Jordan Ames (00:09.142)
In this episode, I'd like to share what I believe is the best way to increase your power and influence.
Jordan Ames (00:22.552)
Welcome back to another episode of the Red Letter Leadership podcast.
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where our goal is to help grow your leadership capacity while growing you closer to the savior. That's what this podcast is all about and that's why we wrote the book, Red Letter Leadership.
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In your roles as a leader, do you sometimes feel like you need to have all the right answers, all the best ideas, all the solutions to the problem?
It's very easy to feel that way since it is the leader's responsibility to accomplish that mission. Whatever that is to you as a leader, whatever your mission is, whether in the context of family or at work or maybe volunteering in your community, sometimes when we are in charge of something, we are the leader and we have a team that we are to employ, sometimes we feel like
The idea has to be ours. The solution to the problem has to be ours.
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But the reality is the burden to have all the answers, have the best ideas and the best solutions is not a burden that leaders should carry.
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Not only should leaders not carry that burden, but that idea, that mindset, maybe that perspective is one that can create a toxic environment and a toxic culture for your team to operate in.
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I'll give you a few ideas. Have you ever heard of the term Founder's Syndrome? So the founder of a nonprofit may experience the idea that, or maybe the perspective that he has the good ideas or she has the good ideas because they're the ones that founded the organization. They're the ones that originally casted the vision for what the organization should be about. So therefore,
Go to them for how to solve the problems. Go to them for the ideas. And Founder Syndrome is the idea that some founders out there think that they need to be involved in all of those decisions, all of those chances to provide solutions to problems.
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Another example could be the pride that is seen in church leaders, where whether they were the original founders of that church, the planters, if you will, and this is how we do things. This is how we've always done it.
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They may feel like this is my church, this is my responsibility.
to lead the church to do these certain things.
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I could offer other examples. It's no different in the business sector, in the government sector, anywhere where there's leadership and teamwork. It can be very easy for the leader to feel like they have to also be the doer.
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But a leader's responsibility to lead does not equate to a responsibility to do.
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Matter of fact, when a leader gets into the weeds, they become less capable of leading.
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Matter of fact, when a leader gets into the weeds, gets into the details of the doing of the execution, they can very much become less capable of leading.
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I recently started working with a church to help them cast a strategic vision, develop a strategy around that vision, and then start working towards implementation. Well, as I sat down with the pastor to discuss this, he had mentioned to me that he knows it needs to be done, but he really just is busy, doesn't have the bandwidth to commit to what needs to be committed.
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And that's okay. He needs to be part of providing the direction, giving the vision, but he doesn't have to be part of all the planning. His direction can help guide the planning process, but he doesn't have to be the doer of the planning. He'll of course be part of the implementation.
but he won't be the one doing all the things that need to be implemented.
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And he should never feel like he has to be the one doing.
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So what happens when a leader gets too focused in the details of execution rather than leading?
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Well, number one.
Their focus is more down and in to the team rather than up and out to see the greater picture, to see what maybe the leadership above them is requiring and receiving the direction from the leadership above them. If they're so focused down and in rather than up and out external to their team, they're not going to be
able to identify friction points that may arise. They're not going to be able to see the risks and the challenges that lie ahead because they're going to be so focused on what the team is doing to ensure that the mission's getting accomplished.
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I was coaching an individual almost a year ago, and his position was inside sales manager for a engineering firm. And he just seemed overwhelmed. He didn't have enough time to do all the things he felt like he needed to get done. And so through a couple coaching calls, we really diagnosed that
His problem was he was focused more down and in than up and out. And so when things from above, things from the leadership above him came to him, they were just overwhelming because he was so consumed by the things his team was doing. Not because he was trying to micromanage them, but because he thought he had to be doing
the things they were doing.
And so as we worked through that.
in about three or four months, he was able to develop somebody in his team. Now he had a small team, him and three others. He was able to develop one of those other people in his team to be the down and in leader, the one that leads the other two members to accomplish the day-to-day tasks. That way he could focus his energy in the up and out.
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And what that did for him was it freed up a lot of his time and allowed him to understand the art of delegation better. And it actually improved the efficiency of his team.
He stopped worrying about the day-to-day execution, and he started thinking multiple steps ahead. He started being able to see the bigger picture, plan for the future, anticipate some risks and challenges that could lie ahead for his team.
