Another morning of waking at 0400 with visions, not of sugar plums dancing in my head, but of last minute details to finalize the infrastructure upon which my four classes I will be teaching will function smoothly. Getting the team leaders identified, readying them by calming them to the task before them, finalizing the scheduling of speakers to my classes, finalizing hosts of the Study Missions, setting up separate meetings with my team leaders by class prior to the launch a week from Monday, making sure the syllabus work flow is clean and clear; those are the plums dancing in my head!
Recently I was consulting with a client in a new business start up and what the start up had basically entailed was destabilizing every element and person in his life and he was reaping the agonizing benefits of that destabilization. In my final counsel to him, the words of Sun Tzu returned to me; the brilliant Chinese military commander and strategist in 5000 BC gave us one of his principles of strategy and leadership is that the leader must stabilize the force.
Stabilization brings a sense of calm in the wake of an oncoming storm. Never fear the storm if your preparation is done well. I saw one of those great and pertinent church signs yesterday that read, Smooth Waters Do Not Make for Skillful Sailors. It is not the job of leaders to calm the waters but to prepare the boat and its sailors for the squall ahead.
As the professor of approaching 200 students in four classes this Fall, I am so excited to get this journey up and running. I know, KNOW, that much will be accomplished, growth will be witnessed, the thrill of victory will fill the noses of those that commit to the journey and the agony of frustration in having to deal with me or the rest of the team members not feeling the winning juices will be present as well. It is in that panacea of emotion that I seem to find the greatest sense of worth and satisfaction in seeing young people rise above what they think they can do or cannot do and attain something greater than they are; a blessing to watch and to be part of!
I do love what I get to do with and in my teaching on a scale I could never have imagined. Those that serve as team leaders formulate the infrastructure of success and to watch them build their culture in their respective teams is always simply amazing. Then the Chief Operating Officer, who a team leader as well, has the additional coordination and direction responsibility of cat herding the actions of the nine other team leaders and their folks, pulling all the work for hand in together in a specific manner and then see the smile when they literally hand the completed ten teams' work to me for grading; wow what a small but grand victory I see in the eyes of that COO.
Teaching is a joy but only if you invest in the students' lives, get to know them, respect them, challenge and stretch them, mentor them, be tough with them if not performing, expect more and more and you will get more and more. Teaching, at least the way I teach, is very kinetic and energy generating. It is an energy that exudes exhilaration with the victories and wisdom with the losses but then turning the losses into victories is wisdom on steroids. Watching the dozens of young minds reach outside themselves, be dependent on others and all that entails, grasp the concepts of what real, on the ground leadership looks, feels, tastes and smells like is the greatest of joys for me for I know those learned skills will play forward in years to come.
So on this beautiful Saturday morning looking into the next two weeks of meetings and then the launch, I know there will be much concern, worry and exasperation but I also know that past those clouds reside a sunrise most of these young people have not even thought about. Yes there will be those that choose not to engage, the 20%ers, so it will be for me as the CEO to rid the class of their anchoring weight or move them to the 80% group; winners and some losers but predictable. But for me that is part of the victory to see that 20% impact on the whole class when dealt with properly.
So who gets the blessing of the countless hours of preparation and coordination? Certainly it is I in witnessing the phenomenal thing called Learning take place. Never could I have imagined that in my life but I realize more and more that this is part of the blessing and ministry God has given me to do so who gets the blessing? Yup, that would be me!
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