Blue Collar Leadership Skills - Part 1 - Surround Yourself With The Right People

The first thing that I can relate to Jesus is that he was a blue-collar worker too. He was raised and worked as a carpenter until he was 30 years old. Therefore, I think some of his teaching and leadership may reflect his work background. Consequently, I will study the book of John, as this is when he demonstrates many of his leadership styles.

 Surround Your Self With The Right People!

In the first chapter of John, one of the first things that Jesus does is asks people to follow him. I think that there is a lesson to be learned here. As a leader, it is essential to surround yourself with the right people. Here is a Bible verse for this topic.

•  "Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm." Proverb 13:20.

So would this method of leadership work today? Let's look at a few successful people and see what advice they give.

• "Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere as long as the policy you've decided upon is being carried out." ~Ronald Reagan.
•  "Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard." ~Colin Powell.
• "Surround yourself with people that are full of ideas, and people that are not going to be "yes-men." Surround yourself with smart, truthful, honest people." ~Donald Trump.

These are just a few quotes of successful people; however, the list goes go on. It is obvious that surrounding yourself with the right people is vital in life and business. While many discovered this method and gave credit to it, Jesus nailed this down many years ago. This method is nothing new. So if you are going to follow the leadership of Jesus, be sure to surround yourself with the right people in life and business.

Make It Happen!

You will also read in chapter one that Jesus goes out seeking his followers. He did not wait for them to find him. Another lesson Jesus provides is that you must go out to make things happen. You can not sit around and expect things to come to you.

I think this is an excellent lesson for us to learn in business and life. I believe it is essential to pray for things going on in our lives, but a mistake to sit back and wait for him to provide.

In the movie Facing The Giants, an example of this is given. Two farmers are praying for rain. One farmer waits for his prayers to be answered, and the other farmer plants seed, and all of the work needed for when the rain comes. Which farmer do you think received God's prayer? Of course, the one who was prepared!

Here is a bible verse that conveys to make it happen.

• "All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." ~ Proverbs 14:23 (NIV

Now let's take a look at current day leaders to see if this applies in business and life.

• "Some people want it to happen; some wish it would happen; others make it happen." ~Michael Jordan.
• "Apply yourself. Get all the education you can, but then, by God, do something. Don't just stand there; make it happen." ~Lee Iacocca.
• "You can't just sit there and wait for people to give you that golden dream. You've got to get out there and make it happen for yourself." ~Diana Ross.

These quotes make it clear from people from diverse backgrounds believe in the leadership style that Jesus used. It's evident in the Bible and clear from successful people that we can't sit on our butt to make things happen.

Use Authority And Be Confident 

To be a leader, you must also be firm and confident. You must know the vision and values of your purpose. I feel that Jesus demonstrates this by asking people to follow him. He did not hesitate or ask them to follow him if it fits into their schedule. He firmly said, "follow me," very directly with authority. I believe that there are times that we must use authority to be good teachers, leaders, or even parents.

Build Credibility 

Convince people to believe in you. Trusting the teacher is one of the teaching methods that I have learned as a teacher. I have also heard Zip Ziglar quote something that reminds me of this. "No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care." In education, I have learned if you can not get the students on your side or trust you, most of what you teach them will go in one ear and out the other. Therefore, time should be spent building credibility with the students before spilling out all of your knowledge. They also need to know why this applies to them, but that is another lesson. In John 1:47-49 Jesus convinced Nathanael that he already knew who he was and proves it by telling Nathanael what he was doing before he had ever even seen Jesus. Once Jesus convinces Nathanael, he believed that Jesus was who he said he was.

Know And Share Vision!

In the last couple of verses of chapter 1, Jesus gives them a glimpse of what will come. He tells them that they will see heaven open up and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. I believe this holds another lesson of Jesus' leadership and teaching methods. This method is to know where you're going (a vision) and share that with your students, employees, or followers. You are more likely to have your followers buy into your leadership and want to be a part of your vision (team) if you share your direction and purpose with your followers.

 Lessons Learned

1. Surround yourself with the right people. Good employees or followers can help you achieve success. The wrong employees or followers can cause you a lot of grief. This can apply in business, life, and spiritual life.

2. Make it happen. Sometimes we must go out of the way to make it happen. We cannot sit around and expect things to happen for you automatically.

3. Use authority and be confident. A leader or teacher must know when to use authority and be confident. People have a hard time following someone that is not confident in themself.

4. Build credibility. Before you teach a class or run a business, you must trust your students or employees. Therefore, please spend some time with students or employees to convey why you have the credentials to be their teacher, employer, or leader.

5. Make your followers a part of the team. Share your visions and plans with your followers. Try to find ways to encourage your followers to be a part of your team. If the followers know that you are willing to share your vision with them, they are more likely to do their best for you.

These five steps will demonstrate leadership that Jesus left for us was effective then, effective today, and will still be effective for years to come. By following these blue-collar steps, you will be more successful in business and life.

Why Suffering and Pain.....What If.

 Why Suffering and Pain.....What If...

I was talking to my mother on the phone who has been battling cancer for years to learn the new medicine is not helping much and that she has not been feeling well.  After hanging up, I ask, why should a good person and a great mom have to go through this.  I don’t understand!

