Building relationships

One of the great blessings of this blog is all the great people I have met over the past six months who have a genuine interest in servant-leadership. There are a few, such as Phil at Make it Great! and Bren over at Slacker Manager, who I know only via e-mail and their blog. Others I have had a chance to meet in person.

Magellan Executive Resources, based in the Twin Cities, is one such group. Jeff Pauley, Dr. James Sipe and Rob Moreland focus most of their consulting work on developing servant-leaders. They are doing some great things in the Twin Cities area and are working hard to promote servant-leadership within organizations. Much of their work is with city governments and their recent time in Rochester received some well-deserved publicity in the local press (see here).

I am honored to have met the folks at Magellan and am encouraged by the commitment they and others have shown in spreading the powerful message of how servant-leadership can transform individuals, organizations and communities.

Servant Leadership as Strange Attractor

Trevor's excellent presentation of Autry's Five Ways of Being has prompted me to share some recent thoughts that are related but are, perhaps, more philosophical.

From my worm's eye view, those of us who feel it is important to share widely the ideas of servant leadership face at least two temptations, both of which are based on Western thinking and hubris.

First is the lure to turn this into a controlled movement rather than allow it to be a "strange attractor" that is available to people, organizations, even governments who seek order in their chaos. In chaos theory, a strange attractor is the element that prompts systems to self-organize into higher levels of order. It is not a predetermined order imposed from without.

We can, and should, passionately teach, explain, evoke and invoke the principles articulated by Robert Greenleaf. We can, and should, study implementations of servant leadership and apply our best science to understand and measure outcomes, skills and capacities of servant-leaders; but we should not believe all of that is the point. The point is reorganization of universal principles and operational dynamics inside individuals and organizations. The minute any of us try to do that for others, we've blown it. It's best to start by choosing to lead ourselves in that effort and then join others as fellow seekers. This allows order without control, and it's tough to do.

The second temptation is to reverse the order of the words "servant" and "leader." In "The Servant As Leader" Greenleaf explained the difference, and I suggest we hold his distinction close to our hearts because EVERYTHING depends upon it!

Briefly put, a leader-servant considers servanthood a subcategory of leadership. The servant role becomes one of choice and strategy, not identity. This gives the traditional leader internal permission to continue with practices that can ultimately be based on fear, grandiosity, the pleasure-pain principle, and shared mythologies about The Way The World Works. Many of these ideas are supported by popular books on leadership (but not Autry’s). For a servant-leader, the servanthood role is the larger, more encompassing system of thought and identity. One leads in service of servanthood, not the other way around.

I only bring up these temptations because I succumb to them all too often. They seem logical to this can-do American. The problem is, when I begin to act out of my own will to power, the promptings of spirit tend to hide. Spirit and its cousin soul are shy creatures, but they are patient. They poke their heads out when I take down the self-important walls.

The importance of reflection

I received a couple of e-mails this past week asking me very politely why I didn't have all five of Autry's 'five ways of being' all in one post. The reason is simple:

I wanted you to take your time with each of these concepts and really spend some time reflecting on how they speak to you. By simply listing them all in one post, many of the important ideas that Autry spoke of would have been lost.

One of the marks of an effective servant-leader is that she/he spend some quality time reflecting on their work within servant-leadership. It is a concept we focus on quite a bit within our curriculum - even to the point of having a course titled The Reflective Life. We must be willing to take our time with the ideas that servant-leadership proposes and listen to our inner spirit.

Five ways of being - Conclusion

I spent the previous five days walking you through James Autry's 'Five Ways of Being' from his book The Servant Leader. I hope you have found the posts helpful. You can find them all here:

Be Authentic
Be Vulnerable
Be Accepting
Be Present
Be Useful

As I conclude, I'd like to leave you with a few more words from Autry - his list of six things he believes about leadership:

1) Leadership is not about controlling people; it's about caring for people and being a useful resource for people.

2) Leadership is not about being boss; it's about being present for people and building a community at work.

