Having a mentor is essential.

Recently I had a chance to meet with Art Ross. Art served as senior pastor in St. Pete, Florida at the church where I was Director of Music. Art and I had conflict. We were both creative and in control. He was head of staff and I was not. I’m lucky that I kept my job, but more fortunate that I learned so much.

It’s been many years since we worked together. The lessons, however, still ring true in me. I shared with him what he taught me over 10 years of working together. I still use these bit of wisdom on a consistent basis.

Art coached me on important things that I could not learn from reading books. He was my mentor for success. I reflecting on what I learned over those 10 years working together, I am constantly aware of the strides I made in my leadership skills.

Here are some topics:

Watch the triangles…

The leader as a resource not a doer…

Allowing others to function up by raising the bar…

Ask thoughtful questions and listen carefully to the answers…

There are many more subject that are very deep and have lasting impact on people and systems. Remembering what we have learned is a constant challenge for leaders.

The point – have a coach or mentor (different functions). The reason “Blind Spots” have that name is because they are.

None of us is as smart as all of us.

Conflict exists…

Conflict shows that there is creative energy…

Conflict is not resolved, it is managed…

Do not pull back from conflict, move toward it…

Keep from becoming anxious…

There is much more to say, but if you can start with these you can succeed…

To learn more check out my new mini book:
Creating and Sustaining Healthy Teams: Preventing and Managing Conflict
http://createhealthyteams.com/ 

Sarah Palin on Fox News Sunday

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On Fox News Sunday, Sarah Palin noted President Obama doesn’t have “the cojones” to effectively address the issue of illegal immigration.

Here’s the story: Palin Says Brewer Has Something Obama Lacks: ‘Cojones’. History will define whether or not she is on target.

The word “cogones”  is a borrowed work from Hispanic roots. It basically means courage to step up and do the right thing. Leader are always being criticized by followers for something. So, why not be criticized for doing what you feel is important and necessary as the effective leader you are?

The issues about Obama is simply a political football – or is it? Anyway, it does set the stage for looking at leadership courage.

Here are some ways that the Transformational Leader can step to action:

1. Address the Issue – Leaders continually ignore inappropriate or unproductive behavior and do not address it head on. Not dealing with an issue can cause your organization to suffer larger consequences: time, money, relationships, public image, market share, etc. Not dealing with the issues when first discovered will only allow it to grow larger and create more damage. Pay the upfront cost and deal with the issue immediately. A musical rehearsal is to correct mistakes before they become learned behavior and before they impact the entire orchestra or choir. Business and church leaders have the same responsibility – fix the problem now before it multiplies
2. Do not Place Importance on Popularity – The musical conductor is expected to correct mistakes before they become learned behavior. These actions are not considered to be personal in nature – it’s simply part of the leaders’s responsibility. Business and church leaders are too worried about upsetting the balance, or about hurting someone’s feelings, or seeming to be confrontational to be effective in preventing or correcting problems. In fact, the leader is respected more after taking action and addressing the difficult issues. Teams do not respect a leader who does not or cannot deal with these situations. Pay the upfront cost – act on issues appropriately, let popularity find its place.
3. Be Aware that Others Follow Your Behavior – If you have children you will understand this dynamic easily. Those we lead will pick up and emulate our habits – especially our habits that we do not like. The lesson is authentic, ethical, firm, focused leadership inspires the same. Model the results and behavior that you want to see in your organization.
4. Do Not Guard the Information – Effective Transformational Leaders share information needed to accomplish tasks and meet deadlines for goals. Have the courage to share all the information you have in order to enable your team members to share in the success of meeting organizational goals. It’s not only you. It’s not about you. It’s not only up to you. It’s a shared effort. Share the information and share the celebration. Be courageous and know that you will make it happen, but you do not need all the attention or all the credit. You are, in fact, the leader. If there is success, then you have lead the team and the organization to that success. It becomes self-evident.
5. Be Transparent – Do not pretend to know everything – those whom you lead know the facts, so why pretend? In fact, if you try to pretend that you have no weaknesses, then those who work for and with you will prove you to be wrong. It might be intentional. It might not be intentional. It just happens. Transparency is a trait of strong leaders. Being vulnerable and letting your team know that they have a place for acting that complements your skills a leader will empower them to do their best. It’s now their skill and not yours. They have a chance to step up as well.

This is a short list of courageous behaviors for the Transformational Leader.

Tip: Would you rather be criticized for being and action leader behaving boldly for the good of an organization or would rather be criticized for “play it safe”?

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If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true were really true, there would be little hope of advance.

TIP: Do not let anybody steal your dream. Communicate your vision clearly to your team and inspire excellence in execution. Get the best players and expect the best results. Do not give up and do not let the team give up. You will win.

There is a wonderful framing of true leadership skills in the blog post at The Practice of Leadership titled Are You a Leader or Just a Boss? (http://dld.bz/cPbx). Here’s a quote from the post: Just having a title does not make you a leader, leaderships is about influence. Title only buys you time to exercise true leadership, and in this time your leadership either increases or diminishes and eventually fails. There is a huge difference between being a boss and being a leader…

The Transformational Leader leads from a personal influence and not power of position. It’s more difficult and somewhat threatening for a leader to be vulnerable by being authentic, however, this style of leadership inspires others to model authenticity as well. Creating strong leaders makes the Transformational Leader more effective. The power is shared, even though the leader is utlimately the guide for the vision, it is with nurture and not force.

If you look at yourself in the mirror, do you see a person that you would allow to lead you?

