Seek the Next Higher Challenge

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Letters to My Younger Self
This piece serves as a literary experiment. As I was ruminating over where life has taken me, and the many spectacular places I have visited, I thought; “If i could offer advice to a younger me, what would I say?” The following is the first of what I hope are many similar letters.

Dear Rick,

There is coming a day, about a decade from now when yet another epiphany will inspire you and propel you forward in your journey. Let me tell you a bit about it. You and your brother will decide to go to Peru and hike to the ruins at Machu Picchu. This trip will be remembered as one of your favorites. Not only will you and Bobby solidify your love of traveling together, but you will begin an independent journey of new and exciting experiences as you enjoy the challenges and exposure that only South America can provide.

So it’s early morning and you are just beginning to see the ruins as you come upon them. Already tired from hiking, the excitement will trump the fatigue. You are inspired as you come through the first of many–what seem to be channels in the precisely carved ruins. You mouth literally drops to the ground as you take those few breathtaking steps to the edge of the plateau, overlooking the ruins. “One slip here and I am dead meat” you will think to yourself. You are finally there. You have seen hundreds of pictures taken from this very spot and you wonder how God could so favorable look upon you, allowing you to have such experiences. It is a moment to remember.

As the day passes you will fill the memory card on your camera with too many vistas to remember. You have made your way to the far end of the ruins. Then, as the day draws long and it seems as though your satisfaction is complete you will stumble across a small booth and to your surprise it is manned. As you inquire you will find that there is another set of ruins, much higher up the mountain and extremely dangerous to reach. You will face a challenge here, one of potential disappointment yet one of great potential joy. You see, they are not going to let you in. The man in the booth is going to inform you that they only allow 40 hikers on that trail per day and that the quota for the day had been filled. You will also learn of the dangers and that each hiker beyond that point must register so that if they do not check out, the park service can search for what will most likely be their body. You are going to learn that the steps that lead to these ancient ruins are wet, slippery, only four to six inches deep–requiring you to ascent them sideways–and that there is the mountain rubbing your one shoulder and a 2000 foot vertical drop on the other side of the sometimes 12″ wide steps. No rails, only peril. You will seriously debate in that moment if you will want to return before sunrise the next day and attempt that challenge. You and Bobby discuss it and decide that the journey would forever be tarnished if you fail to attempt this next, higher challenge.

Scaling Huayna Picchu is all that you will talk about as the two of you decide to return to Agua Calientes for a good night’s sleep and plan to hit the trail early the next morning. It is during this conversation that you will begin to understand a leadership truth that you had always known, but never truly, decidedly defined. That is, that there is risk and elation when you push yourself to the next level. Furthermore, that failure to do so will leave you empty and unfulfilled. While you will have started two successful businesses at that point in your life, the experience of Huayna Picchu will profoundly solidify this point and you will own it for the rest of your life.

You see Rick, after that experience you are going to deal with real life scenarios which, had you not scaled Huayna Picchu you would probably not have endeavored upon. It’s like that with all leaders. Fear grips us as we move from a position of authority to one of  greater influence and challenge. The fears keep us humble but they are not a reason to settle.

There are some times ahead, I will not tell you what those are because you will need to discover them on your own, that you will be fearful–far more fearful than the day you sign the ledger to climb Huayna Picchu. You will worry that you will “Peter Principle” yourself. You will fear that the venture will fail. You will fear that it will harm you and your families financial comfort. You will simply fear! But you will overcome it and do the right thing. Every leader faces those times so bear down and get it done. Hold true to what you know you must do.

Furthermore, not long after the experience at Huayna, you will face a time of great opportunity and the option will be easy. You will need only accept it. However, because of what you learned on that mountain you will walk away and it will be the right decision. You learned that the right thing to do is seldom the easy thing to do. You will realize that greatness is birthed in challenge, not comfort. You will learn the lessons of the Andes well, and they will serve you for the rest of your life.

So let’s return to the mountain. Early the next morning you and your brother will stand there debating whether you should sign the ledger. Pen in hand, you will approach the ledger with a real fear of the unknown. You dream it to be dangerous, but you have no idea what awaits you. Danger is an understatement. You sign.

