Leadership Lessons: Sometimes life is a challenge

www.amtech.net
 By James Dodwell - Hammers of Hope
 

Good Morning,

I read once “The value of life is measured by how much of one’s life was given away.” Occasionally, I do ponder if I have done and am doing enough. Doing enough of what, is more the question, because I can do many things, but am I doing the right things to have my” life giving” measured in a way that is proven to be positive, to have been constructive and somewhat successful, or are the things I am doing more of a selfish nature, done for my benefit, without regard to others. Sometimes I think the latter could be true, not really, the former fits better in my toolbox, so this is the path I prefer to follow, trying to live a life filled with faith, hope, love and joy, sometimes it’s a simple task, other times not so much.

There are days when I feel challenged to do what is right, because sometimes the right circumstances make it easy to just walk away and not look back. However, somewhere within is a need, a yearning to reach out, do what is right, offer a helping hand, a kind word of encouragement, a little sage advice, or a lift up. Sometimes we pay a heavy price, getting involved, we think we can just step in, mediate the issue away and all will be good. But we get caught in the whirlwind created by the issue and we have to work our way out. Other times it is a simple repair, a little help, a push to get it moving in the right direction, then a quick check up just to insure the issue has been put to bed for good. We don’t even get our hands dirty. Either way, we do this because we as leaders have set pre-determined values and principles to dictate our actions when certain events in our lives create an opportunity to fight or flee.

David tells us in Psalm 15:1-2 a righteous man who walks in integrity and gains not only respect of others, but also an audience with God. These few words demonstrate to us as leaders why pre-determined values and ethics, not expediency, must drive our leadership. To become a leader who displays the qualities we must first possess integrity. We must do what is right. We must be honest and trustworthy. We must not gossip. We must not listen to gossip. Do no harm to others and speak out against wrong.

We have to honor others who walk in truth. We should always keep our word, our promise even when it cost us to fulfill the words or promise. We shouldn’t be greedy to gain at the expense of others. We shouldn’t take bribes against anyone. We must always be strong and stable. We are in a position in life to add value to people and do for others what they cannot do for themselves. So all we can do is offer our very best. The other part to pre-determined values and principles is the leaders who have a lasting legacy are not the ones who react to their culture. They base their leadership on timeless and universal values and principles gifted to us through His word.

These values and principles are a guide. They help us stay on the right path. They are a guard. They keep our hearts, mind and bodies protected. They are a gauge. The enable us to evaluate where we are so we can make the adjustments needed to continue on path. These values and principles practiced daily by us build our character, direct our decisions, and correct our lifestyles. As I said before, some days I feel challenged to do what is right. Some days it would be much easier to go with the flow and just mindlessly allow the world to control my heart and mind. I am reminded of being in a large airport and hundreds of people walking to and from the gates. There seems to always be one person walking toward a gate against the crowd of people walking from the gate.

In my life, I want to be that person, determined to move forward in the right direction based on good values and principles, no matter how much opposition I meet along the way. Leaning into life, focused, with a little baggage, but knowing where I need to be and resisting the temptation of a few hundred people moving in the opposite direction to alter my values and principles.

I encourage each of us each day to follow our pre-determined values and principles set for us through the study of His word. Our life example and our decisions can help mold the young minds of our children and others around us by providing a good influence in their life for their future endeavors and challenges. It will make a difference and add value. Psalm 15:1-2

Leadership Lessons: Moth Effect

www.amtech.net
From James Dodwell - Hammers of Hope

Good Morning,

Recently, I read about a phenomenon called the “moth effect”. There have been studies stating that drivers may inadvertently steer toward warning lights at night due to an “attentional” preoccupation that affects their ability to maintain direction in which they were previously heading. It goes on to say that people may unconsciously move in the direction of their distracted gaze, whether the object is lit or not and whether they are driving or walking. Sound familiar? In a crazy way it explains why it is so easy to get off our life path when we lose focus on what is right and true. We see it too often, as we “sometime” allow the “eyes of our heart” to look away and then steer our life in another direction.

