Category Archives: Humility

Resisting the pull of weak leadership…

01 Friday Nov 2019

Posted by in Actions, Agenda, Consistency, Deciding, Decisions, Humility, Leader, Leadership, Sincerity, Transformational, Understanding, Value

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Gravity is a powerful force. It literally weighs people down…

Leadership, quality or not, has a gravitational pull on people. However, it seems that the draw of one over the other creates a lasting effect on who we say we are with our leadership.

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Do you realize that we are one decision away from weak leadership? And that one decision creates a label that is very hard to remove. Leaders stand at a threshold every day and our decisions are capable of hurting hearts, betraying trust, or even damaging someone. Many leaders do not realize the depth their decisions have on others.

So… that one decision… how do we make sure we stay away from making it? A few thoughts…

First, we need to realize that everyone is watching. It is very easy to live our decisions with “I don’t care,” but when we lead like this, our value as a leader diminishes. I truly believe it is ok for others not to agree with some decisions we make. We cannot make everyone happy; however, our decisions have to show the consistency that we are doing the right thing by people.

Second, we cannot say we stand for something and then go and not do or support the same endeavor of someone else. We have to live the message we are leading. We must have honor in our leadership. We have to make sure our leadership is clean – no hidden agendas for ourselves to look better. A conscious awareness…

Third, we have to know what the leadership rules are. I guess you are probably thinking of a long list… No; rule number 1 – Do the right thing. Rule number 2 – Don’t forget rule number 1. I realize that leadership goes way beyond this, but having this concept can help simplify many of our decisions.

When leaders lead from a position of honor, for others, not themselves, they find the gravitational pull toward weak leadership does not really exist. It actually is more of a push against (rebound) which throws us immediately toward strong leadership, and that is where we should all strive to lead from with humility and sincerity.

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others

©2019 J Clay Norton

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What is the message I am teaching?

18 Friday Oct 2019

Posted by in Actions, Balance, Clarity, Communication, Humility, Importance, Leader, Message, Relationships, Servant, Teachers, Value

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How many of us, when we first started teaching, spoke a different message than we do now? When it comes to teaching, many teachers are “talking” way further down the road, then they are actually “walking.”

The struggle for many is that we are talking so much and in so many areas where students cannot hear our message. Or do they? The contrast of what is heard between not saying something and saying something is profound, and our students are listening.

Any given day, we can point to areas where we know our teaching has not caught up to the truth we are speaking and sharing with others. It is at this point in time we must remember the idealist mission we first started with. I believe the challenge of our message is, “Are we doing right with and by students?” In all humbleness, we teach to grow and serve students to be more and better than they realize they can be.

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Deep down, we know what a message of teaching should sound like. We know about pedagogy, methodology, classroom management, best-practices… and since we know these things, we automatically think we have them. But, do we know about teaching the message of kindness, patience, fairness… yes, we know about these as well, but we do not automatically have them.

The message we speak for our students carry beyond the time we have them in class. We can make all the necessary changes here and there to make ourselves better teachers. However, if we do not find a platform on which to stand for our students, and actually hold them accountable and be for them, the platform we stand on is not any better than trying to stand on a 2×4 in the ocean.

Being a quality teacher is teaching a message that gives credibility to others and as a byproduct, credibility to you in return. This message must be part of ourselves and not lip service. Let your “walk” and “talk” catch up with each other.  Everyone will be better for it.

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others

©2019 J Clay Norton

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Warning… A Disaster Waiting To Happen!

29 Friday Mar 2019

Posted by in Actions, Change, Character, Decisions, Humility, Power, Sacrifice, Servant, Teachers

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We have all heard this saying, “That is a disaster waiting to happen.”

 

A disastrous situation usually depends on what the situation is and who is involved; more or less – relative. Now let’s look at it from our dealings with those in leadership positions. What determines disastrous leadership? Do you believe a leader can be disastrous? Are they disastrous by nature or only with their actions and decisions? Better yet, let’s just say that some leaders can be disastrous causing.

Every day we are around leaders. We work with them, see them on TV, hear them on the radio, etc… What is it about them that misses the mark on being extraordinary as opposed to disastrous? Here are a few random thoughts that have been on my mind lately…

Disastrous leaders do these too often…

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Create turmoil…
Talk about stirring the pot; they are only happy when they are happy.

Easily frustrated…
At the drop of a handkerchief, I would say.

Unable to make mistakes…
It is not because they cannot or do not make mistakes, but because they are always right.

Do not want to see beyond the now…
They only change when they are forced to or if a change makes them look good.

The higher they climb, the more arrogant they become…
It is almost as if they have an “air” about them; however, they are only breathing in the smell of themselves.

For our leadership to be effective, we must be able to identify what is and what causes disastrous leadership. Knowing these characteristics and avoiding them enables you, your leadership, and others around you the opportunity to be the leader others need.

Yes, some things are a disaster waiting to happen. Yes, there is bad leadership out there, and often we feel the effects of it in our lives. However, we cannot live in a bubble. It is up to each of us, to find a way that enables and empowers others not to be a part of or create a disastrous environment.

©2019 J Clay Norton

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Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

“Plastic-Leather” Leadership

22 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by in Actions, Freedom, Heart, Humility, Leader, Leadership, Pride

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PRIDE… It had “I” right in the middle of spelling for us as a reminder. Pride is a funny thing, and you can have it either way, good or bad in your life. To answer the “pride” question, you really have to look deep within yourself and be able to answer the hard questions.

I believe there is a vast difference between being a prideful leader and a leader who has pride. Both are everywhere but one of the two wants and needs an audience more than the other and does almost anything to obtain it.

Prideful leaders crave accolades, applause, and recognition. They live their lives drawing attention and will give it to themselves if they cannot receive it from anywhere else. Their presence of pride is lived on public identity. Listen for words of “me” and “I” in their speech.

Vinyl-cracking-1024x768I like to use the word “pleather” here as a definition for an analogy – prideful leaders are nothing more than “plastic-leather,” a sham and a fake. Eventually it will show what it truly is.

They rub enough elbows and pat enough backs to get where they want to be. Most of all, a prideful leader’s heart is hard, blocked and clogged from being able to let humility flow with the struggle of each beat. Their whole body becomes stiff, leaving them unable to bend in humility with and for others.

Here is what leaders who have pride do… THE OPPOSITE of everything above. Easy to say, right? Yes. How do you know? It shows in their actions instead of their speech. They help others without making other lives miserable. They teach and educate, not browbeat. They give confidence to others. Their pride is in the fact that they want others to succeed. Their freedom of being prideful is in their humbleness of putting others first — no “pleather” with them.

It matters not where you work or what position you are in; pride is always there. Let it be the right kind of pride in your life. Everyone around will be better for it.

I would be remiss if I did not close with this Scripture reference: “… Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble'” – I Peter 5:5 (ESV).

©2019 J Clay Norton

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Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!