3) Leadership is not about holding on to territory; it's about letting go of ego, bringing your spirit to work, being your best and most authentic self.

4) Leadership is less concerned with pep talks and more concerned with creating a place in which people can do good work, can find meaning in their work, and can bring their spirits to work.

5) Leadership, like life, is largely a matter of paying attention.

6) Leadership requires love.

Five Ways of Being - Be Useful

The last of Autry's five ways of being is Be Useful:

"The most important thing you can be as a leader is useful....Another way to think of this is as a resource for your people. One of the primary functions of the manager/leader is to assure that people get the resources they need to do the job. To be a leader who serves, you must think of yourself as - and indeed must be - their principal resource."

I hope you have found these five ways of being helpful. Tomorrow I'll provide some final thoughts on, and words from, Autry.

Five Ways of Being - Be Present

The fourth of James Autry's Ways of Being is to Be Present:

"Being present is not just being here or there, but having your whole self available at all times - available to yourself as you try to bring all your values to bear on the work at hand, and available to others as you respond to the problems and issues and challenges of team members, colleagues, managers, employees, vendors, and customers......

When others see you remaining centered and grounded in the midst of whatever perceived crisis is at hand - and there is usually one crisis on a regular bases in most workplaces - they will be more assured and confident in their own actions. Conversely, when they see you agitated, worried, stressed, short-tempered, and distracted, then they become the same way, only worse because they're worried that you might take it (whatever IT is) out on them. So be present."

Five Ways of Being - Be Accepting

Continuing from last weeks posts from Autry's The Servant Leader (see here and here), the third way of being is to Be Accepting:

"Acceptance is more important than approval. I believe this is true in friendship and marriage and parenting, as well as in professional relationships. I have observed that most of the conflicts in a workplace are more concerned with style and personality than with product or process. Thus, communities of work, from teams to large departments, will become dysfunctional unless the art of acceptance becomes the norm......
The art of acceptance does not imply that you must accept everyone's ideas without critical analysis, discussion, and judgment - only that you accept the ideas as valid for discussion and review, and that you focus on the ideas themselves, not on the person who presented them. It also means that you accept and embrace disagreement as a human part of the process of work."

Reflection: Where are the conflicts in your workplace? Are they rooted in problems of process - the way things get done? Or are they rooted in personalities? It is important to figure this out first as both carry different issues and therefore different ways to fix the conflict.

The Leaders Longing

I came across an interesting poem called “The Leader’s Longing” by Richard Barrett that speaks of what good leadership is all about.

I don’t care who you are, or, what you do. When I walk into your organization I want to feel your passion. I want to see your courage, I want to experience your spirit, I want to know that you care about creativity.

I don’t care who you are, or, what you do. When I walk into your organization I want to feel your caring. I want to see your love, I want to experience your compassion, I want to know that you are working for the common good.

I don’t care who you are, or, what you do. When I walk into your organization I want to feel your openness. I want to see your trust, I want to experience your honesty, I want to know that you will always speak the truth.

I don’t care who you are, or, what you do. When I walk into your organization I want to feel your commitment. I want to see your engagement, I want to experience your hope, I want to know that you will do what is necessary to get the job done.

I don’t care who you are, or, what you do. When I walk into your organization I want to feel your authenticity. I want to see your tears, I want to experience your joy, I want to know that you will never hide who you are.

I don’t care who you are, or, what you do. When I walk into your organization I want to feel your yearning. I want to see your searching, I want to experience your longing, I want to know that you will never stop learning.

I don’t care who you are, or, what you do. When I walk into your organization I want to experience you.

Five Ways of Being - Be Vulnerable

Continuing with #2 of James Autry's five ways of being from his book The Servant Leader. This way of being is to Be Vulnerable:

"Being vulnerable means being honest with your feelings in the context of your work; being open with your doubts and fears and concerns about and idea, an employee's performance, or your own performance; and being able to admit mistakes openly, particularly with your employees. Simply saying, 'I was wrong,' and meaning it, embracing it, is an expression of vulnerability and, I believe, is a sign of being spiritually attuned and aware.

