During the current situation surrounding the corona virus. I have seen
the best of us and the worst of us. The best of us are volunteering, donating,
helping, healing, teaching, and just doing their level best to keep life as
normal as possible for those around them. The worst of us are hoarding,
complaining, or attempting to take unfair advantage. This has me thinking
out loud about what roles we play when faced with challenges.
In this blog I am honoring and pulling heavily from Donald Miller, author
of the book Marketing Made Simple and the concept of Storytelling
he weaves in this work helping organizations tell a compelling story and
narrative. Essentially, Don shares that in any story, whether move, book, etc.
there are four roles or characters that play out in the story. For leaders,
there are only two that really matter. . . Heroes and Guides.
Heroes – are those as
described by famous U.S. Navy admiral, William Halsey, as “There are no great men and women, there are only great challenges that ordinary men and women are
forced by circumstances to meet.” In my last blog, I attempted to outline how
you and many others are those ordinary people rising to the challenge to
successfully navigate an extraordinary situation. As in many great stories, true
heroes never think of themselves as such but in time, come to realize their gifts
and abilities in the service to others. Now more than ever, we need leaders of
courage and persistence who will work tirelessly to repair and restore our
nations, communities, businesses, hospitals, faith communities, and families. These
heroes will be easy to spot since they will refuse to play the complainer/blamer and instead be the leader we all wish we had. They will
be out in front encouraging, volunteering, serving their teams, healing, encouraging
their friends and co-workers, and many other impactful roles.
Guides – guides are those that identify, create, and support the
heroes. They are the ones that help ordinary men and women discover just how
extraordinary they can be! Think Anne Sullivan, Merlin, Dumbledore, and Yoda
all rolled into one! Guides act in sharp contrasts to the villains that seek to
take advantage of people and situations in times of crises. Rather, the Guide’s
sole intention is to make things better. They have experienced and lived
through crises and challenging times in the past and use that wisdom to help.
They know however, that in order to do so, they must multiply and empower other
leaders. They lend their influence and expertise to emerging influencers who
quickly take on the challenge of leadership
For a synopsis of these roles, please see this short video Don Millar
made for the Power of Positive Summit - http://powerofpositivesummit.com/watch20/donald20.html. It is important to note that Don is in no way
making light of those who have truly suffered due to the physical and other
impacts of Covid-19, rather he is making a distinction between those that make
situations worse and those that make them better.
Whether Hero or Guide, the role
is never easy. There is always doubt, frustration, disappointments, and sacrifice.
In fact, I believe the most important characteristic of a hero is not necessarily
courage but merely a willingness to not give up, to simply just stand in place and
not yield to the chaos around them. I encourage you to be that person because so
many of us need you to!
As always if I can help you and
the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I invite
you to contact me.
Yours in leadership,
Bill Faulkner
Independent Coach, Speaker,
and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team TM\
Certified DISC Profile System Trainer
and Consultant
Email
= bill@outloudinc.com
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