I haven’t missed posting a blog since I took my vacation earlier this year. Last weekend was an exception as I spent time on a father-son outing at Eldora Speedway near New Weston, Ohio. This world famous 1/2-mile dirt track is a piece of Americana filled with racing history and now owned by NASCAR superstar Tony Stewart. The weather was unusually warm and dry contributing to exciting albeit very dusty racing conditions.
My son and I were guests of the RW Racing team and that is the subject of my musings this week. As defending champions for the USAC Silver Crown feature race in 2006 the RW team brought two great cars, two outstanding drivers, and a veteran pit crew to the event. Watching the team prepare for Saturday’s hot laps, qualifying runs, and feature event was a study in leadership on so many levels.
Steve Weirich, the car owner and my client, exuded a quiet confidence in the pit area. The crew and drivers all seemed to know exactly what to do as the two cars entered in the Silver Crown class were prepared for their respective qualifying laps. The hauler and pit area was clean and neat, complete with canopies to protect the cars and the crew from the afternoon sun.
As the day wore on, it was obvious that the team had two fast cars as they posted the best qualifying time for one car and fourth best for the other. Excitement was building for the feature event. By now you might be thinking that leadership is easy under these kinds of circumstances. Knowing your cars will start in first and fourth position seems like an advantage and perhaps a time to relax. Yet as the day wore on other teams began to face problems during their heats and qualifying laps. I watched in amazement as a car that crashed during one of those heats was put back together with parts and expertise provided by the RW team. That’s right, they helped their competition get back into the race.
As the feature race time drew closer the team changed into their racing gear and prepared to do battle on the track. Spotters took their positions on top of the hauler while the crew made last minute adjustments to the cars and the drivers strapped into their seats for the wild ride ahead. When the green flag finally dropped, near midnight, the two RW entries dashed to the front and fifty laps later finished first and third respectively. What an amazing feat against a tough field of competitors!
Steve and his team proved that leadership on a racetrack, as in life, requires excellent preparation, a willingness to help others, and a commitment to excellence. They learned from their previous year’s success, they invested in good equipment and talented drivers, while supporting each other during the final dash to the finish. Congratulations RW Racing and all the leaders who make up your fine team!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Surrender Really is an Option
Leadership is often associated with winning. It’s an easy leap to make when business schools use the language of sports and war as metaphors for success. Crushing the competition is a common theme in marketing campaigns. Achievement and status are held up as worthy goals and we reward those who accomplish what they set out to do with plaques, stock incentives, and plush corner offices.
I must confess that it is hard to resist this call to succeed. It’s one of the reasons I find myself working long hours and writing blog posts on weekends! This drive to win comes with a price – more stress but less satisfaction, more stuff but less joy. Perhaps most painful of all is the realization that it is terribly lonely at the top.
Earlier this year I shared some personal frustrations about my schedule and the stress of running a business with a friend from church. He offered a rather shocking piece of advice – surrender yourself and your business to God. I didn’t know how to respond. While I profess a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and try to integrate my faith in the workplace, he suggested that I do even more. Well, actually his advice was for me to do less (surrender) and allow God to do more.
Could this advice work? Is one of the keys to leadership success based on giving up control and yielding oneself to a higher power? In the months since this conversation I have struggled to implement my friend’s suggestion. It is so easy to believe I can handle things on my own. I make excuses for keeping control and silently wish I understood what surrender really looks and feels like.
Deep in my heart I know that surrender is the right course to take. So why don’t I do it? Is my ego really that big? Am I so insecure that I have to prove myself to others? If I give up control might God take me somewhere I don’t want to go? Does it all come down to being afraid?
I wonder how many other leaders share my questions. Perhaps the responses I receive to this post will offer some clues. If we are honest with ourselves surrender sounds too much like losing and that could be the real reason we don’t get out of the game and let God take over. But I’m pretty sure that isn’t how the final score will read. When I am willing to get out of the way, only then can I really be successful. Only then am I ready to lead. I guess it’s about time I raise the white flag.
I must confess that it is hard to resist this call to succeed. It’s one of the reasons I find myself working long hours and writing blog posts on weekends! This drive to win comes with a price – more stress but less satisfaction, more stuff but less joy. Perhaps most painful of all is the realization that it is terribly lonely at the top.