This reminded me of a story about a distracted driver, Over lunch in a fast-food restaurant, a woman was telling her friend about a recent accident in which a teenage boy had driven into the back of her car as he was distracted when texting. "The young man driving the car blamed me and called me every rude, dirty name in the book!” stated the woman. Inconspicuously seated at the next table two small boys had been listening and one turned to the other and said wide-eyed: "You mean there’s a book?"

I know a silly story to illustrate a point of awareness. The young man driving the car was distracted and unaware he was about to plow into the back of a stopped vehicle, and the woman was unaware of young ears taking in everything she said. This reminded me of the four levels of awareness. As leaders, we need understand leadership has many facets, respect, experience, emotional strength, people skills, disciple, vision, momentum, and so forth and so on. Nearly all these skills can be learned but we must understand growing and stretching our leadership skills doesn’t happen overnight. Thus the levels of awareness:

The first level Unconscious, Incompetence – We don’t know what we don’t know. Everyone starts out in a state of ignorance. For example, when I started working with wood and building construction, I could not read a ruler. The big numbers on the tape were easy, but the little lines between the numbers meant nothing to me. I would count the lines and announce to person running the saw 15 inches and 7 little lines. I did this until someone took the time to explain these were in 1/16” increments and 7 little lines is 7/16^th”. Once we are on the other side of the learning curve we slowly moved along to the second level Conscious, Incompetence – We know what we don’t know. I knew what I didn’t know so now it was just a matter of taking the instruction I was provided by a knowledgeable carpenter mentor, ask questions, study and read, work with it daily gaining experience to improve my skill level.

Once we begin to master this part, we are moving onto the third level Conscious Competence – We know and grow and it starts to show. We find leaders, who show great skill, when opportunities arise, shine only because they have paid the price of preparation. This is when we as leaders become more aware of our abilities and gifts. We are determined to continue developing our skill set until our actions become a habit, an automatic response to circumstances that come our way. We move onto the fourth level Unconscious Competence. We simply go because we know. This is where as stated before, our reactions and actions are based on our experience and knowledge gained as we progress into better more qualified leaders. We execute our leadership plan with greater skill. We see and reward the efforts of others. We remain teachable, we teach others, encourage them guide them and help them to reach their potential all the while keenly aware of our walk or position in this process.

This level of leadership experience allows us to feed our followers, to cast vision, communicate the importance of teamwork, share our faith, show our love unconditionally, celebrate joy, and offer hope. Every effective leader needs time to develop. It’s similar to raising a baby into adulthood, nurturing, teaching, guiding, guarding, filling them with experience and knowledge and opportunity to learn more. But time alone cannot make an effective leader. It takes a willingness to want to learn and to lead. Also, we need to be aware that if we decide not to work at growing and stretching ourselves we will remain at level one. Where’s the fun in that, just saying.

I encourage each of us to do something, anything to challenge us each day to help us continue to grow our skills, stretch our level of awareness and make a difference in other’s lives. It’s all about adding value to us and to others. Genesis 39:21-23

Leadership Lessons: What is it You do..?

www.amtech.net
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

Leadership Lessons: The Value of Quietness

www.amtech.net
The value of quietness
By James Dodwell – Hammers of Hope  

Good Morning,

Most of my days begin with a rush, rushing to get dress, hurriedly touching base with my wife for the evening schedule of events, rushing to work, scanning email after email, ranking them by importance to follow-up later and when I finally look up its late afternoon. The hustle and bustle noise created in the day is no longer audible then I realize the others occupying the same office space have left for the day. I am unsure when, but I do have some memory of “I’ll see you tomorrow, have a nice evening” being spoken in my direction sometime in the day, possibly only a few minutes ago or maybe hours ago, I don’t recall exactly. However, here I am left to my “work”, alone, not necessarily a bad thing.

A few days ago a good friend highlighted a quote in an email he sent to me and yes reading the email was ranked “up there” in the importance category, it says, “What a lovely surprise to finally discover how un-lonely being alone can be.” -Ellen Burstyn. The true meaning of the statement didn’t sink in right away. As I sat in my “aloneness” I began to realize the value of quietness, of being still, just thinking through the day’s activities and plans for the evening. I reflected on the prior evening with my wife sitting on the tail gate of my truck as we spoke in serious, low voices about events happening around us and in our lives, some in control some not so much in control. I thought about how little we actually talk and really listen to each other. We talk at each other while we are readying ourselves for work or preparing a meal, but we rarely take the time to really listen to each other. We are generally alone with each other, again not necessarily a bad thing.

