On Leading Well

Category: Leadership

  • Presidential Handoff

    What does one president say to the next president when passing the baton of leadership? Recently I stumbled upon an actual letter from an outgoing president. His advice is worth considering.

    “Dear Mr. President-elect! Congratulations on your victory! I am glad that you won. Here are five practices I found helpful to keep in mind while leading.


    Being President
    I really don’t have to tell you a lot – you saw what I did throughout the year.

    • Be a leader
      • Take the initiative to make things happen
      • Set goals for the year – and connect them to your mission statement.
      • Make sure that all of the stuff you and your team do meets with a standard that is acceptable to God and to the administration.
    • Use your resources
      • Know your people’s talents and make use of them. If you need to bring in people from the outside, do it!
      • Never be afraid to talk to Mr. E or Mr. F – I talked to them at least once a week for the entire year, just updating them and asking for advice. This semester I talked to one of them almost every day.
    • Delegate to responsible people
      • If you (or just the team of officers) try to do everything yourself, you will die – so delegate.
      • Get to know who will get things done and get them to help you out – tell them exactly what you want, give them clear (preferably written) directions, and give them a deadline.
      • Of course, you should supervise closely those who are not as responsible and give more freedom to those more reliable.
    • Be on top of information
      • This is one of the MOST IMPORTANT points.
      • You should be the one initiating events and you should know everything that needs to be done at any given time – you should always have the most updated information.
      • Ask the right questions. In planning, the most important thing is to ask, “What still needs to be done?” Put careful thought into this.
      • Having the right information (and maybe some advice and outside opinions) is the key to making good decisions.
    • Set an example
      • People should look up to you as a leader.
      • You should do everything that you ask your team to do.
      • If you are lazy and forgetful, others will start to slack off (not that I am worried about that – you’ll do great I’m sure).”

    Final Thoughts
    “I have found that the best way to get things done is to get a lot of people involved and motivate them to do the work. Do what is right first and foremost. If it is really a decision that has no right or wrong choice, go with the majority opinion – you were, after all, elected by the majority and it is your job to serve them, even if you want it another way. Of course, there is a lot more involved – but that is your job to come up with. You said you want to have better communication with the students – great! I look forward to hearing about how you are an awesome president! Way to be a leader! “

    Travis Cochrum
    Outgoing Student Council President
    International Community School, Singapore
    May 2007

    Well done, Travis! It’s been a joy to watch you learn, grow and lead well this year. Love, Dad

    Lesson for us: 17-year olds can teach us some very practical lessons in solid leadership, if we’ll listen.

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  • We Are Pilgrims

    The men from Allied came three weeks ago. They packed up everything – I mean every single thing – that did not have a bright orange “Do Not Remove” sticker and put it in a 20-foot sea crate. Our clothes, books, pictures, piano, CD’s, printer, dishes, electric guitars and personal items are chugging their way across the Pacific.

    It’s funny how Go-No Go decisions force you to face two facts:

    1. We own a lot of worthless junk.

    2. We are pilgrims in this world.

    We have less than two weeks before our family moves to Orlando, Florida. We’re basically camping out in a very empty apartment that echoes… echoes…. We’re eating off of plastic plates and sleeping on air mattresses.

    This feels odd after living here for more than seven years. What was once a home has become merely a shelter.

    This transition process has been good for my soul. The memories remind me of God’s lovingkindness in the morning and His faithfulness in the evening. It reminds me that although Ann and I have spent 13 of our 21 years of marriage in Asia, our true citizenship is not here. Nor is it in Texas where I spent the first 30 years of my life. Nor will it be in Orlando. I am a pilgrim.

    There’s tremendous freedom in the pilgrim lifestyle. No car, very little stuff, easy wardrobe decisions, and few meals to prepare. Kind people invite us over for dinner nearly every night in an extended string of goodbyes.

    For me, this process is another chance to grow my heart by embracing divine displacement. Selah.

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  • Lead With Diligence

    If we could have lunch with one of the greatest leaders in the world and he or she offered some free advice, would you take it? Whether it was Colin Powell, Margaret Thatcher, Martin Luther King, Jr., or Lee Kuan Yew, I’d be inclined to listen.

    Few students of world history would dispute that Paul the Apostle, formerly Saul the Jew from Tarsus, was just such a world-class leader. This guy traveled all over the known world, spoke and wrote in several languages, and personally planted entrepreneurial startup churches in four Roman provinces. The root principles Paul used in his approach still bear fruit 2,000 years later. He understood Movements Everywhere.

    In his letter to the young Christian fellowship at Rome, Paul offered five powerful words of leadership advice: “He who leads, with diligence.” (Romans 12:8)

    Lead with diligence. What does Paul have in mind? He’s telling us that some people in the community – the team, the body – are supposed to be leading. And if we’re leading – if we’re in charge of some project, no matter how big or how seemingly small – we’re called to do it with diligence. This means paying attention, giving care, watching closely, being curious about what’s going on and responding appropriately. Diligence, or spoude, carries the idea of zeal, intentionality, earnestness, and striving to give of one’s self.

    OK, I’m going to risk a rant here. The trend in leadership discussions has been to paint a dichotomy between leading and managing. But the era of leader as a visionary-“don’t concern me with the details”-celebrity has thankfully almost come to an end. As a well-trained Middle-Eastern Hebrew thinker, Paul didn’t see a dichotomy. Paul knew that good leadership includes armfuls of great management.

    Jim Collins discovered the same thing a few years ago in researching his bestseller Good to Great. The truly great companies are led by truly great Level 5 leaders who carry personal humility with professional will. Diligence. Zeal. Focused intentionality.

    My friend Dela Adadevoh talks about three different styles of leading people. One way is Eyes On, Hands On. That probably stifles and leans toward too much control of an environment in which no one can grow larger than the embrace of the leader. A second option is Eyes Off, Hands Off. Though we may expect this to be empowering, over time we discover that this style isn’t really leadership but rather abdication.

    There is a third way. Eyes On, Hands Off. Those called to lead still pay attention. Somehow they watch, listen, inspect, evaluate, pray, nurture, nudge, encourage, support and love without needing to control or overly-manage. I think this is what Paul had in mind.

    Lesson for us: Whatever we’re overseeing, let us lead with diligence.