One Giant One Stone

Michael A. Woods

Description

Find a cause, gain authority, and step out front to change the world by learning how leadership works.

Michael A. Woods has been digging into core precepts that define leadership for the past thirty years.

As a young man in the Navy, he was perplexed by the random distribution of leadership talent. Sailors lined up to follow some leaders, while others with the same rank could not motivate a crew of subordinates to sweep a deck.

While teaching lessons on Biblically based leadership, the author discovered the story of David and Goliath, recognized many leadership core concepts demonstrated in David’s actions, and began writing this book to answer questions such as:

• How do leaders gain the authority to create change?

• What team motivational strategies are most effective?

• How does a leader make more workable decisions faster than the average person?

• How can risk be managed?

Disciplined application of the precepts found in this book builds a framework to support success. Learn how to become a better leader in your personal and professional life with the lessons in One Giant, One Stone.

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Philosophie de la religion
• Religion
• Christianisme
• Gestion et management
• Economics
• Business
• Leadership

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 16 octobre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781664264700
• Langue: English

Extrait

ONE GIANT ONE STONE
MICHAEL A. WOODS


Copyright © 2022 Michael A. Woods.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-6471-7 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-6472-4 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-6470-0 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022907700
 
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 10/14/2022
CONTENTS
Chapter 1Define
Chapter 2Start at the Beginning
Chapter 3Motive Power
Chapter 4King’s Authority
Chapter 5Five Stones
Chapter 6Give a Vision
Chapter 7Managed Risk
Chapter 8Finish
Chapter 9Move out of the Way
Chapter 10Power
1

DEFINE
F or the last thirty years, I have been searching to discover the core precepts that guide good leadership. As a young man in the navy, I was perplexed by the random distribution of leadership talent. Sailors lined up to follow some leaders, while other leaders of the same rank could not keep a crew of subordinates involved long enough to sweep a deck. I wanted to know where leadership comes from and how it manifests in the world around us.
I have met some people who are natural-born leaders. From birth, they possess the personality, charisma, and drive to motivate a team. People seem helpless in their presence to do anything other than grab a piece of rope and start pulling. Team members are so glad to be included that they never feel coerced or manipulated. And the rewards of being on these teams as they drive toward the leader’s defined conclusion are more internally satisfying than any six-figure paycheck. Of these leaders, I have seen only a handful.
Unlike these natural leaders, I had to study and practice to figure out how to lead. Over the last thirty years, I have searched out leadership’s foundational precepts and their applications. Like anything worth pursuing, it has taken me a long time to get to the point of authoring this book, and the discoveries along the way ranged from uncomfortable to quite painful. Yes, I made a lot of mistakes in thirty years of searching, and I will share some with you. Fortunately for you, though, this book is not about me. It is about the precepts that determine your success as a leader. Applying these precepts will not prevent mistakes, but it will give you the tools to get your team back on track after one.
Let us start simply and at the beginning. Leadership begins when you choose to lead.
DAVID AND GOLIATH
While the story of my life may not be a good analogue, often these precepts need to be demonstrated to allow us to see their proper application. To that end, I have chosen another leader, whose accomplishments are well documented in the Bible, to act as our example. King David has always been a favorite historical figure of mine. Though David himself is the example leader, I found one event in his life most instructive—the day he faced Goliath. The basic precepts I want to share with you are amply demonstrated in this short account in 1 Samuel 17. About ten years ago, I began studying this story of a day in the life of David, and this book is a collection of leadership precepts and their applications that I have found demonstrated in this account.
Before getting to the battle in the valley of Elah, let us set some guidelines for our analogy. Words are the guides we need, defined for this context so that there is no misunderstanding. For instance, the words precept and application have specific meanings given to them by experts who compile dictionaries. But there may be nuances and subtle backstories that give color to their meaning in this context. Clear definitions ensure our success in communication.
Precepts are general rules intended to direct thoughts and actions. Most dictionaries I have consulted put the order as actions and thoughts, but that reverses cause and effect. Leadership precepts are those rules that determine how one person can get another person or group to do work in unison for a common goal. The precept guides and directs the thoughts and defines the proper realm for the actions, but thought should always precede action.
Precepts guide your thoughts and actions but knowing them is not a guarantee of success. They must be applied. Application is defined as making decisions based on precepts that guide the team in accomplishing the leader’s vision. Not all leadership is effective. I can attest to the results that come from ignoring precepts or, worse, from deliberately misapplying them. The precepts always work when applied, but the motivations and vision of the leader are not always in the best interests of the follower. In these cases, great harm can be done, and in the end, the leader is destroyed, so I would counsel against misusing these precepts. If you need examples of how devastating the leader’s destruction can be, think of Hitler, Saddam Hussein, or Jezebel (if you are not familiar with her death, check it out in the Bible in 2 Kings 9:30–37). The precepts work for bad leaders, but the results of misapplied leadership are not desirable. Effective leadership that brings success, prosperity, and long life to everyone on the team requires a leader’s proper attention to applying them.
The word vision is not referring to some spiritual or psychedelic manifestation of the future. Vision is a clearly defined change in the world that the leader is attempting to create. Do not think that because the leader is the originator and keeper of the vision that they should get all the credit for the accomplishment. While the leader’s determination implants and keeps the vision continually in the team’s collective thinking, this action by the leader only creates buy-in from the team. They must accept the vision as their goal. Only when the entire team sees and seeks to accomplish this vision can it be manufactured. The team makes it happen, not the leader. The vision is only the starting point.
CHOOSE
What is the first precept? A leader must first choose to lead. Good or bad leadership is all you will find; there is no indifferent leadership. The common expression “whatever” is never uttered by a leader. An indifferent leader would lead his or her followers directly to the unchosen destination of nowhere. An effective leader has made a choice to deliberately guide a team to change the world. A leader wants to succeed in creating a vision, needs a team to do so, and decides to lead.
A leader must first choose to lead. The statement is simple, but before you start defining your vision, consider the consequences. Not all the precepts I will show you result in pleasant outcomes for the leader. Some of them will break the leader’s heart, leave the leader isolated even from the team, and, in cases of great opposition, lead to failure for the team. These burdens are often taken too lightly when making the decision to lead. If you are not prepared to deal with the unpleasantness that comes from leadership, your vision will blur under the strain and your team will stumble and fall. Failure is always a possibility, but only when it is not an option will a leader have any hope of surviving a vision’s creation. There are some unpleasant times ahead. Be prepared before you choose to lead.
Application of this precept is not hard. Choose. If you are reading this book, then you have already begun thinking about a situation in your life/world where you would like to create a change. In the end, that is what leaders do; they create change in the world around them. If the leader is deliberate, expresses a clear vision, and properly applies the precepts, then the change is likely to be an improvement. But the first step is always the choice.
Consider another precept. Every decision supports someone’s vision. This may seem like an overly broad statement that can be easily disproved. But take a few hours or days to think it through. When you purchase a pack of gum at the gas station, how does that decision support someone’s vision? If your motivation was to make sure the onions you had at lunch did not impact the conversation you would need to have with a team member that afternoon, then you were leading. You might like the flavor of this gum, but then you are responding to the leadership of the marketing team that designed the flavor, packaging, shelf position, and price that put the gum where you needed it. Take some time to consider and see if you can make one decision that is not governed by this precept of leadership. If the choice is not furthering the vision your team is working on, then who are you following and toward what vision?
Every decision supports someone’s vision. Applying this precept means that, as the leader, you need to know how each decision supports another leader’s vision or creates movement in your team to accomplish your chosen vision. Do n