Posted By Rusty Ricketson on November 23, 2011
It is no surprise to anyone that the super committee charged with coming up with a solution to the deficit crisis could not come to consensus on how to approach the problem. It is easy enough to see that both sides in the argument are firmly committed to principles and values that prohibit them from compromising in all but surface areas.
In reality, I’m not certain we want our politicians compromising on core values and positions of conscience. These are areas that should be held fast. Both parties realize this because to compromise on basic values is to lose the support of those who elected them to this position of decision making.
Rather than developing special committees to attempt to circumvent the responsibility of both houses of Congress, we, the voters should prepare for the next election and support those candidates who most closely hold to our positions and values. Yes, we should expect some compromise on small issues. but we should applaud both sides for ‘following’ their core on this decision. The solution is through the ballot box.
Yet again, the point is made that you have to know what your leader follows (ie, what your leader values) before making a decision to follow (vote for) that leader.
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Posted By Rusty Ricketson on August 20, 2011
My car is leaking coolant. I suppose that with weeks of 90+ degrees and no rain it was about time that the 203,000 miles she has acquired would have an impact. So I’m left traveling about one hour down the road, or about 60 miles and then pull over to refill the coolant. If this procedure is not followed, I’m certain to have baked Camry on the side of the road.
Although I like different kinds of dishes, baked Camry is not one of them. I’ve been told that I have a leak in my header gasket. I really hate it when that happens, especially since I wouldn’t know a header gasket from a picnic basket. I’m told that repairs could run anywhere from1,500 to 2,000 dollars. I have to tell you, that would be some expensive running, especially for a car that has traveled an approximate distance of 8 times around the equator.
What to do? And what does this have to do with following? I’m not sure I know the answer to either of those questions. I will leave it to those of you who read this to make whatever analogies you wish regarding the meaning of such events. For now, all I know is I’m following what my car requires of me in order to run and get me where I want to go. Hey, wait a minute, that may just have application to followers giving what leaders need, especially when they may have a few miles and running on empty, so that they can lead where we all want to go. Just a thought.
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Posted By Rusty Ricketson on July 16, 2011
In “The Truth About Leadership,” James Kouzes and Barry Posner point out that leading others is a ‘learned’ skill that anyone can master IF that person is willing to take the time and pay the price to learn these skills through various means (instruction, coaching, failure, opportunity, etc.). In making their point, these authors point to the work place as the number one laboratory for learning and applying leader skills. However, one main precondition is that the work place needs to filled with ’supportive colleagues.’ They continue, “Supportive colleagues at work are critical. Leadership can’t grow in a culture that isn’t supportive of continuing development” (p, 131).
It is here that followers can influence those who lead. We can provide the support, encouragement, and willingness to allow for mistakes and failure from our leaders in order to form them into better leaders. Having a positive, supportive attitude coupled with supportive actions, are ways that followers can play a crucial role in the development of leaders. Who, after all, is going to be able to identify the shortcomings of leaders more than those who are serving with the leader.
Followers have the opportunity to learn how to teach leaders to become better at the reciprocal relational skills that are the essence of leading. Our leaders can only intellectually learn from books and seminars. They will need US if they are to become good leaders of others. We need to be their ’supportive colleagues.’ We need to be FOR them.
As the Bible says in Philippians, we need to “look out for the needs of others.” Our leaders have needs. They need strong, supportive, encouraging followers or they will never learn.
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Posted By Rusty Ricketson on May 12, 2011
I was reminded the other day when buying an airline ticket just how much following there is in the world. In order to purchase the ticket I had to follow a system of prompts that led me to another system of prompts that led me to…. You get the idea. Finally I had my ticket. Printed it out and was informed in the fine print that when I arrived at the airport there were even more instructions I had to follow. The catch is that if I choose not to follow, I won’t make my flight because the airlines have protocols they have established ( or have been established for them) that they have to follow.
So, I guess when I catch my flight I will get in my car, follow the procedures to get it started and in gear, follow the road and the signs that direct me to the airport, make sure I follow the security protocols, follow the boarding instructions at the gate, follow the safety procedures from the stewardess video, choose whether I want pretzels or peanuts, and let the pilot follow the flight plan to the destination. From there I will follow the disembarking procedures…….
And the wonder of all of this is that I get to choose whether I will follow or not.
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Posted By Rusty Ricketson on May 2, 2011
There is a term being used in academic and practitioner circles about the roles of those who are not leaders. That term is “followership.” I realize that this is an attempt to codify a list of characteristics of those who follow leaders. However, just as in the case of ‘leadership’ the term robs the process of its dynamism.
When you codify anything as a ’ship’ or ‘ism’ you essentially drain the life out of it and make it a stagnant, lifeless ‘thing’ that you can grasp, handle, observe, and agree or disagree with. When we develop our terms and our lists and our characteristics of whatever ’ship’ or ‘ism’ we are explaining we can tell others the rightness or wrongness of what is taking place.
However, if we let leading and following be the dynamic terms and processes they are, we may have less certainty but I believe we will have more LIFE in the process.