Later that day, exhausted with burning calves, you squeeze through the narrow rock formation that serves as a protective gate for the ancients and you enter the top of the Incan temple of worship. You will have completed what you set out to do and it will be exhilarating. You reach such an incredibly high new level that as you stand on the granite formation that is the summit of the mountain you will look down the blade edge of the mountain at what should be Machu Picchu below and you realize how high you truly are. There is a blanket of clouds between you and the ruins at Machu Picchu. You are higher than you ever dreamed you would be. You are in awe.

That is where I sit today, as I write you this letter. I am in awe. I am the product of that day on the mountain. Rick, do yourself a favor and never cower, continue seeking the next higher challenge. It will form you into a real leader. The leadership journey is about greatness. It is a journey of excellence. Embrace the fear, it will keep you sharp and prevent you from making serious errors. And when you do make the errors (you’ve got some real embarrassments coming), fail fast! Fail fast and get back on your feet, that will prove your leadership to those watching. Take the blame and move on, you will build respect. You see, a leader takes the summit through the fears, laughs at himself when he stumbles, and encourages the team to drive to the top!

 

Guard Your Now!

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Note: Small article for Star News, a monthly publication for Law Enforcement Personnel. 

It was a beautiful day on the pier and my wife and I were walking hand in hand enjoying each other and the sights, sounds and smell of the beach. All of that was soon disrupted by a couple in front of us that had previously been holding hands as well. From the release of their grip it seemed less than a second until the lines were drawn. Right there in public began an argument worthy of any wrestling federation smack down except the fact that this was for real! Words were flying and tempers flairing. Everyone was aware of it. In the flailing of arms and the amplified voices a set of keys flew across the pier and almost ended up in Davey’s Locker. Luckily a quick stomp of my foot ended their trajectory and I picked them up. Neither of them noticed the keys had flown and I wasn’t about to get involved to give them back, not yet, so I waited until things simmered down.

Once our professional wrestlers had calmed down and were talking reasonably to  each other, I approached to return the keys. Coming up behind the woman and saying, “Excuse me, but…” Those we’re the only words that left my mouth and she had turned on me with a start and some very choice words… I held up the keys and she was both embarrassed and thankful. To the observer she was calm, but underneath the surface she was still hot and shaken.

Haven’t we all experienced that, an uncontrolled reaction to a word spoken or an action taken. The reaction that embarrassed us–or hurt another–as we yelled something that we should not have out of a visceral reaction that was completely unnecessary. The point: Behaviors come from conditioning and attitude. This is why we need to guard the NOW! Your attitude in the NOW can change your future.

Think for a moment about the work place, you come to work having fought with your spouse, your boss greets you with a friendly word and you systematically lose your next pay increase. This dynamic is even more important to understand in terms of the LEO. You sometimes carry the attitudes of the last call into the NOW and it affects your judgement and behavior on your current call. This can be deadly, to you or another, as a visceral reaction can send things south in a hurry.

Solutions are fairly simple but not always easy. Know your NOW and change it. While not always possible in the fast paced world of law enforcement, when entering a new environment after something has affected your emotions take the time you need, say a prayer, come down. Get on the radio with your buddy across town. Use the time to focus, observing the environment that you are about to enter. Be situationally aware. Do whatever it takes to change your attitude because it is octane for your behavior. If you can summon a positive attitude your behavior will follow.

The ancient scriptures tell us in Psalm 37:7-9

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

In the same way that you would guard your spouse, or your child; Guard your NOW, your life may just depend on it.

Release

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In the belly of the beast!There is something verypowerful about release, whether it be edifying or destructive. There is that moment when all the harnessed energy comes to the point where inaction is no longer possible, it releases, and the tension is gone. Even if it is destructive, this flash of release is gratifying. However, the moments that follow are what determine whether of not the release causes additional stress or bliss.

Like the archer in slowmotion who grasps her bow. She grips it in her support hand in just the right position. She knows as soon as she picks it up whether or not it will need adjustment. Even though her eyes are fixed on the bow, the mind is fixed on the target, the distance, the trajectory, wind, crowd, competition, results, consequences, muscle response, pain, equipment, pull, tension and ultimately, release. A flurry of senses, thoughts, calculations all happen at a subconscious level and the bow has not even been raised. Eventually it is, and muscle memory brings extreme tension, calculated mental action and reaction, and then release. If all is well accomplished the arrow will strike center.

