By Paul Lefebvre
Leadership coaching
December 2001

Today, like many other people in our neighbourhood, Joëlle and I walked through our local Shopping Mall to do some Christmas shopping. We came upon a man sitting at an improvised workstation. It was slightly elevated on a platform in the middle of the hallway. Using equipment that seemed to belong to centuries past, the man was highly focused on his work. He was a diamond cutter. We had never met a diamond cutter before and we were quite intrigued. The diamond that held all his attention was to be raffled for a worthy cause: The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).

He looked up and noticed we were quietly observing him along with two other curious bystanders. He left his workbench and approached us and said: “I am cutting a diamond, do you have any questions?” Of course the four of us had several. We learned that his name was Stan, that he was from Toronto and that, after learning his art and trade from masters in South Africa, he had been a diamond cutter for the past 32 years. It was the first time he performed his work in public. He said he had been working at this particular piece since the day before for a total of nearly 6 hours, and that another hour or so was still required to complete the work to his standards.

You could see it in his eyes that Stan really enjoyed his work but you could also sense that he welcomed the opportunity to share his passion with members of the public. He showed Joëlle and I and the two other bystanders 6 diamonds in the rough that he held in a folded sheet of paper. We could see the different sizes, shapes and colour. The diamond he was cutting on this day, a Canadian diamond, was to become one with an ideal cut, clear, with very small inclusions and 50 points or a half-carat – a very nice piece.

I LET THE STONE SPEAK TO ME.

I asked him how he decided a diamond was to be cut into an ideal cut. He replied, with a sparkle in his eyes: “I let the stone speak to me.” In a soft voice and looking at us in the eyes, he went on to explain that every diamond had small inclusions, like imperfections more or less visible to the naked eye. Because ideal cuts best reflect all facets of the diamond, certain inclusions, depending on where they are and how big they are, could actually appear larger and diminish the value of the diamond. He added: “at times, a different cut might better enhance the character and value of a diamond”. He may be a brilliant technician with his precision instruments from another century but, in those few words and in this moment, we had the feeling of reaching the soul of the artist. Bringing out the best in the diamond was what he was talking about when he said: "I let the stone speak to me".

He thanked all of us for the questions and the opportunity to show us his art. He went back to work and Joëlle and I went back shopping. The effects of this chance encounter stayed with me all day as I reflected on the valuable leadership and coaching lesson I had received from the diamond cutter.

As leaders how many diamonds in the rough do we encounter and work with every day, whether at the office or in our private life? How do we bring out the best in them while respecting and appreciating their small inclusions? Do we sometimes attempt, out of good intention, to shape or turn them all into ideal cuts? Are we more interested in showing off our diamond cutting techniques or do we, as Stan the diamond cutter, ‘let the stone speak to us’? How often are we even fully aware we are in the diamond cutting business?