Video Game Success

Do you remember getting that new video game?  It might have been as a kid.  It might have been as an adult.  It might even be that new game on your smart phone.  You play it once and get an embarrassingly low score.  You reset it and try again and an hour later you are feeling pretty good about yourself....You are making progress and telling others about it.

You just experienced failing to success.  Each time our character dies in the game or time expires we have learned one more thing for that next round.  The little bit of success we taste drives us to try again and we keep getting better.  Sometimes it's is the score that motivates us.  Sometimes it's simply improving.  Sometimes it's a little encouragement from a friend.  

Coaching our teams can be a lot like this.  We need to make the environment safe enough to try new things and take risks and challenging enough to help our teams learn through experience and want to do it again.  It's a fine line at times.

Keep encouraging and supporting.  Celebrate the successes, and coach through the failures.  Watch the growth when your team fails to success.  When the high score becomes routine,  a new game or a new level may be just the right thing.

Protecting the Windows

The Desert Monks withdrew from the comforts of life to truly connect with a life of humility.   Thomas Merton tells the story of a monk who was highly thought of by his peers and praised for his humility.   As Abbot Anthony tested him he found he broke when insulted.   Anthony  told him "You are like a house with a big strong gate that is freely entered by robbers through the windows".

All aspects of our person need to be aligned.  When we fail to align just one area, we create windows of opportunity for our behaviors to derail our leadership. When it comes to humility and serving, it is easy to put up the good front and defer to the team when the accolades arrive.  But when the challenges and barbs start to fly,  what is your response? Do you defend, shrink, sulk,  or do you move on extending grace.  We want to be the one that is right,  prove our position, or put someone in their place - but leaders at all levels have too much too lose by going into defense mode. 

A few years ago, a staff member was in a position where he had to turn away some peers that had attended high school with him.  He had gone on to college and was successful - they had not.  Their response was a public verbal assault involving name calling, racial slurs, and insults.  It was hard, but he ignored them and denied the urge to defend himself.  He had everything lose by engaging them, and they had nothing to lose.  

Philippians 2:5 says "In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset [attitude] as Christ Jesus." Reading further we see what that looks like and what it means - in a nutshell,  it is humility and servanthood (Philippians 2:5-11). 

Jesus's example is the model for leadership - he finished his mission to save the world with humility and as a servant. Windows were not a liability.   

What are you doing to ensure windows are not a liability to your leadership?

Seeing the Spiders

I am staring out my windshield watching the blacktop and occasional cars and trucks pass by.  Out of the corner of my eye I see something move inside the car.  Glancing again, I see that a yellow spider about the size of a dime crawled out of a crack between the glass and plastic and was crawling down the strip.  

I try to get my wife's attention and she looks once. "Look at that," I say.  She looks away without any expression.  

"Did you see that?" I ask.

"See what?"

"The window."

"What are you looking at?" she asks.

Pointing my finger, I say, "Here - do you have something for it?"

"Oh - I was looking outside and didn't see anything important!"

If my daughter was driving, the spider would have been a major event and disrupted the smooth drive.  For me, it wasn't a big deal - but needed to be dealt with.  The spider was soon outside the vehicle with a flick of the finger toward an open window.

Depth of field is important as we progress to our goals.  You might find things to celebrate along the way. You might find a bigger issue that can derail your goal.  Or you might find an annoyance to take care before it becomes a bigger issue. 

Take time this week to assess the environment needed for success to reach your goals.  Deal with the "spiders" now before they have a chance to cause excitement and distractions.  The trip will be a lot more fun.