Being vulnerable takes a great deal of courage because it means letting go of the old notions of control, forgetting forever the illusion that you can be in control. Too many of us think that our power comes from our ability to maintain control. To the contrary, our power comes from realizing that we can't be in control and that we must depend on others."

Five Ways of Being - Be Authentic

James A. Autry's well-known book, The Servant Leader, is a great read for those just coming to understand Servant-Leadership within the context of work. In his book he offers five ways of being that will move one toward an attitude of service, and thus toward a meaningful expression of one's spirituality at work.

The first way of being that he speaks of is Be Authentic:
"What does being authentic mean? Simply stated, it means be who you are. Be the same person in every circumstance. Hold to the same values in whatever role you have. Always be your real self.....Being authentic is, first, knowing yourself, then being yourself. Authenticity derives from our deepest, truest selves. How do we come to know ourselves? Only through what can be called the spiritual disciplines: silence, meditation, prayer."

Over the next week, I'll talk about the other ways of being that Autry outlines.

Monarchical leadership style?

There was an article in the January 13, 2006 National Catholic Reporter that discussed some allegations from some of the priests in southern Illinois Catholic diocese of Belleville “objecting to the “monarchical” leadership style of Bishop Edward Braxton.”

Some other quotes from the article:

“A statement signed by 24 of the 72 active priests claimed Braxton makes decisions without consultation, is unavailable for advice or discussion, and has an arrogant, off-putting manner. As a result, they said “crisis situations” have developed in some parishes since Braxton, 60, was installed as bishop last June.”

“Attempts by NCR to contact Braxton or his vicar general for comment were unsuccessful.”

If nothing else the article points out the need to work to develop trust in the people being served. Building that trust would be difficult if you were unable to listen or talk to your followers, or if they percieved that to be the case.

Practicing Servant-Leadership: An Introduction

I receive e-mails quite often from blog readers asking me for a recommendation of some servant-leadership literature to pass along to others. I write back and suggest a few "essentials"; more often than not I receive an e-mail back thanking me and then asking if I have anything more concise I could recommend.

Of course, I know the reason: They are looking for something they can give their boss, and they know it has to be short and sweet to keep their attention. Well, here is something that might do the trick.

The Leader to Leader Institute published this article by Larry Spears, CEO of the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership on Practicing Servant-Leadership. It provides a nice overview of the servant-leadership model and would be great for that busy boss that you are trying to introduce to servant-leadership.

Does race matter when it comes to servant-leadership?

Since we are celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 77th birthday today, I wanted to share an article excerpt I came across from a recent volume of the Harvard Educational Review that deals with both race and servant-leadership.

I readily admit that I am always learning when it comes to servant-leadership. But when I read this I realized that it provides a situation that I had not even thought about: At a primarily white university in South Africa, a man who became the first black dean in over 100 years writes about his experience working as Dean in a very top-down authoritarian culture. He mentions his commitment to servant-leadership and then says:

"If I remained true to my commitments and values as a dean, servant-leadership would mean sacrificing my time, energy, and emotions for the sake of my colleagues. On the other hand, this could be risky, and could be interpreted as the Black dean 'knowing his place' and being willing to continue servitude in this White institution."

I would like to think that this would not even enter the mind of an African-American servant-leader here in the United States. Yet I cannot pretend to know this with any certainty. As we celebrate on this day, let us collectively work to ensure that no African-American feels this way here in the United States and around the world.

Could we see more leaders like this please?

We are all aware of the decreasing budgets that public schools are dealing with these days. In a scenario seen across the country over the past few years, a Michigan school district found itself having to cut $800,000 from the school budget back in 2003. But what makes this district unique is the superintendent.

