Travel Makes You A Better Leader

March 20, 2015

From the blog of Kevin Roberts, executive chairman of Saatchi & Satchi: 

Those who have traveled will understand that it provides much more than an escape from daily routine. Roman philosopher Seneca said “travel and change of place can impart vigor to the mind” and how right he was, and continues to be.

Bruce Poon Tip, founder of G Adventures, is a full believer in the value created by travel both personally and professionally, to the extent that he lets his employees travel for free. An article by Lisa Evans on Fast Company highlights the wisdom gleaned by Tip through his globe-hopping, and in particular the profound effect it has had on his company’s operations and his leadership style.

He recalls a trip to Tibet that taught him about decision-making based on spirituality, obstacles and karma, which influenced his approach to decision-making in business. Instead of relying on data like he always had, he started making decisions based on his gut instinct, recognizing that a big part of business is emotional. Big decisions with heart; little ones with head. 

Organizing and leading an international mission trip is a further example of Roberts’ post about learning leadership from travel–especially with a group.

You know where you are going and why. In our case, an orphanage ministry in Tijuana with guidance from Isaiah 58: 7, “is it  (proper fasting) not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house?”

  • recruit a team around their hearts and the tasks you hope to achieve.
  • plan the logistics of travel down to the minute–flights, ground transportation, meals, projects, downtime.
  • budget the trip and raise funds.
  • hold team building meetings to prepare for the trip
  • provide guidance through the travel.
  • make decisions on the spur of the moment as situations change.
  • keep the budget in the back of your mind as you make decisions on spending the money as the trip unfolds.
  • keep the needs, desires, and vulnerabilities of each team member in mind as part of the decision process.
  • remind the team why we are where we are.
  • rejoice at moments when God breaks through the fog; grieve for situations people find themselves in.
  • make decisions based on grace

There are probably more. My travel has certainly broadened my understanding of the variety of peoples, yet also their similarities. I’ve learned to think quickly and with my gut rather than waiting for data to eventually filter in. I’ve learned when you just have to “go with the flow” when situations change. In other words travel helped me grow up. How about you? I hope not like many people in my county who rarely travel more than 50 miles even today.

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Disciplines For The Emotions

March 19, 2015

“She is a drama about to  explode.”

“Yes, and her friend is a walking drama.”

Talking about a couple of teenaged girls we know. And I thought, the mother of one is also a walking drama. Emotions worn on the outside. Voice always tinged with anxiety and, er, well, drama.

A friend recently wrote about fear being the source of anger. That is true. Especially fear born of insecurity.

On the other hand, Jesus showed anger. He made a mess of the Temple market. His anger came from a deep sense of what the Temple should be (a place of devout worship of the Father) versus what it had become (a sort of market system for selling animals to be sacrificed to pilgrims needing animals to sacrifice–probably with a comfortable profit margin).

We all have emotions. At least I hope we have not completely buried them. In that case, a trip to a shrink is in order. But the key is–how to we handle those feelings that seem to arise from our gut in a mature and helpful way?

I once had a lot of anger within. Mostly I dealt with it conquered it. The few times it bubbled up to the top over the past 20 years or more I remember with sorrow and repentance.

Remember, we are what we habitually do.

How can we change our habits to help put our emotions in their proper, healthy place?

One suggestion is to develop the habit of practicing gratitude.

I have now put it in my task manager software (I use Nozbe, you could use an outliner, or your calendar) to pop up once a week to sit in the morning and write those things for which I’m grateful.

This places things in perspective. One of my favorite sayings to remind me of perspective is, “In the scheme of life, just how important is this? Not so.” And then I’m reminded of the things in life that are worthy of my attention.

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Do Not Close Your Ear To The Cry of the Poor

March 18, 2015

I continue to process the experiences of our latest mission trip to Tijuana and the Tijuana Christian Mission. Today’s lesson from the Celtic Daily Prayer: Prayers and Readings from the Northumbria Community interestingly enough speaks to the reasons for going on a mission trip of service.

From Proverbs 21:13

If you close your ear to the cry of the poor, you will cry out and not be heard.

And from James 2:17

So, faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

James refers not to the type of works that Paul sometimes addresses in the context of grace, that is, works that you must do to make yourself right with God. James already assumes faith and grace. If you read the entire letter, you see that he is specifically talking about service. 

He follows Jesus’ second command–to love our neighbor as ourself. Jesus continues, when asked who the neighbor is, to tell the story of the Good Samaritan. Our neighbor is someone in need whom we come across in our life.

Jesus said that we will know his followers by their love. James puts additional context. Your faith is revealed in how you act. You say you have faith, but your actions scream selfishness, pride, stubbornness? It’s time for a faith check-up.

Service can be a simple gesture, a smile, a helping hand. It’s not always a life-changing experience. But sometimes that simple reaching out with a smile does change someone’s life for the better. It can show them God is real.

