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Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Growing Leaders in Asia

Whew! Just returned from a whirlwind week in Singapore. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to this beautiful nation—but it is unforgettable. Clean, colorful, manicured…and full of young leaders.

The population is made up of mostly Chinese and Malaysian descent, with a million ex-patriots living among them. These people are hospitable and respectful and mix well with Western culture. Because Singapore isn’t full of natural resources, the government has put lots of stock into human resources. They are highly focused on helping kids get a great education and become leaders. During our week there, we met with a number of groups…

1. The National Youth Council. This was a task force made up of youth professionals. They are commissioned by the MOE (Ministry of Education) to foster healthy adolescents in both family and school. Their focus this year is on mentoring.

2. Parents. We spoke to hundreds of parents on the topic: Nurturing the Leader Within Your Child. We discussed current research on this new generation and found moms/dads to be highly engaged and almost paranoid about being good parents.

3. Youth. We co-sponsored a “Habitudes Experience” for high school students. It’s a night of images, video, music, drama, interviews and small group discussion. The students were intelligent, motivated learners who saw themselves as leaders.

4. Mentors. On Saturday, we held an all-day event on “Becoming a Life-Giving Mentor.” It was attended by hundreds of staff—made up of teachers, youth pastors and older students. We processed how to foster developmental relationships.

5. Teachers/Administrators. We also met with school faculty and administrators from a number of schools who were interested in establishing a campus-wide leader development plan. We explored how Habitudes are used in dozens of nations, including Singapore.

6. Church leaders. Finally, we met with church leaders and taught some Habitudes to them as well. They are committed to reproduce other leaders as they return to their homes and churches. It was a receptive group of men and women.

One of the partners who sponsored this trip was ELA (Equipping Leaders in Asia). They are committed to enabling students to become life-giving leaders. They train leaders in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore. This was my sixth trip to Singapore and each time I go—my hope grows. The students are savvy, mature, quick learners and ready to embrace the Habitudes of a leader. The city/state is committed to doing things with excellence. The only downside is their need to:

a. Stay committed to work/life balance. Family can take a back seat.

b. Be organic and not allow leader training to become a “program.”

c. Keep relationships and results in a healthy tension.

There are many lessons America can learn from Singapore—and we observed many of those lessons in action during our trip. I love how each culture has something to teach other cultures, and Growing Leaders will enjoy working in Asia for years to come. If you’d like to see more pictures from the trip, go to my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/tim.elmore.

Tim

In: Culture, Leadership

Monday, November 16, 2009

The Best Man for the Job… May be a Woman

Well the numbers are in nationwide.

The majority of working Americans are female. The percentage is 51% today and it is climbing. Swiftly. It isn’t hard to see why.

The majority of college graduates today are women. Seventy years ago, females made up only 30% of the university population. Today, they make up 60-70%. Women will be more prepared for good jobs than men in the future.

Adolescence has become a prolonged stage of life for males. Many of them lack ambition, and choose gaming instead of pursuing of a job. The majority of them return home after they finish schooling.

Sadly, while the majority of people in the workforce are women, only 18% of the leadership of organizations are female. No doubt, sometimes the best man for the job is a man. But, today, I often wonder if our male ego and stale tradition have prevented ladies from taking a fitting role at the top.

At Growing Leaders, the non-profit organization I founded in 2003, we have a team made up of males and females. In addition to our ten speakers who travel, we have a team of eight staff members on the ground. Four are male and four are female. I would trust my life with all four women. Over time, this is what I have noticed about the females who help lead our office:

1. They are warm. Relationships are vital and they work to cultivate them with our partners, customers, donors, and new friends.

2. They are holistic. All four women in our office tend to see the big picture well. They don’t segment their work into categories; each part impacts the others.

3. They are responsible. I realize this may not be true for all females. But each one on our team will not quit until they have completed their tasks.