Earlier this year I shared some personal frustrations about my schedule and the stress of running a business with a friend from church. He offered a rather shocking piece of advice – surrender yourself and your business to God. I didn’t know how to respond. While I profess a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and try to integrate my faith in the workplace, he suggested that I do even more. Well, actually his advice was for me to do less (surrender) and allow God to do more.
Could this advice work? Is one of the keys to leadership success based on giving up control and yielding oneself to a higher power? In the months since this conversation I have struggled to implement my friend’s suggestion. It is so easy to believe I can handle things on my own. I make excuses for keeping control and silently wish I understood what surrender really looks and feels like.
Deep in my heart I know that surrender is the right course to take. So why don’t I do it? Is my ego really that big? Am I so insecure that I have to prove myself to others? If I give up control might God take me somewhere I don’t want to go? Does it all come down to being afraid?
I wonder how many other leaders share my questions. Perhaps the responses I receive to this post will offer some clues. If we are honest with ourselves surrender sounds too much like losing and that could be the real reason we don’t get out of the game and let God take over. But I’m pretty sure that isn’t how the final score will read. When I am willing to get out of the way, only then can I really be successful. Only then am I ready to lead. I guess it’s about time I raise the white flag.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Dumping Allowed
I promised when I launched this blog site to share my personal experiences and perspectives about leadership. It’s time to put that promise to the test.
This past week was extremely busy and more stressful than usual, a time of testing for any leader. By mid-week I had reached a level of frustration that boiled over during a scheduled appointment with a friend and business colleague. My ranting was met with an empathetic ear and a warm and caring heart, just what the “doctor ordered” to calm my frayed nerves.
Upon returning to the office I quickly dispatched an email message that opened with an apology for “dumping” during the meeting and closed with a summary of the conversation’s action items. Before the day was over a reply hit my inbox with an admonishment of sorts, “You can dump anytime as long as I have the luxury of doing the same.” Then came this challenge. “Can’t wait to read the blog that inspires your readers to take down their signs that say, “no dumping”!! Remind people that there is ABSOLUTELY a therapeutic benefit, particularly if it is with someone you know and trust.”
Those words hit home for me. Did I know that dumping is healthy? Absolutely. Then why did I feel guilty for doing it? Why apologize for something that is good for the soul? I’m not sure if this is a profound answer but for me it starts with pride and control. Those two words do not describe inspirational leaders yet those of us striving to become such a leader will inevitably come face-to-face with these selfish and ego-driven attributes. They prevent us from being vulnerability and authentic. It’s a downward spiral when leaders refuse to acknowledge their weaknesses or to ask for help.
Perhaps we need to place a sign on our office door that reads, “Dumping Allowed”. If we model the kind of authentic behavior that my friend encouraged with me (just by lending an empathetic ear) perhaps our employees would lose their own fears and open their hearts to us. Let me stress here that many leaders I encounter don’t know how to be an empathic listener. But, if you want to be inspiring to others this would be a skill worth acquiring.
Could the level of workplace anxiety and fear be reduced if we created a sanctuary where love and trust prevailed? Would confiding more regularly in our friends and family enhance our own wellbeing? I think the answers are obvious.
Thanks, Nancy, for allowing me to “dump” this week! You changed my perspectives about what I was facing and offered your care and support at a time when I really needed it. Someday I hope to return the favor just as you asked. Meanwhile, I’m working on that office sign.
This past week was extremely busy and more stressful than usual, a time of testing for any leader. By mid-week I had reached a level of frustration that boiled over during a scheduled appointment with a friend and business colleague. My ranting was met with an empathetic ear and a warm and caring heart, just what the “doctor ordered” to calm my frayed nerves.
Upon returning to the office I quickly dispatched an email message that opened with an apology for “dumping” during the meeting and closed with a summary of the conversation’s action items. Before the day was over a reply hit my inbox with an admonishment of sorts, “You can dump anytime as long as I have the luxury of doing the same.” Then came this challenge. “Can’t wait to read the blog that inspires your readers to take down their signs that say, “no dumping”!! Remind people that there is ABSOLUTELY a therapeutic benefit, particularly if it is with someone you know and trust.”
Those words hit home for me. Did I know that dumping is healthy? Absolutely. Then why did I feel guilty for doing it? Why apologize for something that is good for the soul? I’m not sure if this is a profound answer but for me it starts with pride and control. Those two words do not describe inspirational leaders yet those of us striving to become such a leader will inevitably come face-to-face with these selfish and ego-driven attributes. They prevent us from being vulnerability and authentic. It’s a downward spiral when leaders refuse to acknowledge their weaknesses or to ask for help.