As leaders, we must take some time to be alone. We must take the time to reflect on our experiences, search within for the lessons learned, and lean-in to our solitude to help us recharge and refresh our minds and spirits. As leaders, we have a bias to action and sometimes find ourselves so busy multitasking we don’t feel we can take the time to learn something new to create new avenues for growth. In our minds, We are the growth, just do as I do but the reality is we are just going, going, going to here, to there, reaching this plateau, maintaining the small area within the eighteen inch space we are allowed to occupy. We begin to lose the value of quietness, the value of being alone until we pause at the end of the day, take a breath and finally realize just how un-lonely being alone can be and just how important it is for us to make it a priority every day.

I am not advocating we become hermits and go live in a cave, but what we need to do is find the right pace or cadence for our life. Once upon a time, I would leave work each day and run 6 to 8 miles each afternoon. During the run I had to find my pace, too slow I would lose my cadence or rhythm to maintain my time per mile, too fast I would wear myself out long before I completed my loop. My pace needed to be somewhere in the middle of too slow and too fast for me to meet my time goal for the distance. It’s the same with our careers and personal lives. If we fix our eyes on the past we risk colliding with the future. If we see only the future we will crash into the hurdles of present.  If we don’t take the time to reflect and recharge our spirit, minds and bodies we run the risk of burnout and fail to succeed.

We as leaders are the watchmen for others and ourselves. We are always looking ahead, watching, anticipating approaching disaster. It is our job; however we need to watch out for ourselves in the process. Not selfishly, but protectively taking care of our physical and mental health because we have the awesome responsibility of leadership and what better way to lead than by example.  Our faith offers us security through the promise of God’s presence in our lives letting us know it doesn’t have to be lonely at the top. It’s through God’s protection as we take risks and initiative He keeps us safe. It’s through God’s peace allowing us to not feel insecure in unknown territories. It’s through God’s perspective as He presents us with an eternal view of life that keeps us steady and on course.

It’s through God’s provision that regardless of our needs, He meets them if we ask in His name. And it’s through God’s power knowing even through experiencing adversity, hurdles, and unplanned events; He always delivers and helps us meet our goals. In Psalms 46:10 it is written, “Be still and know that I am God…” In the many translations the word peace is shown as stop your fighting, stop your striving, cease, let go and return, all translations assuring us even when we are alone He is there with us. “What a lovely surprise to finally discover how un-lonely being alone can be.” -Ellen Burstyn

I encourage each of us to find time to be still, find peace, reflect, rebuild you inner compass, and make sure the needle is set to true north. It will make a difference in your life and the lives of others. Psalms 46:10

Leadership Lessons: Sorry, I wasn't Paying Attention

www.amtech.net
Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention
By James Dodwell – Hammers of Hope  

 Good Morning,

I want to apologize up front for not keeping everyone updated. I was thinking about it recently and was going to say something a few days ago but it completely slipped my mind. I just forgot, it happens as we get older, we start to say something, then a bird flies by the window, we get distracted, our conversation ebbs then the subject gets changed and we find ourselves just rambling on and on about nothing. Kind of like now, but I am doing it to make a point, or am I? What I want to tell you is there are only 198 shopping days left until Christmas. There now, aren’t you glad you know that little tid-bit of information so you can get your shopping started? Sure you are.

I don’t like to admit it but my mind wanders on occasions when I should be listening to a person discussing an issue, telling me about something important to them or just catching up on what has been happening in their lives. Usually, I am sitting quietly facing them, nodding or shaking my head in agreement or disagreement as the person speaks so the person will think I am paying attention. When in reality my mind is blank canvas and their words fall on deaf ears. It is not very polite or professional; we should always take time to listen intently when others respect us enough to share something important to them or come to us for advice.