John Dardzinski had just received an almost perfect score on his annual evaluation and was due for a salary and merit raise of about $7,500. However, he declined as he could not justify accepting the pay raise while the district was dealing with such financial issues. See the story here.

We have all heard the stories of skyrocketing CEO pay. How if the minimum wage would have kept pace with CEO pay since 1990 it would currently be $23.50. You may even be familiar with stories such as this where United Airlines, three months before declaring bankruptcy, set aside $4.5 million in a protected trust for its CEO. Even though there are a lot of great CEOs doing a lot of great work, they often get overshadowed by these kinds of actions. And stories about educators such as John Dardzinski are even harder to come by.

The children's interest and the public interest have always come before Dardzinski's personal interest. He is now soon retiring. I'm sure he will be sorely missed.

Community service, serving others and our position of power

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I will be teaching both an undergraduate and graduate course on servant-leadership this semester. I hope to be able to share with you some of the discussions that come up during class as it seems appropriate.

One of the discussions that we'll be talking about when classes begin is how we serve others. Many of the service-related projects that people choose to do for various reasons are not really focused on truly serving others. What I mean is that many will do community service, but it is meant as a way to help 'fix' other people and/or their problems. In other words, we come into the situation being in a position of power (I can do something for you that you cannot do yourself) and that is how we lend a hand to others. Any many wrongfully consider this to be servant-leadership!

When we look at organizations, we would never consider a boss to be a true servant-leader if this was their attitude towards employees. Going out into the community and helping others is only servant-leadership when we truly serve others and show our vulnerability - when we enter the situation looking at ourselves not as a "fixer," but as a servant.

What are your opinions on this "criticism" of community service as it relates to servant-leadership? Does it make sense?

Preparing for the semester

I am teaching six courses this semester....I know, I'm headed for trouble! Of the six, two are on servant-leadership. I am teaching an undgraduate course titled 'Servant-Leadership in Practice' and I am also teaching 'Servant-Leadership', which is one of our core courses for the Master's degree.

If you have an interest in taking a look at the syllabus for the graduate class, you can find it on this page. You will also find syllabi for our other offerings this semester as well. Feel free to provide feedback...I'm always looking for ways to improve the course!

Links for Wednesday, January 11

Here are some interesting things I've run across in the way of servant-leadership:

• Southwest Airlines, Servant-Leadership, and a T.V. Show: This is a must-read! Have you ever watched the show 'Airline' on A&E? It was a great show that filmed crew-customer interactions of Southwest Airlines at four airports in the U.S. We've talked a great deal about Southwest and servant-leadership on the blog, with probably more posts in the future. Although the show has been cancelled after two seasons, this article does a great job talking about Southwest's role in the show and their emphasis on maintaining a servant-leadership culture.
• American Idol & Servant-Leadership?: I would never associate these two topics, but past Idol winner Clay Aiken is featured in this article as a great servant-leader. Even a quote from Larry Spears, CEO of the Greenleaf Center.
• MBA's, Business Ethics, and Servant-Leadership: Bethel University in St. Paul, MN is starting up an MBA program emphasizing ethics from a biblical perspective. A key component, according to the article, is helping student understand what it means to be a servant-leader.
• Various Leadership styles: This article does a nice job of explaining various styles of leadership. Not only is servant-leadership mentioned, but also some rather obscure ones as well. Anyone here done work with intelligence leadership????

Transforming the Phillippines through Servant Leadership.

I came across an interesting new blog from Catholic Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo of Jaro in the Philippines. Not sure if mention of that blog has been posted here before, but if you have not seen it yet it is worth taking a look at. The Archbishop's first post on the blog from December 8, 2005 is titled Transforming the Nation through Servant-Leadership and is from the speech he gave at the 24th annual Philippine National Prayer Breakfast on December 7, 2005.

There is also an article from the Assist News Service here that discusses the speech that is also worth reading. I found the article referenced on Phil Miglioratti's NPPN blog.

