Tagservant leadership

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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Humility, the Basic Leadership Virtue

1 Min read

Benedict believed the basic leadership virtue was humility. Leaders had to demonstrate competence and ambition, but their passion was to derive from a desire to improve and contribute to the health of the organization, not from individual ego. He believed that true humility was a skill one had to learn and practice.

John Mount, in a Forbes.com review of the book The Benedictine Rule of Leadership: Classic Management Secrets You Can Use Today by Craig and Oliver Galbraith

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Kotter: Great Leaders Have Emotional Impact

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Great leaders tell stories that create pictures in our minds and have emotional impact.  Martin Luther King Jr., had a dream, not a strategy or a goal, and he showed us his dream, his picture of the future.  People change when they see something visual (the vision) that touches their feelings, challenges their thinking, and incites actions.  People may realize the need for change, but not do anything differently because they lack the passion to break out of the routines or habit patterns.  The momentum of ‘how we’ve done things’ tends to make our future look like our past.

The ability to move people emotionally is a special gift.  Few of us are born with it, but we can learn it.  John P. Kotter

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Leadership Lessons From A Janitor

3 Min read

The following leadership lesson was circulated around our organization today.  I’ve read this before, was inspired, and moved on to the popular leadership theories and acronyms of more “modern” leader training.  But this is a story that deserves to be revisited often, it teaches lessons lacking in today’s leaders.  In an article published in the Warton Leadership Digest James E. Moschgat  (at the time a Colonel in Command of the 12th Operations Group, 12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas) writes about the squadron janitor at the Air Force Academy who was discovered to be a Congressional Medal of Honor winner.  The janitor was William John Crawford who earned a Medal of Honor while serving in Italy with the 36th Infantry Division but went on to become a leadership inspiration to Colonel Moschgat.  (more…)

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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

(more…)

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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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Sermon Audio: The Journey

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Sermon Audio “The Journey”

When the Israelites stood at the far side of the Red Sea they had escaped certain death and were delivered to life by the hand of God, but their journey wasn’t over.  The Israelites wandered through the wilderness before reaching their promise, and it wasn’t always pretty.  At times God’s anger burned toward them but in the end both He and they looked back their wanderings with fondness.

The Israelite’s story is our story.  When we stand at the banks of our salvation we have to know that our spiritual journey is not over, it’s only beginning.  We will journey through the wilderness of our lives and like the Israelites, Christian wilderness travelers trust God, need each other, look for God’s glory, and never turn back.

Exodus 14, Exodus 33, Jeremiah 2:1-2, Psalms 103, Luke 9:23, Matthew 22:36-40, 1 John 1:7, Philippians 3:12-14

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The Most Powerful Person in the Room

4 Min read

All who are blessed with the gift of leadership will at some point discover they are the most powerful person in a group.  It may be when an older sibling realizes the influence they can bear on the youngsters or when an adult is promoted to a position of authority.  How we handle power is key to successful leadership, as a Christian the decision  is absolutely critical.

Popular culture will beg for us to wield the power like a weapon.

Christian example will inspires us to wield power like a servant.

The Gospel of John records that on the Passover Feast before his crucifixion Jesus realized he was the most powerful man in the world with ALL things under his power, a power given by God:

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God

There is no other example of a man realizing more power, any power we may have is minute in comparison.  The real lesson from the most powerful man to ever live is what he did with that power…

…he washed his followers feet. (more…)

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So You Want to be Famous?

3 Min read

I have to ask….Why?

As a father of two teenage daughters I frequently hear their friends and them state somthing akin to “I just want to do something to be famous..”  I cringe every time I hear it because they envision a life of glitz, glamour, and glory….I see a life of discontent, decadence, and diversions.

Jesus was arguably the most famous person to live;  almost 2000 years later his name is known throughout the world. We celebrate holidays dedicated to his life and death (and ressurection). Fame itself is not the problem, it’s how we get there lately that’s wrong.

Too many young people are striving for fame for fame’s sake alone.  Fame for fame’s sake guaruntees one to never be content with enough fame. I’m convinced the famous will not be through seeking until they pass that one in front of them with more album sales, more money per movie, the most awards, wins….

Fame by the worlds standards, especially by United States standards is rooted in decadence. We have young ladies famous only for the devience they gained attention for.  They’ve reached a goal, but at what cost?  With the exception of very few who obtained fame through a narrow business or humanitarian niche the cost to the individual and our culture is just too high. (more…)

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