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Leadership in the Church: Control Freak and the Runaway Train
Posted On 02/05/2009 14:05:33 by lusciouschaos

Heavenly Father has presented me with a similar challenge over and over again.  I have been a Primary President, Ward Activities Leader, Social VP for Seminary and Institute (don't even want to mention how long ago for these two), Enrichment Leader, etc. In my professional life I have been called upon often to manage sales teams.  The challenge for me with all of these is this.  I am a control freak.  A nice control freak, probably one of the nicer control freaks you will meet.

I want everyone's opinion to be heard and noted and then I want to proceed with my original thought or direction.  By nature, I am very creative and quick on my feet.  When I am solely responsible for making the decisions I have enjoyed great success.  When working in committee, I become frustrated.  

Last night I lead a meeting that quickly became a runaway train.  Myself and 3 brethren, trying to decide on our Stake Helping Hands project.

The three gentlemen (who by the way are better with suggestions that output) managed to take my original proposal and morph it with their own ideas until it looked nothing like the project I had defined.

In an effort to be nice (child of the "good girl" era) I compromised on a few pieces, by the end I walked out angry and smiling. 

The kicker was when one member offered to write up the activity to "help me with the workload."  I indicated that would be helpful and that he should send it to me. He indicated that he would like to cc: the other two cause they have great suggestions, especially Brother X (note Brother X has not been handling his own responsibilities). 

I was recently in another meeting where the speaker talked about the Heavenly Father's leadership style:

 

Planning

Delegation

Execution

Reporting

 

I love this.  I want to do the planning and delegation as my position would suggest.  Instead I often end up with most the execution working on a plan I didn't create or endorse.

 

Argh!!

 

Suggestions are welcome

 

 

 

 



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Viewing 1 - 3 out of 3 Comments

From: RobertP
02/13/2009 02:01:08
I have been taken in a direction of base response lately.  Smiling and angry in your case above.  Base response.  It is kind of broad, but with my kids, temper used to be the best path to harmony, still might be a little.  I learned a trick through some conditioning that allows me to take a different track.  It is more toward firm and determined.  While learning it, I could feel the whole base of my brain, right along the floor of it, flexing kind of diagonally to maintain that state.  I was able to kindly ask a coworker to take a case that should never have been seen on my shift that he was waiting for me to take.  I may at times have just taken it, but this frame of mind wouldn't allow me to take it, and wouldn't let up until kindly he took it.  There is a brain state that didn't really exist to me before this, but in hind sight I had seen in others.  Just a suggestion.  New conditioned response to old situation.  If it can't be chosen, it can be learned. 


From: Elphaba
02/07/2009 05:13:26

Hey T,


 


Ain't she smart? That's because she's my sister. Truly.


 


You probably didn't even think I had any siblings, huh.


 


Wait, does having a lot of siblings make you see people floating on your ceiling waving hi?


 


Elph



From: Dr T
02/06/2009 21:03:20

Cool idea I like how you laid it out.  :)





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