Tag Archives: generation

No new ideas

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One of my early mentors in graphic design once advised me to keep a sketch book and write down every idea I have. He told me when you’re young, you have lots of ideas but no resources to pull them off. When you get older and finally have the resources, you won’t be able to think of any good ideas.

At the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta last year, Andy Stanley took it one step further. He said the chances are, if you’re over 45, you won’t have any good ideas anymore. Your job is to recognize a good idea when you see it in the younger generation. As Al Reis said,

The Next Generation product almost never comes from the previous generation.

Of course my mind obsessed on the age. While I was excited to hear that I have eight more years of good ideas, I winced at my proximity to that devastating day when all of a sudden, the flow will dry up.

Instead, let me refocus to the fairly obvious conclusion: we need to get the generation with the resources together with the generation with the ideas. Established leaders have the ability and the responsibility to come alongside and sponsor the great ideas of the next generation.

How can we do that? Give me your ideas; I’d like to develop some kind of system for idea sponsorship at Wycliffe.

I need your help on this one, because I’m getting close to that line.

Part V: Young leaders give authority away

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Young leaders give authority away. I’m not necessarily talking about delegation, but about how young leaders are less concerned with who gets the credit and more concerned with the accomplishments of a team.

They look for people who have a passion and a vision for a particular area and turn that area of responsibility over to them – to succeed or fail in glorious fashion. The result, with this wary but entrepreneurial generation, might be an incredibly creative idea that’s not ruined by top-down management. Or it might be a half-baked idea that falls flat. But a generation of students who have been told they can be anything they want to be and who have helped develop the technology to flatten the world wants an equal voice. They want a chance to speak into the process and try new things. The end product takes on the qualities of the team, and may look entirely different from anything the leader envisioned at the beginning.

My own observation is that young leaders get incredibly frustrated at the turf battles over who will get credit for the work. Let’s just get it done! The greed and selfishness that shows up in setting all the parameters up front has kept many a good idea from getting off the ground. For instance, April’s Wired magazine comments that the turf war over multitouch technology and gesture-based computing is “going to be ugly — and potentially fatal to the movement.” Group ownership of an idea and shared credit allows quicker response times and more creativity. Open sourcing almost always works better than closed.

Of course, this teamwork characteristic has big implications when it comes to interviews and resumes. A great accomplishment listed on a resume might require a follow-up question from the observant interviewer on what that person’s role was in the success of the team.

So, why can young leaders freely give away authority? (Am I not casting an idyllic view of the new generation of leaders? Probably, but not intentionally. I just think the new generations have different sins than their predecessors.) Young leaders are often simply not attracted to the trappings of power. No amount of money is incentive enough to offset the cost in time spent with friends and family. No perks can offset the long hours and increased stress. Money is not the idol it used to be. So when the goal is not consolidation of power, authority does not need to be hoarded.

What does a leader look like? Part 1

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That last post brings me back to the core of my blog: what does a leader look like in a postmodern context?

As I’ve observed my generation’s forays into leadership — including our new president, who was born on the cusp of Generation X in 1963 — I suspect a number of things will prove true about Gen X leaders as a whole. Granted, these are stereotypes and the characteristics may well prove to have positive and negative ramifications. I want to dig into what a leader looks like over the next month, but I’m going to be sporatic until I take my new position in April. Hang in there with me, and set your RSS feed.

I think Gen X leaders are not always immediately identifiable. They may not be the most vocal or the one up front. When you walk into a room of young people, you’re likely to note a few extroverts who stand out for being the most vocal. A few seem to command the ears of the rest though they’re not as outspoken. Others might carry the right technology or always seem to wear the right clothes. But the one in charge – the one who called the group together and did the behind the scenes work to get them there and subtly shift the conversation – may not be any of these.

Leadership is influence, after all. You can have a huge amount of influence without being the one in front. I gave an example of this kind of “back row leadership” in my very first post. Here’s another: do you remember in Amazing Grace how William Wilberforce was the vocal one in the House of Commons, but prime minister William Pitt was secretly pulling strings without offering any emotion from the floor? There was no question that Pitt was the power broker, though Wilberforce got the headlines.

So, why not lead from the front? There could be a lot of reasons, but let me suggest a few:

1. We have an iconic view of leaders. To be a leader, you have to have the complete package: a face for magazine covers, great speaking ability, amazing organizational aptitude and abundant confidence, empathy and wisdom. Who can measure up to the image? Either leaders are larger than life or they’re failing gloriously. Or both.

2. I think there is a strong preference for avoiding risk. It’s easier to sit in the back row and take potshots at the person at the front. The one at the front is putting his neck out, and that takes courage and confidence — two traits that seem to be lacking among many young people. Perhaps we’ve been too sheltered. Anyway, it’s easier to influence someone else to get out front and take the risk instead.

3. Younger leaders prefer facilitation. It’s a philosophical difference. We like to do accomplish things together, and sorting out the roles to recognize success gets messy when it was done as a team. Maybe it doesn’t matter who gets the credit, after all.

4. I think many in my generation see power as a trap. They’re not interested in all the perks that go along with position. No amount of power or money can make up for the long hours, the cost to family, the stress or the inability to wear jeans to work. Better to keep your freedom and your balance.

A penetrating question

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One of the other things Perry Noble asked young leaders pierced pretty deeply.

Are you more interested in being discovered or being developed?

Ouch. I had to do some self evaluation. Here are a few random follow up questions.