Saying just enough

Sometimes leaders get caught up in language. We try to say too much! One of my favorite sections of Greenleaf's essay The Servant as Leader is on Language and Imagination:

"As a leader, one must have facility in tempting the hearer into that leap of imaginatin that connects the verbal concept to the hearer's own experience. The limitation on language, to the communicator, is that the hearer must make that leap of imagination. One of the arts of communicating is to say just enough to facilitate that leap. Many attempts to communicate are nullified by saying too much."

Greenleaf later provides a great quote we should not be quick to forget: "A commentator once observed: 'If you have something important to communicate, if you can possibly manage it - put your hand over your mouth and point.' Someday we will learn what a great handicap language is."

There is a quote from St. Francis that comes from the same school of thought. He said "At all times preach the Gospel.....and if you must, use words."

Community

The news about threats the earthquake survivors in Pakistan face from the coming cold winter points out a need in our world to understand the importance of real community.

PAKISTANI QUAKE SURVIVORS BRACE FOR WINTER. "But the people I deal with in the field from Pakistan and the humanitarian community are all well aware that we have a real battle ahead of us.''

In his book LET YOUR LIFE SPEAK, Parker Palmer touches on the subject when he writes, “In the human world, abundance does not happen automatically. It is created when we have the sense to choose community, to come together and share our common store.”, and “Authentic abundance does not lie in secured stockpiles of food or cash or influence or affection but in belonging to a community where we can give those goods to others who need them – and receive them from others when we are in need.”

Too often it seems like in our world today real community gets lost when we strive to maximize the size of our communities, rather then the quality of our community. When our communities become too big, we loose touch with the other members. The story’s below highlight what can happen when the focus becomes one of size rather then quality.

SPIRIT OF NEW ENGLAND IMPERILED BY SPRAWL. “Subdivisions get randomly plopped down, while the rich carve out starter-castles on the sides of hills surrounded by private forests. Key transportation arteries become so congested that the economy of whole subregions is in jeopardy. Water supplies are threatened. People walk less, imperiling health. The poor, minorities, senior citizens are increasingly isolated. Supplies of affordable housing dry up. Convenient downtown stores close their doors. Struggling family farms finally give way to developer dollars.”

HOUSTON BRACES FOR BLOW TO IMAGE AS ENRON TRIAL LOOMS “Enron, once the world's largest energy trader, failed amid disclosures of secret partnerships and hidden debt. Its December 2001 bankruptcy was then the largest in U.S. history.”

In his classic book SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL ,economist E.F. Schumacher had much to say about this flawed reasoning and how it came about. “[I]n the beginning was the family; then families got together and formed tribes; then tribes formed a nation; then a number of nations formed a ‘Union’ or ‘United States’ of this or that; finally, we could look forward to a single World Government”. Schumacher pointed out, “when it comes to action, we obviously need small units, because action is a highly personal affair, and one cannot be in touch with more than a very limited number of persons at any one time. But when it comes to the world of ideas, to principles or to ethics, to the indivisibility of peace and also ecology, we need to recognize the unity of mankind and base or actions upon this recognition.”

When a community focuses on the individuals that make it up and they pool their resources to help each other, great things can happen as shown in the following examples.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT POURS IN FOR WOMAN IN NEED.
“An outpouring of community support has brought Vera Hunt a giant step closer to getting her New Years wish, a kidney and a new life.”

COMMUNITY TO FIX TEEN'S HOME.
“Fenton Township plans to use $55,000 in federal funds to make life easier for disabled 17-year-old.”

The irony of being in community is that to really be in it, we also need to spend some time alone. Thomas Merton writes about this in his book NEW SEEDS OF CONTEMPLATION where he says, “To live in communion, in genuine dialogue with others is absolutely necessary if man is to remain human. But to live in the midst of others, sharing nothing with them but the common noise and the general distraction, isolates a man in the worst way, separates him from reality in a way that is almost painless.” He goes on to write that, “There is no true solitude except interior solitude. And interior solitude is not possible for anyone who does not accept his right place in relation to other men. There is no true peace possible for the man who still imagines that some accident of talent or grace or virtue segregates him from other men and places him above them.”