Last year I was in Miami Florida, and as I so often find myself, I was sitting at the desk in my hotel room rummaging through the paperwork of the day and the tension demanded release. I jumped up with a start and remember murmuring to myself; “I am so out of here!” You see, there comes a time as a leader when the fog of data and systems clouds the creative response. Hear me! In those moments it is time for your creative pause, it is time to check out. It is time to let the subconscious go to work and you need to go and play. It is not an option.

Drive. No Direction.

Thrust into action with only one thought–getting on the highway and seeing where it would lead–I found myself in Kissimmee. I turned off the highway and began driving small gravel roads as if pushed forward by the tension of the hotel room and the earlier meetings of the day. There I was, glancing side to side, looking for a yard sale, a flea or farmers market, something brainless. That’s when it happened. As I rounded a long sweeping turn between small homes on large parcels, I broke through the trees and my eyes and mind were drawn to it like a moth to a flame. I was on an air strip of beautiful green grass. “Oh yeah!” I uttered underneath my breath, “Play Time!” There was definitely fun to be found here.

Walking into a glorified shed with a sign above the door that identified it as the office, and after reading the necessary disclaimers and a release of liability, I took my pen and signed my life away to an old friend named New Experiences. Little did I realize the adventure would reflect the events of the day so closely.

Systems Birth Stress.

The tension began to increase as I signed the release of liability. Basically, I was putting my life into the hands of a bearded Neanderthal of a man I had just met, and if I die, says the release, it’s on me. Cool! No tension there!?! With a grunt, he leads me out into a field and to his glider which looks like it was build back when Elvis was overweight, sweaty, dressed in white leather with red stripes and could barely walk the stage. In fact, this antique reminded me of the king, flipped up collar and gasping for breath between songs. No composites here only aluminum and rivets, and yes, painted white with red stripes. This thing was vintage.

Much to my surprise he dragged Elvis into place with one hand as he walked this wannabe retired airplane to where the “real” airplane was going to hook on for the ride. I remember thinking; I weigh 215 pounds and I am going to sit in something that can be dragged onto the airfield with one hand by a man whom I am sure just smirked at me through the side of his face as if to say, suckerrr.

Our eyes meet, and he says, “Get in!” He then begins to put me into a five point harness and pulls it really tight. At this point I am feeling the panic of claustrophobia and the canopy is still up. He leans over and points to the release lever. “When I yell ‘Now!’ pull it.” It was in that moment that I realized my head is sticking way out of the natural body lines of this glider, and I say, “I don’t think I’m going to fit.” He proceeds to try to close the canopy. I cock my head as far as possible sideways and it was still not close to closing. His next words; “Get out!” Our man of many words now begins to rip the seat out of the glider. No joke! And in some sick replay of other dumb decisions I’ve made in life, I actually go along with this. I climb in and sit on bare aluminum in the cockpit and Mr. Wax Eloquent checks the canopy and starts strapping me in again. Each of the five points of the harness seem to gauge my increasing tension. Meanwhile the real airplane has appeared and connected itself to me without my noticing. In a nonverbal acknowledgement that everything was a go, my new friend slaps his hand on the outside of the canopy as if to say… Well, I’m not really sure what it said. Good luck perhaps?

The next thing I know, I am experiencing a very rough rush of forward acceleration as the real airplane takes off down the runway. “Um, what do I do now?” “Wait for me to say ‘Now!’ and pull the release handle.” Came the reply. I remember thinking to myself, he actually speaks in sentences? It brought small comfort. We continued to climb. Tense and stressed, I was absorbed by the chaos and found it very difficult to focus on the beauty around me with the constant noise, bumps, drops and clatter of being dragged–by a rope–where I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go. Then, piercing all the mayhem and propelling me from the fog to hard reality came the cry, “NOW!” I reached out and pulled…

Silence.

As if God Himself had reached into my reality and turned the volume knob from eleven to one, everything became clear. My mind, which had been trying to process the inundation had cleared. My ears heard little but the wisp of outside air. My eyes focused on the tow plane as it seemed to fall tragically from the sky, leaving me behind, then to the breathtaking beauty of my seat in the sky. My hands were no longer shaking but steady and sure on a now smooth (previously vibrating) control stick. It was bliss.

