GreatRidge Station

We spent the weekend with our parents. It’s hard to see my dad’s health failing, but the good news is that he is in good spirits, his faith is solid, and he is in very little pain. He is, however, failing.

As I reflect on my own life, I sometimes wonder at the fragility of it all. Each of us stands one sickness, one accident, one tragedy away from eternity. The mortality rate is 100%.

It is worth considering then, whether we, as individuals and as leaders, are investing our time and our lives rightly. Put bluntly: Are you ready to die?

Only when our day-to-day life is aligned with the Truth can we hope to be fully prepared to “slip the surly bonds of earth,” and stand before our creator.

I see that readiness in my dad, and I have seen the Truth expressed in his life for many years. My hope–my prayer–is that the same may be said of me when my time comes.

So, the reflection question for today: What are the boundary stones (relationships, roles, and responsibilities) that mark my life? Are those landmarks what they ought to be? Are they where they need to be ?

My apologies for slipping in to a political discussion here, but the point is relevant to all leaders.

It’s not immediately clear to me why our state legislators do what they do. We currently have a huge budget surplus, somewhere in the area of $2.6 Billion dollars, and the Minnesota legislators are in the process of debating a bill that would increase the gas tax by a dime a gallon, and add other various and sundry taxes.

Apparently, in our statehouse, the solution is taxation, regardless of what the problem is. This is instructive: We must keep ourselves from falling into that same kind of trap. I don’t know who said it, but the proverb is true: “If your only tool is a hammer, you will see every problem as a nail.” Leaders need to keep in mind that solving leadership issues requires looking at the situation and understanding the whole context, and seeing it with fresh eyes. Without that perspective, you could miss something as big as 2.6 billion bucks.

It is always good for leaders to understand the bottom line of their work. It is hard to know whether you are on the right track if you don’t know your goal and destination.

Here’s another powerful question worth considering:

• Who defines excellence and success for your organization?

Usually, there are conflicts in this answer, and the final result comes down to who/what holds the greatest reward or risk. Rarely are the answers simple, since the complexities of your answer to this question will be built on matters of mission and vision (real, perceived, or idealized), funding, justice, morality, and so on.

Now, from an organizational setting, take the next step and make this a personal question:

• Who defines excellence and success for me?

Now the tough part–as a leader, if those do not align, why not? Any organization is, and must be, a reflection of its leader: Some leaders have small organizations or departments, while others work on a larger scale, but in any case, the leader must influence the character of his or her organization.

These questions separate artificial leaders from called leaders. A called leader understands his or her responsibility to transform the workplace, and an artificial leader is just doing the job. 

One of my favorite definitions of leadership is quite simple: Leaders Lead. It sounds trite at first, but further reflection reveals a profound yet simple truth: Regardless of where you fall in the organization, if you are leading others, you are a leader. Having a clear understanding of what you are trying to accomplish is essential to that task–who, then, is the boss of you.