Let me tell you a little bit about the Leadership Pattern.
There is this thing called the golden circle that looks sort of like this:
It basically is a theory saying that in order to inspire change you need to start with WHY rather than WHAT or HOW. Here is an example of a computer company (given by Simon Sinek)...
Many people know WHAT they do: "We make great computers"
Some people know HOW they do it: "We use the best operating systems and we make things easy to use"
But very few people know WHY they do it.
The common computer ad:
"We make great computers that have the best operating systems and are easy to use. Wanna buy one?"
Other companies, such as Apple work from the inside out, so their ad would sound more like this:
"Everything we do, we do to challenge the status quo. We do this by using the best possible operating systems and making our equipment easy to use. We just happen to make great computers... Wanna buy one?"
See the difference?
As I have worked for the Church as a Lead, I have begun to study the Leadership Pattern more and more and it looks like this:
WHY:
To lead like the Savior would, because he is our greatest example and we strive to be more like Him.
HOW:
By acting under the direction of the Spirit and aligning with the brethren, including the Prophet, First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Presiding Bishopric, etc.
WHAT:
Define direction in all we do.
Counsel together at all times.
Build capability in ourselves and others.
Organize the work in a way that helps us to actually do it.
Accomplish the work that needs to be done.
Render an account to take responsibility for your work.
This pattern has helped to shape my semester and my outlook on a lot of things. I know this is already a long post but let me tell you a story... I have an employee who has extreme social anxiety. He has trouble being around people and hardly ever talks. When I got to the Conference Center, I more or less felt as though I could not approach him because every step you take toward him, he backs up four. So many people saw him and saw only that. They put him in jobs and positions that required the least of his abilities and he was tired of it. He asked me one day why he was never considered for full time employment when he had applied several times and I told him that I didn't know. At that moment though, I knew that I had to do everything in my power to help him get full time. I moved him to a different assignment so that he could learn different processes then I went ahead and put him in the next cart certification class. He was certified so I moved him to the Ride-On Vacuum assignment. When I did that, I spent the following week working side-by-side with him to fully train him on his assignment. He now does it within the required time and perfectly. His last evaluation score was a 96%. He continued to apply for full time and was still not getting anything. Finally, I did the last thing I could think of doing.
I do not put my name on the line very often, but for this employee, I would have given anything to see him succeed. I sent a recommendation to the person in charge of hiring that was about one and a half pages long. The next day, she emailed my supervisor and told her that he started full time the following day. I have never seen him more happy than when we gave him the news.
My supervisor spoke to me later about how I was the reason that he got that full time job, and honestly, I can say that I did have a huge part in it, but more than anything, he put himself in a position to become better. I see so much potential in so many people and they don't realize it because people judge themselves so harshly.
There is this saying about training fleas that talks about how if you put fleas in a jar with a lid and leave them for about five minutes, you can take the lid off and they will only jump as high as the lid was because they were accustomed to jumping only that high. They forgot their potential and capability. If you introduce a new flea into the jar that immediately jumps out, the other fleas will immediately jump out because they are reminded that they can jump higher than the lid. (credit to Josh Noble for telling me that one.)
I have a strong belief that we can do so much more than we think possible. Look at how far you have come already. Look at all the good you have done. Look at what you can possible do and go do it. Build your own capability because sometimes we don't have other fleas to remind us that we can do more. When they aren't there, try jumping out of the jar anyways; you never know what you might achieve.
Diana Laura Peck
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