As the dictionary reminds us, community is “a unified body of individuals.” So how do we find that unity?

Bread and Circuses II

Trevor’s post titled Sports Leaders and Servant Leadership covers a topic I had a hard time passing by with out some additional comments. So here they are.

Reading the welcome posted at the top of this Servant-Leadership Blog, holds the key in determining if professional sports is about servant leadership. “Do those served grow as persons, do they while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?” There are some individual athletes that can be servant-leaders, but lets face it the professional sports industry is not about helping sports fans to grow in their humanity.

When I watch the commercials that appear during the sporting events, the message I get is that sports fans should drink more beer, watch more TV, and their love life’s will flourish. The newspaper articles that cover professional sports like the one Trevor discussed on Kobe Bryant, or the article in today’s Minneapolis Star Tribune with the headline “Vikings’ Moe Williams Pleads Not Guilty in Boat Sex Case”, play on the sex and violence entertainment combination guaranteed to bring money to those promoting the ventures. That concept might explain why global big business is trying to cash into the sports craze by buying up Brazilian Soccer teams as discussed in today’s Christian Science Monitor article titled “Will Big Money Change The Score In Soccer.” If anything, the professional sports industry is all about what servant-leadership is not.

What troubles me the most about professional sports is how our public servants promote the idea that professional sports are indeed about serving the common good. The typical argument that politicians use to promote the idea of using tax money to fund sporting arena’s is that sports brings jobs to the people, grow the economy, and improve the quality of life for all. (Refer to the to the press release from Anoka County Minnesota’s proposal to build a tax payer funded stadium for the MN Vikings for an example of this.) What these pro-sports politicians don’t like to talk about is how diverting this money into stadium projects in reality simply diverts money away from projects that really are about addressing the common good.

While discussing my concerns with a good friend about the state of sports and how our “state” likes to provide funding for them, he introduced me to the term “Bread and Circuses”. John C. Bogle, founder and former chairman of The Vanguard Group gave a great overview of this term in a speech he gave on the state of investments.

Mr. Bogle desribed "Bread and Circuses" as follows, “during the first half of the first century, the Roman emperors kept their popularity high and their populace peaceful by providing what we today cynically call bread and circuses. Bread was the free grain, given each month to the plebeians. Circuses were the shows—the chariot races, the gladiators, the sporting events, the theatre—that took place in the great hippodromes of the Roman Empire. Those stadiums dotted the empire from Constantinople to Britain. The largest was the Circus Maximus in Rome, which seated a mere 250,000 souls. During the first three centuries A.D., actors and athletes became glamorous public heroes, garnering great wealth and political influence. Bread and circuses proved a winning formula, and the Roman Empire reached its pinnacle.”

He also goes on to talk about today’s bread and circuses, “Much of our bread, as it were, goes, not to keep the masses peaceable, but to a fairly small elite, including the fabulous compensation paid to corporate chief executives and star athletes and entertainers. And circuses abound, too. While our nation’s largest true circus (the stadium at the University of Michigan) holds but 105,000 citizens—less than half the 250,000 capacity of the Circus Maximus—television screens bring sports and entertainment to worldwide audiences that reach into the billions.”

Although Mr. Bogle’s talk was in regards to what was wrong with the investment industry, his introduction reflected well on where our priorities lay today. Bogle reminded his audience that, “the Roman Empire had dissolved. Constantinople had fallen, the fruitful provinces overwhelmed by the Vandals; Britain was lost; Gaul had fallen; and the brutal Goths had conquered Rome itself”.

So what have we learned from history?

Do we encourage dissention in our organizations?

There has been some recent news about Microsoft's MSN Spaces decision to take down a site belonging to a Chinese blogger and willingness to censor Chinese language blogs, presumably to stay in favor with the Chinese government and that potentially lucrative market. While a very interesting story, this post is not really about that issue.

