Witnessing Russel’s Masterful Jestering
The new guru is, put simply, the jester. The court jester, the joker, the comedian, the archetypal master of perception, of perceiving the truth and saying it how it is.
I love exploring leadership from strange angles. This post was originally a simple musing on the wonder that is Russel Brand. In sharing it here I’ve added in a few thoughts or reflections on how being aware of the jester archetype, can be fruitful in your approach to leadership.
These comments are added in this kind of text.
You know who I think is the best current ‘court jester’?
Russell Brand.
That’s who.
Not only does he does this well, but perfectly. He’s a modern wonder, a comedian turned spiritual guru (those are my words). An ex-drug addict, family man, dog owner, author and masterful public speaker.
My good friend Olly Davy said:
“The uninhibited way Brand’s speech flows is captivating. He weaves words effortlessly to join different strands of human experience and remind us that we are all connected. I came away feeling motivated to continue building and collaborating in my community because, as we’ve been reminded so often during the past couple of years, it’s not jesters we’ve got in the palace of power, but clowns.”
We live in desperate times. Let’s not pretend. Our world is suffering, calling out for new ways. We’re witnessing the wide-scale despoliation of nature, the corruption of systems of authority and power, the castration of our Kings and the downfall of ‘Western Civilisation’.
I feel we need new kinds of leadership to help us rise out of these confusing and uncertain times. The jester can help us name the current malaise, leadership is what’s needed to take us forwards into something different.
In times of crisis what do we do? Where do we turn? And to whom do we turn?
Enter the jester.
The court jester is an archetype almost lost from our modern sanitised world. Our government would never willingly engage with a jester — Russel is ignored by politicians. And yet in times past the King employed a jester because they knew the value in their work.
Employed officially by Kings and Queens of old the court jester would sit quietly and witness the council discuss issues. At some point they’d stand up and take centre stage pointing out uncomfortable truths, making fun of the King, broadening perspectives and highlighting areas of discussion not currently on the table.
They’d point out abhorrent practices, undermine assumed authority, laugh at ridiculous incidents and in doing so would humble the King and his advisors and enable new kinds of conversations to take place.
The jester and their influence was an essential ingredient in creating a balanced and fair future.
The leaders knew this and so engaged with one willingly, despite the risk it posed to their ego and authority.
Do you have a jester around you? You can do this by inviting people to offer descending or competing points of view. You might also invite your new arrivals into your team to share their perspective.
Our political landscape is defunct. It’s boring and we communally are apathetic to their decisions and policies. This is a valid response when the systems in place reduce our individual agency and play at pretend pretences of political power.
What if we could have wise jesters who are willing to stand on stage and point out the utter stupidity of our world, of our leaders, of the current systems that we so willingly subjugate ourselves to?
And in doing so point directly at ourselves. And say things like:
“Stand up for yourself. Do SOMETHING. Come the F*CK on and get out there and save your community. Be kind, care for each other, do whatever you like that comes from a heartfelt care for those around you.
I couldn’t give two shits about what you actually do. Just WAKE THE F*CK UP AND DO SOMETHING!!!”
(that’s me badly paraphrasing Russel. I hope he wouldn’t mind. He didn’t say exactly that but you get the point. He was direct, even brutal. And in doing so, in his brilliantly comedic and heartfelt way, opened the door for new forms of behaviour and self-belief that we, indeed that I, so thoroughly need and hope for at this time)
What kinds of new behaviours and approaches to problem solving are you encouraging inside your organisation or team?
These are my comments and my perspective. You can willingly choose to disagree. I’m not a huge fan of Russel necessarily and yesterday evening was the first time I’ve ever seen him live.
And I was totally captivated. His space holding, public speaking, lyrical mastery, and capacity for entering into a rapid flow of conscious spoken word / improvised poetry was astonishing.
He also came out into the crowd during the interval and at the end and was humble, kind, and caring. Posing for selfies with fans (which I didn’t quite get close enough for) he seemed to be more in a state of service than doing it for his own ego.
Near the end of the show he commented that he’s not up there wanting followers, he doesn’t want power, he recognises his role as ‘raising the rabble’. When new leaders need appointing he clearly said ‘not me, don’t put me up there on a pedestal or give me power, I don’t want it.’ (an excellent court jester move)
How about playfully ‘appointing’ yourself as one of these ‘New Leaders’. Are you standing up for the change that you want to see? Are you applying yourself and your skills in a fruitful direction?
Over the past 15 years I’ve witnessed world renowned spiritual leaders give darshan ‘talks about wisdom’ or address crowds. In Munger in northern India I sat at the feet of Swamiji Satyananda and heard his words on yoga, on Saturday this weekend I danced with Nina Little, the founder of the Contact Improvisation dance form, back in 2015 I hears Charles Eisenstein speak in a church in London, and last August I sat with Ninawa, one of the spiritual leaders of the Huni Kuin tribe from the Amazon basin.
In the past couple of years (all online) I’ve ‘sat’ in the presence of Robert Kegan (originator of Adult Development Theory), Jennifer Garvey Berger (founder of Cultivating Leadership), David Whyte and Esther Perel.
I see these people as the source and originators of their field, as master space holders, and as people with wisdom that is profound and desperately needed. I’m now adding Russel to that gang of world leading experts.
What’s your take on Russel? I’d love to hear your comments. I invite you to share your thoughts below.
A little exercise I’m finding useful:
Define who your ‘guides’ are and intentionally narrow your focus onto them and follow their work.
Here’s a few ways you can do this:
Create a folder in Notes on your phone, label it ‘Guides’ and create a note for each of your guides where you can keep their website links, notes and upcoming events.
Order their books, attend their courses (David Whyte often does great online courses), and see if you can train with them (Jennifer GB offers training here)
Reflect on how their work inspires and influences your life and leadership. Speak about the change they make in your life, write articles (like this one) that help you reflect and make your own sense of their work.
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Nice one. Thanks for reading.
Now excuse me as I attend to my Russel Brand altar with a moment of silence and a quick prayer to my new Guru.
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