Artists & Leadership

I just finished a new design project and was looking over my strategy notes and started thinking what if I approached a leadership decision like I do a new design project. I jotted down the steps I take when starting a new design project and quickly adapted them into a strategy for making a leadership decision. I think it turned out pretty good and I don't think it's too much of a stretch.

1. Start With A Blank Slate.
   Every design strategy starts with a blank slate, even if I have ideas or looks in mind, I still begin with the blank page. Every leader should begin the process with a "blank slate." Leave your ideas and assumptions at the door and lead from your values.
2. Listen, Listen, Listen.
   Great graphic designers listen to their clients first, then design second. To capture your client's ideas and bring them to reality is the task at hand. Great leaders listen first and react later.
3. Get a Mental Picture of What You Want.
   Artists by nature "see" their design in their head, they use their imagination, if you will. Leaders "see" the result before it becomes reality. They use their "vision", if you will.
4. Get Inspiration.
   All artists need creative inspiration. We look at magazines, web sites, other designers' work to get our creative juices flowing. All leaders find inspiration from other leaders. Read magazines, books, web sites and talk with other leaders to help you with the decision or project in front of you.
5. Do a Rough Sketch (Don't Be Afraid to Erase It and Start Over).
   Art is about color, placement, meaning, beauty and message. The end result is NEVER what we started with. We always use more erasers than we do ink! Leaders should always "rough draft" their ideas or decisions. Brainstorm, mindmap, use whatever, just be willing to use more erasers than you do ink.
6. The Beauty is in the Details.
   As an artist, I spend a lot of time on the details. Color, space, symmetry, etc. It's never the main elements that make or break the piece, it's the details. Many leaders don't spend time working through the details of their decisions. Take time for the details, it could be the difference between paint by number and the Mona Lisa.
7. Add a Unique Touch.
   There's a difference in design technique and design style. Everyone uses the same techniques, no one has the same style. There are times you can look at a piece of art and you instantly know who the artist is. Leaders are the same way. Too many times we, as leaders, lead too much from technique and not enough from the gut. Be sure to embrace your style and go with it. Sometime you look at an organization and you instantly know who the leader is!
8. The Result is Something You Would Proudly Put Your Name On.
   The last thing artists do is add their name to their work. It says, "This is something I created, a part of me for the world to enjoy." Leaders should ask themselves, "Am I proud enough to put my name on this?" I think this would go a long way toward creating a better decision in the short and long run.

I would love your feedback on this or feel free to share it with your team.

It's YOU!

After reading Isaiah 61 last night and again this morning, I am captivated. I am captivated to the Word of God and find myself in the center of His will. Now the choice is mine. Do I act in faith, or do I wave to the journey that is passing by?

The key to this passage for me is the latter part of verse 1 — he has sent me. I think that too many of us are waiting for someone else to be sent. Someone else who can inspire us, lead us and give us hope that we are a noble people worth saving. We are waiting. Waiting for God to raise up a leader that has the Hollywood-iconic qualities to lead. Waiting for the slick, packaged, well-put-together person that has the Midas touch. Waiting for the franchise player. Waiting for the top draft pick. Waiting for a king. All we do is wait and hope and dream. And, all the while, we are waving to God's plan that is passing by.

Have you ever had the thought that the someone you are waiting for is — you? Is it you that God has called to proclaim, release, provide and rebuild? Isaiah came to the realization that God had sent him and no one else. He discerned that the Sovereign LORD was upon him. This means that God had convicted Isaiah's heart and had given him a clear vision of His will. Isaiah's mission was clear and focused. His mission was specific in nature and God-sized. None of these things that Isaiah proclaimed could come from his creativity or imagination. These things had God's fingerprints all over it.

To do justice, proclaim freedom and rebuild the ancient ruins are the call of God, and always have been. Let me say that again — and always have been! The problem has never been God's absence on the scene, it's been ours. We are absent. We have abdicated leadership in the name of waiting and watching. We have taken polls, surveys, focus groups and have gotten the opinions of those who want the best for us. However, we have not acted when prompted by the Sovereign LORD. We are still waiting for the "right" person to show up and lead. And, all the while, we are waving to God's plan that is passing by.