When others come to us to have a conversation, they view us as a mentor, a leader, a problem-solver, a confidant and friend. It is our responsibility to show respect and honor for these “titles” placed upon us by them. We are not gifted these “titles”, we earn them with our actions and reactions to events experienced in our life and we communicate these in our daily walk through our encouraging words, our helping hands, our character, our integrity, all rolled into a caring individual with knowledge and wisdom to pour into the lives of others. We as leaders are reminded the gift to be able to offer others hope and assist them with their walk is a privilege that should not be taken lightly and should always, always be used to teach and educate, not ridicule or criticize. 

Relationships and leadership are married together and cannot be divorced. We as leaders must learn to relate to people based on a decision, not a reaction. Ultimately, we must love people regardless of what they can give in return. We as leaders must not treat a rich person better than a poor person. Love must be given unconditionally. This isn’t saying we must treat everyone the same, what it is saying is that we must relate to each individual based on his or her inward gifts, not outward gifts. We as leaders must identify talents and gifts in others, and then place the individuals in a position to encourage them to use their gifts in order to reach their potential.

If a leader has an issue with loving people and reaching people then that leader has to learn to love them based on an unconditional decision. Look toward the positive aspects of the individual, learn to accept where they are in life and lean into them as you pour into their life. When it comes to filling positions and find someone for certain tasks, place them according to their giftedness. A person’s life passion may not be their gift, it is their passion. Look for the thing they do without much effort, the thing they can’t stand by and watch while it is being done or something they are the first to volunteer to tackle. This is their area of giftedness and strength.

We as leaders must provide recognition to others. We must recognize everyone’s value and contribution. We must communicate it publically not in a bragging way but in a way that honors them and what they do. We as leaders must provide affirmation. This needs to be done based on the needs of the individual. Some people need affirmation others don’t but everyone likes to know you care. It goes along with the saying, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

I encourage all of us today to be a mentor, leader, and teacher for others with our walk and our talk. We must understand that to connect with others hearts we must use our ears. Good leaders motivate others by their listening skills and then acting on what they hear. It will make a difference and add value to others and to us. James 2:1-9

Leadership Lessons: Some Truth, but Not Complete

www.amtech.net
Some truth, but not complete
By James Dodwell - Hammers of Hope

 Good Morning,

In NASCAR it’s called “Silly” season, when rumors of drivers leaving one racing team for another, or shop talk escalates about a driver being “let go” swirls around the circuit and eventually makes the news. Some of the “rumors” are true but a rather large percentage of them are not so true. Sometimes the teams “cook up” these stories just to draw a little more attention and support to the driver or their sponsor. It is a known fact, that the more something gets repeated the more people believe it to be true. It becomes the de facto truth, in other words, not quite the whole story but not really un-true, either.

Several years ago, when rumors were rampant in our city about changes to organizations, jobs, people’s lives it became a very stressful time in our community and created a lingering effect on the city’s leaders and its residents. Again, some of them held truth, a truth so devastating it was difficult to understand how anyone could spin such a yarn about downsizing the largest textile employer in the area, no pun intended. However, the truth was revealed and now is even more visible with the removal of the buildings that once were filled with employees making a living for their families. The truth is more telling in the frustration of the city’s residents as they watch a city government devourer each other in public meetings and attack each other on a personal level instead of working together to rebuild a great community.

The recent happenings publicized in the media remind us that if our ethics are not borne out of our convictions, they may shift and change with the tide of the culture or with what is convenient for us. When ethics are formed out of spiritual convictions, they are unchanging. When the latter is the process we have a standard that is transcendent beyond our personal preference. The strongest ethics come out of us as, First -Generosity. This is when we reach the point that our ethics must revolve around giving ourselves away, such as, serving others in our community, in our walk, in our personal and professional life, and so on a so forth.

Second is Justice, with this our ethics revolve around justice for all, not some self-serving desire that betters us rather than benefiting the multitudes. Third is Excellence, this by allowing our ethics to revolve around setting a standard above average. As leaders, in the community, our homes and our places of worship we have to maintain an excellence in our lives that sets the standard for others who are watching and learning from us. Think of our children, our future leaders and what message are we sending them? Where do they draw the line when they become our leaders? Get all you can from others or do all you can for others?

