Personal Relationships & Reflections

I will soon be taking over the position of Director of Technology in the Lower Yukon School District.  One of my greatest challenges in this position will be managing employees and interacting with the community. As I lay here in bed at 1:13 am I ponder role models and management strategies that could help me be the best I can be. I decided to get out the oldest leadership manual in print to help me clarify my thoughts. 

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment." Matt 5:21

I have been thinking lately about my anger toward certain individuals. Is this anger healthy? The author of the passage above says we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. What sets me apart from everyone else? What makes me "the boss." I believe it is because I take responsibility for my own actions and those of my employees.  I want to challenge myself to challenge them. I want to be a man of integrity and character.

How can I hold myself above reproach? I believe it is by finding a higher standard than your typical business and leadership benchmarks. This higher standard represents the Truth. I often forget exactly what it is that I stand for. Re-centering myself from time to time will most certainly be required as a transition into this leadership role I have been given. I consider this the first of many re-centering efforts.

Hiring new employees and organizing schedules and workflows recently has made me very aware of the power of trust in our everyday life. Am I trustworthy?  Am I loyal? Am I honest?  Am I articulate? 

Simply put am I making promises for things that I can deliver? I want my "yes" to mean "yes" and my "no" to mean "no." I want to be a man who says what he means and means what he says. I am not yet this man. 

I have a lot to work on in my personal life and a lot to learn in my professional one. Throughout it all I have to remember that there are greater goals and opportunities at stake than a simple promotion or "atta boy." I want people to come first in my life... not just in a rhetorical sense but in a very real and very meaningful sense. My expectations for myself and for them reflect a standard that none of us can ever meet, only aspire to and reach toward. 

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand and it gives light to all who are in the house." Matt 5:14

My community and my employment is my house and I want to know where and how my light is shining. I hope my friends, family, and colleagues will be the mirrors that I need to see my light. I want to be judged and struck, iron upon iron, to become better. Not for my sake, but for our sake. This will be reflection in the Truest sense of the word.