It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
Greetings to you!
Each week I send out a short leadership blog that's called "Tuesday at 2:00pm". The purpose of this is simply to provide a brief thought on leadership that you can read and think about in just a few minutes. I send it out every week at 2:00pm (PST) and encourage you to make an appointment with yourself to pause and think about the thing I'm writing about.
Russ...
LEADERSHIP QUOTE:
"You'll do great things if you don't care who gets the credit". *Russ Cline
What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:
Well, I had a birthday milestone this month and turned 60 years old. I don't think it's that traumatic, however being whisked away to a beach in Mexico by my wife for a few days helped a lot!
60 Years.
This month, I want to share some things that I've learned over the years by sharing some interpretations of some great quotes. I realize that nothing is really new, we just share ideas in new and fresh ways and it cycles around again and again. There is still much to learn from these ideas that have been around for a long time, so I'm going to share my top 4 quotes/ideas that I keep coming back to over and over again.
The first time I heard this quote, it was attributed to Ted Engstrom, then the President of World Vision. I then learned that many great people have said the same thing...Harry S. Truman, Ronald Reagan, Mark Twain and the list goes on. Maybe that's the point: It doesn't matter who said it, but we should focus on the power of these words.
I also saw this idea being lived out around me:
Jim Burns, a lifelong mentor of mine, was incredibly generous with his time and his training materials. I heard him say over and over again how his goal was for the materials he had developed to be used, and he generously gave away printing and royalty rights, and encouraged people to copy and get these resources out to the people who needed them. This is counter-cultural, but it left an imprint.
Ron Cline, my dad, led an initiative to partner with some "competing organizations" to accomplish something greater together. I'm not sure I understood the magnitude at the time. I probably assumed this is what everyone was doing, later to find out that this was not normal.
Phyl Burger, a friend and consultant that I used years ago with our growing organization modeled how to come alongside a group of people for the "importance of the work", not for the benefit you could get out of it. She gave of her time and energy generously when it probably didn't make any sense to her, but the impact on my life personally and on the organization then is unmeasurable.
So instead of trying to figure out who SAID IT, let's celebrate those who DO THIS!
I want to be one of those people that doesn't care as much about the credit as I do the value of the work and the potential impact. What about you?
Who in your life has modeled the concept of this quote: selfless generosity?
DEEPER STILL:
I'm thinking today about WHY I sometimes work for the sheer purpose of getting the credit. Here's my list:
Sometimes my ego and pride get in the way, and I lose sight of the big picture, and instead focus on myself: my happiness, my feelings and my ego. Getting credit feels good, so I work to receive it.
Sometimes I feel I need to prove to others that I have the skills needed to do a job, so I work hard simply to prove my worth. Again, this narrative is in my head, it's usually not in others heads.
Sometimes when I experience some failure, I need some "wins" to balance that out... I'm compensating and getting credit for doing something takes away the "sting" of a failure.
Sometimes it's simple competition: I want to win and I let the competitive spirit inside me take control and it becomes about winning, about dominating and about letting others see this happen.
Sometimes it's because I'm afraid: Afraid that I'm not enough, afraid that I'm letting people down, afraid that I can't do all that I hope to do. I'm just afraid.
This is a pretty ugly list, but it's real. I'm sure you've never experienced any of these things in your life or your leadership... I sure have!
My constant prayer is that I would be aware when these things creep into my life and I would be quick to adjust my motivation, my perspective and my actions.
I want to be someone who is confident not only in my own abilities, but confident in my God who created me, that I'm enough.
I don't need to work for my credit, but for His glory.
What are some other reasons you've identified in yourself that leads you to fight to receive the credit?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
Peter Greer & Chris Horst wrote a great book, Rooting for Rivals. They talk about the idea of collaboration & generosity. A great read.
Be sure to watch The Voice (in North America) and vote for our friend Bryan Olesen (from Harbor Ministries) as he sings his way through the live auditions! What fun to see him perform each week!
I watched a great short series on Apple TV+ recently called Manhunt. It's the story of the hunt for John Wilkes Booth after Lincolns assassination. I really enjoyed it and the perspective on the conspiracy.
I just ordered a set of these strings for my guitar. I love the feel and sound of fresh Martin Strings on my 42-year old Takamine.
I still think this is one of the best albums of all time: The Joshua Tree by U2. Gina and I saw The Joshua Tree concert live at the LA Coliseum in 1987. Epic.