Don't think that you don't influence others...

If you know me, or have looked at this blog at all, you know my philosophy of leadership is very simple, it is written like a mathematical formula: Leadership = Relationships + Influence. It really is that simple and that complex.

Yesterday I competed in the OKC 1/2 Marathon with 6,500 other 1/2 marathoners (19,000 total runners in various events). It was an extremely humid day with 30 plus mph headwinds. And, not being familar with the course I did not realize that the last few miles (okay, the last 5 of the 1/2 marathon) were run on an uphill grade). Now any one of these three elements I can handle by themselves (just like most runners) but when you put all three together the dynamics change considerably.

Let's take the day from the beginning. The race started at 6:30 (AM). Rochelle and I left the hotel (yes, I made Rochelle go with me... thanks honey) at 4:30 and drove to downtown OKC. About 5:00 AM we attended the church service at the "Survivors Tree" and then I made my way to my respective chute (my goal was to run a sub 2 so I entered the "masses" at that entry point). The marathoners and 1/2 marathoners were all in the same location (about 6 city blocks... literally a massive wave of humanity). Trust me, you built relationships quickly, whether you intended to or not. Which proves my point that if there are at least 2 people together you have just become a leader and influencer... as long as someone is watching you you have become a leader. At 6:30 AM (I can't stress the AM part enough) the gun went off and a little over 3 minutes later our grouping finally began to move.

Everything was great, especially after the pack started to separate around the 2 mile mark. People found other runners to pace themselves against and observe. I chose a couple that I thought I could keep pace with. When they moved around traffic so did I. The first 8 miles were great and I kept an 8:45 pace consistently. I had chosen the right people to pace myself against. Then it all changed. Heading into the 9th mile we hit the "HILLS" of OKC. And not just the hills, but the 30 mph headwinds as well. The smaller clusters of runners got even smaller and people started falling away. I lost my pacers in the hills and just focused straight ahead best I could.

But this is where I think my leadership philosophy was proven true. I started paying attention, undue attention I'll add, to other runners. And even though I felt pretty good I noticed them struggling. And guess what? Yep, I started to struggle too. My 8:45 pace fell quickly to 9:30 and the hills and wind and humidity started to take their toll.

Reflecting back a day later, however, and I can now see that the hills, wind, and humidity (while elements of the race) did not have as much affect on me as my paying undue attention to the other runners. You see, they were unknowingly influencing me and therefore leading my approach to the race. We were already in relationship because of our participation in the race, and now we started to influence one another throughout.

Leadership = Relationships + Influence, hmmm. Now, this all happened unwittingly. And we all encouraged one another to finish strong (see, there's the Leadership equation at work again), but I wonder if I might have finished stronger if I'd have been able to keep my focus on different runners? I wonder if I unduely influenced other runners to slow down and struggle?

Lesson learned; pay attention to who I am focusing on and therefore allowing to influence me. Also, pay attention to my own actions that might be influencing others.

Oh, and if your interested? I finished with a 2:00:44 (an overall 9:45 pace). I felt good considering the conditions. By the way, according to the news last years men's marathon winner was 5 minutes off his pace and last years women's marathon winner collapsed 1:40 miuntes into the race.

Next time (yes, I'm going to do this again) I'm going to be more cognizant of my philosophy. Both for myself and others.

Just something to think about,

Lead Strong...

Handling the STORMs of life...

Wow! Yesterday I had the privilege of attending a seminar hosted by Amarillo Area Foundation. Ron Archer was the guest speaker (his life story would be enough to warrant buying his books or seeing him in person) and he shared some powerful truth about life... here's a short synopsis:

First; our world is facing what he calls the "4 C's of the 21st Century"
*Overwhelming Complexity
*Increasing Competition
*Unintended Consequences
* Accelerated Change

These "4 C's" can create incredible STORMs (Significant Trauma Overwhelming Reasonable Minds) and how we deal with these STORMs determines our life response and focus. Consider the Wizard of OZ. Of all the great characters, the storm is the real star of the movie because it altered everyone's life. Consider the responses to the storm:
*Dorothy lost her way for a while
*The Tin Man lost his mobility (literally rusted stiff) and was stuck in a rut
*The Scare Crow lost his mind and couldn't think clearly
*The Lion lost heart
*The Wizard chose to live in a facade

Now the truth of the matter is that we all face and will continue to face STORMS in life. The question for each of us today is how we will respond to the STORMs of life? Will they make you Better or Bitter?

Just something to think about, especially in light of today's economic unrest.

Lead Strong in the face of the STORM,

Shawn

Life is busy, to say the least...

Wow, I cannot believe I haven't posted for so long. When your daughter tells you to update your blog you know it's been too long. So, Megan, I am updating...

Despite the economic downturn, we are extremely busy at Amarillo College in Workforce Development. Organizations are trying to find creative ways to educate their workforce, not downsize any more than they need to, and retain the employees they have. It is amazing to me that in today's tight economy employees are still jumping ship for .50 cents an hour more some where else(?). The trouble is that for some as soon as they jump ship their new employer goes under and they cannot return to their previous employer. Thinking things through is not every one's gift evidently.