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So to see the bigger picture requires us to be in position to do so.
If we are always focused down and in, we're never in a position to back up a little bit and see all the different things happening around us.
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One thing I learned in the military is that part of a leader's responsibility is to place ourselves at the point of friction.
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So as we plan and as we start to implement that plan, we should be anticipating those points of friction. And then the leader needs to be able to inject himself or herself at those points of friction so that their team can continue moving forward towards whatever mission they're executing. But if a leader is too focused down and in on what their team's doing,
They're not going to be able to see those points of friction. And therefore, they're not going to be able to emplace themselves at the points of friction whenever their team is looking to them to do that. Their team doesn't want them doing what the team's doing. Their team wants them seeing before something's going to happen and providing a solution.
maybe assessing the situation so they can prepare the team before the team reaches that point. That is a leader's responsibility. And they're not going to be able to carry out that responsibility if they're too focused down and in.
Jordan Ames (15:38.735)
As I said before, it's easy as leaders to feel like we need to be doing what the team is doing. I remember when my son, who recently got out of the Marine Corps, I remember when he left his embassy guard duty assignment and he was given orders to Marine Infantry Battalion. Of course, he's now E-4, getting ready to be promoted to E-5.
And he's showing up at an infantry battalion where there's ranks junior to him who have more experience in the infantry. But yet he's getting placed in leadership position over some of these younger Marines. And so I remember him, he was a Marine rifleman. And yet they placed him as a leader of a what they call a
a Mals section leader, so basically the Marines that'll shoot rockets. And so he's placed over the section of these assault men who shoots rockets, and he's like, I don't know anything about these rockets. I never shot them before. That's not even my job, my MOS, my military occupational specialty. That's not even what I've been trained in.
And they're putting me over top of these guys as their leader. And I remember talking to them on the phone and just trying to encourage them. Like son, it's not your job to fire that weapon system. You're not going to be the one picking up the rocket and shooting it. Now certainly there could come times where he needs to do that.
But his mission is to lead that section, which requires him to know how best to employ them. And in that process, his section is going to be divided up so they can support other platoons. So he may have to detach guys from his section for them to attach to a platoon for a certain mission.
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So he may not even be anywhere near them when they're executing this mission. So I was trying to explain this to him. I said, your job to not only know how to employ them, but advise the other platoon leadership that may receive some of his guys and advise them on the employment of the Marines under his charge.
And so he ended up doing very well in his time in the infantry. His leadership saw the good leadership that he was exercising. When he became a sergeant, a very junior sergeant, he actually was placed as a rifle platoon sergeant. So now he went from having a small handful of Marines under him to now an entire platoon of around 30 Marines.
And he was assigned that position to conduct a certification exercise before they were getting ready to deploy. Now, was temporarily that he was in that position. And then right before deployment, he was supposed to get an E6, which is the standard rank for a rifle platoon sergeant. An E6 was supposed to come in and take that position. Then he would go back to being a squad leader.
Well, he did so well in that position that they kept him on as the platoon sergeant all through deployment. Now, he only spent five years in the Marine Corps. did one term. And I've told this story to friends, and it's unheard of for a first-termer Marine to serve as a platoon sergeant, specifically a rifle platoon sergeant in the infantry.
So of course, I'm very proud of him, but it started with his understanding that he didn't need to be the one doing the thing as the leader of this assault men section. He just needed to master the art of leadership, and part of that is not so much focused on what those guys are doing. Matter of fact, let them teach you how to work that rocket system.
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but know how best to employ them. Advise the leadership that may use them on how to employ them. That is your role. Focus up and out and not so much down and in on your team.
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Now you may be listening thinking, yeah, Jordan, I understand all that. But what about the idea of leaders setting the example?
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Now you may be thinking, yeah Jordan, I get all that, but what about the idea of leaders setting the example, leaders leading from the front?
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I agree. And those concepts are true and they're important. And leaders should lead from the front and leaders should set the example. But in the context of what we're talking about is a lot of teams just want to be empowered. They just want to have the ability to go execute the mission that they are tasked with. And when a leader gets
too involved and too in the weeds of what they're doing, it can very easily come across as micromanagement. Not to mention, as we already discussed, it takes the leader's ability away from seeing the bigger picture. And the team would rather have the leader looking at the bigger picture, in a sense being out in front of the execution of the mission, not in the weeds of the execution.
