Can vs Should (Part One)

Ok, leaders. This may stir up some controversy. I’m ready for the fallout. This may make you mad. It may make you defensive. Ready? Sure about that? Ok, I’ll just let it fly…

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

You have abilities. Your mastery of those abilities is what qualifies you for opportunities. However, your ability is irrelevant when you miss the point. Have you ever heard the term “overqualified?” The question here is not whether the task should be done. The question is whether you are the one to do it.

As a creative team leader, I am capable of doing the majority of the jobs that need to be done in my area. I am knowledgeable about most all of the components of any project my team tackles. I am also capable of making all of the decisions. However, if I insist on being a one-man-show I’ve missed the point. The point is to be able to help my team by leading them, having intelligent discussions with them, empowering them - not frustrating them with my selfishness.

My abilities are irrelevant unless I’m using them to effectively lead and serve my team. I used to be a full-time doer and make all the decisions. I’m smarter now. I’m changing. When someone on my team asks me for a decision, I ask them what they would do. They’ve become my advisors. I am quick to give them credit for their successes and absorb their misses.

I’ve worked very hard to build an engaged creative team. In the process we’ve built trust. I trust them and they trust me. There is a thin ledge I walk as their leader, endeavoring to know when to back off and when to jump in. The balance for me is found in being willing to serve in any capacity on the team while watching to see who needs the ball, including myself.

The creative leader shouldn’t hoard anything, especially the parts of the process that he or she enjoys. We should be teaching, coaching, nurturing and encouraging others to exercise their gifts and grow. Honestly, it just hurts the team for the leader to take on a task just because they want to or because they think they can do it better or faster than anyone else.

So the question is “Are you willing to step aside to cheer on your team?”…

You can and you should.

Spinning Plates

I know you’ve seen them. They’re the ones who entertain and amaze us with their ability to spin plates and keep them spinning in the midst of chaos. No, I’m not talking about the professional acrobats or circus performers – they have a rehearsed “act” with very low calculated risk. I’m talking about amateur plate spinners. I may be talking about you.

I’m talking about the unrehearsed, uncalculated agreement to take on more than we know for sure we can do. Why would we do that to ourselves, our projects and other people?

Friendship

Loyalty

Challenge

Competition

Adrenaline Rush

Money

Ego

Guilt

News flash - none of these are good reasons to take on the pressure, but do any of these ring a bell?

There are three words that want to befriend us and protect us from overload… “No thank you.” So why are we so afraid to say those words? Let’s face it; creative people are not always the best at making or keeping boundaries.

Some of us act like we don’t even know boundaries exist - pushing and pushing and pushing until something or someone breaks or we run out of steam and collapse. Then we act like it’s not our fault, like we don't know what happened. After all, it wasn’t intentional or malicious. But really, it’s our fault. We should know better.

Yep, it’s all fun and games until plates start falling and breaking.

How many do you have spinning right now? Five? Six? Seven? A Hundred? Do us all a favor and don’t start spinning another one. You may be doing great with the ones you have going, but that doesn’t mean you can add another one. Do us another favor? See if any of your plates can be passed to someone else who is asking for one. Better yet, see if any of your plates need a rest.

Perhaps we should start a “just say no” campaign for creative people. Then again, it probably would just be another plate for someone to spin. No thank you.

Rob Green: Tribute To A Friend

Rob Green and I go back a long way. We were high school friends. Not just high school friends, but part of an elite group of young men and women. We both had the awesome privilege to be included in a comprehensive hands-on radio and television production program. This program was not just theory and history. It was real life, real world on-the-job training for being a media professional.

We were surrounded with professional gear and taught by a knowledgeable, passionate man. He taught us to think like professionals, create like professionals and most of all, BE professionals. Looking back on it, so much of my professional life and Rob’s were prepared in those days at Mount Pleasant High School. But they didn’t just teach us broadcasting; it was also our first exposure to belonging to a tribe.

We didn’t just learn to love the craft; we learned that we belonged together. Above being given our first shot to excel, we were taught to love and respect each other’s gifts and abilities. That professional respect continued beyond the walls of the program, too. While still in high school, I hired Rob to DJ some events with me.

We lost touch after school and recently found one another again through Facebook. As we reconnected, I discovered that he had continued as a broadcast professional and become a highly sought-after and valued crew member for ESPN sporting events. That again made him part of an elite group of professionals - part of a close-knit tribe that literally traveled the globe doing what they love to do.

In one of my most recent “conversations” with him via Facebook, he challenged me deeply and caused me to re-think my use of social media. Thanks to him, I am a better blogger, Twitterer and Facebook friend.

This week, my friend Rob suddenly died. Too soon. Way too soon.

I know that I am far from alone in saying that I will miss him. I know many of you didn’t know him, but for those of you who did, I believe your story would be similar to mine. Rob impacted people.

Here is a clip of some video tributes done on ESPN this week from his colleagues:



Please pray for Rob’s family – wife, daughter, mother and sister.

Rob Green, I will miss you. I salute you.

Are You Hiding?

Recently my wife (@Debra_Allen) re-tweeted this:
"Yo balloon boy, I'm happy for you I'mma let you finish BUT, Anne Frank had the best attic hiding spot OF ALL TIME."

Funny, but enough about balloon boy hiding in the attic already. It did get me thinking though…

What about you? Are YOU hiding?

Chances are you aren’t actually physically hiding in the attic, but you may still be hiding from us. Maybe you’re hiding in a company doing a "safe" job. Maybe you’re hiding in a church serving in a "safe" area. You may even be doing things that you enjoy with people you enjoy, but still hiding. It’s not that we can’t see you, it’s that we can’t see who you really are.

Maybe you’re not even hiding from us. Maybe you’re hiding from your dream. Maybe you’re just afraid of taking the risk of revealing the magnificent things God has put inside you. Maybe you’re afraid that you aren’t as good as your dream tells you that you are.

Maybe you’re afraid of what we might say or do, or how we might react if we saw you fully alive. Maybe you’ve shown a little of yourself to us in the past and we didn’t encourage you. If that’s the case, we apologize. We didn’t know how our negative words and lack of support would affect you. We didn’t know that our constant criticism of great things in your presence would make you feel so small. We didn’t know you would give up trying and start to hide.

It’s time for the truth. It’s time to shine the light on you. You don’t need our permission to be fully alive and fully engaged in pursuing your dream. You just need the dream – that dream in you is a seed planted by God. It is God’s permission. That’s all you need.

It’s time for you to quit hiding. Quit telling God He was wrong about you. Get up, un-box your dream and dust it off. Forgive us and move on. Look us in the eye with a confident smile and show us we were wrong about you.

You don’t need our approval, you have God’s:
"You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Matthew 5:13-16 NLT