Rather, this post is about someone who works for Microsoft by the name of Robert Scoble. His official title is technical evangelist. He has a blog, which can be found here. He recently had a post in which he very vocally criticized his own company for their actions in this matter. He has since posted a couple of updates here and here. Please follow the links if you have an interest in this story.

My interest in this story lies here: How good are we at encouraging dissenting viewpoints within our organizations? Would we do as Microsoft has done and hire someone to blog about issues related to our company, and even go so far as allowing them to very publically criticize us if they so desire?

Robert Greenleaf was very well known for making sure that there were always opposing viewpoints represented at the various meetings he led. Yet I think it is far more common in today's organizations for people to surround themselves only with those who will agree with them. However, encouraging dissent will only make our organizations and decisions stronger in the long run. Microsoft seems to understand that. I hope more organizations follow suit.

Heartbreaking

I'm sure most, if not all, of you have heard the news about the tragedy in West Virginia and the trapped coal miners. I was up late last night working on the last of six syllabi for the upcoming semester and read the news that 12 of the 13 trapped miners were found alive. I flipped between MSNBC and CNN to watch the coverage of jubilant relatives and friends until about 1:00 a.m. before falling asleep.

I did think it was rather odd that only one ambulance had left the scene, but I certainly did not expect this: 12 of the 13 were dead. What is so discouraging though is that once the initial reports came out that the miners were alive, it was almost three hours before anyone stepped forward to tell the families that these first reports were wrong. Both the govenor and company CEO have said that they knew within 20 minutes after the announcement that they were alive that there were some wrong communications. Yet it was another 2 1/2 hours before they told family members.

The president and CEO of the mining company, Ben Hatfield, is in a tough spot today. Not only is he dealing with the death of 12 of his employees, but also with VERY angry family members. There are reports that several family members had to be restrained.

It is not my place to add fuel to the fire here. There were certainly some very bad leadership decisions made and perhaps we'll leave it at that for now. The fact that family members spent three hours fully expecting to see their loved ones alive, only to find out otherwise, is about as heartbreaking a story as one will come across. May the good Lord console those who have endured several days of roller coaster emotions, and look kindly on those who have been called to their heavenly home.

Sports leaders & Servant-Leadership

I read this post this morning about the current state of leadership found in professional athletes. It is primarily attacking Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers for his unwillingness to accept responsibility for his recent violent elbow-throw at another player.

While not what I would call great writing, the author makes several good points about what good athletic leadership should look like: "You set an example of hard work for your teammates to follow....offer encouragement...and represent the team to the public." He also points out what is wrong with today's leaders in athletics: "They're the ones who lead by screaming, think the way to motivate a teammate is by demeaning them...and whine about being misunderstood."

How well do you think primus inter pares works for star athletes and athletic teams? Are there any good examples of servant-leader athletes? Are championship teams and their players more likely to exhibit the qualities of servant-leaders than losing teams?

Custodial-Leadership.

After driving a couple of hours on my way to a meeting this morning, I pulled into to a rest stop along the interstate to get out of the thick fog that blanketed the area to take a break. As I walked into the rest area building, I was greeted by the area’s custodian. He was taking a break from mopping the floor and had poked his head out the entrance door for a breath of fresh air.

We talked about the fog and he mentioned that he had to drive pretty slow coming into work earlier in the morning because of the limited visibility. He asked me how my drive had been and I told him the fog was slowing me down a bit too. I was feeling a bit in a hurry to get back on the road as I was worried about being late for my meeting, but as the custodian talked some more about how fast people drive and the accidents they get into as a result, I started realizing the gift he was giving me by reminding me to slow down.

We talked some more, I thank him for the talk, and eventually I walked slowly back out to my car, noticed a squirrel scampering across the snow, and headed on my way. I drove on at a much more relaxed and aware pace, and made it to my meeting with plenty of time to spare. Sometimes when I slow down enough, I find many wise people out there practicing the fine natural art of leadership.