In all honesty, this post isn't really for you. It's for me. I admit, I have been waiting. Waiting for someone to step up and tell me what to do. Waiting for someone to give me a plan, a purpose, a mission to accomplish. Well, the waiting is over. I know that person is — me! I will NOT wave to the journey that is passing by. I will not miss God's call on my life to lead. Starting today, I am getting on board whole-heartedly. No regrets, no looking back, no plan B. I am jumping on board in faith, regardless of the cost. The reward will be great, but that really doesn't matter because waiting is over.

Real Influence

For the great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearance, as though they were realities and are often more influenced by the things that seem than by those that are.
-Niccolo Machiavelli

Every Thursday, for the past 16 weeks, I've been meeting with a friend who spent 37 years working for a large consumer goods company based in Cincinnati. He was the plant manager for the largest manufacturing facility in the world located in Lima, OH and has been retired for about 15 years now. No, this isn't a Tuesdays with Morrie kind of thing. Anyway, these "meetings" have been quite the education in leadership and influence. He has a "wise" air about him (including the deep, thoughtful voice and intimidating presence) and is always thinking of ways to work in a story or two that will blow your socks off. Know what I mean?

Today's "lesson" was shear greatness! We met and talked business for a few minutes and then he got this mischievous look and said, "I want to show you something I think you'd like." He grabbed his little pocket-size datebook and retrieved a small, folded up piece of worn paper. The grin got wider as he unfolded. He handed it to me and pointed to a quote he had circled; it read:

You can buy a person's time; you can buy their physical presence at a given place; you can even buy a measured number of their skilled muscular motions per hour. But you cannot buy enthusiasm. You cannot buy initiative. You cannot buy loyalty. You cannot buy the devotion of hearts, minds, or souls. You must earn these. - Clarence Francis

I immediately smiled and said, "Can I go make a copy of this?"

When I returned, he told me he had kept the paper in his datebook for 36 years. He cut it out of a 1972 Reader's Digest and has read the quote every day since. That means he has read it 13,140 times! How about that?

On the copy paper I wrote down a line from one of his stories that day: Influence is a lot more important than where you are on the hierarchy. He said, "I never really wanted to be promoted higher than plant manager. Some of the song and dance leadership books probably say I'm wrong, but I think I'm right." He went on to tell me that he believed that if he was doing his job, every manager that worked for him would be his boss some day. By the time he retired, 36 people who worked for him in the plant went on to be some of the top executives in the company. His conclusion:

I had more influence throughout the company through these 36 individuals that I could ever have by climbing the ladder myself. It made my life a lot easier and I could be heard. My level of influence was exponentially greater because I reproduced myself in other people. I didn't worry about my significance, I worried about the significance of others. That's my legacy.

Influence. Have we missed out on the true meaning?

Leadership Lesson from a Six Year Old

So, every night before "bedtime" my 6 year old runs to me with his "reader" and says, "OK, Dad, I'm ready to read, let's go." And dutifully...I go. I mean the kid never misses. It's clockwork. It's routine. It's breathing.

Then, it hits me. If I was half as committed to things as he was...

So, tonight, I observed. And, like the ever-learning leader I pretend to be, I got these 6 things out of it while we, I mean he, was reading.

One: When it's time to do something, just do it; just show up and do it. "Do you feel like reading tonight, son?" He answered in the most apathetic of tones, "not really, but I gotta finish this chapter."

Two: Concentrate; eliminate distractions. I asked him where he wanted to read. He said, "In your office, Rafe (younger brother) is not allowed in there."

Three: Shut up and listen. Now, for the record, my son didn't tell me to shut up. However, he did tell me to not help him sound out big words, "just listen and let me figure it out!"

Four: Repetition really is the mother of all skill. Half way through the reading, I break #3 (you know, shut up and listen) and say, "You're really doing better!" He replies, "Well, it seems like I'm reading the same words over and over, I'd be stupid if I wasn't getting better." I'm sure he was thinking, "Well, duh?"

Five: Learn the Basics. "Dad, did you ever have to read these kids books?" "Yes, son." "Cool, then I'll get to read big books one day, like you?"

Six: Partnerships are Priceless. "Dad, this is my favorite part of the day..." "What do you mean, son?" "I really like learning to read with you, I don't like doing it by myself."

Well, thanks God. Another reminder that I don't have it figured out...