Leadership - Grace

The following article is an excerpt for John C. Maxwell's Leadership wired newsletter. Along with the many other things Maxwell has to say about leadership in this article, I found this to be humbling and insightful. He is dead on about the tendency in the business world to be critical of our co-worker's and leaders and absolutely correct that when we engage in graceless activity we don't demonstrate tough savvy business acumen. To the contrary we demonstrate insecurity in ourselves, a lack of integrity and a wanting for respectfulness toward others.

This same principle is applicable to every area of live, even in our homes.

So the next time you hear me carping about somebody and how they don't do their job well or some other shortcoming they might have, please remind me about my shortcoming, ungraciousness.

Thanks, MP

Amazing Grace

Courage. Wisdom. Strength. Vision. Influence. We have no trouble associating these words with leadership. Grace doesn't usually make the list.

After all, grace is a rather touchy-feely word, isn't it? Preschool teachers have grace. Ice skaters move with grace. Elderly women are named Grace. It's not exactly a word packed with power. At least, not at first glance.

What exactly does "grace" signify in a leadership context? According to Ray Blunt of http://www.govleaders.org/, grace means acknowledging and accepting imperfections, both in ourselves and others. When we infuse grace into our lives, the advantages we reap are manifold.

However, grace doesn't usually find its way into boardrooms, strategy sessions, or creative meetings. Apparently, we see ourselves as too tough to carry grace into the workplace, or perhaps we deem the business climate too harsh for grace.

Whatever the case, grace gets left behind when we hit the office. Instead, we carp about a teammate's shortcomings, pile cutting remarks on top of a co-worker's failure, or complain about a leader's missteps. We pass judgment quickly and effortlessly. We hold a magnifying glass above the mistakes of those around us, while we try to maintain a facade of perfection.

Without grace, a leader faces the twin perils of insecurity and irrelevance. On the other hand, by apprehending the quality of grace, a leader becomes labeled as secure and worthy or respect.

Initiative and Momentum

The following is a quote from John C. Maxwell, which is quite apropos for me. Taking initiative even when I don't have all the answers and don't have a good feeling about the next step is sometimes quite difficult.

Initiative
by Dr. John C. Maxwell

It's cliché to say that every journey begins with a single step, yet it's true. Leaders don't wait for everything to be perfect before they move forward. They don't wait for all the problems or obstacles to disappear. They don't wait until their fear subsides. Leaders take initiative.Leaders know the secret of momentum: once you take the first step and start moving forward, everything becomes clearer and easier. If momentum gets strong enough, problems begin to take care of themselves and new opportunities arise. But the benefits of momentum only come into play once a leader takes initiative.

Arguing vs. Debating

As I think about conflict in the work place, in the home and in the everyday relationships of life I am struck by the idea that there is a very basic difference between arguing and debating. Perhaps the words themselves don’t carry the difference that I see within their core meanings, but the way in which each activity is carried out and the reason for each activity has convinced me that they are different, and one is actually helpful, indeed necessary for success, while the other is harmful and even detrimental to success.

Arguing is what we do when we are simply contrary toward another person or a basically bull headed individual. We disagree with another person’s point of view or idea for a project because we don’t like them or their idea is not our idea. Clearly, it doesn’t take me to tell you that this is counterproductive in any business or relationship.

However, what strikes me as important is the very core difference found in debating as compared to arguing and the fact that debating may actually be a necessary ingredient for success in business and even relationships. Debating is a mutual event where two or more parties disagree in principle not because of personality. In the end both parties want the same thing, i.e. that which is best for the company, community, or relationship. They may disagree on how to achieve success, but in one thing they are united, success is essential and they need debate their way toward a course of action that will take them there. Debaters who have this mind frame are always willing to back away from their ideas when another idea is presented that is better and more capable achieving the goal because they are not more personally vested in their ideas than they are in the business or relationship.

The key question that arises from this idea is how do I become a debater and stop being an arguer? I really don’t know other than to say that it requires a personal change of heart toward the business or relationship and the self. I have to become confident enough to be humble and humble enough to believe that others present as much if not more value than I do. That’s not any easy thing to do, but it is a worthy cause to engage in.