Perhaps we need to place a sign on our office door that reads, “Dumping Allowed”. If we model the kind of authentic behavior that my friend encouraged with me (just by lending an empathetic ear) perhaps our employees would lose their own fears and open their hearts to us. Let me stress here that many leaders I encounter don’t know how to be an empathic listener. But, if you want to be inspiring to others this would be a skill worth acquiring.
Could the level of workplace anxiety and fear be reduced if we created a sanctuary where love and trust prevailed? Would confiding more regularly in our friends and family enhance our own wellbeing? I think the answers are obvious.
Thanks, Nancy, for allowing me to “dump” this week! You changed my perspectives about what I was facing and offered your care and support at a time when I really needed it. Someday I hope to return the favor just as you asked. Meanwhile, I’m working on that office sign.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Celebrating Work
The annual Labor Day weekend seems like a good time to reflect on the value of work. That’s right, I believe work is worth celebrating especially if you are following God’s call in your life. For many leaders this calling never becomes obvious or is ignored to pursue the dreams that others have created for them.
So what does it mean to have a calling? One way I defined this in my own life was to create a Personal Mission Statement about ten years ago. It was an intentional process that included lots of reflection, prayer, and the use of a tool created by best selling author Laurie Beth Jones. The resulting mission statement has been guiding my work ever since. While I don’t habitually share my personal mission with others I’m offering it here to help you understand the concept better.
My personal mission is to discover, nurture, and affirm a lifelong love for learning in myself and others. This simple statement has many underlying meanings for me and is invaluable in guiding the choices I make about my career and work. For example, the creation of Higher Ground Consulting Group, LLC was a tangible way to incorporate my calling with my vocation. Imagine the excitement I feel when my love for learning is “caught” by my clients? It’s hard to express how gratifying it has been to come to the office every day knowing I’m doing what I love.
Does this brief personal example resonate with you? Are you doing what you love? Is your vocation also your calling? If you are like millions of leaders, and followers alike, the answer to these questions is likely a resounding “no”. In our endless pursuit of happiness and personal satisfaction many of us believe that money, status, and position is all that matters. While having a personal mission or calling doesn’t preclude living comfortably it should never be the primary focus of our attention. When you are following God’s call in your life these other areas become less important.
The world is waiting for leaders to answer this call and to serve others first. It won’t be easy and the journey may take you places that you never imagined. But consider the alternative, a life filled with regret or the nagging feeling there has to more. If you have a personal mission statement please share it with other readers by posting a comment. You may offer your thoughts about mine as well.
Perhaps this Labor Day holiday could be the start of a new chapter in your work and career. Next year this time you may actually be celebrating something more than the end of summer.
So what does it mean to have a calling? One way I defined this in my own life was to create a Personal Mission Statement about ten years ago. It was an intentional process that included lots of reflection, prayer, and the use of a tool created by best selling author Laurie Beth Jones. The resulting mission statement has been guiding my work ever since. While I don’t habitually share my personal mission with others I’m offering it here to help you understand the concept better.
My personal mission is to discover, nurture, and affirm a lifelong love for learning in myself and others. This simple statement has many underlying meanings for me and is invaluable in guiding the choices I make about my career and work. For example, the creation of Higher Ground Consulting Group, LLC was a tangible way to incorporate my calling with my vocation. Imagine the excitement I feel when my love for learning is “caught” by my clients? It’s hard to express how gratifying it has been to come to the office every day knowing I’m doing what I love.
Does this brief personal example resonate with you? Are you doing what you love? Is your vocation also your calling? If you are like millions of leaders, and followers alike, the answer to these questions is likely a resounding “no”. In our endless pursuit of happiness and personal satisfaction many of us believe that money, status, and position is all that matters. While having a personal mission or calling doesn’t preclude living comfortably it should never be the primary focus of our attention. When you are following God’s call in your life these other areas become less important.
The world is waiting for leaders to answer this call and to serve others first. It won’t be easy and the journey may take you places that you never imagined. But consider the alternative, a life filled with regret or the nagging feeling there has to more. If you have a personal mission statement please share it with other readers by posting a comment. You may offer your thoughts about mine as well.
Perhaps this Labor Day holiday could be the start of a new chapter in your work and career. Next year this time you may actually be celebrating something more than the end of summer.
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