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So when leaders are trying to also be doers and maybe be doers too much, it can come across as micromanagement.
And micromanagement implies...
from the leader's perspective to the team, it implies that I don't trust you can do it. I don't trust you will do it.
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I don't even trust that you're capable to do it at my level and to meet my expectations. So therefore, I'm going to be more involved. Rather than taking a spot check supervisory, trust but verify type of.
Involvement?
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The leaders are trying to do the thing because they're not trusting that their team is capable enough to do it. That's what it implies. Some leaders may think that they're not doing it. They may say that they trust their team. But from the team's perspective, it looks like they don't. It looks like micromanagement. And that can cause a lot of problems.
in the execution of the mission and in the relationship between the leader and the team.
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I will say from my experience, most people would rather see the leader not involved in the details and the tactical execution of what's going on.
and they'd rather...
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be empowered, have the ability to carry out the mission the way they best see fit to do it, and just have the trust from the leader that even if they're not doing it exactly how the leader would do it, if he was doing it, that that leader still trusts them to carry it out, and most likely, working together, they'll carry out at a higher level.
than if the leader was telling them how to do each and every step.
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So what is the best way to increase your power and influence? I believe the best way is through humility. And I want to read a passage out of Matthew 15 about a Canaanite woman who showed incredible humility towards Jesus. Despite the reminder,
from Jesus and from his disciples that she is below them, that she is not worthy of them. So let me read out a Matthew 15 starting at verse 21. Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and sat on. A Canaanite woman from the vicinity came to him, crying out, Lord, son of David, have mercy on me.
My daughter is suffering terribly from demon possession. Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.
And so Jesus obliged his disciples. He answered, I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. The woman came and knelt before him. Lord, help me, she said. He replied, it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs. Yes, Lord, she replied. But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table.
Then Jesus answered, woman, you have great faith. Your request is granted. And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
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This is a phenomenal picture of humility.
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This woman understood that she was an outcast to Jesus and his disciples, yet she persevered in humility.
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Jesus' disciples, interestingly enough, didn't urge Jesus to heal her, address her.
You wonder if Jesus was giving them an opportunity to have compassion for her like they've seen him have compassion for other people. Instead they just urge Jesus like send this woman away she keeps crying out to us we don't want to be bothered by her. This is such an inconvenience.
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Now as Jesus was answering her and explained to her that he didn't come for her.
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She could have complained and acted like she deserved him as much as anybody else did and that she deserved for him to heal her daughter. She could have had that attitude.
But she didn't.
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after the seemingly insult that Jesus gave her.
In verse he said, is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs. She could have rebuked him, lashed out at him, because again, if she would have had a, I'm deserving of this, you need to deliver this for me. If she would have had that type of entitlement attitude, and then he said something like that.
She probably could have easily rebuked him.
gotten angry and of course if that would have happened the story wouldn't played out as it did.
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But instead, she showed great humility and persistence towards Jesus.
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And how did that unleash incredible power and influence?
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Well first, her faith was recognized. It was recognized by Jesus. And certainly when Jesus recognized it, the text doesn't necessarily talk about how the disciples responded, but there was probably some light bulbs that went on in their head. So her faith was recognized.
and her daughter was healed. Because of her humble persistence, she released the power of God to heal her daughter.
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And beyond all that, her story reveals to the world that Jesus truly came for all, not wanting any to perish.
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And so as leaders, what we can learn from this woman's actions, from her humble example
is that we're not going to have all the answers. We're not going to have all the good ideas and we're not going to be able to provide all the best solutions.
We must recognize through a very humble attitude that though as leaders we need to be responsible for giving guidance and direction.
Our humility should drive us to acknowledge that we are limited in our ability to do. And so that's why I mentioned at the beginning of the episode that it is truly a burden if we think that we need to be doing all the things our team is doing, that we need to provide all the answers and all the solutions. It's a burden because the fact is that it's not possible for us to do that.
That's why we have a team.
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That's why you have a team. Empower them. Show them your humble attitude to say, know what?
You don't need me for this. You know what needs to be done. So go execute.
When I was a new second lieutenant shown up at my first unit out of officer training, I was there for a couple months. We had done, at the time, one company level field exercise.
