A Philosophy of Leadership
Do you have a philosophy of leadership – a concise yet comprehensive guiding light to help you maintain your course through any storm?
A few months ago in my development work as a basketball official I was listening to the legendary NCAA men’s official J.D. Collins unpack his philosophy of leadership on the court.
(He didn’t call it that but make no mistake – that is exactly what it was. One of these days I’m going to more fully document the impact of officiating on my development as a leader. This is one small-but-mighty element of those learnings.)
J.D. Collins said this: “Our role as a leader is to absorb chaos, to create calm, and to provide hope.”
IMHO, this is absolute gold.
Think about it for a minute.
Absorb Chaos.
Most people, when confronted by chaos, harden and protect. Such a posture causes deflection and amplification which ultimately adds to the mess!
Like a ping-pong ball on mousetraps.
Think “road rage.”
It takes a strong leader with deep emotional and mental capacity – confident in themselves and in their ability to deal with the situation in a healthy way – to reduce the temperature in the room by absorbing the chaos around them.
Create Calm.
To absorb is an act of reduction. We are taking steam out of the environment.
Our subsequent responsibility as a conscientious leader is to add a calm spirit into the mix.
This is an intentional act of addition.
Through our strength, wisdom, and intentional heart work as a leader, we are able to reduce the level of toxicity and replace it with a sense of calm through our words and actions.
It’s like a one-two punch…for the better.
Author and productivity expert David Allen uses the phrase “mind like water” to represent a similar idea.
A mature, heart-conscious, mindful leader is at a calm place of rest in their spirit – like the calm surface of a still lake.
When a large rock is thrown into the water, the impact is felt. A splash and waves are to be expected.
But the deep body of water is able to absorb the impact and return to a state of calm rather quickly.
Mind (and heart) like water.
Provide Hope.
At the risk of oversimplification, it’s basically a recipe.
Volatile Situation - Chaos + Calm = Hope
When we reduce an extremely harmful element in our environment (Chaos) and add back in an element that the majority of our world seeks (Calm), the end result is an increase in generosity, positive momentum, and maybe even love for one another and for the task before us (Hope).
As leaders, we all have responsibilities that require a high level of skill, ability, wisdom, discernment, grit, and more.
We cannot afford to stop developing in these arenas.
But if you are reading my Monday Morning Stretch (MMS) articles, you desire to be different, to be better, maybe even to be great.
Your aim is to live and engage at a level that far surpasses metrics; to move more fully into a life of deep meaning – for self and for others.
In short, to be purpose-driven leader.
So, I ask you again. Do you have a philosophy of leadership?
I'm still working on mine – fodder for a future MMS, for sure!
If you don’t have one yet, I ask you to join me and consider borrowing from J.D. for the time being.
Absorb Chaos. Create Calm. Provide Hope.
We're not going to do this perfectly, but we can do it a little bit better each and every day.
Because let's never forget, folks: Every Day Is Training Day!
Blessings to you all, my friends!
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This Week’s Resource Recommendation:
"Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity"
– David Allen
I first came across David Allen about 20 years ago while still in Corporate America. In my ongoing development as a leader, I continue to be amazed – perplexed even – by a basic paradox: We simply don’t know what we don’t know. Like Dave Ramsey telling us to “act your wage”, Allen has impacted millions by helping them to create, organize, and simplify lists as a means to greater productivity. Who knew?!?
From Amazon: “GTD” is now shorthand for an entire way of approaching professional and personal tasks, and has spawned an entire culture of websites, organizational tools, seminars, and offshoots. Allen has rewritten the book from start to finish, tweaking his classic text with important perspectives on the new workplace, and adding material that will make the book fresh and relevant for years to come. This new edition of Getting Things Done will be welcomed not only by its hundreds of thousands of existing fans but also by a whole new generation eager to adopt its proven principles.
MMS 24-10
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Blessings to you, my friend!
