Refueling in Flight

A Trustworthy Saying #3: Leadership Capacity – Energy

Gwen — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 01:20:42 +0000

My definition of energy is less technical than the ones you might find in a physics textbook. For me energy is the ability to get things done. My concept of energy is about two-parts enthusiasm, two-parts will-power, one part know-how and one-part stubbornness. I was reprimanded once for talking about ‘creating’ energy and from a physics perspective that may be a valid argument, but in leadership, creating energy is essential. OK, call it unleashing energy – I won’t quibble over the verbiage. The key concept is that leaders get things done – themselves and through others, and that’s what I want to explore.

Energy – the capacity to get things – done has three important components. Every leader must reflect on these personally and consider how they are evidenced in the next generation of leaders they hope to influence. The three issues are: 1) the size of our gas tank, 2) the type of fuel we burn, and 3) how we refuel when our tank is empty.

Like each arena of leadership capacity, everyone has a different sized gas tank; some are big and others small. The larger the tank the longer we can run and the more we are able to accomplish. Knowing the size of your tank is important for our personal planning and our mental, emotional and spiritual health. Knowing the size of the tanks of people around us is also important if we want to manage well and develop our followers. Several instruments are available to evaluate our energy capacity and provide helpful insights into the size of our tanks. However, as we reflect on our lives we find patterns that help us gage how far we can go before we need to stop and refill the tank. Like all capacity issues, stretching ourselves is important. We need to expand our limits as much as possible. But we must also accept the realities of our design and the limits of our finite humanity. Life is not a contest to see who can stay at work (or play) the longest. Faithfully applying what we have, stretching our capacity (within reason), and taking breaks as needed is a better indicator of success.

But what is in our tanks? Some of us burn rocket fuel and others run on diesel. My tank is filled with rocket fuel. I blast off, work hard in bursts, and when the fuel is gone I shut down for a while. I have friends who run on diesel. Like the Energizer Bunny they just keep going and going. They don’t go fast but they do go far and they make steady progress step by step. Teams need both styles of workers. However, those who run on rocket fuel and those who run on diesel can frustrate each other due to their differing pace. Good leaders know their own style of fuel and build a team that balances and respects the contributions each member provides.

Different sized tanks and different types of fuel impact how long we can go before we need to be refueled. People refuel in different ways. I facilitated a late-night discussion several years ago between Ken Blanchard and a dozen bright, young, emerging leaders of Christian non-profits. The ninety-minutes came to an end and I wanted to honor my commitment to conclude on time. As I tried to wrap up the meeting Ken pushed back wanting to continue saying that he was having fun and that he was energized by the discussion. Some of us draw energy from interaction with people while others need time alone to be restored.

On a daily basis we all need sleep, exercise and food. We generally sleep too little, exercise too little and eat too much. But we all need to find the right balance that works for us. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man (Mark 2:27). Our humanity demands that we take a break every seven days. There are times when a crisis requires our attention or an emergency calls for our involvement. Without being legalistic we need to find a way to step back and refuel once a week. And we need longer breaks as well. The Old Testament required that the Children of Israel come to Jerusalem three times a year for week-long festivals; times to be restored mentally, physically and spiritually and times to reconnect with family and friends. Three major breaks a year seems about right to me.

Leaders need to have a good understanding of the size of their gas tank. They also need to know what kind of fuel they burn; rocket fuel, diesel or some other hybrid that is their own unique blend. Leaders also need to know how to refuel – a round of golf, dinner with friends, a weekend away, time in prayer, travel abroad – each leader is unique but each leader is human and has a need for restoration.

I have a bigger than average (but not too huge) gas tank, I burn almost pure rocket fuel and I refuel by spending time with family and friends, traveling and fishing!

Let me know what you think.

The next time I fire up the Faithful Saying blog I plan to look at the leadership capacity of Emotional Intelligence.

A Trustworthy Saying #2: Leadership Capacity – Intelligence

Gwen — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:34:41 +0000

The old coach used to say, “You can’t coach speed!” and he was pretty much right. Either you have it or you don’t. But you can always get faster and you can make sure you are running in the right direction. Capacity is about what you have but capacity can be overrated. More importantly, effectiveness is about and what you do with what you have.

Capacity is best understood as ‘the size of our bucket’. But it is also about how willing we are to fill our bucket to the brim. Leadership capacity is enlarged or restricted both by the size and content of several buckets; personality, energy, emotional stability and social styles are just a few of the big ones. No bucket may be more crucial than that of intelligence.

We all have varying degrees of intelligence. Some are born with big buckets and others have a fairly small tea cup. Everyone has his or her unique capacity but we are all challenged to make the most of what we have. There is not much we can do about our IQ; it seems to be set for life. But we can work on our knowledge base and expand our awareness and understanding. We have to ask ourselves two questions, How big is my bucket? And how full is it?

