The LeaderSHOP

Assimilation

"Resistance is futile.  You will be assimilated."  The terrifying mantra echoed through my thoughts as I was prepped for a sleep study last night.  The technician glued wires to my scalp, wires to my chest as well as my legs, and taped monitoring devices all over my face.  With each new mechanical addition, I felt my humanity slipping away.  My assimilation into the Borg Collective would soon be complete...

Effective Leaders?

Once again...another foot of snow fell. Wow! I love it! Winter is simply not real without piles of snow...and this year is no exception. I can't get enough of the stuff! And the best part of all is blasting it off the driveway with our 1965 Massey Ferguson tractor with a beefy 5-foot blower. It's old but mighty! However, its mightiness was definitely challenged this morning.

I could hear all of the forty-year-old parts straining and stressing. It was during a deep portion near the end of the driveway that time seemed to stand still. You know those moments when everything is in slow motion and certain minor details become paramount. It was as if the snow firing out of the blower chute hovered in a suspended fashion over the glistening snow on the yard. My eyes lifted from their concentrated stare on the driveway edge to catch a glimpse of something green and beautiful cruising by the entrance to our driveway. Immediately my brain registered what it was...yes...a new John Deere tractor with a blade and blower...and best of all was that it had a cab that kept its driver warm and snuggly no matter how bad the weather wailed. I tried to resist the jealousy that gripped my body like a pair of spandex biker pants. I couldn't show any sign of discontentedness with my current work horse or in some weird mystical way my Massey might have decided that today was its last day to push any snow at all...

The Shopping Trip

I have confession to make. I am a woman who absolutley hates to shop! I know that it betrays the very estrogen that flows deep within me, but it is true none the less. However, necesity dictates that every now and again I summon from the depths of my courage the will to go on a shopping trip. Recently, it was the irrepairable rips and tears in my denim that propelled me to the land that sanity has forgotten. Where self-esteem is crushed in every advertising window. I consider it my own personal hell on earth. I am refering, of course, to the mall!

You may be wondering why a collective smattering of fantastic department stores is the location where my joy goes to kill itself...

The Apprentice

Before starting my journey of working with students I was an apprentice mechanic. It was in this context that I really learned what it meant to experience knowledge. Over a five year period I progressed from a tire repair joe boy to the brakes and exhaust king and then graduated to the complete engine overhale genius. Okay...I wasn't a genius...but I could diagnose and repair pretty much any problem that rolled my way.

How did I learn this you ask? In the shop of course. A semi-controlled environment of teacher and student, mechanic and apprentice. A place where real problems are evaluated, diagnosed and solved. A place where one on one instruction was critical, tools were provided and space to get your hands dirty was necessary. In this place, in this holy sanctuary of dirt, grease and fumes...I really learned what it was to be a mechanic.

It is in this same type of environment that we need to learn how to lead. The place where one on one instruction is foundational, the tools are provided and the space to interact and build credibility with people is experienced.

The word apprentice comes from the old french word "apprentis" which means "learn" and the latin word "apprehendere" which means "apprehend". An apprentice is one that seeks to understand, perceive and learn. Developing as leaders requires us to become apprentice leaders.

What environment are you learning to lead in?
Is it teaching you to put knowledge into action?

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