For forty five minutes I swept through the sky like a bird without reservation, smooth and fluid, embracing positive and negative gravitational forces alike. Even the discomfort of sitting on the aluminum structure of the glider ebbed away. Tension had given way to release and the experience was, well… Clear. It’s the only word that describes it. I had traded the stresses of the procedure and systems for the joy of flight. I felt inspired.

As leaders we each must learn the lesson that I was privileged to learn that day, that is: Clarity comes after the systems and procedures are necessarily worked, and unless you are willing to subject yourself to the tensions they create, you will never see the fulfillment of your dream. Altitude is gained through struggle and if the struggle scares you, and you stay on the ground, you lose. Leadership is not like the third grade where everyone receives a ribbon. Some win, most do not. I had traded the tension of a hotel room surrounded by paperwork for the tension of a seatless cockpit in pursuit of my creative aha! I found it, and clarity, at 5000 feet.

Postscript

Could I have found it alone. No! It took a pilot, a plane and a landing strip. Skilled people had to assist me in getting there. I had a team. Without them I would have never had the experience, or I would have tried it alone and killed myself in the attempt.

If you are a church planter, you want to fly. I get that. Remember that you cannot fly without partners that can actually get you airborne. A mentor to strap you in, to train you, challenge you, grunt at you. Prayer partners who provide the airstrip to launch you into the exciting unknown. Financial partners that will attach themselves to you, provide the horsepower, and empower you to a higher level and are willing to yell “Now!” Ultimately, the ride of your own leadership begins when you respond and pull the release. Then, and only then will you soar.

Connected

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I just accomplished in four minutes and fifty-three seconds what ten years ago would have taken days. Why, because I am connected. You see, the information that I needed for this afternoon’s meeting was easily found with a web search and a few clicks. The system that we call the internet has transformed culture, increased efficiency, and made me a much better researcher. That’s what efficient systems do.

Consider the bigger question: How would you develop such a system? Imagine it’s you in 1969, sitting at the table, and someone posits the question: How can we put the entire corpus of human understanding into a location where a person can access what he wants in less than five minutes? Every needed component was there in 1969, but to conceive of, articulate and begin to build the system would have been quite impossible. Systems as transformational as the internet build with time. I would hope that if I had been in that meeting in 1969, I would not have tried to envision the modern understanding of the internet. Rather, I hope my response would have been smaller; something like, “Hey John, you have a computer at Stanford right? I do too, let’s see if we can get those things connected over a wire!” That’s exactly what happened. On October 29, 1969 Stanford and UCLA connected computers for the very first time. It was the “great first connection” known as Arpanet.

The internet sprang from that first connection, and as powerful a force as the internet has become, if we all turned off our computers at 12:01 GMT tomorrow, the internet would instantly cease to exist. It is only alive because of connections.

We have all taken part in the increased dialog about church planting. We have heard that the church planter is the top of the food chain and that all of our organizational structures exist to support them. However, let us suspend all thoughts about the church planter for now, and consider the system that we hope to create. Systems cannot exist in a vacuum, and the more focused a system is the greater chance it has for success. If we look at the entire system, like the discussion of the internet, it is overwhelming and non-realistic to think we can grasp its scope. However, if we search for the “great first connection” the system will form itself and it will be healthy and stable.

Back to the church planter…

Many of you are vested in church planting. Some of you have the ability to fund those church planters. Think before you act, it may not be the healthiest option to open the financial dialog first. The healthier path may be to formulate the connections. Many of you have heard my soapbox schpeel already, but for those who haven’t here it is:

The church planter out there, although you may never meet them, they are top priority and we exist for them. This philosophy must carry through in all that we do. It is our responsibility to care for him and his family, perhaps not directly, but in our actions. We have fooled ourselves into thinking that throwing money at something means that we care. On the contrary, it seems disingenuous. If we care we must move deeper into building connectedness. Ask questions like:

• In what local supporting pastor does this family find their spiritual covering and accountability?

• Does that same church support them financially?

• Does this family have the skills or connections for some level of self generated support?
(If a planter cannot raise some support for himself, do we really think he can plant a church?)