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Posted By Rusty Ricketson on March 28, 2011
Whether it is a person or an idea or an ideal, everyone is following something. Our goals and dreams and aspirations reflect a little of the core values that make up our persons. Our life journeys are not simply wanderings in the wilderness of indecision. We make choices and our choices move us toward our objectives and ideals. Wrong choices do not necessarily have to be fatal to our goals and dreams because many times we have opportunity to make another choice to get us back on track. Still, the wise choice is the choice that moves us toward our goals and ideals as we follow them. Our choices reflect who and what we follow. What are you choosing to follow today?
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Posted By Rusty Ricketson on January 11, 2011
As many of you know, we in Georgia are experiencing quite a winter snow/ice storm. Today I had to get to school and was traveling about 45 miles per hours down one of our 4 lane roads. The only open lanes were those on the right. The other two were choked with ice, snow, and slush and you could tell that few people had tried to navigate them.
I chose to stay to the right and follow the ruts of those who had gone before me. As I was traveling along I noticed ahead that the lane I was in was deteriorating into the previously described ice patch and decided to move from the center right lane over to the last lane on the right. I had to let a car pass and by that time found myself riding through the slush, noticing an increasing loss of traction and control. Having had a little experience in these conditions, I simply lifted my foot off the accelerator and gently guided the vehicle to the right. After a few slips the car made its way over into the clear right lane and I proceeded on.
The person following me was not so fortunate. I looked into my rear view mirror in time to see the car hit the same ice patch I had just navigated, begin to slide sideways, and eventually stopped facing the wrong way in the middle of the 4 lane highway. The driver quickly made a 180 degree turn and headed in the right direction. Unfortunately, the car following him was forced into the uncleared lanes and slush flew everywhere. There was no accident. The two vehicles went their ways but I’m certain the car that had to make the avoiding maneuver might have had a few choice words for the wrong-way vehicle.
All that to say this. Its important when we are following to make certain the following is not simply external but internal. The person following me on the road had the physical presence of following, but did not have the internal presence to know how to respond in a certain condition. It might have been that instead of remaining calm, when faced with the ice, the person stepped on the brakes, causing the skid.
This is what we need to be aware of when leading others. Just because our followers show up at their desks everyday does not mean that they have the internal awareness of how important they are to the organization. Time, attention, and instruction allow us to make certain that when they hit an slick spot in the organization, they will know how to externally as well as internally. Such an investment of time will also go a long way to avoiding possible collisions and subsequent backups within the organization.
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Posted By Rusty Ricketson on January 1, 2011
It is interesting how the mind works. Today we begin a new day at the beginning of a New Year and somehow this day is special because it marks the beginning of a new year. I find myself waiting to make necessary changes in disciplines (eating & exercise) until the new year when in reality these changes can be made at any time during any day.
Today is the day for change; not because it is January 1, 2011 but because it is TODAY. It is the only day any of us have to act, make changes or maintain our current disciplines.
Join me in making each DAY the DAY to act in obedience to Christ’s commands.
God bless you this day and all the other days our Father gives us this year.
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Posted By Rusty Ricketson on December 7, 2010
During the busy season of the Christmas Holidays and New Years, it is easy to lose perspective on the reason why we celebrate Christmas. The Birth of Jesus is the focal point for Christians. However, there is more to this event than just a baby being born in Bethlehem.
The birth of Christ brings almighty God from the eternal realms of heaven into time and space. God the Son takes on flesh and blood and lives among human beings, doing righteous works and ultimately dying for sin, rising from the dead, and ascending back to heaven.
Still the Lord is present through His Spirit who dwells within all who truly believe in the redemptive work of Jesus. It is this ‘presence’ of God the Holy Spirit that draws us into intimacy with the living God through Jesus. This is where we find peace, comfort, and security.
The roller coaster ride of the holidays can sometimes create an obfuscation of the abiding peace that should be evident in the lives of all who believe. Rather than the frazzled, frenetic bustling of a consumer world gone wild, our lives should evidence the calm, confident assurance of being loved by the Creator.
Dallas Willard stated, “Muddy water becomes clear if you only let it be still for a while.” And so it is when our lives become so murky that we lose site of the Lover of our souls. Find time this season to be still, schedule those quiet moments when you and the Lord can simply revel in the intimacy of a divine love relationship. This way, we can keep our eyes secure on Christ and follow Him.
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Posted By Rusty Ricketson on November 18, 2010
President Obama’s statement a few days ago that “we’re gonna punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends” created somewhat of a firestorm in the media and with the opposition in Washington. Since that statement, the President has backed off the harshness of the words by trying to explain what he meant and didn’t mean.
What is instructive for us is the worldview from which such words come. When leaders create in their minds an “us verses them” scenario, one can be certain that conflict is not that far away and cooperation is even farther in the distance. What is troubling is when leaders, any leader, speaks such words publicly, you can pretty much bet that this is a recurring topic of conversation in private and indicates a prevailing worldview.
So the question is, what if you are on the leader’s “enemies” list? What would be a follower’s response from a biblical worldview?
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