Do I feel deep down that I deserve that next step? If I arrive at the wrong conclusion, the result of my pride will be bitterness… and jealousy when others don’t notice my abilities. I recently started compiling a list of people who used to work for me but are now in higher positions than me. It was a good discipline, because it exposes my sin nature! I had to remind myself that those are successes. Perhaps I played a part in their development, even if the best thing I did was get out of the way and not hold them back.

Do I have a realistic picture of myself? I completed a 360 review last summer that even looked back on some previous jobs. My memories of my abilities and acomplishments in Canada were dashed as I read the feedback of two colleagues who pointed out some real flaws. Amazing to think that these two were among my biggest encouragers and supporters. When they looked at me, they obviously saw my potential more than my abilities. Thank God I’ve grown a lot since those days.

Am I a lifelong learner? Many have said that the first step of leadership is leading yourself. After all, the first and easiest thing I can control is myself. As I mentioned in a previous post, even those at the top don’t have it all figured out. I pray that when I’m 60, I’m just as devoted to trying new things. I pray that I continue to read and listen to things that challenge me and disagree with me. I pray that I still learn from others — even those with less experience than me.

Leadership Development programs aren’t exactly new

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At the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta a few months ago, Perry Noble pointed out that some of Moses’ best work was done in the wilderness, where no one saw his brilliance.

That thought launched me on a study of some of the young leaders in the Bible and how they developed. One of my observations is that there are a number of leadership development programs in the Bible. The leaders who deliberately looked for and developed young people with leadership potential were not exactly hallmarks of exemplary leadership themselves: King Saul and Nebuchadnezzar. The former included spear dodging as part of his program and the latter recruited by kidnapping and tested via a fiery furnace.

My wife says that Esther was singled out in a development program. Not sure that was exactly the same kind of program.

Leadership Styles – a look at Obama and the other contenders

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With the inauguration fresh on my mind, I thought I’d dust off some notes I made earlier in the campaign, before Obama had wrapped it up. First published on my intranet blog in May.

If I can manage to take the politics out of it, I think we can study the 2008 election as a classic contrast in leadership styles. In response to 7 years of rule by a CEO-style president, one who made decisions quickly, held his convictions in spite of public pressure, controlled all messaging and delegated tasks out to his team, we have been faced this primary season with a choice of three candidates who exhibit entirely different qualities.

One is a proven legislator known for compromise across the aisle, with an untouchable war record and painful personal experiences that influence his approach to many of the issues of the day. Like Bush, he’s been known to hold doggedly to unpopular convictions. Some suggest he’s been around long enough that it’s his turn to stand in line for president.

Another is a former first lady-turned-legislator who has mastered the ability to change shape to suit her circumstances. We’ve seen her as powerful lawyer, loyal wife, pained victim, champion of women’s rights, indignant mother, and blue collar worker. Her approach allows her to respond quickly to new challenges, but her past doesn’t seem to give any indication of the direction she’ll head tomorrow.

The third is an entirely different creature, and I admit I’m fascinated. A lifelong Republican, I’m strangely drawn to a man who was identified as the most liberal legislator in the Senate, based on voting record. There’s something about this man that generates response more like a rock star than a politician. Fast Company in April 2008 featured an analysis of the Obama brand and noted how he has tapped the imagination of the younger generations through technology and giving away his brand through viral marketing and social networking.

In particular, I want to focus on their analysis of his leadership style. Author Ellen McGirt quotes Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist and self-proclaimed independent: “I see him as a leader rather than a boss. A boss can order you to do things, sure, but you do them because it’s part of the contract.” In contrast, a leader is one who uses inspiration, respect and trust to motivate others to do things on their own. McGirt goes on to say, “There have long been leaders who are bosses, and bosses who are leaders. Having a vision and inspiring or instructing others to follow that vision have long been hallmarks of business and politics. But Obama epitomizes a new way of thinking called ‘adaptive leadership.’”

“Adaptive leadership.” What’s the difference between that and Hillary’s all-things-for-all-people approach? Ironically for a candidate who draws crowds in the tens of thousands, it’s less about the central figure than either model employed by his competitors. It’s about inclusion and influence rather than control and direction. For instance, Obama’s use of the “Yes we can” slogan, the way he brings people to the table to talk and the way he has spurred the involvement of masses of young people. Rather than act like an imperial CEO, Marty Linsky says, “Obama often proposes process plans that involve a trust in the community at large.”

As many Boomers conclude that he’s being vague and indecisive, they can’t understand why he’s a hit with younger voters. “Obama, through his inclusive Web site and, yes, his lofty rhetoric, reinforces the notion that everyone is included and that this movement is actually a conversation to which everyone is invited.”

Too late to the game

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I wanted to call this blog The Reluctant Leader. But Steve Murrell already has a very good blog by that name. In fact, if you’re only going to read one blog, read that one. In fact, he even has a better reason for the name than I do.

I’m not a reluctant leader. In fact, ever since I was identified as a leader by my second grade teacher, I’ve been trying to live up to that label. (I hope I didn’t mishear him; maybe he said I was a “cheater” or a “reader.”)

I have a passion for leadership, and I love seeing others grow in their own awareness of leadership gifts. I find a lot of people in my generation have suppressed and latent leadership gifts. Some are interested in the idea of leadership but have failed gloriously when they tried it. Others are so skeptical of the leaders they know that they’d rather take potshots from the back row. And others have just never tried it or had it drawn out of them.

I remember in college when one of the quietest girls I ever met was asked to lead a small group Bible study. She was phenomenal and knew how to draw the introverts out. Leadership can be hiding anywhere, because leadership is influence. Everyone influences someone.

My passion and calling right now is to study what makes a good leader, how to draw out the best in the people I touch and to be a bridge to established leadership for these latent and emerging leaders.