And I had the idea, I just wanted to see Marines do more training out in the field rather than just classes back at the barracks. They're going to get a lot more training value if they get out. They do live fire. And so I remember talking with my platoon leadership. said, hey, let's build a plan to go out for a day, get some range work in, and then we'll come back.
And remember them kind of chuckling like, it's typical lieutenant trying to be ambitious. But we just don't go to the field unless it's as a whole company. There's four platoons in the company plus the headquarters. You just don't do that. That's not how things are typically done in the infantry. But I said, why not? Why can't we? Well, we could start planning it, but chances are the company's
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going to want to piggyback on it and jump on it, and it's going to turn into a whole company thing. And I get it, like efficiency of resources and making sure we're the most bang for our buck. And I get all that. But there's still a lot of value in focusing on driving that planning process, driving the ability to get, I'm responsible for my platoon, not the company.
So I'm going to take action on what I'm responsible for. And so my platoon sergeant and one of my top squaliers were very experienced, very savvy, and they were all about it. They just assumed that the company would kind of take over. So we started planning a live fire range, a day-long range. And it was for the purpose of fielding the new
M27.
infantry automatic rifle. this was summer of 2012. This new rifle was being fielded to infantry rifle platoons and we wanted to receive it and kind of train with it in a buddy pair fire team just to see how we can employ it best. And so we were designing a day long live fire range for this purpose.
Well, we designed it, and we were going to execute this range on August 17th that year.
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Well, about two weeks before that, I found out one of my old team leaders was killed in action in Afghanistan. And August 17th, he was scheduled to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. And I was torn. I so badly wanted to go to his funeral, but I also wanted to be there to execute this range that we had been planning. We put a lot of time and effort into it.
I'm a second lieutenant. I want to be there. I'm ambitious about it. But as my platoon leadership encouraged me, they're like, sir, go to the funeral. We got this. We can go execute this. They took my intent on what I wanted accomplished. They understood that intent. They were.
They were the ones building it out. Anyway, they had much more experience doing these type of things than I did. They were just following my intent for what we wanted to accomplish as a platoon. So they were the subject matter experts. And I remember just saying to them, as much as I wanted to be there, I just remember saying, you're right. I'm the officer. I don't need to be there. It's not going to be better if I'm there.
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And so I decided to go to the funeral. I'm so thankful I did. And the live fire range went very well, not surprisingly.
So I share that story.
Because for you as a leader, it's most important that you provide that direction, provide the intent, give specific tasks to be accomplished, but then empower your team for how they want to carry that out.
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and be encouraged to know that you don't have to have the burden of trying to do everything, of trying to have the right answer for them, of trying to solve every problem that may arise.
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Be like the Canaanite woman.
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humble yourself to the fact that you're not going to have all the right answers.
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You're not going to have all the best ideas.
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but be persistent as a leader.
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to ensure that your team is capable.
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be persistent as a leader.
to recognize your limitation, recognize where.
Your team has better answers than you do. have better solutions.
and empower them.
See this Cane Knight woman, I believe, actually empowered God.
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Through her faith, Jesus acted.
If she would have came with an attitude of, felt like she was deserving of this, and that Jesus just needs to heal her daughter.
rather than a humble attitude.
of believing that
regardless on how low Jesus sees her, she just wants a little bit of the scraps of what he's dishing out. Because of that attitude, Jesus released the power to heal her.
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And I believe if we have that same attitude as leaders, we're releasing power and having a whole lot more influence over our teams, accomplishing the mission that we've tasked them.
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So allow me to leave you with this challenge. Be persistent in your humility.
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Do not have the attitude that you need to be the one doing the thing. Whatever that thing is, empower the people on your team to be the doers.
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And lastly, seek to understand where you're limited.
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Be humble about the limitations, the weaknesses, if you will, that you may have. And seek wisdom and strength from others, maybe external to your team, but also internal to your team, who are more capable than you are to carry out that mission.
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This lesson is just one of over 370 lessons that myself, Ben Hunter and Eric Albright wrote and put together in a single volume book. The link to checking that book out is in the description notes. So I hope you would check it out and you can also download 31 lessons from the book as a free download to kind of preview the book and to see if it's something you may be interested.
and digging into. Thanks, and we'll see you next episode.
