Callan…Coffee…Contemplation for the Week of May 11th
Different Questions
In pursuit of excellence we mostly focus on seeking the right answers. As a result, most leadership training is devoted to simply providing the student with lists; here’s the top 10 traits, over there are the 5 prized qualities, and over there the 6 keys to such and such. I believe a better method is to focus on the right questions. If we focus on the right questions and force ourselves to wrestle with the imbedded truth, then, and only then, can we appropriate truth for ourselves. Not only do we need to seek the right questions, we need a different set of questions. What does life ask of me? What problem am I asked to deal with? What are my own unique conditions asking me to do? Instead of focusing on what will someday make us successful or happy, leaders need to ask questions placing them squarely in the here and now, and squarely confronting challenges and opportunities of this time and place. I call this, mastering your space. Excellence is a summons; a call to act in accord with the essential needs of the day. And as such, the most vital question is this: Will we hear, and respond today, to this summons?
Three Shadows
Too often on our journey towards leadership excellence we forget the hard truth that our someday is actually being determined by today. What we do each day will ultimately determine the strength and quality of our character and our group. Daily decisions, lifetime impact. To remind myself of this truth, I created an image of a silhouetted person who casts three distinct shadows. One shadow I labeled Seeing. Each day we must see ourselves as leaders, see the world as leaders do, and see what life calls on us to do that day. The second shadow I labeled Acting. Each day we must act in accord with our character, aligning inner purpose and outer behavior, and act on whatever task is laid before us to do. The third shadow I labeled Giving. Each day we must commit to mentoring and coaching those we lead. We must give away our gold to strengthen the next generation of responsible citizens and able leaders. If all leaders could daily cast these three shadows–seeing, acting, and giving–then we’d find excellence being sown in places far and wide, and across arcs of time short and long. Daily decision, lifetime impact.
What You Do Versus Who You Are
We often mistake leadership with management. This is why, despite the enormity of leadership information available today, many people remain confused and, ultimately, become disillusioned, by what they see masquerading as leadership in the workplace. How can we simplify and clarify? First, leadership is not management; we lead people and manage things. Second, leadership is a master craft, akin to art, music, dance, poetry, etc. A master painter picks up her paintbrush; painting is not simply something she does, she is a painter. A sculptor picks up his chisel; sculpting is not simply something he does, he is a sculptor. A leader steps into a room and purposely engages other people; leading isn’t simply something she does, she is a leader. Leading is who you are. Leading is a way of life, a vocation. Leading is a calling to be something of value greater than self. Such callings require submission to purposes higher than mere functions or tactics. Vocations require us to move beyond private happiness and demands faithfulness to the work laid at our feet and people placed in our care.
A Rigorous Life
An elemental memory of my life as a Marine was the forced march. In the Corps, the forced march is a time-tested ritual to cultivate within individuals, and equally, groups, virtues such as resilience, fortitude, industriousness, and esprit. The forced march viewed functionally is about conditioning and getting from point A to B. But in a grander sense, it is much more. Enduring the crucible of the march is alchemic; it unifies, galvanizes, and calls forth a sturdier steel than had previously existed in the participants. All my life I have witnessed the unifying affect of rigorous living; how striving, shoulder to shoulder, against tough odds, calls forth inner strength and group dynamics far richer than individual effort. In our modern world, so dominated by technology and increasingly ensnared in virtual engagements, we need to remember the need for rigor in forming character. A well-cultivated team is born from hurling ourselves headlong into struggle and challenge. Classic wisdom reminds us of this maxim: Those who pursue a rigorous life devoted to arduous causes end up far more satisfied than those who pursue only fun and pleasure.
Becoming Steadfast
For anyone who endured it, boot camp was a singularly defining moment in their life. Your former self was thrown into a crucible of experience for which you found yourself woefully ill prepared. Most arrive at boot camp with some heroic aspiration, but they don’t know how to act on it. Boot camp guides a heroic conversion, but does so in an artful way. It doesn’t tell the person they are great, or awesome, or marvelous; it shows them they must first confront their inner weaknesses. Before it ever elevates, the crucible takes the person on the journey of descent, shattering illusions and egoism, and begins to create a true heroic lens founded on self mastery, accountability, and right action. The crucible first pushes one down so that, through a conversion of character, the individual can then push themselves back up. It is only through such conversions that people can become steadfast, fortified, and fully turned around. The person is not simply stronger, they are different. Not everyone will go to boot camp, but we all can find crucibles of experience to cultivate the same affect. Heroes are made, not born. Excellence is summoned, not given.
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