Then a thought occurred to me.  I have no scripture for this, but just a thought, so I called it “What If”

For me to understand things I have to relate it to things I know, which are business and education. 

A good manager knows their employees.  They know who to delegate specific job tasks to.  Who will get the job done and who is not capable of successfully completing a job task.  

Good managers know which employees are best suited for each specific job and delegates accordingly to maximize the skills of each employee.  

A good instructor knows which students want to succeed and will push them to reach their full potential.  The student may feel it’s unfair, overworked, wonder “why should I work harder”...but the instructor never gives up or allows the student to settle for mediocrity.  

While the student feels overworked, the instructor knows something the student doesn’t.  The instructor knows that the student will reap the reward of a successful career.  Regardless of the obstacles set in front of them, who surrounds them, what challenges they face, they have the desire and the will to succeed.  And with the instructor’s help, they will succeed in their career.    

What if God is like a manager or instructor?

Looking at each situation like a big business deal.  Carefully and wisely analyzing the situation and determining who is the best person for the job at hand.  You may be saying like me, cancer, suffering, and pain.....what kind of job is that!  What if the job is not for those dying, but those who live.  The one suffering is sacrificing the pain so others can adjust and cope with the situation.  Maybe those living could not handle a sudden loss of a loved one.  What if those who die suddenly could not have carried the weight and handled the suffering and pain of dying slow.

We all know that our days are numbered on earth, but how we go is unknown.  

I lost a brother to a sudden death and that was hard to endure.  What if God looked at the job and determined that my brother could not endure the suffering and pain to leave us slow.  Or one of us could not bare to watch him suffer.

What if you are the chosen one, the one who God trusts to get the job done correctly, the best person for the job task, and the one who doesn't know it yet, but who is going to receive a reward that can’t even be imagined.   Perhaps, you’re the one who has to watch someone leave you suddenly or the one who has to endure the pain before you go.   

I still hope for a miracle that my Mom will conquer cancer, but it has been a long hard battle for her.  

You’ve been a great Mom, leader in my life, and set a stellar example for us to follow.  I can’t imagine life without you.  What if you, Mom, are the chosen one, the one who God knew he could count to fight the battle and bare the pain, the best employee for the job, the student eager to succeed,  the one with wide shoulders to carry the weight and endure the pain.....because I am not able to see you suddenly leave me?   I want to say thank you and I love you Mom....and not what if, but I know your rewards are going to be great and beyond comprehension.  

Whether you fight this battle and conquer cancer or the fight is too big and can’t be won, know that you are a winner and a champion and that you helped God’s plan work just the way he wanted it to.  

Froggy Fresh - Same Old Kid - Rapping With A Message

I am not the biggest fan of rap music, but if you listen to this one, you'll want to listen to it again! The rap song also has an inspiring message with truth. I think everyone can relate when he says "they hate to see you make it, as soon as you get something for yourself they want to take it." It can be discouraging to work hard and the government get their hands on it and spend it on shopping sprees and spend it other foolish ways. Or a thief steal things you worked hard for. He then says there is no power in the dollars, which is true, but I do like the things money can buy. But when it is all said and done, would money really matter if this was your last day to live?

Logan, the Sky Angel Cowboy

I came across this video and thought it was worth sharing with you.

 Logan sounds young, but he has a good understanding and makes a great point in this video. Losing one of my sons would be very hard.

Jessica Hatcher "Heaven's New Angel"

Awesome art piece as a tribute to Jessica Hatcher.  Check out this airbrush work.

 

 "Ryan Townsend paints a tribute to Jessica who just lost her two year battle with cancer."

I would love to have half of the airbrush talent that Ryan has.  This is an awesome job and it is great to know that Jessica has friends like you.  My mother has been battling cancer for a long time.

Let us know what you think about this airbrush art piece.

Is Your Business on FourSquare.com

If you are not on FourSquare.com, you may find this interesting.  Many businesses are using this as a check-in to offer their customers discounts.  The customers who check in more often, may receive better discounts.  Watch the video and let us know if and how you are using FourSquare or other social media for your business.

Lesson Learned From Somebody That I Used to Know - Walk off the Earth Gotye -

There is a lesson to be learned from watching this video.  This video reaching almost 150 million views on YouTube 2012.  It is a great video, but the music is not the lesson learned.   Watch the video and see what you learn.


I'm sure you saw the same think that I saw....Teamwork!  It took a lot of teamwork to create this video.  This is a skill everyone could polish in their life and career.  Employers need people who play well in the sandbox together.  It is amazon what people can do when they work together as a team.

Think back when everyone did for himself.  Back when people farmed and provided for their families.  Sure, there may have been a little trading going on, but most people provided for their own families.  It was like that for many years.  Then when people started working together, things started happening.  We had cars, electricity, telephones, satellite, internet, etc.  This all takes teamwork!

It blows my mind how little things evolved the past several thousand years, and how much it has changed in just the past two hundred years.

So if you want to excel in your career, remember to work on your team skills.

What are your thoughts on this?  Leave us a comment below.