How do Leaders Evolve?

I thought about what the Lord was saying. How many times have I worried about different issues that never materialized? I lost so many nights sleep worrying for no reason at all…they were imaginary issues or concerns. Yes, sometimes I was worried about health or other issues in my family, but when I lost sleep over the New England Patriots playing in the Super Bowl…was that worth it?  I started thinking about what leaders think about compared to what managers think about. It was not a question in my notebook, but it was something I started thinking about. Most of my readers would be managers, not true leaders such as CEOs. Thus, would all this talk about leaders being burned out not resonate with mid-level managers?

“Son, I want to make sure you understand the difference between a leader and a manager. Do you think Moses was a great leader?”

“Of course.” I said. I felt I nailed that answer, but why would the Lord give me such an easy question? God smiled at me.

“I would disagree with you, Sam.”

My pen fell to the ground. I scavenged around to find it without losing sight of the Lord.

The Lord continued, “Moses was a great man, the most modest person ever, the most trustworthy, a great messenger, but I do not think he was a great leader. He was a great manager. I feel a great leader comes up with ideas and inspires everyone to follow through their passion, dedication, spirit, and other tangible and intangible traits. Moses had a lot going for him, but he was not a true leader. Don’t get me wrong Sam, he was a great manager. Do you know how many times in the Bible it says Moses did everything as I had told him?”

I did not know the answer and shrugged my shoulders.

“Thirty-nine times to be exact. I mention in Exodus 40 the term “you” 20 times for describing actions Moses should take when building the Tabernacle. For example, I told Moses that he should bring Aaron, he should anoint Aaron and similar instructions with a directive from me to him in the form of ‘you should anoint Aaron.’  I was giving Moses directions. At the end of the chapter, I mention 19 times that Moses did all that I had commanded. I was clear about what I wanted from Moses, and he did what I asked. Thus, I was the leader, and he was a manager. Moses was a great manager who did what he needed to do and used fear, motivation, and other skills to motivate the Israelites. Was he successful in motivating them?  He was always fighting them whether to help him approach Pharaoh, to the Israelites rebelling in the desert multiple times. The Israelites did not perceive him as a leader, but an intermediary to me. Thus, he was more of a manager. Joshua was more of a leader. King David was a leader. They both inspired people in a way a manager never could. While many great managers become phenomenal leaders, not all good or even great managers become great leaders. It is an evolutionary process. As with all evolutions, there is survival of the fittest. There will be those who can get ahead on looks or charisma while others will become true leaders through no effort, but just being themselves- I guess you would call that an authentic leader. I think the best leaders don’t try to be the best leaders. They try to be the best person possible.”

I looked at the Lord. That inquisitive look in my eyes and facial expression must have given it away. I had a question but was too embarrassed to ask. It might have been that it was so simple of an answer that I was embarrassed to ask, but when did that ever stop me, a reporter, from asking.

“Lord, that sounds too easy, how can someone be the best person possible…I mean you make it sound easy…but it is tough being the best possible person. How can someone like an average everyday Joe or Sally become the best possible person?”

The Lord started singing… ”Be all that you can be…in the Army.”

“The Army?” I asked?  First the poster and now the Lord was singing that ad. He must be an Army fan I thought.

“Sam, I love that commercial. It is not about the Army; it is being all that you can be. Being the person, I created everyone to be. Even those you would consider evil were born with a holy spark. Like all sparks, there needs to be a fanning of the embers to start a fire. That is like how someone can be the best that they can be. It is simple Sam. Do the right thing. Moses did almost everything right. The one fault with the rocks was not necessarily that he struck them, but that he got angry and acted on his anger. It is okay to get angry, but he should not have acted upon that anger. That is where you can lose control. When one gets angry, they lose what they have learned. That happened a second time to Moses. He forgot the laws for making vessels clean. He was so upset that he forgot the law and Elazar had to tell everyone what the laws were (Numbers 31:21).”

The Lord continued, “you, your kids, your colleagues… everyone can have the potential to be great by treating everyone as equals. I know I make it sound easy….and people struggle with it all the time, but it is easy. Just think about it from the perspective of treating everyone well- regardless of their political, religious, economic, social, or the many other categories people separate themselves into or are put into by others. Those are all false categories. Everyone is from the same class.”