• Does he have financial support from other local churches, the association or state convention?

If the local field, friends, and sending church do not support him, why should you? He may be a risk.

Now, don’t misinterpret my thoughts. If the end goal is health and longevity of the planter and his family, we undermine the work of the church planter if we fail to ask these questions. Think resolutely on this: If you provide funding without the connectedness, helping the church planter formulate those connections will be more difficult. If you fund immediately, other partners will abdicate their responsibility. However, if you walk with him through the other connections, your funding can be the icing on the cake. The healthiest churches in America will be those that another church has connected with and planted. If our state and national agencies can work to support the local partners, the church planter and his family will be protected.

One final note: If in your thinking, planting a church means filing paperwork to get funding for a church planter, you are derelict in your duties. Invest yourself in that family, walk them into their first great connection, make it a local one, and watch as other partners connect into the great system that is a church plant. That system will transform the culture, increase efficiency, and make that man a better church planter. You are key to his success.

Ditch the Nav

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There I sat, trying to explain to my son that there was a time-not so long ago-when there was no such tecnology as vehicle navigation. Your mom, I said, would sit shotgun, Thomas Guide in hand, calling out street names so that I could get us to our destination. “A what?” In those days we knew our streets and more often than not simply left the Thomas Guide in the glove box. We were forced to be informed and to drive with strategic direction.

Recalculating!
Today, no one knows where they are headed, yet each arrive at their destination. It’s a curious phenomenon. Led by technology, without fear of error, we plug the address in and go. Previously, a wrong turn meant forced reevaluation and research to avoid getting lost. Today, the delay is short and penetrated by an annoying-yet reaffirming-voice; “Recalculating!” Within moments harmony is restored in the universe and our direction and goals clearly set, complete with a fairly accurate timetable. If all goes well, “You have arrived at your destination!”
Ditch the Nav
As a leader, you have to have an inner dependency on the “still, small voice” and forget about the noise that surrounds you. People telling you to turn right, find the off ramp, or to make a U-turn will only have you recalculating until you are useless as a leader or all hope of effectiveness ebbs away in a consuming fog. You are the leader for a reason, and it is not because you have depended on another to navigate your course. Not entirely anyway. You have been able to decipher the voices in your life that make you better, and ignore those who do not. That’s why you are where you are.
Enjoy the Drive
Don’t input the destination, rather return to your roots. Do the research, plot the course, and know where you are going. The problem with the navigation system is that you drive dumb, ignore the journey, and the final location is fixed. Leaders who start with a destination in mind, yet embrace the journey, often find themselves in a final location that is much different than the one they planned. They drive down the side streets and alleyways because something caught their eye, something of interest. They stop from time to time to take in the sites and gain knowledge which makes them stronger and more capable leaders. They become so independent that the only time they hear “recalculating” is when that still small voice is shouting for strategic directional change. They own that change and their world is better for it.

Brazen…

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Exchange Hotel: Where “Stovepipe Johnson” marched in and demanded surrender.The day is July 18, 1862 and the events of this day would echo through history as one on the most unique, if not brazen, acts of the American Civil War. It was on this day that Colonel Adam “Stovepipe” Rankin Johnson and two confederate partisans left Henderson Kentucky and crossed the Ohio river in a canoe, walked boldly into the company of eighty-five union soldiers under the command of Colonel Bethel in Newburgh Indiana and demanded their surrender. Once the union soldiers surrendered the rest of Johnson’s men, only twenty-nine in number, made landing and sacked the city. The Newburgh Siege would go down in history as the war’s deepest incursion north of the Mason-Dixon.

How did Colonel Johnson succeed? He succeeded because he had both a brazen plan and two really loyal men at his side.

Before the raid Johnson had set up two “Quaker Canons.” One canon was made from a charred log and the other from a stove pipe, each with a set of broken wagon wheels propped up at their side. These canons were set up on hills overlooking Newburgh at such a distance that a spotting glass could just make out their form. When Johnson and his two men walked confidently into the Exchange Hotel at what is now the corner of County Road 850 West and West Jennings Street, they were immediately drawn upon by the union forces housed there. At the end of eighty-five union guns, Johnson boldly demanded their surrender. Handing the spotting glass to Colonel Bethel, and encouraging Bethel to look at the two hilltop canons and across the bank of the Ohio where his twenty-nine soldiers waited, he convinced Bethel that hope was lost and that the entire city of Newburgh was surrounded. The quick surrender afforded the confederacy with much-needed arms, food and medical supplies. The real irony here is Johnson’s men had very few working weapons, and almost no food. Any resistance whatsoever, and the plan would have failed.

