What is it you do...
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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