4. They are protective. They safeguard our mission and values. They nurture other team members in the office when necessary. They protect me as well from undue hardship.

I have a theory. I believe when God created mankind He put a little bit of Himself inside both genders. In other words, the male gender illustrates and reveals a part of their Creator. Often it is the strong characteristics that enable conquest. In addition, the female gender does the same, and often it is the relational characteristics that enable connection. I recognize this sounds stereotypical. I don’t mean to come across this way. I just believe a combination of both genders offer something unique that makes a team whole.

Now peer into the future with me. In twenty years, if college statistics remain on trend, will most of the leaders in the workforce be women? They will certainly be the ones with the education. How will this affect households? Who will wear the pants in the family? Will male ego be able to handle the woman bringing home a larger paycheck? And, just how do we fan into flame male ambition again? I believe doors have opened for women over the last forty years, with Title Nine and other initiatives on campus. I wonder if now… we need to open doors for males again. We must prepare both genders to lead the way and offer their strengths to a team.

First, however, let me ask a question. Are we ready to face the fact that for now—the best man for the job might be a woman?

Tim

In: Culture, Leadership

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Political Leadership

I rarely write about government and politics because it is such a divisive subject. Today, however, I am going out on a limb. I’m writing about political leadership. You should know, my goal is not to side with democrats or republicans. It is to comment on the leadership of our elected government officials.

After watching the news today, I’m convinced the term political leadership is an oxymoron. Ever since bureaucrats gained the opportunity to remain employed by the federal government for a lifetime, leadership ceased to be pure. Those politicians spend far more energy on getting re-elected than fulfilling their responsibilities as leaders. It sounds cliche, but they spend more time trying to keep their job than do their job. That’s not leadership at all. They don’t do what is best for our country’s future but for their own future. While a huge percentage of American’s experienced pay cuts or job loss this past year, they voted themselves raises and bonuses. Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac got those bonuses too. The very executives that received bailout money–just got bonuses. That is not servant leadership as they claim to exhibit. This is self-serving leadership. Servant leaders make sacrifices on behalf of those they lead. I haven’t seen this in a federal government employee for decades.

The healthcare bill is just one vivid illustration of what I am talking about. If a politician actually cared about getting good healthcare to the needy, the last organization they’d hire is the federal government. The government has proven repeatedly they are horribly inefficient at managing money and executing results. Many government programs are laughable. They wouldn’t survive in the business world. In fact, while free enterprise is not fool proof, it is so far more productive at getting a job done than government programs.

Witness the U. S. Post Office. Earlier this year, I heard post office staff whine on the radio because people weren’t utilizing their services. They grumbled that they may have to cut a day of their weekly service to Americans. Question. Would this tactic work for businesses? Could a CEO whine on the air because Americans weren’t buying their products? I don’t think so. As far as I’m concerned, the post office got better when UPS, Fed Ex and DHL entered the shipping world. Competition makes us better and purifies how we spend of time, energy and money. Furthermore, the reason folks aren’t using “snail mail” as much is due to the electronic options for communication that are now available. Skype, text messages, Facebook, Blogs, Instant messages and twitters have furnished us with new vehicles. A sensible company would keep up with the culture and execute the most efficient ways to send a message, not simply do what they have always done. Businesses change quickly because they have to in order to survive. Government doesn’t have to change or be effective because tax money will come to them whether or not they are efficient. Once again, this makes political leadership impure.

Does our social security, welfare and healthcare system in America need to be improved? Absolutely. Just don’t count on the government to do it. They are unable. Why? They are not effective leaders. Let me toss out some ideas as to what might improve government leadership in our future:

1. Limit federal government election terms to one or two at the most.

2. Authorize the government to determine necessary programs, then outsource

the execution of those programs to private enterprise. Make sure there is

sufficient competition for each area.

3. Return to our roots and embrace the fact that we are not entitled to perks.

Even healthcare is a privilege not a right. In fact, every perk I enjoy is a

privilege. American’s will care for each other if it is in our hands to do so.