As a leader you could learn much from Colonel Johnson. First and foremost, that it takes courage to be a leader, especially when so many of your directs are relying on you to lead them. They desire to see a man or woman who is unafraid, competent and willing to go ahead of them into the future. For me, the great takeaway from the Newburgh Siege is this; with a brazen plan and two good men at my side I can expand my territory beyond what reason, or anyone from the outside, would consider possible.

When was the last time that you, convinced of God’s purpose and desire for the future, marched boldly into the enemy’s camp and demanded his unconditional surrender?

WATCH THE VIDEO

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2300861441426&comments

It’s a Wiki Wiki World

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In August 2011, the government of Iceland has taken it upon themselves to review a new constitution that was written entirely by the people. Iceland has long sought to revise and/or recreate their constitution because it was a quick rendition of Denmark’s constitution that was adapted when they broke away in 1944.

Enter the wiki-tution!

A group of twenty-five moderators set up a website to ask the people of Iceland what they wanted in their constitution. The response was formidable and while there were your crazies and extremists, the responses were for the most part on target and thoughtful, expanding the creative thoughts of politicians and pundits alike.

This example of trusting the people and seeing from a vantage point wholly different than one’s own, should be commended and revered as a stunning example of facilitative change. Who would have thought that the people—the non-professionals—should be tasked with the offerings of state procedure and defining of power? Furthermore, who would have thought they would do such a wonderful job?

The twenty five did!

They knew that people could be trusted with their own futures, that they could see beyond their own needs to the good of the society.

As leaders, we should remember the following:

-Our people can see what we sometimes do not.
-Our people possess transformational ideas that we need.
-Our people can be trusted with high value responsibilities.

Here is the web site if you are interested:
http://www.stjornlagarad.is/english/

Beneath the Surface

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My wife and I love the beach. She loves to find a nice shady spot, open to the breeze, pull out her book and enjoy the afternoon. She enjoys the view of the water, the sights and the sounds, and watching people as they enjoy their afternoon. That type of relaxation may please her, but it drives me insane.

I look out at that big ocean and I realize there is an undiscovered behemoth that covers three-quarters of our planet. I don’t want to sit there on the beach looking at it! I want to get in and discover whatever mysteries or adventures she may hold for me.

But that’s just me.

As leaders we must realize that the majority of people will see our organization with eyes from the shore. When it looks good it looks good. “If it’s not broke… don’t fix it!” Most of our direct reports are right there, enjoying the status quo. The status quo brings them a paycheck, it is stable and stress free. There are no dangers in the status quo. However, there is also a glaring lack of adventure.

As a leader, you have no business enjoying the status quo!

When was the last time that you forced yourself out of the status quo by diving deeper into your organization? When, while seeing the surface, did you last wonder what mystery lies beneath her? What is that scary thing that you may find, and have to wrestle with, that will propel your organization to new heights?

You can only know through discovery. So, what are you waiting for, jump in!

Had a little fun with a video version: Check it out!


Matching Subordinate Maturity to Leadership Style

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What’s wrong with this pictureA few years back management experts Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard proposed what became known as the Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory. The theory was really quite simple in that it set rules of engagement with direct reports based upon two scales. The first is maturity level of the led; the second, the leadership style of the leader. The theory is quite helpful and if you want to dig into the specifics of it, click the link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hersey-Blanchard_situational_theory

Based on this theory, I would remind us as leaders that many of the “proper” leadership actions that we are told will make us great leaders may need revisiting. There is no one right leadership style. In fact, leadership is a language that must be tailored to the hearer in much the same way that an adult speaks differently with their peers than with a kindergarten class. The language is common, but the vocabulary and complexity of information changes for the maturity level of the hearer.

