What is it you do?

What is it you do... - www.amtech.net

By James Dodwell, Hammers of Hope

 
Good Morning,

The butler was asked by his employer, “Jules, how long have you been with me?” The butler answered, “Sir, it’s been almost 30 years now, I believe.” The employer sat thoughtfully for a moment before he responded, “Jules, what it is you do for me?” The butler quickly responded, “Well sir, I was hired to take care of the dog.” The employer questioned, “ The dog?, why Jules the dog has been dead almost twenty years.” The butler said, “Yes sir, that is correct, what would you like for me to do now?”

The question posed to me several times a week is, “What are you doing these days?”  In other words, who are you now, since you are doing something different in your life? The odd thing is I really don’t have a good answer, so I change the subject, fast! At one time in my life, my being was defined by my career path. I was so and so and I work at so and so and I am in charge of so and so. I think all of us have experienced this at one time or another. Who we are is what we do, correct? I don’t agree, but what defines who we are? Is it our attitude? Is it our willingness to serve and be of service? Are we in the good ole boy club and one of the good ole boys? Do we care only about ourselves? Is our name in the dictionary prior to a dash followed by hyphenated adverbs, adjectives, verbs and nouns describing us as a person of success or failure?

Of course not, I believe who we are is defined by where we are in our walk and what we become by taking advantage of positive life experiences, numerous opportunities and continuing to remain teachable as we learn to evaluate the value offered us through life lessons that keep us stretching and growing in the journey to reach or full potential. In other words, we can do anything we want to do, go anywhere we want to go, and be whatever we want to become, within reason and if we have the right skills. There are certain things I know I can’t do, but there are other things I do well. I focus on the things I do well and ask for assistance with the things I can’t do well. But it hasn’t always been that way, it’s something we learn when we take the time to evaluate our experiences.

In my opinion, finding, who we are starts with empowerment.  Jesus empowered His disciples by telling them they would do greater things than He had done. He did this by sending the Holy Spirit to live in each of them. He did this by giving of Himself to equip them. He did this by preparing them to reproduce their leadership in the lives of others. The fact is that only secure leaders give their power to others. So how do we as leaders empower others? There is an acronym I have seen used to describe how this process works, “IDEA.”

Instruction – A leader verbally teaches his/her followers. They constantly use daily routines to instruct the leadership principles and ways by being the example. Visually and verbally communicating his/her message over and over until it becomes a habit.

Demonstration – Modeling the truth and allowing others to observe our lives. It is a show and tell type of teaching that is more effective than words, after all doesn’t it hold true that our actions speak louder than our words, most of the time?

Experience – A leader allows others to participate and apply the lessons learned themselves. It is practice for the future leaders. Watch me while I do it, I will stand alongside while you do it, you do it alone, you teach someone else to do it.

Assessment – A leader will debrief the shared experience. He or she will assess the growth they see in others and give them direction to help them continue to improve. They do this by offering feedback, helping to benchmark their progress, encouraging them, lifting them up, emphasizing the positive aspects of their growth and then rewarding them with more responsibility.

I encourage each of us today to consider who our followers are, consider who we are to them. We are mentors, through our walk and daily actions and reactions to things in our lives. Consider how our children watch and learn from us. Are our lives teaching them the values we want them to learn? The answer should be a resounding, YES, so you are making a difference in their lives and the lives of others. John 14:12-14

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