Fourth is Service. As was just mentioned this is where our ethics must revolve around adding value to other people and making a positive difference in their lives. A positive difference, a positive difference, a positive difference, I say this three times just as Dorothy did in the Wizard of Oz when she said, “There’s no place like home, There’s no place like home, THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!” You get it? This is our home, our people, we have a responsibility to all those who labored and came before us and if we don’t do everything we can to make a positive difference we are doing our community a disservice.

Last but not least is Convictions. Our ethics must revolve around a firm inward compass. Ethics result from this inward compass. A conviction is a strong belief that so governs our decisions that we are willing to die for it. History is full of leaders who changed the world because of their convictions. I ask you, where are those leaders today? Believe it or not they walk among us, work beside us, they are our neighbors and friends. Encourage them to get involved, if you know them. Support them, pray for them, and be of service to them as we, together, make this community and our country great again. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Leadership Lessons: Lessons from a Comic Strip

www.amtech.net
Lessons from a comic strip
By James Dodwell – Hammers of Hope

Good Morning,

I am a comic strip reader. I buy a Sunday paper just for the comics. Why? Well, it’s the only thing in the paper these days that makes any sense to me. The funny strips are my preference. The political and soap opera story strips are my least favorite. Who cares, right? Recently, I saw one with two cavemen, one was a salesman the other the customer. The cave-salesman was attempting to sale a wheel made of stone and word bubble from the caveman-customer said, “Sorry, but that’s not how I roll.” I know, it isn’t very funny but it reminded me of a cool, spring morning turkey hunt with a very good friend and the fine young man he has for a son.

We arrived early to get in place well before daybreak. Just as the sun began to show color we noticed a turkey in a tree just a few yards away and it was a gobbler. We made some alluring hen chatter and within a few minutes there were five gobblers in the field just within shotgun range. It was youth season so neither his dad nor I had a shotgun, only the young man was legal to shoot. I was excited for him, five birds within shooting range, all he had to do was take his pick and shoot. Now mind you, these birds were young birds and the beards were not as prominent as an older bird but they were legal and ready for the grill or frying pan.

Thirty minutes later, the birds walked out of the field, no shots fired. Once they were gone, I said boy you had five birds out there within range why didn’t you shoot. He said, “Mr. James those were young birds and that’s not how we roll, is it dad?” Enough said. So where does the comic strip fit in, it reminded me of the wonderful time we had on that cool, spring morning watching the sun’s rays paint the sky brilliant orange and yellow, listening to the morning wake up with all the nature noises it brings along as it dawns and having true sportsmanship taught to an old sportsman by a young whipper-snapper sportsman and the old sportsman liked it and respected the young man’s position on the matter.

Sometimes, we need to be reminded there is a certain order in life, sort of a crawl, walk, run approach. More often than not, I want to skip the crawl, walk and go right to run, but it doesn’t always work that way. The better approach is to grow through all the steps and keep growing once we think we’ve learned enough. John Wooden said, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” It was true on that cool, spring morning, and it was true today with something that happened for me, not to me because I am really grateful for a lesson learned today and am glad I had remembered to remain teachable.

Jesus taught crawl, walk, run. He had the power to load the minds of His followers but He didn’t. He taught through parables, relational stories, in a subtle manner so as not to overwhelm them with information. Each parable related to a lesson He wanted them to understand.  This allowed His followers to absorb the lesson, practice what they had been taught then go out and use the information or skills to teach others.  In other words, He planted the seed, cared for it as it grew then once it blossomed in the follower they were able to share in its beauty with others. Crawl, walk, run, old sportsman being taught by the young sportsman, sharing knowledge, experience, life lesson, and so on and so forth, amazingly wonderful.

Our faith, our love, our hope and our joy are similar to parable teaching because each of these virtues is a gift to us through a story. We remember when we first experienced love, there is a story behind it, remember when joy was experienced, a story follows, remember having hope, a story follows, do you remember when you realized faith was the real deal and you shared the experience someone? I encourage us to remember, No running first, let us crawl, walk then run into life always stretching, always growing always sharing, caring to make a difference and add value to others.  Matthew 13:10-13