The server was down

Oh sure, I finally return to blogging and on day two the server that hosts the blog is down most of the day.....just my luck!

This is the first time since the blog went live back in late July that this has happened. It was down when I arrived at work around 7 this morning, and finally came back on-line around 2:30 this afternoon (CST). Quite a long time, and it does make me nervous about future events. I was rather surprised (and disappointed) when I checked the host's website tonite...and no mention of today's major problems.

Regardless, the blog is back up and running. And I'll be back to the regular posting schedule tomorrow morning.

Spending Time.

Trevor posted earlier today about spending some time with his Grandmother as her time on this earth nears the end. It helped me to remember a few minutes I had the opportunity to spend some time with my father-in-law before he passed away on Christmas Eve. He had been battling cancer for the past year and finally succumbed to the disease. It was a fitting day to move on for a man who enjoyed the holiday so much.

Watching him struggle with the disease and watching his family come together to care for him taught me a lot about what true service is all about. My wife along with her brothers and sisters spent the last couple of weeks staying with their mom to help care for their dieing dad. I am sure they experienced some difficult moments as they watched their father dieing, but from my distant vantage point I felt honored to be present to some of the most meaningful service work I have ever experienced. It was also an honor to be present after he passed on to see how the neighbors, friends, and other family came together to serve the family with food, kind words, their presence, and prayers. Knowing that my father-in-law had lead a life of servant-leadership, it seemed fitting that those whose lifes he had touched the most would come together to play it back with their own acts of service.

There is much that can be learned about the art of service in the tough times. The secret to learning them seems to be in finding ways to stay through the pain and spending some time. Thanks for the reminder Trevor.

Links for Monday, January 2nd

Being gone from blogging, as well as quite a while from my e-mail, has left me with quite a few servant-leadership references in the news to sift through. Here are a few to start off the new year:

• Servant-Leadership and being a church elder. Here is a speech from a Pastor's conference back in 1992 on the role of servant-leadership and eldership.
  
• The Korean economy and servant-leadership? I read this article from an interview with Hyundai Research Institute president Kim Joong-woong discussing the need for "reform-minded leadership" and "servant-leadership" in order to overcome the challenges facing the Korean economy. Reference to servant-leadership in the bottom 1/4 of article.
• New V.A. director sees himself as a servant-leader. The director of the Canandaigua Veterans Administration Medical Center, Craig Howard, speaks about his new job and the importance of building community. He also says that he does not have 850 people who work for him, but 850 people that he serves. Mr. Howard certainly seems to understand many of the underpinnings of servant-leadership. You can read the article here.
• President of Oklahoma Natural Gas serves those who work for her. Phyllis Worley talks about her leadership philosophy as being that of a servant-leader. She also speaks about the importance of balance in life as it pertains to work and home. In her Q & A article, she also makes it clear that servant-leadership plays a major role in her life.
• A High School servant-leadership group! In this short article there is a reference to a Stockton, IL High School servant-leadership group. Glad to see it being talked about at such a young age! I'll have to do some follow-up on this group...it sounds like an interesting endeavor. I'll keep you posted if I find anything out about them.

I'll continue providing links to similar stories as the week goes on. I always like to post these links as they provide a visual reminder of how prevalent servant-leadership is becoming. I hope you enjoy them as well.

Ready for the new year

Well, after the longest leave I have taken since starting the blog (10 or so days), I am finally back. The Christmas season has kept me extremely busy....the last celebration with my brothers and sisters took place yesterday. In addition, my grandmother has been in an ICU and still remains hospitalized with very little hope of recovery from pulmonary fibrosis. As she slowly prepares to leave this world, I have made a couple of trips to Des Moines (about 4 hrs. from here) to spend some time with her.

While gone Tom has once again blogged some great posts, which can be found here and here. I hope you look forward to Tom's posts as much as I.

I am excited about getting "back to work" blogging and hope that this site remains a valuable resource for you in 2006.