“Sam, sometimes I have some great ideas that marketing can really run with. I want to try and develop a theme or campaign around how leaders can show class by being great people. They should be self-effacing, not completely ego driven-but every leader needs a healthy dose of ego- and willing to put other people first. You are a person of words Sam; how would you phrase it?”

The Lord was asking me for advice. It was crazy enough that I was interviewing him and now I needed to think fast on my toes. I hemmed and hawed for a couple seconds. I could see the Lord staring at me and I felt more pressure than a Jeopardy contestant with time running out and no clue as to the answer.

“Be the truth…” I blurted out. I thought for a second. “Truth is the answer?” I was struggling to find a quick answer that did not seem too corny but got the message across. I wanted to include something about truth as the world of fake news had jaded so many and it was hard to reach people through all the clutter. “Lord maybe we need some great cat/dog videos or child’s videos to help get the message out as everyone loves those.”

“Sam you might be on to something…when people are children, they have a greater tendency to want to help others. It is only when they are corrupted by seeing how others behave and their greed or ego kick-in that they start emulating those actions and want the sandbox for themselves. Maybe we should do something with the sandbox being for everyone.”

The Lord got up from his chair and I saw several angels come in. The windows turned into a whiteboard and the Lord started developing a campaign right in front of my eyes. With a wave of his hand, he had a huge beach scene on the screen. No rocks, shells, trash, waves…just lots of sand. The Lord was talking to himself, but loud enough that the angels could hear, and they were busy trying to write text and produce what the Lord was envisioning.

“It is a big sandbox- an endless sandbox. If you had your ideal sandbox, what would you want in it?  No that doesn’t work…Let’s see a baby on the beach…Even a baby or young child on a beach will not be having fun unless they have someone to play with…”

The Lord was trying to wordsmithing right in front of me and it was an exciting process.

“I need background music…Roy…sing for me Pretty Woman.”

Rock legend Roy Orbison came into the office and started playing his guitar and singing. The Lord put on a special hat with a question mark on top. He was prancing around the office. He was full of spirit.

“Come on Sam…get up and dance to the music and let your creative juices flow.”

I suck at dancing. How was I supposed to pull this off?

“The Lord stopped. Roy stopped. The angels stopped. Everyone looked at me.

What had I done wrong?  I knew I couldn’t dance, and I am sure the Lord knew that as well.

“That’s it.” The Lord yanked me up and started dancing with me. “You are a genius Sam.”

I had been called a genius by my mom several times, but every mom says that to their child at times, but the Lord calling me a genius when he had the smartest people of all time at his beck and call really through me for a loop.

The Lord started waltzing across the floor.

“Imagine a scene of someone dancing.”  The whiteboard changed from a beach to a child dancing. There was no music, just someone in the moment dancing to his or her own beat.

“Every tune or beat matters, every dance counts…you make the music and teach the world your dance.”

The Lord stopped.

“What do you all think?”

The angels were talking with each other. The Lord put his hand on Roy’s shoulder. The words appeared under the child dancing, and everyone watched. Then they slowly turned to me to see what I thought.

“Don’t you get it Sam…. Everyone dances!  Whether in their mind or with their body. So many people stop dancing when they think someone is watching. But they must be themselves. They must be true to who they are and dance like no one is watching. I love it!”

“But Lord, what does that have to do with leadership…have I lost something here?”

“Sam, the concept of playing nicely in the sandbox of life is good. We must allow everyone to play in the sandbox and a leader understands that. They must constantly balance all the egos and desires of those around them to make the sandbox as open as possible. However, the music analogy I think is a better. We all like music. Music is self-expression. Some people like rock, others jazz, others classical, some might like country while others might even play the spoons. Regardless of the genre, everyone likes music which makes them move, smile, and connect with others. Some people have no music skills, and they can be epic failures with music, but we learn from our failures as well. A leader is like a music conductor who must harmonize all these different beats. But all these beats could cause confusion, so just imagine if everyone danced without any music and without any fear of being judged for how good they were at dancing. People would let their inner spirits loose. A great leader would not force everyone to dance to one tune, but allow them to make their own tune, their own dance, their own version of beauty. When you combine so many different versions of beauty, song, and dance together it might look and sound like a hodgepodge to some-but others might call it a masterpiece.”

“You get it. Right, Roy?”

Roy responded, “I guess…maybe it could use some work…but I love dancing, so it is a good enough analogy for me.”

The angels laughed.

The Lord turned to me and said, “Brainstorming is just as tough in heavens as on earth. I will have to work on this Sam, but you get the idea. If you come up with a better idea, I am all ears.”

