For the last two months I have been in a leadership class. We have to study a lot of topics about how the mind works. These tools are really helpful to understand the people around you and yourself. A lot of them are topics and ideas enforced by Adventures in Missions. I have heard them the whole race. I am going to explain what they have meant to me through out the race and what it is going to look like using them in my leadership in the future.
Roots and fruits: Everything has a root. We are the way we are because the things that have happened in our lives. Most things can be derived back to our families, moments of impact and our mentors in our lives. An easy way to see the things that you are rooted in is to see the fruit that is producing. If you have the fruit of jealousy you can then go and seek to find the root of the bad fruit. It might be that when you were five you dad went to your sisters game instead of your dance recital. All things go deeper in the surface and understanding that helps you understand peoples reactions so much more.
Here There Path: This is a very helpful and practical tool for growth. Having a here there path gives you a goal, shows you where your at and tangible steps to get there. The awareness of where you are actually really helps with creating realist goals. Some times we leave our goals to be to broad. They are hard to measure and reach. Thats why when creating a here there path you have to create smart goals within that. I defiantly understand places and goals I want to reach but I do think I hesitate to make them concrete because then you have to stick with them. In leadership I think it is highly beneficial to share your goals so others can hold you accountable. It really helps to make sure your goals are met it also teaches humility and discipline.
Values: A big thing that I have learned recently is you have to understand yourself to be a good leader. Understanding your personal values is really helpful to leadership. If you know what drives you and what narrows you perspective you can look for the other things to stay open minded and to understand others more. When you know you values I think it gives you a good understanding for what realistic goals and purposes will be for you life. In leadership I think it is really valuable to know the people around you and understand their values.
Dreams: Dreams often come into play once you have vision. Once you grasp yourself more and more and understand what drives you then you can dream. Dreaming is a hard thing for me to do because I am a realist. I have a hard time letting Holy Spirit take me on an adventure of crazy God dreams but I think good leaders can dream and dream big. For me a concrete step to make this reality is take make space to dream and to be supernaturally inspired.
80-20 Rule: The 80-20 Rule teaches that 80% of the outputs/result come from only 20% of the inputs/effort. This is highly interesting to me because what does that mean as a leader? It makes me want to be apart of the impactful 20%. The way to do this is to lift people up. So many people think leadership has to be oppressive but it should be the opposite, empowering. Leading as a servant and showing people value and growth is how it is supposed to be done.
Freedom V: The freedom V is a nice form of boundaries that the race is a big fan of. This is a way to create good disciples and habits which is very beneficial. The V seems restraining and restricting but it teaching you how to steward little. If we are faithful with the little things we can be faithful with the big. I think the freedom V helps you learn this well but you also have to be conscious of thinking the best of people. The freedom V sometimes gives the appearance of waiting for people to fail. If you use this tool correctly then you show the freedom in it and not the things that are being taken away.
Project Mood Curve: This is a very helpful tool for your whole life. It helps you understand where your emotions take you and how to get from one place to the other. I think the mood curve isn’t some mind blowing new idea but it does help you think of your emotions in a knowledgeable way. Understanding that in all situations you will go from a high to a low is helpful because there is a C Zone and there is more then the low. This tool is helpful in leadership because its helps you bring people into the C zone with love and not annoyance. I want to use this as a starting point in leadership.
Triggers: Understanding triggers and the reason people react to things is a very beneficial thing. I want to work in low income school and this is a thing I will have to be highly aware of. The trauma people have experienced in there lives will come out as unrealistic reaction. Being aware of triggers is one thing but you have to be able to get healing from them. In leadership I am going to use this to understand the people around me and bring healing to past wounds.
Victim Circle: The victim circle is a bad place to be. When you are stuck in the pit of despair and the you think the whole world is against you. In leadership I will use this tool to give people perspective and bring reality to them. A good leader doesn’t condemn people in this state but brings them out in love.
Four Roles: The four roles are visionary, strategist, operator, and builder. I think it is really cool to learn about the people around you and how they function. This tool is very helpful in leadership because it gives you new perspective and a better grasp on different thinkers than you. In my leadership I want to surround myself with different people so I get all the perspectives.
This class has been a cool way to look deeper into these tools and to think realistically about leadership opportunities in the future.
