As a leader it so easy to side tracked. There are always competing agendas vying for your attention and energy. Thank you Etienne Toussaint for this nice reminder about staying on mission. It is just what I needed today.
The Key to Becoming a Good Leader
I realized the past couple of weeks that as a leader my natural inclination has been to help the people I work with be okay or feel okay. I am waking up to the fact that in doing so I often avoid dealing with what is not okay. Dealing with what is not okay is hard. It takes intentionality, focus, and ongoing follow through. It takes being diligent at facilitating conversations between people who are angry with each other but who must work collaboratively together. It takes dealing with gossip immediately. It takes dealing with problems instead of passively accepting them.
Bring a leader who deals with what is not okay as opposed to trying to make everyone feel okay means I am committing myself to leaning into the deepest parts my organization. It means acknowledging the source of problems, working through issues, executing viable solutions, and being diligent at ongoing maintenance of corrective actions.
I am praying that God will give me the wisdom, strength, courage, and persistence to be faithful in this pursuit.
I have always considered myself a multitasker. Lately though, I have had a growing awareness of how this keeps me from being the supportive leader the people in my organization need me to be. In fact, one of the most important things I can offer all of the people in my life is my undivided attention. Turning away from the computer, setting down my tablet or phone, or putting down my notes to look at and really listen to the person who has asked for my attention is essential to a caring and supportive relationship. By focusing my attention I am sending the signal that the person who has asked me a question matters, what they care about is important to me, and that even though I am busy I have time for them. I can think of few more powerful messages a leader could send.
Granted, there are times I do not feel I have a spare moment to listen. If that is the case I try to schedule a time I can listen rather than trying to act like I care while emailing or texting someone else. I want the people in my life to know that they matter.
As leaders, we are always communicating by our actions. Try sending the message that the people in your organization matter enough to set aside the distractions, look them in the eye, and really listen.
I love this short devotional from John Piper. Whether you are involved in for-profit, nonprofit, or faith-based leadership, you likely have someone you work with who challenges you. Piper reminds us that our “opponents” may be part of a much bigger process.
God-Given Foes and Faith http://dsr.gd/12t0zVk
One of the realities of leading is that there are always many voices trying to make a point and sway the decision about how to solve a problem. I find that I need to have good tools to help me sort out the truth. Lately I have really been forcing myself to peel back the layers so I can see the problem at its source or “headwaters” and develop the solution beginning from there rather than adopting a fix that is targeted merely at the symptoms.
A hard workout that includes mindfulness and prayer can completely change your perspective.
Difficult conversations do not always result in a consensus but they are still worth having.
Spending a little extra for quality coffee is worth it.
Whenever possible have a face to face conversation about something. Too much is lost or left up for interpretation in email.
God sometimes just says “here”, and gives you an unexpected blessing.
Welcome to my blog. My name is Jerry Strausbaugh. What you will read here are the thoughts, experiences, ponderings, musings and questions I encounter while being a leader. Whether it is in my role as a husband, father, community mental health center director, seminary professor, service club member, or serving in church, I find that being a leader changes me. I am so interested in how leadership changes the leader that I completed a doctoral dissertation on developmental process of community mental health center directors (Link: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ashland1385055739).
The name of this blog is The Threshing Sledge. The reason for that being the name of this blog is found in my story of becoming a leader. Early in my role as the executive director of a community mental health center I was so overwhelmed with the pressures and stresses of the job that I wanted to quit. I felt completely inadequate to accomplish the task. During this difficult time I cried out to God. Rather than opening an escape hatch God reshaped my identity. He used several Scriptures to speak to me about leading and how to think about the role he had placed me in. I began to see through the stories of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Nehemiah how leadership shapes both the leader and the led. One passage that spoke to me at a very critical time in my development is found in Isaiah 41:15-16,
See, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the Lord and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
I found these words to be aligned with my role as a leader. As the executive director I am frequently called upon to make difficult decisions in order to protect the mission of the organization. In a sense I act as the threshing sledge described in Isaiah. Over the years since that insight I have grown more accustomed to the stresses of leading. Still, there are times I must go back to the defining words I received from the Old Testament prophet. That is because leadership is a journey not a destination. Thank you for reading.