“What’s next Sam?”

“What would you say about those who want to pursue a leadership position?”

“Leadership is not for everyone. Some are thrust into a leadership position while others stumble into it. There are a couple good quotes I would like to share with your readers. The first is Dale Carnegie who said “Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is what others think you are.”

The Lord loved his quotes.

“Sam, people need to focus on who they are, not what they are doing. Those who do their best as leaders do not trample others on their way to the top. They might have temporary victories that could embolden them, but in the long run, they will be reconciled to the leadership dumpster if they do not change quickly. You see that with almost every great leader. When a person is genuinely kind, thoughtful, concerned with others, that is something that is hard to fake over the long term and that is the type of person I would like to see pursue leadership opportunities.”

The Lord thought for a second. “Another great quote about leadership and character comes from Richard Nixon. I know he might not be considered high on many people’s list of leaders, but he is a great example of how power can foster inappropriate actions when someone is concerned about prioritizing power over their character. Dick said:

“You’ve got to learn to survive a defeat. That is when you develop character.”

“True leaders grow from their victories and defeat. They learn from everyone and everything. If you are willing to learn, then I encourage you to become a leader.”

The Lord looked at me.

“What would you say to someone who wants to be a leader, Sam?”

“After hearing everything you are saying Lord, I think the best answer is don’t be a leader.”  I chuckled.

I paused and continued. “But honestly, I would say that if someone wants to be a leader, they need to be transparent and honest. No games. So much of what I see around the office is games. But being completely honest in all your business dealings will cost something whether it is lost sales, lost deals, or lost revenue. However, being dishonest will cause a person to lose a lot more. A dishonest businessperson loses their self-esteem, love, respect, and many more things. I assume that if someone is not afraid of cheating on the Lord, by breaking your laws, then that person would not have a problem treating others poorly. In contrast, if they are willing to follow your laws then they have some elements necessary to be a great leader.”

“Good start Sam. More importantly, they lose a greater reward waiting for them in the world to come. Even for those who do not believe in heaven, they often sense there is something else out there, even if they cannot place their finger on it. That is a great place, and you are not judged by just when you go to religious services or be kind to strangers. I evaluate how you act doing business.   If a person wants my support in the hereafter, they must earn it where they conduct business. Thus, a leader who conducts business in a fair manner will be able to grow their business and succeed, even if the business fails. It is more than just being about the Benjamins, Sam, that is not the scorecard I keep.”

The Lord was doing that hand gesture to symbolize making it rain.

“I’ll give you a souvenir for your kids, Sam.”

“Lord, if we do not move along, I might not see them for a week.”

“What is a couple more hours between friends?”

The Lord calling me his friend, wow. I was wondering if I could friend him on social media. I was getting side-tracked.

“Lord, we talked about what skills a manager needs and how they need to be educated. Is there something to the concept of a naturally born leader?  I mean some people were just born with that quality, right?”

“Son, do you believe in evolution?”

My eyes bugged out of my head like the actor Marty Feldman in the movie Young Frankenstein. The Lord was asking me if I believed in evolution. I had studied game theory, and I assumed the Lord was sizing me up for a kill.

“No games here, Sam. I am not talking about the dinosaurs, which I will explain to you some other time. No, I am talking about leaders evolving. For example, Moses evolved. He initially couldn’t speak and then became my mouthpiece. Isaiah and Jeremiah also both claimed they could not speak well, yet they served as great prophets. Jacob was a jealous brother who wanted to be like his brother. But after years of growing and becoming his own person, he came out from under his brother’s shadow and became a true leader of his sons.  From every failure a person must grow. If they are only going to harp back on their defeats, they will miss out on the opportunity to grow from past mistakes.”

“So, is that focused on growing and evolving as a speaker and the need for leaders to be great speakers?”

“You can be a great leader without saying anything Sam. There are numerous leaders who showed by example. Nachson ben Amidav is an example. At the parting of the Red Sea the water was not separating, and the Israelites were stuck between the seas and Egyptians. Many complained and wanted to go back. Not Nachson. What did he do…he quickly evolved from a slave mentality to a risk taker attitude and walked into the water. Only when the water reached his head could I know that he truly was willing to risk it all. That is when I parted the sea.”

“Lord, can evolving also apply to delegating?  I had a hard time delegating to my kids or subordinates, but I learned to trust them, so is that type of managerial evolution?”

