Taginfluence

A Father’s (in-law) Influence

3 Min read

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I’m blessed with a father who is a life-long influence to me. Every day the influence of my father is evident in my mannerisms, my life view, and my drive for excellence. Without him the very essence of who I am would not be and the success I’ve achieved only a hope. The influence I receive has been extended to my wife’s father since our marriage. I am blessed with two Christian men, both elders in the church, on which I rely on for wise counsel and example.

The reality of my blessings remind me of a moment in Moses life during which he was struggling with the burden of leading the Israelites, a burden he took solely on his own. It was during an exchange recorded in Exodus 18 between Moses and his father-in-law Jethro that the power of a father’s influence is realized. An influence that ultimately enabled Moses to endure the hardships of leading God’s people as they journeyed to the promised land. Jethro instructed Moses in some of the most profound leadership principles we use today, span of control and delegation. The salient verse in the exchange reads this way:

So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said. (Exodus 18:24 NASB)

During this exchange Moses greets Jethro with great reverence, Jethro in turn praises Moses accomplishments, through God, before offering his counsel. Jethro’s advice was built on a relationship of mutual respect and honor without which the advice would likely have been disregarded.

Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. (Exodus 18:7 NASB)

You will notice as you read through the Biblical account that Moses’ father is never mentioned beyond his heritage from the Tribe of Levi. Rabbinical literature indicates his father was Amram who was “one of the long-lived saints whose life extended over many generations of Jews.” Maybe because Moses was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter he doesn’t seem to have been around for Moses. Modern cultures are creating families without fathers. I’m fortunate to not be included in that population but if you are be like Moses and seek advice from the one with whom you have that fatherly relationship. If you don’t have someone, seek them.

Fathers and children alike should consider the relationship between Moses and Jethro as a strong model:

1. Build a relationship of honor mutual respect before counsel is required
2. Fathers, do not hesitate to guide your children, even if they are adult leaders of thousands
3. Children, listen to your fathers and do what they say
4. Fatherly wisdom doesn’t always come from biological fathers.
5. Glorify God together for the blessings he provides

So Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord who delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods; indeed, it was proven when they dealt proudly against the people.” (Exodus 18:10, 11 NASB)

 

Happy Father’s Day Dad and Lou David. You are a blessing to my life.

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The Commander’s (Leader’s) Intent

5 Min read

HesburghVisionWithout a clear understanding of what the boss wants, organizations will inevitably fail to achieve it. Without the gift of mind reading, success depends on the boss clearly communicating what he wants. This holds true regardless of the nature of the organizations, its size or purpose. Church leaders, business executives, managers, and heads of families could take a lesson from an enterprise that literally depends on communicating intent to save lives.

The military understands that the absence of a clear understanding of the commander’s intent, for any given operation, could result in the unnecessary death of people. The U.S. Army’s manual on the operations process emphasizes this by connecting the commander’s intent to everything about an operation including how the staff plans operations, the disciplined initiative of subordinate commanders when the plan changes, and the level of risk that is appropriate to achieve the ends state.

The commander’s intent is a clear and concise expression of the purpose of the operation and the desired military end state that supports mission command, provides focus to the staff, and helps subordinate and supporting commanders act to achieve the commander’s desired results without further orders, even when the operation does not unfold as planned (ARDP 5-0, Pg 1-5 )

Several principles govern the creation of intent:

  1. Commanders (substitute any leader as necessary) must have a vision (end state)
  2. Commanders must create and communicate intent by describing the components of their vision on their own. I have been in too many planning meetings where the boss asks the staff to come up with the intent; this is a responsibility that cannot be delegated.
  3. The intent must be concise and easy to remember, the shorter the better.
  4. The intent should be understood two levels below the commander. In Army terms, a brigade commander will frame intent so that a company commander understands it.
  5. Intent will provide the framework for action, shared understanding and focus until the end state is achieved

“The very essence of leadership is [that] you have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.”— Theodore Hesburgh

With these principles in place, a commander can frame their intent using three components: Expanded purpose statement, list of key tasks, and statement of end state

  1. Expanded Purpose. The Army communicates purpose, or why an action is taken, in the mission statement of an operation order. The expanded purpose gives the context beyond why an action is planned by addressing the strategic implications to success and how it affects other parts of the organization.
  2. Key tasks. A brief list of activities required to achieve the desired end state. Staffs use the key task list to ensure the development of suitable and acceptable plans. When situations changes and significant opportunities present themselves, subordinates use the key tasks to focus their efforts to take initiative and achieve the end state.
  3. End state. Similar to a vision statement, the end state statement in more descriptive in describing the conditions that will exist when the organization has successfully met the commander’s intent. Write the description of end state in present tense as if everything has been actualized and the organization has achieved the best possible outcome.

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Management Since 1800

1 Min read

I’m a proponent of leadership over management as the primary course of study to improve one’s ability to influence people.  Management, however, seems to have reigned as a subject in books since the 1800s.  The google Ngram below charts the usage of the keywords “manager,” “leader,” “management”, and “leadership” in books since 1800.