Authenticity is Great Leadership

As I interviewed Jim Hart for the May 10, 2010 edition of Monday Morning Email (http://dld.bz/cNKu) I really resonated with his perspective on leadership in the church. This newsletter is for those who plan and lead worship ministries. Jim served the church for many years and now is President of the Webber Institute for Worship Studies in Florida. One comment jumped out at me that supports a major principle of Transformational Leadership – Authenticity.

Here’s his quote:

Well, you know, I think leadership is an area that is, has not been given the proper kind of regard, particularly among music ministers and worship leaders. We say we are worship leaders and we talk mostly about worship and not so much about leading and all of us in some way are called to be leaders in the way that, again, the way that Jesus modeled for us being servant leaders. And serving those with whom you spend your life and your ministry. And so, I think reflections on leadership are, are vitally important for all of us who are involved with worship leading ministry or actually just any kind of kingdom advancing ministry. We need to be reflecting on how leadership plays into everything we’re doing.

The principle that resonated with me was that of look to the leadership of Jesus who demonstrated Servant Leadership. Jesus was the Servant Leader, indeed! He represented serving humanity in all that he did. His leadership was authentic. Authenticity inspires authenticity. We are professionals in many types of work. We are first and foremost the person that God created us to me. Trying to be something else is not authentic. It’s good to study leaders, however, learn from successful leaders and make the principles you like your own principles. Learn the principle behind what you see and do not just copy the action.

The successful leader internalizes the lessons learned. These new skills mature as the leader grows and matures in their own leadership style.

Be authentic. Be the leader you were created to be. Be the best you can be – all the time. You will inspire others to do the same.

Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.  - Abraham Lincoln

Look in the mirror. Would you be inspired by you? It has been said that we are the result of the 5 people we hang around the most. Who do you want to influence you? How do you want to influence others?

When I have encouraged you to get the best players for your orchestra, I want you to achieve excellent results. Good players can make good music. In fact, excellent players can make excellent music. Don’t limit the effectiveness of your team by your attitude. Be affirming. Be encouraging. Be authentic. Be focused.

The worst thing you can do it to pretend that you do not have weaknesses yourself or to act like you never make any mistakes. Acknowledge your areas that need improvement and your intentions to create a pathway to achieve those improvements. Inversely, know that your team members will make mistakes and will need encouragement. Your attitude to keep from getting discouraged yourself will inspire your team you learn from their mistakes and move forward with more wisdom.

Surround your self with capable people. They will inspire you. Let go of your pride and realize that it is alright to be inspired by those whom you lead as well a those you follow.

TIP: Nobody want to ignore problems. Learn from them and do not let problems govern your life or limit your potential for success. Those who follow you will model what you do and how you act more than what you say.

Have you ever been in a conversation and realized that the person you are talking to is thinking about their response and is really not listening to you? Do not be guilty of this yourself. You don’t have to respond immediately once the other person stops talking. In fact, leaving a moment of silence lets the person talking know that you listened and are thinking about what was said. The moment of silence can be a validation that you have listened.

One of the important traits of Transformational Leadership is being authentic. If you are not aware of what others on your team are thinking, then how can you be an effective leader? Another Transformational Leadership trait is building leaders on teams. Building leadership skills is a key to delegation. If there are good communication standards, then there can be minimal conflict in the workplace due to misunderstanding or missing information.

A clear vision is followed by clear goals and a solid communication plan. Communication consists of two functions: 1) Delivery and 2) Reception. We must be aware of our words when speaking. There is power in the choice of words. The wrong choice of words will communicate a different message than intended, so choose the words for communicating very carefully. Along with the choice of words come the other factors in communication – the inflection in the voice, the physical stance and posture, and certainly the pace of the conversation. Do not be afraid of silence. Silence in a conversation can give clarity.

As an effective Transformational Leader be aware that there are important elements in every communication. Be active in listening. Be careful in your choice of words. Be present in the conversation – physically (look at the person), emotionally (focus on the intent of the conversation without emotional baggage), and mentally (give the other person your full attention without distraction).

Effective listening is a basic element effective leadership.

- Henry Ford

In reading a blog post by Jeffry Harlow in Unpacking Ideas, I was motivated by this comment, “In short, the heart of transformational leadership is that everyone involved in our organization has confidence that our leadership team believes in, clings to, and tenaciously implements our mission.”

We as leaders must be confident in the mission that God has called us to lead. Going from believing to knowing is a maturity in leadership that comes from clearly articulated goals to accomplish the mission. Trust comes from the authenticity manifests and creates trust within the team.

We strengthen relationships by building trust with those whom we lead through clarity of vision and authenticity of commitment.

Leadership skills you employ in this area are important to the transformation of staff or volunteers into workers, critics into advocates, and detractors into supporters.  Learn to define, recruit, delegate, support, nurture, and facilitate. The Transformational Leadership model enables leaders to get the right people, tell them what is needed, let people complete their tasks, and celebrate the results.  After all, professional leaders lead.  If we did everything, we would be called professional doers. Leaders lead. This means getting out of the way.

TIP: If you have lots of staff or volunteers, then learn to limit your time with those who are not as productive and give more to those who produce.  Here’s a chance to use the 80/20 rule.  Spend 80% of your volunteer support time with the 20% of the people who produce 80% of the results.  Gather the remaining 80% of the volunteers who produce 20% of the results into groups.  Support them as a group, not individually.  This will give you a major bounce on your results and free up enormous amounts of time.  (This is the “Pareto Principle” named after the nineteenth-century economist who developed the 80/20 rule for business.)