“Yes Sam. Delegating is one of the hardest things to do. I am like a father and when my children fall, I want to help them out. I want to take the hits for them and help them complete tasks, but I must stand back and let them learn by failing forward. Sure, I could do it and it would come out correct, but through delegating my children will learn from their mistakes. At least that is what I am hoping for.”

Up on the screen popped up a message- “Mistakes can be good…if you learn from them.”

“Sam, a leader needs to surround themselves with the best people they can find, delegate authority, and then get out of the way. Do you know who said that, Sam?”

“You.”

“Yes me, right now, but it was originally said by Ronald Reagan. What an actor and a humble human being.”

“Lord, if there was one skill you would want managers to really learn and enhance their skill set with, what would that be?”

“The most basic skill for a great leader entail listening. A leader who loves to hear his own voice will say anything to keep hearing it. Listening is such a basic, but lacking, skill. I can’t tell you how many people I see thinking about how they will respond to a point or argument that they do not really hear the other side. A great leader will truly listen, internalize, and then answer. A weaker leader will focus on creating all their arguments rather than truly listening.”

Up on the screen popped up all these images of eyes and ears. Thousands of them. All looking at me…or were they looking to the Lord and listening to him as well.

“Sam, you can’t see everything. Most people can’t see me, does that mean I don’t exist?  Even when someone sees something, they would not necessarily connect with it. That is why when someone sees a piece of art, they might say the piece “speaks” to them. It triggers something inside of them. While someone can say they see an issue or dispute, to resolve a conflict, you cannot use your eyes- you need to listen to the dispute. People want to be heard and leaders need to listen. In the same vein followers need to listen. It is a two-way street. An organization cannot rely on customers only listening to a sales pitch, the organization must listen to its clients and customers. I love a quote from one of my dear messengers, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks who wrote: ‘crowds are moved by great speakers, but lives are changed by great listeners.’”

The eyes that were on the screen all disappeared. All that was left were ears. The images of thousands of ears lined the walls.

“That is why I spend most of my days listening Sam. The autocratic manager who rules through tyranny and fear can often miss the message others are sending them that the manager is going against my will. I think about it like Bilam, and how he kept kicking his donkey for not moving in the direction he wanted. He barked at his donkey, he hit his donkey- it did not work. The donkey saw what Bilam could not see. The donkey saw an angel blocking the way and the angel was ready to kill Bilam. If a manager yells and doesn’t listen, they are bound to painful demise.”

“Listening is so important and is why I love it when people go out to nature. You can try talking with animals, but most will not understand you. The ones who love and understand nature can enjoy listening. Hearing the birds, the insects, the various animals. They are all out there saying something. Most people do not listen. It is not what they say, it is just the fact they are saying something.”

The Lord gazed right at me. He did not gaze past me. He looked at me…really looked at me…a piercing look which I could feel and for which we needed no words. He gave me a subtle smile, that meant I got it. No words needed to be exchanged. Both he and I listened, did not say a word, but said millions of words. The point got to me.

“That is the evolution and revolution of really listening Sam. Oh, and I uploaded the nature sound app to your phone so you can listen anytime you want.”

“T-t-t-thanks?”  I was shocked the Lord could program my phone- but he also could change my apps. Maybe I should get rid of my poker app after the meeting.

“I have a poker app as well Sam.  I play video poker, duces wild, and I try not to influence the game.”

I decided to just keep asking questions rather than imagining the Lord playing video poker.

“What else does a manager or leader need, God?”

“Sam, not everyone is cut-out to be a manager, and they need to know that. The thing is that when someone is not cut out for management, they probably know it, and those who work with them will also know it. With that said, managers who have a desire to lead others are in the best position to succeed. I love a quote from boxing great Muhammad Ali who said, “Champions aren’t made in the gym. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. They must have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.””

Ali was one of my favorite sports heroes. I presumed he did not listen much, but he was able to back-up his boisterous personality through great boxing skills. I wondered who else was able to walk the walk?