I notice a couple of interesting things about these trends:

  1. Leadership subjects did not appear until the mid 1800s (perhaps as a result of the American Civil War)
  2. Management subjects decreased during the America’s Great Depression
  3. Management subjects skyrocketed during 1970-1990  (the rise in the economies of industrialized countries)
  4. All of the keywords dropped in usage after 2001 (Influenced by the attacks on September 11?)
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Leader Poet

2 Min read

The Maxwell Leadership Bible counts the leadership style in the United States since World War II.  There has been an evolution of leadership styles over the past sixty years which illustrates the change in the generations and a move to more internalized and inspired followers.

1.   Military Commander.  Leaders returned from the war emulating the leadership styles that won the war.  They implemented a top down dictatorship style influencing from their position as a leader instead of inspiration.

2.  Chief Executive Officer.  CEOs lead through vision, goals and objectives passed to subordinates to follow.  This is a top down leadership style which depends more on execution of a strict plan than

3.  Coaches.  Recently, leaders have viewed themselves as coaches of a team striving together for a win.  In a sports obsessed society this works well because it focuses on the teams strengths and weaknesses forms

4.  Poets.  Currently more leaders are realizing the power of words and the inspirational value of empowering subordinates.  A leader poet knows with a properly formed message subordinates will be empowered to creatively achieve the organizations goals. See also: Motivation 3.0

…all the people hung on [Jesus’] words (Luke 19:48 NIV

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The Path of the Warrior

1 Min read

A warrior is a person experienced in or capable of engaging in combat or warfare, literally or figuratively.  Most leaders are figurative warriors, those who  show great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness in everyday challenges.  Merely acting like a warrior is insufficient,  a warrior leader must become one by consistently walking the path of:

1.  Integrity – honest and sincere
2.  Impeccability – faultless character
3.  Outrageous – excessively bold
4.  Personal Power – ability to act

The leader shows that style is not more important than substance, and that creating an impression is not more potent than acting from one’s center – Lao Tzu (500BC)

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Motivation 3.0 for the Christian Leader

4 Min read

I grew up in a time when church frequently included special gospel meetings that featured a guest preacher imploring nightly over the course of a week to get right and reap the rewards of heaven or certainly go to hell. We were encouraged to invite our friends and neighbors where every night the message and volume would escalate until a satisfactory number had responded to avoid the punishment of hell. Unfortunately, the fear motivated responses rarely resulted in life-long change, many left the church quickly never to return.

As I read Daniel Pink’s book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us it struck me that we have built a church, family, and work culture based on an inferior motivational model. In a sense, our churches are stuck in a 20th century when such practices were the norm, but fall short with today’s generation. Because we were raised in this environment most of today’s leaders are just modeling what we know.

Pink presents a compelling case for a deeper method of personal, peer, and subordinate motivation. He contends that human motivation has evolved from a basic needs model, to a “carrot and stick” model, and as he proposes, a more stable intrinsic motivation model. In modern vernacular he labels these models in the style of a progressive human operating system upgrade: Motivation 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0.

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List of Ten Things We Want Most in Life

1 Min read
  1. Opportunity to succeed (43%)
  2. The good life (37%)
  3. The pursuit of happiness (34%)
  4. The American dream (22%)
  5. A fair shake (17%)
  6. To be left alone (13%)
  7. A fresh start (9%)
  8. Everything I can get (9%)
  9. A fighting chance (8%)
  10. A new beginning (8%)

The American dream has been dropping on the list because young people don’t think they will ever achieve it.  Wanting the good life has moved up in its place.

Source:  Dr Frank Luntz, Luntz-Malansky Strategic Research 2009

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List of Ten Trust Behaviors

1 Min read
  1. Communicate. Clearly let others know what you and they can expect
  2. Listen. Listen more than you talk
  3. Follow-through.  Keep your promises and expectations
  4. Own-up.  When you or a subordinate fall short take personal accountability
  5. Trust.  You have to trust others for them to trust you
  6. Respect.  Respect others regardless of their position
  7. WYSIWYG.  Be a what you see is what you get person
  8. Loyalty.  Be loyal to others and they will trust you
  9. Empathize.  Good or bad put yourself in their shoes
  10. Recognize.  Remember the small thing
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PGC Leadership Influence

1 Min read

Go APE for your teamates [bosses, peers, subordinates]:

A – Acknowledgement.  Make a big deal out of everything your teammates do good.  They love acknowledgement.  Show excitement, say their name, acknowledge even when you are the one who rightfully should be acknowledged.

P – Praise.  You want to attack your teammates.  Don’t just say nice things, attack, make a big deal about it.  When you praise your teammates and tell them you love them they will do anything for you.

E – Encouragement.  You have to be the first person to recognize someone who is struggling.  You must tell them after a bad play [deal, work failure, etc] that they are a great player and you are going to give it to them on the next play to score.

The APE ratio is 6:1.  Give someone six APEs and then give one suggestion and they will take it better.

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