Passion and the Why – Is it good or bad?

15 Friday Jan 2021

Posted by The Book Chamber in Actions, Agenda, Attitude, Authentic, Character, Choice, Deciding, Decisions, Emotion, Know Your Why, Leader, Leadership, Motivation, Passion, Perception, Value

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In last week’s blog, I wrote on “Decision Making – Emotional or Factual?” One of the three areas where I believe decisions are made is with passion. A few people commented on it enough that I thought I would just use “passion” for our topic this week.

Going along with the title, is your “passion” for what you believe in good or bad? How you answer this, I know, is based on one’s perception and relativeness. However, I also know that putting perception and relativeness aside, your passion is defined by your values and even more by your core values. One of my great mentors at Mississippi College stated, “Values are what you believe in, core values are where you draw the line in the sand.”

A few friends emailed or stopped by to discuss “passion” as they see it regarding making decisions. Here are a few specific comments…

“To take positions we have to take for our clients, I must not only believe in the “rightness” of that position, but I need to have some passion for advancing that position… There are sometimes I do not believe in the “rightness” of what they wanted me to advance. The facts didn’t ‘geehaw’ with my core beliefs.”

“My experience is that some measure of passion for your positions on issues and core beliefs is necessary; otherwise, you come across as passive and lack genuineness.”

“It’s when passion is inappropriately expressed does it become detrimental. However, when you can exhibit passion properly (non-inflammatory), can passion help your cause.”

These are “spot on” with my belief as well on passion. Our passion has to be for the right thing. The “right thing” is where it gets fuzzy… I would say that the “right thing” depends on your “why”… the outcome you want (tangibles and intangibles), goals, motivation, attitude, etc… Is it for good or bad? Do you want revenge or to promote unity? Is your passion for selfish reasons, or is it being for others? Mostly, what is your agenda? I believe these are underlying thoughts as to what “fuels” our passion.

Upon a little digging… “The root of the word “passion” is found in the Latin word “passio.” From the late 1500’s “passio” began to take on the meaning of emotion and, in some cases, controlled emotion. And now we know why passion can help or hurt… it all depends on the “why” and if it is controlled.

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

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Is There an Intolerance of Leadership in Certain Leaders?

09 Friday Oct 2020

Posted by The Book Chamber in Actions, Culture, Decisions, Intolerance, Leader, Leadership, Perception, Relationships, Tolerance, Understanding, Value

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We are in challenging days… Everywhere we look or listen, society is____________________ (you fill in the blank).

The more I “look around,” the more I see a steady increase in what leadership should not be. Lack of leadership is running rampant all over the place. What has happened in our society that has allowed for and brought about this change? The primary reason, I believe, is we have turned away from servant-leadership and are now chasing our own selfish desires.

And there and here lies the problem… Leaders who do not value a servant-based mentality become intolerant (please note that I am not writing about areas of morality here) to the views of others. A false idea of tolerance undermines quality leadership, and many people never recognize it is happening. Intolerant leaders seem to think they can impose their leadership on others, and you have no right to question it.

Leaders who lead with intolerance of others’ viewpoints create the notion that their leadership is absolute and anything that contradicts said “truth” is only relative – for you.

This notion is where I see a fundamental shift. Many, in leadership roles, while having to “answer” to someone above them, only feel they are answerable to no one but themselves – especially if they can convince they have the best interests of others in mind or, as they say, “at heart.” This is where I say, “Please do not tell me you have my best interests in mind and then decide the decision you make only benefits you or the ones you are actually concerned about.”

As I write this, I genuinely believe you will be able to pick this topic up and almost put it into any time slot of history, past, or future, and it will still be applicable. However, due to the constant flow of information from so many different outlets, our viewing and knowledge of ever-changing leadership are much more assessable. It should not and does not take one long to recognize the difference. While that is a benefit, it also allows the disguised “leadership lie of self” agenda to continue to be pushed.

Funny thing is, while I “think” I have an answer for almost anything, I really do not have an answer for this. I do not know how to help those in leadership positions understand that by serving others, they will also benefit themselves. I suppose the only answer I have is to suggest modeling the right leadership behavior and hope others will take notice and see that there is something different about being a servant-leader first. I fear that it will take something drastic in their leadership lives to understand this…

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

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What is your AGENDA?

13 Friday Sep 2019

Posted by The Book Chamber in Agenda, Honest, Leader, Leadership, Perception, Trust, Word

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AGENDA… Positive or negative connotation? What does it mean to you? That one word can carry a lot of mixed emotions and definitions that can only be interpreted by two groups — the ones who have the agenda, and those that are the recipients of an agenda. Either way…

There is always an agenda… Every leader I know has one, and this is not a bad idea. When an agenda is seen for the overall well-being of a group, organization, the intentions are seen as positive and just maybe, enjoyable. But what happens when agendas do not follow the “positive” route? When agendas become self-serving, the negative connotation shows up and BAM!… you know what happens – trust is broken, chaos abounds, and the air is sucked out of the environment quicker than a time vacuum.