And, as followers of Jesus, that’s a big part of our “job”.

PS–I put a link to TCM. You can click and check it out. You can “adopt” a child for a donation of $50/month. You can support in other ways. If you’re in San Diego with a day to spare, TCM is just a short drive over the border. Although the wait to cross the border back (passport required) can be long. Getting into the US is harder than any other country I’ve travelled to. 

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They Came Over The Hill

March 17, 2015

These posts are usually meditations with a point. However, last week several of us visited Tijuana for a mission trip. In addition to serving at an orphanage with children (from 4 to 20), we also visited an active landfill. The experience was overwhelming. I’ve changed literary styles for this meditation.

The scene was eerie, much like a movie about an apocolypse. 

Our van was stopped by security where we were questioned. Allowed through into the landfill, we parked near some newer cars. Some sort of business was transacted there that I do not wish to know.

We grabbed our two boxes filled with 100 ham and cheese sandwiches and three packages of bottled water. 

We are outside Tijuana, Mexico. It is desert. Hot, even in March. Dusty, with spirits blowing mini-dust storms as if impeding our way.

The dirt and dust dried out our sinuses and became grit in our eyes.

We hurried beyond the cars, across a road and over a rise. The scene below was beyond belief. Hundreds of people. Maybe 500. Maybe more. Sorting through the days droppings from the parade of waste trucks. Hoping for enough valuable material or recyclable stuff to get paid to make it through another day.

They saw us. Over the ridge. I looked up. Men with hoodies and neck cloths protection from the dirt. Coming toward us. At first, admittedly a little fear. But there was no harm.

We offered a sandwich, a bottle of water, a blessing “Dios te bendiga”.

Each one offered a grateful “gracias” in return. I have even witnessed these people sharing during my past trips. They often look out for each other. A spark of humanity and God.

When we had given the last of our offerings, we hurried back to the van. Escaping the sights, the smells, the dirt.

Had we 400 more sandwiches, we would not have had enough. When asked why even bother, I responded, “It’s like the story of the starfish thrower. We can’t help them all, but those we do help appreciate it. And out of their misery and slavery, perhaps they hear the blessing of God.”

One little church was built in their little tent city on the other side of the hill. The people who built the church and visited on Saturdays had led one man to salvation by the power of the Gospel. That’s one. It’s a start. Just like our sandwiches. A start.

Just like back home. We can help one. Maybe we can’t help everyone. But one at a time. That’s not unlike what Jesus did. One at a time.

It was the juxtaposition with the bright and happy kids cared for by the orphanage that was most shocking.

Why do we go on these trips? 

We are called to coviction about how great we have it. And how great to burden and calling to share what we have. Not unlike the rich young man in Matthew 19, where he proclaimed that he had followed all the comandments since he was a youth. “Sell all your possessions and give them to the poor, then follow me,” Jesus replied. We gave only a little, but we were reminded about how great the task is that remains.

Our hearts were enlarged by the experience. May we always retain the perspective of life in the spirit.

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Finding a Rhythm For Spiritual Practice

March 16, 2015

Every community has a rhythm. A rhythm to rising from sleep, praying, eating, working, studying, eating, relaxing, and sleep.

As an outsider, you notice the rhythm. If you are of a sympathetic nature, you find yourself adapting your natural rhythms to those of the community. If you are more self-centered, you try to impose your rhythm or at least complain about the community’s.

Last week, I was with a small team working and growing at the Tijuana Christian Mission. The orphanage at Soler in Tijuana has its rhythm to which I just sort slipped into.

This is the home of the older children–junior and senior high–served by the mission. They rise before 5 am. Martha, the founder of the orphanage who is in her 70s, is up with them. She leads a Bible study at 5:40 for about a half hour. They eat and are in vans on the way to various schools by 7.

I slipped gently into their routine, since my normal rhythm is to rise around 5:30, study, mediatate and pray. Then have a small breakfast. 

My adjustments were small. Breakfast was prepared for me by Karla and Alma. It was much larger than I’m accustomed to. It was not extravagent. Healthy and prepared by loving hands. And there was no place for a motning run. But work replaced that.

I recently heard Nancy Ortberg talk about the rhythm of spiritual practice. As someone trained as a percussionist, I immediately adopted that metaphor. 

Have you found a rhythm to your practice? Is it a hard-driving on-beat like The Beatles? Moving like a Mozart sonata? Or discordant like a work by John Cage?

In this case, I prefer Mozart.

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It Takes Energy to Lead

March 13, 2015

Nehemiah, a leader of the Jews during the time of the Persian empire, had heard about the sorry state of Jerusalem. His brother described how the walls were torn down and the gates burned. About how this made the city a laughingstock among the nations.

Chapter 1 of the book describing his work describes how he was motivated to do somehing about the problem. The next chapter describes how he traveled 800 miles to Jerusalem. He arrived, but said nothing for three days. Then he went out with a small group at night to survey the situation.