Howard Hendricks once said, “Leaders are readers and readers are leaders”. I don’t know if it was original with him or not but it is true; leaders strive to expand their base of knowledge. They thrive on a continuous stream of fresh ideas filling their buckets – whatever the size. Books seminars, sermons, podcasts, journals and conversations with interesting people keep the faucet turned on with fresh, stimulating thoughts and ideas.

Leaders tend to be complex people who deal with issues from multiple disciplines. Leaders read widely and deeply to gain insights in many arenas of life. The cross-pollination of ideas between diverse subjects generates creative ideas for opportunity and growth. Stay curious, keep exploring and learn as much as you can. Think critically. Don’t accept everything you hear or read but push back with personal conviction and from an ever growing base of knowledge.

Wisdom emerges as we apply our acquired information to the challenges of life. Being finite creatures we all get stumped along the way. James 1:5 reminds us of the ultimate source of wisdom, If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

Encourage the next generation of leaders to accept the challenge of continuous, life-long learning. Look for those who have the gift of a big bucket and help them fill it with the best quality information that you can find.

Here are twenty-five books I’ve enjoyed, argued with and benefited from over the years. They come from five areas of interest to me.

Recreational Reading

Into Thin Air by John Krakauer
A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean
Cod by Mark Kurlansky
Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
Poetry of Robert Frost by Robert Frost

Christian Life

Prodigal God by Tim Keller
Silence by Saki Endo
The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
Free of Charge by Miroslav Volf
The Jesus I Never Knew by Phillip Yancey

Leadership/Management/Society

Primal Leadership by Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee
Leading Change by John Cotter
Applebee’s America by Fournier, Sosnik and Dowd
Managing the Non-Profit Organzation by Peter Drucker
Leadership by James MacGregor Burns

History

Cranmer by Diarmaid MacCulloch
Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick
Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose
Endurance by Alfred Lansing
How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill

Relationships

The Blessing by John Trent & Gary Smalley
Grace Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel
Dancing with Porcupines by Bob Phillips
True Faced by Thrall, McNicol and Lynch
Community and Growth by Jean Vanier

Let me know what you think about the leadership capacity of intelligence. Share some books that have been helpful to you.

A Trustworthy Saying #1: Everyone is a Leader

Gwen — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:29:19 +0000

I’ve heard the question asked many time, “Are leaders born or made?” Drucker’s response was, “Leadership must be learned.” (The Leader of the Future, xi) I’m not one to argue with Drucker but I will argue with the question. Obviously all leaders are born. But the question assumes that there are two classes of people in the world, leaders and everyone else; an all or nothing proposition. I’d argue that leadership is an innate God-given quality that resides in all people but is expressed in different ways, at different times in different situations. Leadership is found in every person but each has his or her unique leadership capacity, style and setting.

Yes, leaders are born but only in the sense that each of us was born to lead. In Genesis 1:26 we read, Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Whatever you think about man’s creation in the image of God one thing is unquestionable. God’s next comment begins, And let them rule. Not some of them. Not just the men. No exceptions, just the simple statement, And let them rule.

Somehow, in God’s creative activity, he designed the crown jewels of his creation to reflect his sovereignty through exercising leadership in the responsibilities entrusted to us. We are all designed in the image and likeness of God. In some small way God’s attribute of sovereignty is reflected in each of our lives as leadership. Our leadership flows from God’s sovereignty. Our leadership is a reflection of God’s image and likeness in each of our lives.

Obviously not all of us lead at the same level of competency nor do we have the same force or impact. Why is that? Why, if we are all designed to lead, do we see varying degrees of leadership effectiveness? The answer is found in the four irreducible aspects of leadership; 1) Capacity, 2) Trust, 3) Vision, and 4) Motivation.

Not all leaders enjoy the same capacities of intelligence, energy, emotional intelligence or creativity. Not all leaders are able to garner equal amounts of trust in the relationships they nurture with their followers. We all have limits to our vision but some leaders see farther and more clearly than others. And some leaders have the ability to inspire others to action through the congruency of their lives, communication skills, wise use of power and inspiration.

I plan to post my thoughts on leadership periodically throughout 2010 and I’d welcome your feedback. I’d like to explore the core elements of leadership with you. The first posts will introduce my basic concepts on leadership and then look with more detail at what I consider the four irreducible elements of leadership: Capacity, Trust, Vision and Motivation. I’d love to have your feedback and comments.

One more word about us all being leaders; If we are all leaders, then who are the followers? As we learned in kindergarten, we have to take turns. If I lead at work, I may follow at church. I may lead at home but follow at school. We will look at this and other issues in the weeks to come.

Obadiah – October 25, 2009

Gwen — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:19:17 +0000

Coming in 2010