Recently, I visited one of the sensational special towns in America: Sausalito, California, is a beautiful place on the North side of the Golden Gate Bridge, toes in the San Francisco Bay, forehead in the quirky bedroom-hills that rise mystically in a tribute to can-do residential construction and inventive street design. To live there is to enjoy Life in civil liberty, close to the Natural World.

The main drag, Bridgeway, parallels the sailboat festooned marina. On a conspicuous street corner is the popular Taste of Rome café. There, on a morning, one orders breakfast or coffee served by Brittany, the most remarkable barista de café on the planet. She is strikingly, humanly, an attraction! She delivers excellent food and beverages, but it is her attitude that attracts people — draws them magnetically — into the place.

If smiles, gestures and talk were luminous threads of gold, she weaves experiences of heart-filled distinction for each customer. No one is ignored her grace. The woman is a dynamo of cheer that triggers reciprocity. I ordered a medium very chocolate mocha (“You got it!” she said, like I owned the place) and it triggered a relational appreciation that was infectious long into my day.

Later, I spoke with my host — a dear friend who lives in architectural splendor on hillside stilts — about the woman who serves at the café, and before I could finish my friend extolled recollection and appreciation about the Paragon of Attitude. Clearly, I’d discovered a known treasure.

The next day, my host and I took a morning stroll on the boardwalk by the marina, and intent on stopping for coffees, we burst into appreciation for the treasured woman at the café. We could have spent the time otherwise.

On entering the café, I saw the woman was being of service, balancing lattes and bagels, and so I greeted her. She’d served me only once before, and in the same sentence convinced me I was recognized and told my friend that she’d start “her favorite” — a medium extra wet latte — and the woman was quick, and accurate. As we chatted with The Most Remarkable Barista on the Planet, a burly Russian Sausalitan witnessed the scene appreciatively, and said he was allergic to caffeine and the only reason he comes there each morning is the woman who serves black coffee and new possibilities.

She told us it flows from her choice of awareness at the start of every day. She chooses indomitable heartfulness. Really large, with extra foam! “You got it!!!”

Inside us all is a pulse like her’s…this being of service heart that transforms days and visions. 

How do you influence such possibilities in people? What is your strategy for generative action?

One of our innate tests of effective leadership is reverence.

Sadly, reverence is somewhere off-stage today, jammed into a box in some civic storage facility for a social fee. There, we keep the nostalgic things, and stuff we are just too lazy to handle but we suspect still have value. Like reverence.

You remember reverence, don’t you? It’s about deep respect for someone or something. Somehow, we’ve lost respect for the word, and “reverence” makes us feel uncomfortable outside of a religious context. We live in a world lacking respect. Respect is due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others: respect for human rights.

“Leaders” who cause trauma are partly to blame. Yet, if we aren’t practicing a strong set of core social values (like fairness and reciprocity) that preempt gregarious greed, we play a role in this, too. When people imitate arrogant, selfish leaders, they get what they deserve, and this is very difficult to reverse.

We must be discerning about the company we keep and where we place our reverence. Lofty aspirations are less important than attending to worthy and virtuous actions. The company we keep and the discernment we bring to our attention and attendance is of primary and disproportionate importance.

Feeling deep reverence for your politicians or corporate executives, lately?

If so, write and tell me who they are and what supports your reverence. I’d like to feature them appreciatively.

[Fritch Consulting facilitates business growth by collaborating with leaders who are striving with core-values to insightfully "do the right thing."  I write and speak out of my deep concern for the current crisis of integrity in leadership, with the hope of creating a more discerning conversation and promoting effective action.  Your viewpoints are appreciated and I would be happy to continue the conversation — so I encourage you to Comment (below) or contact me directly: bruce@fritchconsulting.com.  — Bruce W. Fritch]