If you have been in a position of leadership for long you will find that people generally fall into a number of groups. These groups, or maturity levels can be defined in terms of knowledge, skill set, confidence and the ability to think laterally. Depending upon where the individual is, the leader must match his/her leadership style accordingly.

As leaders we must define ourselves-and our style-as well. Our measures come in the form of our abilities to tell people what to do, coach them on how to do it, participating with them, supporting them, or delegating at various levels.

The “Aha” here is that when we match the leadership level with the maturity level production grows exponentially. If we fail, we will grow frustrated at the deficiency of our direct report. When that happens, we must remember that their deficiency is not theirs but ours. We have failed to match our style to their ability.


The Basics


The reality is that the scale is a sliding one, but the pairing runs along these lines.

The direct report whom we find at the bottom of the maturity scale, marked by a lack of knowledge, skills or confidence to work and think on their own, require a leadership style of Telling or Directing. In other words, they need to be told what to do and how to do it.

Those at the next level of maturity are marked by a willingness to engage in the work but their skill level is slightly beneath the task. The corresponding leadership style is one ofSelling or Coaching. The leader must provide information and direction as before, but there is far more “communication” and the ability to sell the bigger picture.

The third level of maturity is marked by the “ready and willing” individual. They are excited to the task and get the big picture but need input and direction to avoid progression is the wrong direction. They also may not be fully confident in their abilities. The leader must take a Participatory or Support role with these individuals, sharing the big picture but at the same time allowing the individual to give input into the decision making process.

The fourth level of maturity are those who have a strong skill set, confidence in the task, and are driven to proactivity. The leader must respond by Delegation and givingOwnership. The leader must stay in a position of oversight but allows this individual to grow, create, imagine and produce.

There is a warning—for the leader—associated with this final level of maturity. The micromanaging of this fourth level individual will backfire, resulting in less that optimal productivity. Giving ownership to this individual can lead to breakthrough results!

Lessons from Hawaii

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Lava Tube Entry I was once again asked to write a short piece for Star News, a publication for law enforcement. This article will be published August 2011.

Life has a funny way of touching you at the strangest moments. If you miss those moments they will be lost forever, but if you find a moment of clarity within them they may just provide you with a moment of growth. I am writing this about three hours after one of those moments. You see, I have an absolute passion for Scuba Diving. There are very few things I have a passion for: Family, Faith, my Career, and Scuba Diving… That about sums it up!

Today’s experience brought several of my passions together in a single moment of clarity. I was diving with my son off the shore of Kona Hawaii and we were about to enter an underwater lava tube. Overhead diving is the most dangerous type of diving and it was quite a thrill as father and son entered into the unknown together. Apprehension, sure. Concern, you bet. Excitement, more than you know. Here is what I learned.

Whether it is Diving, Career, or Family, each of these can be improved by the lessons of this day.


First lesson, never enter times of apprehension of danger alone, you need the covering of those who care for you and your safety. The first rule of diving is always have a buddy. My son had my back and I had his. We watched each other and it put us at ease in an otherwise hostile and dangerous environment.


Second lesson, trust your training and the training of those you surround yourself with. Training is paramount. My son is well trained and should something have gone bad deep under the waves he would have shifted in a heartbeat from enjoying time with dad to getting dad safely to the surface. I trust him for that and he trusts me.


Third lesson, use your equipment. You see, in diving, maintaining and training with equipment is first priority. Quality equipment can make the difference between life and death and redundancy is part of the program. Two divers, two regulators each, two lights apiece, etc. You don’t want to be fifty feet into a pitch black lava tube, sixty feet beneath the waves, and have your light fail!


Forth lesson, it’s all equally important and it is the combination of all of it that brings you home. Companionship, trust of others, trust of training and trust of equipment. Whether life or career, each item means security for life. Could I have dove the lava tubes of Kona alone, sure. Perhaps for a lifetime without incident. But what if… Breaking the rules will eventually destroy you and those who love you.


Final lesson, for me, my final passion brings it all together. Faith makes it all worthwhile. Faith brings me the trust of others and the companionship that the human spirit longs for. It gives me the ability to trust and be trusted. It is my equipment for life, helping me with the times of apprehension, fear, and doubt. I approach those difficult moments in life, career and family in the same way I faced the entrance of that lava tube today, with a prayer!