February was named after the Latin term februum meaning purification. In the old Roman calendar the purification ritual, Februa, was held on February 15. Some historians also connect the Latin word for fever, febris, with purification or purging from the sweating common with fevers.

This medieval painting, “Fevrier” (February), was for an illustrated manuscript in the early 1400s by the Limbourg brothers, famous Dutch miniature painters from the city of Nijmegen. It’s fascinating to look at slice-of-life paintings like this one 600 years later to guess what life was like back then. Is there some sort of purifying ritual happening with the ladies in the building? Or are they just warming themselves by the fire? And what is the woman wrapped in a blanket at the bottom right of the painting doing?

Tomorrow we’ll publish the February issue of The Leader Letter. As with each month, this issue is a compilation of all last month’s blog postings. If you’re not reading as many personal growth and leadership books as you’d like to these days, you’re reading a book a year by reading my twice weekly blogs as they’re posted. Or you can read a full “chapter” each month with the compiled blogs in The Leader Letter.

  • Has “Silly Season” left you sweating with “future fever?”
  • Do you need to purge a few “management hedgehog” tendencies?
  • Are you searching for certainty in an uncertain world?
  • Does your management team need to purify approaches that have trapped you?
  • Is it time to cleanse and renew your team or organization with a built-to-change culture?
  • Are your vision, values, and mission enervating or energizing?
  • Do your need skills sharpening for leading @ the speed of change?

Take the opportunity to review and purify some of your leadership approaches with January’s blogs compiled into tomorrow’s issue of The Leader Letter.