Today, I can get into a car and drive a mile over to I-75 then head south for 800 miles and stop at a hotel in south Georgia in one day and be a little tired. For Nehemiah and his troops and entourage, it was a long and physically demanding trip. He took three days to recover and rebuild his energy. Then he could cast his vision for the restoration of the walls to the people.

It takes energy to lead. Energy comes from attitude, fitness, nutrition, adequate rest. People feed off the energy of their leaders.

But, the energy must be positive and uplifiting. Many leaders have an energy that destroys motivation. The energy is perhaps nervous energy. Or perhaps self-directed. Maybe it comes from the “high” pole of bi-polar disorder. Maybe it comes from fear.

On the other hand, have you ever met people who seem to just suck the energy right out of you? They are exhausting!

If you take care of your body–as Paul describes it as the temple of the spirit, then you have the beginnings of energy. Next build prayer into the rhythms of your work. Your work, indeed, becomes prayer in action. Your service becomes prayer in action actually building more energy as you expend it on your service. (Another one of life’s paradoxes.)

Einstein worked out the math to come up with energy=mass times the speed of light squared. Leadership=energy times vision.

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Mankind, People, and Love

March 12, 2015

“I love mankind,” proclaimed Linus, the theologian among Charles Schulz’s Peanuts crew. “It’s people I can’t stand.”

Our little crew of five returned yesterday afternoon concluding a week-long mission trip to serve an orphanage in Tijuana. 

We had a variety of experiences from playing with little children and teenagers to ministering with a kind word and sandwiches and water to people scavenging for a living in a dump to achieving the grace to live in love among five totally disparate personality types.

We all were gracious. Although, I felt my grace slipping a couple of times in the exasperation of too many leaders. That was momentary, and I asked God to get me back on track. (That’s a personality trait of mine–getting annoyed in certain situations. We work on correcting our personality traits that prevent us from living totally within God’s grace.)

We learned

  • that it is hard to surrender control to God and to others
  • that Mexican men and older boys can out-work us
  • that God’s grace shines through us as we relate with orphans
  • that many people serve God through their dedication to serving orphans and abused women and children
  • that it is hard to surrender control to God (oh, did I already mention that?)
  • that we can serve in many ways and through many people
  • that the field is immense and we can only serve so many, but that the one we serve is blessed
  • that it’s all worth it

We love manking one person at a time.

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How to be a Leader

March 10, 2015

John Quincy Adams, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then you are a leader.”

I am ever on the alert for quotes to conclude our Yoga class. here is a good one to contemplate and then incorporate into our lives.

You probably have heard someone say, “Do as I say, not as I do.”

I remember the first time I heard that phrase. It sounded ridiculous even to a kid.

We all know that our kids will mimic what we do, not what we tell them. Guess what, so do people in the committee we lead. And people in our department or company.

Someone once said, “Your actions speak so loudly that I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

It is so important that we act as we wish to be. And in so doing help others act in appropriate ways.

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How To Keep on Learning

March 9, 2015

Thanks to Seth Godin for a great thought. How do you keep on learning?

He asks, “Quick, what’s XIV squared?”

Did you know that there is no zero in Roman numerals? You can’t do advanced math without a zero.

He links the idea that if you are missing a few important tools, even one, then your work is hindered. You have to obtain the necessary tools–which usually consist of vocabulary. A limited vocabulary will limit your career growth.

Says Godin, “Here’s my advice: Every time you hear an expert use a word or concept you don’t understand, stop her and ask to be taught.  Every time. After just a few interactions, you’ll have a huge advantage over those who didn’t ask.”

I’d add, read with a dictionary (or dictionary app or browser). When you don’t know a word, look it up.

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He Makes a List and Checks It Twice

March 6, 2015

Want a tip that will increase your effectiveness at work, at home, at church? It will make you more focused, so you can concentrate on the important things.

There is a story from more than 50 years ago about a man who ran a large company. But he never felt like he was working on the important things. He always felt he was behind.

A management consultant visited one day to inquire about how he could help the executive. “If you could help me gain control of my agenda and my day, I’ll pay you whatever you ask within reason,” the executive answered.

Get out a piece of paper, the consultant ordered. Write down the tasks that need to be done. Now circle the most important task and work on it until it’s done. Then do the same thing with the next most important task. If you don’t get the entire list done, that’s OK, since you’ve completed the most important tasks.

Do you make lists? One of my favorite authors, Umberto Eco, wrote an entire book about lists.

Develop a habit of making lists.

  1. Stuff to buy the next time you’re at the store
  2. Things to fix around the house
  3. Reports to write
  4. Books to read
  5. Calls to make
  6. People to pray for

Since I am a geek, I use an application called Nozbe to manage my lists. It is based on the book Getting Things Done by David Allen. But pen and paper works, too.

Well, I can check another thing off my list!

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