Rochelle and I are busy with our Life Group, trying to birth a new Life Group, our Sunday School class, and generally trying to support and advance the work of the Kingdom through our local church.

Rochelle is busy traveling, and at the same time trying to maintain our home (which she is exceptional at), and prepare for the coming bundle of joy in September. And I have started law school, which may be the most challenging educational endeavor yet.

Cori and Megan are busy at SNU. Cori graduates next December and is thinking of just staying in OKC this summer to work full-time. Megan is preparing for her trip to Lagos, Nigeria, Africa this summer and is busy enlisting support. Emily is running track, playing golf, competing in UIL Public Speaking (the benefits of a small school is that you get to try everything), and staying very active with the youth group at church.

So, maybe this explains the lack of blog posts. But all in all, life is great!!

God bless,
Shawn

Focusing too much attention on the unimportant

You've heard that old saying "making a mountain out of a mole hill?" Wow has that been true around my workplace lately. Things that really are (at least seem to me) insignificant have dominated peoples attention lately. And not that in some fashion these things are not entirely without merit, but they are things that could and should be handled with relative quickness and ease.

I think we are in trouble as leaders when we focus too much attention on fairness and equality and not enough attention on equity. Sorry to be the one to break the news to you but life simply is not fair sometimes and not everyone deserves to be treated equal. But we can all be treated equitably. Sometimes leadership is just tough and calls for that little extra something that leaders seem to possess (don't ask me to articulate that little extra something... you just seem to recognize it in some people).

I wish everyone could be treated as an equal but truth be known I don't even treat my kids like that and if you're honest, you probably don't either. People require more at some times than others. It is not fair, and it is not equal treatment, but it is equitable based on their needs and what's going on in their lives at the time.

And in those same regards, someone once said that you could tell the health of an organization by the size of its policy manual. The thicker the policy manual the unhealthier the organization. Unhealthy organizations are built on fairness and equality so everything has to be written down and policies have to be made. Healthy organizations understand that circumstances change and although situations might be similar, the circumstances surrounding those situations can be radically different, thus the need for equity vs. fairness and equality.

I know I'm ranting but I challenge each of of to focus on the important, base decisions on equity and not completely on fairness and equality, and lead people to the desired horizon. Leadership is not easy and not everyone will like or appreciate your decisions all the time. Shoot, you might not even be liked sometimes, but leaders are lead by vision and purpose, not by the whims and likes and dislikes of people (which can get us into trouble).

Ask yourself, where have I made decisions that have back fired because they were based on the idealization of fairness and equality instead of equity? How can I do better next week?

Lead Strong...

Shawn

Catching up...

Boy, I have been bad lately about posting. We got to see the baby again last night. 173 heartbeats per minute. The kid was running a marathon in its mommy's tummy. The pictures from the sonogram were cool and if you flip them over it looks like 2 faces (I told Rochelle it looks like Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. She didn't think it was near as funny as I did). Emily got to go with us and I am not sure she knew what to think of it all? God is so good and modern technology is awesome. We are so blessed and growing more and more excited everyday!

The only bad part about last night is that the technician would not let me take any pictures like the previous tech did... something about hospital rules and stuff. Oh well, always the rule follower I complied.

Thanks for your prayers, God bless!

Shawn

Ok, the news is out...

Well, the news is finally out. No more hints. No more subtleties. Yep, people know and it is kind of a relieve not having to keep it to ourselves anymore. Oh, in case you're not "in the know" let me inform you too, Rochelle is pregnant! The little "flutter" as the radiologist called it today is due September 8th or 12th (how's that for picking a definite date?). The heart beat is strong at 153 beats per minute and it is, well, shaped like an alien or something still. But it (he or she) is ours and we're excited.

Cori, Megan, and Emily are all excited as well and have been anticipating this for almost a year now. Every family meeting they just knew we were going to announce a brother or sister, but no, according to them we just gave them underwear, or told them we were going skiing or some other random bit of news. I'm so sorry we disappointed them all this time.

Anyway, the news is out so join us as we celebrate our coming son or daughter???

And yes, we have tentative names picked out (well, I have names I've agreed on with Rochelle but I am not so sure she is set with them yet. And having grown up with a name I have absolutely hated for 44 years I am very picky on what we call this kid... so, for those of you who want to make suggestions, thanks - but NO thanks:-)... Ok, you can make a suggestion but don't be surprised if I ignore you).

Keep us in your prayers...

Shawn

Orange and Blue go with everything, right?

Ok, I like orange and blue. I think they're bright colors that are easy to coordinate other bright colors with. Denim on the other hand is not on my top list of favorites (sorry honey), black leather on the other hand... just kidding. Hmmm, now the yellow walls as a base with orange and blue accents (curtains, pillows, bedding...) sounds ok.



So, what to do you think of that mix. I think anyone would be comfortable in a nice bright room like that, don't you. And the room has some great windows with lots of sunlight from the south/southwest. I can see it in my mind, looks cool to me (but I am not always the best judge, but I know what I like and especially what I don't). This is harder than we thought, but we'll figure out in time.