service(4/2)
The greatest moments of prayer come in the midst of fumbling
To work on a book is for me very much the same thing as to pray. Both involve discipline. If the artist works only when he feels like it, he’s not apt to build up much of a body of work. Inspiration far more often comes during the work than before it, because the largest part of the job of the artist is to listen to the work, and to go where it tells him to go.…
When the artist is truly the servant of the work the work is better than the artist
When the artist is truly the servant of the work, the work is better than the artist. Shakespeare knew how to listen to his work, and so he often wrote better than he could write; Bach composed more deeply, more truly than he knew; Rembrant’s brush put more of the human spirit on canvas than Rembrandt could comprehend. When the work takes over, then the artist is enabled to get out of the way, not to interfere.…
Serve a better leader
Serving a better leader is a price to become a great leader. A person who desires leadership may take whatever opportunity that awaits him. Time spent in the presence of another leader is educational, but a green leader wants to get started now! He can’t wait to arrive at the pinnacle of leadership and so departs from his preparation before he’s ready (Maxwell). Elisha waited years before his leadership had a chance to shine.…
Educate to make better servants
The purpose of education is to equip the student to better serve others. Whether business or health, science or philosophy, the goal of education is to make the person a more effective servant of others. A business person learns how to write lean canvases and design validation tests to help guide others towards a profitable business model. A surgeon learns the human anatomy so he’s able to heal the person. A philosopher thinks deeply about the issues plaguing his society in order to find solutions that will benefit all (Maxwell).…
Empathetic leadership follows the golden rule
Leaders select their style by the rule, “whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them (ESV, Matthew 7:12)”. No one wants to be treated the same forever. A child is closely monitored and given explicit direction for almost every task, but a teenager balks whenever their independence is threatened. Onlookers pity the adult who is treated as though they are a six-year-old, and question the parents who allow their ten-year-old privileges typically reserved for adults.…
Learn to lead now
Future leaders serve as though they were already in their future role. “So, you want to be a leader?” the manager says to his subordinate. “Yes,” the subordinate replies, “I’ve been working here for five years now, I’m the best at what I do, and I think it’s about time I should be given a promotion.” “A promotion?” the manager responds. “You’re a dependable programmer, I’ll give you that. And you have worked here five years.…