’t just see the end product; they’re deeply connected to the process of shaping it, moment by moment, breath by breath.

They know their people, not in a performative way, but with real care. They see what their people are like at their best. They learn the rhythms of trust and tension. They don’t impose brilliance on them; they coax it. Because if you try to rush the form, the piece collapses. If you overheat it, it cracks. If you neglect it, it cools too fast and turns brittle. But when the conditions are right, and the touch is skilled, you get something breathtaking — not just useful, but beautiful. Something that reflects not only vision, but also relationship.

Shaping The Work Through Leadership

We’re often told that leadership is about driving results, managing tasks, and optimizing systems. But that’s like telling a glassblower their job is to “make a vase.” It misses the truth of the craft. Real leadership is relational artistry. And artistry doesn’t demand perfection. It demands presence. It asks: Are you paying attention? Do you feel the moment shifting? Can you adjust with care, not just control?

When a leader is so deeply committed to the mission that they stay connected to their people in the midst of fire and pressure, not stepping back but stepping in, those people give more than their labor. They give their heart, their brilliance, and their belief. Not because they have to, but because they want to be part of something that reflects who they are and who they’re becoming.

I help leaders do this: not just manage projects but shape environments where beauty, brilliance, and human potential can emerge. When leadership becomes an art—when the process is infused with clarity, care, and creative tension—it transcends output; it becomes a legacy.

Leading this way shapes not just what gets done but how it gets created and who your people become in the process. And when you do, it’s not just the end result that matters. It’s the fact that everyone involved gets to say: we made something beautiful together. Doesn’t that feel right to you?