4. Welcome aliens into our nation, but only if they are legal. The moment we

allow for funding for illegal aliens, we’ve eliminated justice for all.

5. Remove any kind of tenure benefits for government workers. Income is based

on production not time in the system.

OK. I vented. I am begging for good leadership in this country. I welcome alternative views to mine…but only if you provide good rationale. Your thoughts?

Tim

In: Culture, Leadership

Monday, November 2, 2009

Bethany’s Rite of Passage

It seems everywhere I go, I run into parents who ask how my wife and I pulled off the “Rite of Passage” for our son and daughter, when they turned thirteen years old.

As you know, in many cultures worldwide, adolescents experience a ceremony when they turn twelve or thirteen years old. It is a sort of passage from childhood to adulthood, which includes a ceremony involving adults in their community and words of affirmation and direction. Oh, how we need this today in America.

So, I decided we’d make up our own in the Elmore household. In light of what we did, let me provide steps to you, if want to offer this sort of passage into adulthood for your children. The following are the steps we took as we furnished this rite of passage for our daughter Bethany…

THE STEPS WE TOOK

1. Sit down with your child and talk over the importance of this idea. A “rite of passage” is an experience or ceremony that exists in many cultures through history.

2. Together with your child, choose a handful of women (if you are doing this for your daughter) or men (if its for your son) to be “one-day-mentors” that year. If possible, choose people with a variety of backgrounds and experiences.

3. Call the men/women and ask them if they would spend a day with your son/daughter that year and be a “one day mentor.” Select a day and arrange for your child to “shadow” them the entire day—whether it’s joining them at work or at home or whatever. During the day, ask the “mentor” to share one life-lesson with your child; a lesson they wish someone had shared with them but never did.

4. Take your son or daughter to the mentor on the chosen day and arrange when to pick them up. The mentor may be very creative so be ready to discuss when and where it will be best to pick up your child.

5. Always provide a chance for your child to talk over what happened at the end of each day with their mentors. Help them “unpack” the experience.

6. At the end of the year, plan a dinner celebration to host all the mentors at your home or in a special place. This is for the purpose of thanking them for their investment in your son or daughter. During that night, prepare your child to read a thank you note to each mentor, sharing with them the specific lessons they learned while spending the day with them.

7. End the dinner celebration with a time of “blessing.” Just as the ancient Hebrews would offer a word of blessing to their children, invite the mentors to gather around your child and speak a word of affirmation and belief in their potential. It may be joined with a word of caution as well. But speak to them about their future. You may even want to end the evening by asking a mentor to pray over your child.

We created a little different experience for our son, Jonathan when he turned 13. This is because males often relate to people a bit different than females do. I worked with four other dads and as a group introduced them to outstanding men in our community. We exposed them to greatness and discussed important character issues we wanted them to master.

If you want to learn further details about how we planned this for our son, or further details about our daughter’s experience, I share these in some of our resources at Growing Leaders. The following books or PDFs contain details of the stories:

1. Book: Life Giving Mentors.

2. PDF: 52 Leadership Ideas You Can Use with Students

3. Book: Nurturing the Leader Within Your Child

You can find these resources in our store at: www.GrowingLeaders.com.

Here’s to preparing a new generation for life and leadership as adults. May we provide them with emotional intelligence, robust character and leadership perspective. May they eventually change the world, just like they believe they can.

Tim

In: Culture, Generation iY

Monday, September 28, 2009

From Illusion to Disillusion

What a difference five years makes.

When social scientists began assessing Generation Y (The Millennials born between 1984-2002), their prospects were bright. We began reading about them a decade ago, when authors Howe and Strauss touted their confident attitudes, self-esteem and optimism. Jobs were readily available as commerce was still booming for the most part.