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The questions today that should require you to ponder are:

How do others view the agenda you have as a leader?
Does your agenda positively or negatively impact others?
Who is your agenda for?
What are you trying to “make happen” with your agenda?

An agenda always has an end in sight. Strong leaders make their agenda open and allow everyone involved to participate. Think of it like this… As a leader, this is where WE want to go… Now let’s get everyone involved and see how we can get to that end result. Everyone knows their role, everything is clearly defined, and empowerment is seen and felt. The “after effects” works for all. If we get there, then that means I get there.

Oh, but that hidden agenda. No clarity – fuzzy, hazy, clouded… you get the idea. The one no one knows about… Yea, right… The funny thing about hidden agendas is that everyone can actually see them. Weak leaders have hidden agendas, and they manipulate others to further that agenda.

All leadership agendas connect the dots. Leaders with open agendas connect the dots for everyone to see a completed picture. Leaders whose agenda is hidden connect the dots also. The only problem is the picture they make is circle around themselves. Leadership agendas must help form an alliance instead of isolation.

Becoming a successful leader, attaining a high position in one’s career, gaining “status”… these are not bad. But all of these will ultimately deteriorate, for time is the revealer of all things, if all one does is make their agenda about themselves.

The success of an agenda will always be seen. Will it be seen on the backs of others as step-stones and footstools, or will it be seen with others on your back? Beware of leaders who make their names on the backs of others.

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others

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Leadership Pitfalls

25 Friday Jan 2019

Posted by The Book Chamber in Actions, Humility, Leader, Leadership, Passive-Agressive, Perception, Pitfalls, Pride, Value

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Who remembers, back in the day, Activision’s “Pitfall!?” For those of you who are young and read this blog, “Pitfall!” was played on the original Atari. I remember the day we purchased the cartridge. It was in the fall of 1982, and I was ten. As soon as I got home, we started playing it. I remember two things very vividly about “Pitfall!”. One, after we went to bed on a school night, my dad came into my room, woke me up, and asked if I wanted to play a quick game. The other memory is when I scored over thirty thousand points. The cool thing was to take a picture (with a real camera) of the TV screen showing your score, mail it in, and Activision would send you an official “Pitfall!” patch. Yes, I was pumped.

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Not to go into the whole idea of the game, but “Pitfall!” was about a jungle explorer, named Harry, who had to avoid the pitfalls of water, sand, alligators, scorpions, etc. You get the picture. Harry had to run, jump, and swing from vines, to find the treasure. It was a classic.

What made me think of that, you ask? Well, I was just having one of my many memory moments and started thinking about the connection that could be made with pitfalls and leadership. With leadership or anything else for that matter, pitfalls can be those unseen holes of missteps that we fall into sometimes. Not so much on purpose, but pitfalls are there nonetheless.

Staying with the letter “p” of “Pitfall!,” here are a few pitfalls that I believe leaders have problems with…

Perception

Is perception reality? I think not, but there are those who believe it to be true. The problem with perception is that it is yours and yours only, and that does not make it right. A majority of the time, we see things only how we want to see them, rose-colored glasses idea. So much of our understanding is tainted by the values we hold dear in our minds and hearts. It is the misconceptions that cause many problems in leadership. Whenever a misconception is made, let’s admit that it could be a wrong conclusion and do everything we can to correct it.

Pride

Pride needs no write-up. We see it every day. There will always be that leader who thinks they have all the answers. This might be the deepest pitfall of them all, actually an abyss. The hard part is sometimes we cannot avoid prideful leaders. Pride… it’s like a bad odor that keeps hanging around, and it stinks. My good friend, Allen Marret says, “Pride causes your perception to miss out on what is real.” That’s a pretty good statement. Be humble enough to know that you do not always have it figured out.

Passive-aggressive

This is the one I despise, being passive-aggressive. Leadership positions are not a utopia. The grind and the struggle are sometimes real, but leaders who lead with pouting, moodiness, and manipulation are demoralizing to others. Yes, occasionally passive-aggressive leaders make hard decisions that need to be made, but it is not until they are backed into a corner of their own doing, and someone else is looked for to blame. Be a leader who is willing to address issues head-on, accept healthy conflict, and realize that everyone is not a “yes-person.”

I hope that after reading the above pitfall list, you can appreciate the really good leaders that are leading for the right reasons — those who make it a purpose of avoiding these common pitfalls. Yes, pitfalls do creep up on us, but to be diligently looking out for them can make all the difference. Now, go find that treasure of leadership.

Just in case you wanted to know what the patch I received looked like, here it is:

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