Why Place Matters: Notre Dame, Symbols, and the Spaces That Shape Our Leadership

Some places don’t just hold our memories—they shape our identity. In this episode, Nathan revisits a recent trip to Paris with his family. Finally, he stands before Notre Dame’s famed rose window—the same symbol that inspired the Leadership Vision logo years ago. That experience opens a reflective conversation with Brian Schubring about place: how physical spaces, sacred symbols, and shared locations become anchors for our personal stories and our team culture.

“Sometimes a place is a cathedral, a mountain, or a childhood home… other times it’s an office or a retreat space, or even a symbol that anchors our team.” — Nathan

The Rose Window and a Logo with a Story

When Nathan saw the rose window in person, the connection between symbol and story became tangible. For years, the logo was a familiar image used across blogs and decks; now it’s a lived location—one that threads together meaning, memory, and identity.

Brian connects this to a broader leadership idea: symbols and stories help teams make sense of who they are. The places we choose (and return to) reinforce what we value. In Notre Dame, Brian is drawn to the transept, the literal intersection at the heart of the cathedral—an image for a leader’s life in which we sometimes sit, wait, and receive what’s next.

“When you sit in the transept, you are literally in the center of this great intersection… an intersection that I can wait in—to wait for an answer.” — Brian

Place as Identity, Practice, and Pilgrimage

Place isn’t static; its meaning deepens through repetition. Brian shares that Paris has become a bedrock because it’s the hub for many life chapters—trips that start there, end there, and accumulate layers of significance over the years. Likewise, returning to specific places becomes a practice—a kind of pilgrimage—that renews clarity, connection, and perspective.

Nathan’s experience in Notre Dame—with four jet-lagged kids and all the humanness of travel—reminds us that place invites multiple meanings at once. The sacred and the ordinary can co-exist: awe and distraction, quiet reflection and the reality of parenting in public. A leader’s job isn’t to control the meaning; it’s to notice and name the meaning that emerges for each person.

“Places help us understand how we’re feeling… focus our thinking… connect us to people… and invite us into something transcendent—something bigger than where we are right now.” — Brian

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Why Teams Need Shared Places (and Shared Artifacts)

Teams grow deeper when they share spaces and artifacts: a retreat center they return to, a city that holds their story, even playful objects (like favorite running shoes, coffee gear, or a beloved frying pan) that become part of the team’s lore. Brian notes that something special happens when you gather in a place that’s not your ordinary environment. Novelty plus meaning drives connection.

Try this with your team:

• Name your places. Which locations hold your best work, your core story, or your most meaningful breakthroughs?
• Return there. Make shared places part of your annual rhythm—physically or symbolically.
• Tell the story. Make the meaning explicit. Why does this place matter? What does it ask of us?
• Create artifacts. Use simple objects as touchstones that carry memory into everyday work.

Reflect & Apply

1. Name 2–3 places that shaped you. Why do they matter today?
2. Choose one “team place.” Plan a return—on site or symbolically—to renew connection.
3. Adopt a symbol or artifact. Tie it to your values. Use it in rituals, language, and visuals.

Place is more than a backdrop. It’s a partner in building our identity, culture, and courage.

Listen to the full conversation on The Leadership Vision Podcast and ask yourself—and your team—What places are shaping us now, and where do we need to return?