Today—not so much. Our nation is in year two of a recession. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 16.8% of Americans are unemployed or underemployed. These statistics are much worse for Generation Y. The unemployment rate for young Americans is 52.2%, a post-World War 2 high. For recent college grads with jobs, half are in positions not requiring degrees. Banks hesitate to offer loans and real estate has not yet been resuscitated. No rebound as yet. So, how does this affect the youngest employee population in our country? More than you may realize.

The income of young adults has fallen off a cliff since 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Given the hunger for work among America’s unemployed, a 20-something now competes with a baby boomer with much more experience. Male workers under 35 have taken the hardest hit. While inflation has pushed income up for older workers, it has dropped between 10-12 percent for workers ages 15-34.

Earlier this month, a recent college graduate, Trina Thompson, filed a lawsuit against her college. She wants the $70,000 back that she paid for tuition. Why? The Monroe College grad said she hasn’t found gainful employment since earning her bachelor’s degree just a few months ago. She says, “They have not tried hard enough to help me.” Trina is simply part of a huge population who’s feeling the crunch. Sadly, we’ve conditioned these kids to look for someone else to blame.

This issue didn’t surface overnight. Some have seen it coming for six years. A book hit the market in 2003 called, Quarter-life Crisis. You read that right. It’s not about mid-life crisis, but quarter-life crisis. It introduces the growing population who experience clinical depression at about 25 years old because they haven’t made their first million or found their perfect position in life. They make up a rising population who are seeing therapists to talk about unmet expectations.

Herein lies my greatest concern. These young people who are now adults (or at least should be), are experiencing deep disillusionment. These once confident kids are getting dose of reality. What scares me is that parents and teachers should have been preparing them for this reality. Instead of preparing them for the challenging road of life, we’ve been busy trying to smooth that road for them. What were we thinking? Perhaps we weren’t thinking at all. We gave them trophies and told them they were awesome. The smart ones became savvy that mom might not share the same opinion as the other adults they meet on their job. But most got hit hard and now battle with disillusionment.

A long time mentor shed some light on this for me recently. I wrote about him last week. He reminded me that a person can’t become disillusioned until they are first “illusioned.” By this he meant, when we have illusions about reality—that’s when we are vulnerable to cynicism. Reality eventually raises its ugly head. Whether it’s an illusion about a perfect marriage, or about church people being nice or about the marketplace always providing good incomes for college graduates, we need someone to tell us the truth. What is that truth? Often life is hard and there is no one person to blame. I am concerned that we have not raised this generation well. They have been the focus of their parents, the government, schools and marketers. And they’ve proven to be a good generation of kids. But, we created a bubble for them to live inside; we’ve wrapped them in cotton. My question is: are we setting them up for disillusionment because of the illusions we fed them?

So what can we do? May I suggest a few actions to take if you employ young people?

1. Be a gardener. Just as gardeners see their primary job as cultivating the plants in their soil, we must grow these young employees and potential employees. Why not offer apprenticeships where you offer a limited salary and a great mentoring relationship. They hunger for this kind of investment.

2. Be a velvet-covered brick. Velvet on the outside—warm and relational. Brick on the inside, firm on your principles. Tell them the truth. Prevent disillusionment by leveling with them. Give them realistic expectations. They may not get a trophy or ribbon today. Prepare them to work out of character.

3. Be a chess player not a checkers player. Unlike checkers, in chess, you must know what each piece can do in order to win. You must discover strengths. This is how we must lead the next generation. Find out who they are and where they fit. Don’t play checkers—where you treat them all alike.

This recession will likely impact all of our thinking. Two years ago, young people changed jobs every 18 months, and started looking for new jobs three days after they got one. Today—it may be they’ll be more apt to settle down and learn in one place. We may have our chance to prepare them for the future. With the economy in the shape it’s in, these young employees will be the best investment we can make.

What are you doing to prepare the next generation for the future?

Tim

In: Culture, Generation iY, Leadership

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