“One of my favorite personalities in the Bible Sam was Pinchas. He was a zealous patriot who wanted to defend the Bible, defend his mentor Moses, and to protect me. He did not wait, he just acted. He knew that failing to act was worse than acting incorrectly. I already gave you the list of some of my favorites such as Joseph and Pharaoh. Those are the ones everyone knows. However, sometimes we learn the best managerial efforts by those who do something wrong. Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu brought a strange fire to the sanctuary and violated my command. They died and some people might think I was too harsh. Others have tried to say the brothers were circumventing their senior mentors (Moses and their father Aaron) or that they were intoxicated. Others say that they were so focused on taking over for the old folks that they jumped ahead of their proper turn. I will not say the real reason(s), but these are all appropriate perspectives. The brothers needed the right vision, but also should not have mistreated their elders, should have taken care of themselves, and should not have violated direct orders from a superior. They failed to act correctly so just because you have the right vision does not mean it will lead to success or that they might not be burned by their actions…in this case literally.”

I thought to myself what a harsh penalty. I have known managers who have been terminated for misbehaving, but none have ever been killed…except maybe in those mafia type movies.

“Sam don’t get me wrong. Yes, it was an extreme punishment, but I had to set an example for my people. Letting something go or a small reprimand works at times, but other times we need a mega action that would shake the entire organization. In this case, my actions shook all of Israel and the message came through. I am still the boss and when I give a direction it needs to be followed, not 20%, not 68.5%, not 99%, but 100%. That applies just as much to my ten commandments. You can’t steal just a little and think that is okay. That could also be a lesson for a manager- they need to know which are the rules where they can be flexible and which rules they have to enforce with an iron fist.”

I was thinking about an all or nothing approach. That must be impossible. I hope the Lord allowed some wiggle room.

“Sam, I am not a tyrant. If I see someone trying and correcting past wrongs, well that goes a long way for me. If I see steps, even baby steps…well I like that. It is progress. It is part of evolution as human beings. For example, I have a managerial test I often use.”

This piqued my interest. Readers love tests.

“This is an easy test for your readers……”

I heard a drum roll as the Lord was rapping his fingers against the arm of his chair.

“How do you treat your senior (older) employees?”

“That’s it?”  I was hoping for something much more intense or difficult.

“I said it was easy Sam. One of my commandments is to honor the elderly and if a young manager can treat older employees well…well that is a victory in my book.”

“That sounds so easy, anyone can be a manager, Lord.”

“It sounds easy, but it is pretty difficult. It requires patience, understanding, compassion, the whole can of beans.”

It sounded easy, but I got the Lord’s point. I know how hard it was to listen to my next-door neighbor. Just to keep listening to his stories took a lot of patience. I could imagine how difficult it might have been to manage such an employee.

The Lord started singing…   “All we need is just a little patience.”

How was I to know the Lord was a GNR fan.

“I can’t wait for Axl to get up here…. I mean he has been close several times…but I prefer for him to stay down there as much as possible. He is doing a great job with AC/DC.”

Patience is a virtue, not just for a manager, but for the Lord. He is willing to wait to help complete his band. I guess that is part of the evolutionary process for managers. They need the right vision, patience, and to respect others. A great start to a list.

“Sam, it is not just the leaders who evolve, followers also need to evolve. The Israelites had to evolve from slaves to free people, but it was more than that.  They had to change from a culture of reliance on all the miracles I did when they left Egypt to a culture where they had to fight their own battle. It took them many years to get to the point where they truly believed in themselves, and it also involved the old generation passing on. The new generation had more faith, and they were willing to take risks. Similar to an organization where managers need to evolve, sometimes the workers need to evolve, or new workers need to come in to move an organization forward.”

I was trying to wrap my head around all the skills managers, leaders, and their followers need to effectively evolve from weaker or unprepared individuals/organization to a lean mean fighting machine- with giving props to Bill Murry from the movie Stripes. I assumed every manager and leader needs some basic skills. Those skills can be insight, empathy, compassion, love, fear, patience, understanding, following rules, educating, there are so many skills that are needed. No simple self-help book can train someone to be so nimble and effective. I had not yet finished my thought when the Lord interrupted me.

“Sam, one of the most important skills a manager or leader needs is the ability to say I need help!  Pharaoh went to a prisoner for advice. He was smart in that he did not care who he got the answer from, just that he needed the answer. We all need help at times but are scared to ask. Moses did not ask his father-in-law for help. It was Yitro who saw Moses was going crazy and held the first recorded intervention. I even asked Adam to name the animals… names are not my thing, so I enlisted a little help.”

So, I must add to my every expanding list the need to ask for help. It would require a massive self-help book to cover all this advice. I looked up from my notes and a book was hovering in front of me.

“Sam, that book already exists. It’s the Bible.”