 Tanzanian marathon runner Juma Ikangaa said, "The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.” No one ever gets to the next level without preparation. The issue is competency: the ability a person has that enables him or her to do a job successfully. Core competencies are those basic, essential skills an individual must have that are vital to success. Without them, any ascent to the next level will be short-lived and failure is almost guaranteed.
Abraham Lincoln said “If I had ten hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first nine sharpening my ax.” Competence is not merely swinging an ax hard and fast, it is preparing the ax so that each swing makes the greatest impact. Unfortunately, many people disqualify themselves from the next level because they fail to sharpen their edge—rather than maximizing their impact by upgrading their competencies, they become complacent in a comfort zone, retract their diligence and diminish their value. They allow themselves to become “dull.” Preparation is not a one-time-thing, limited to one’s graduate or post graduate studies. Preparation is perpetual. It must occur at every level. The danger is to become complacent and neglect to stay sharp. The following are several points to guard us from a dull edge. 1. Don’t get stuck in a comfort zone. It’s possible to become so comfortable in our accomplishments that we have forget the importance of upgrading ourselves. Skill sets have a shelf life. Technology is always improving, culture is always changing, fads and trends are constantly in flux. Those who fail to upgrade themselves become obsolete before their own eyes. 2. Don’t be a typewriter person in a laptop world. I once had a secretary who refused to learn computer skills and data base protocols. She was great on a typewriter and taking shorthand, but had no idea how to set up or use the new data base established for our office. She was content to remain a typewriter person in a laptop world. Unfortunately, her refusal to upgrade her skills, forced others to do work that she should have been able to do. That meant her value diminished and she became more of liability. In a very short time, I had to “restructure” our office, demote her to lower position, cut her hours and hire an office manager with the skills we needed. 3. Don’t make yourself obsolete by failing to upgrade. Read books, take classes, volunteer to gain experience, build your resume; do what is required to improve yourself mentally, professionally, physically and even spiritually. Competent people are prepared. They continually improve their competency through a personal determination to excel beyond the level presently they are currently at. Too many people are content to maintain status quo. They are happy to simply hold a title and go through “the motions.” What they don’t understand is that their complacency is diminishing their value. Their edge is getting dull. 4. Don’t depreciate your value. Be an appreciating asset; add value to yourself. In terms of profit and loss, you are an asset to the organization you serve. In finance, when assets appreciate, they gain value and are worth more. When they lose value, they depreciate; when that happens we relieve ourselves of them. In other words, we fire them. It’s amazing how many people get fired and never saw it coming. They thought everything was fine but didn’t realize they had failed to upgrade themselves, lost value, became obsolete and depreciated in value. 5. Don’t withdraw value from yourself. Too often, people withdraw value from themselves. They get disappointed and discouraged in their work and withdraw value from themselves. When they started out, they were excited. They worked hard, volunteered for projects, put in overtime. But in time, their expectations were not met, perhaps a boss offended them or the company disappointed them and they lost motivation. As a result, they developed a bad attitude, started complaining and became resentful. They stopped working hard, stopped coming in early, stopped volunteering and have become a depreciated asset. In fact, they become a performance problem and are now fighting to keep their job. 6. Don’t expect to be paid more than you are worth. Diligent people understand they don’t get paid by the hour, they get paid for the value they bring to the hour. When you stop bringing value to the hour, you depreciate. I had one employee who kept pressing me for more compensation. However, I knew he was already being compensated commensurate to the value he was bringing to the organization. I helped him to realize that if he wanted to be paid more, he should bring more value to the hours he was working and demonstrate his increased value. If you are negotiating for a raise, don’t whine about your pay; remind the decision maker of all you do, all you’ve done, all you plan to do, how much value you add to the business, and how you are an essential asset. 7. Don’t become low hanging fruit. “Low hanging fruit” is the fruit lowest on the tree that is the first to get plucked. When the time comes for cutbacks, restructuring, or layoffs, you should not to be the first person that management thinks of. Don’t be the one that everyone knows has a bad attitude, complains about conditions, spreads gossip and has a sloppy, poor work ethic. Managers, very quickly, get an idea of who adds value and who doesn’t; you don’t want opinions to be formed about you that present you as a dangling fruit. Instead, be diligent. Make yourself indispensable; make sure you’re not the first person they talk about when talk about cutting staff comes up. For more practical advice on increasing your competence, check out my newest book, Upward: Taking Your Life to the Next Level.  There are two factors that are essential in the development of greater competency: God’s grace and our cooperation.
On the one side is a gracious God who is working in us, both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). Scripture says His divine power has given to us all things that pertain unto life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3), and He is faithful to complete that good work that He began in us (Phil. 1:6). God’s call upon us is an “upward call” in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14) and He desires to take us to the next level. On the other side is us. Although God wants to deepen our competency and qualify us for the next level, it requires our cooperation. Our participation with his working in us is the vital step in the process of our enlargement. Unfortunately, our attention is too often focused on our current level of comfort rather than the next level to which God is trying to bring us. This makes it difficult—if not impossible—to be confronted with low level attitudes that are holding us back. People who increase their competency and qualify for the next level are able to hear and accept the bad news—about themselves. They can hear the brutal facts about their own character deficiencies and faulty performance and own it. In other words, they do not make excuses, shift the blame to others or justify themselves. They acknowledge the need for changes to be made and set out to make them. This dispels the notion that going to the next level is a fun-filled, magical journey for the one who simply desires it. No. Going to the next level is hard work. It is uncomfortable and painful. It forces us to confront ourselves and answer many difficult questions, beginning with the following three. Do you have deficiencies that are holding you back? Can you see them? Do you know what needs to be corrected? In other words, do you know what you don’t know? Psychology identifies four stages in the process of increasing competency. These are also known as the four stages of learning: unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence and unconscious competence. At the bottom is unconscious incompetence. This poor guy doesn’t even realize his own deficiencies. He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know. He goes on and on in his inefficient, nonproductive manner, unaware that he is completely failing. It’s a blissful ignorance. Sadly, he will be offended that no one appreciates him and will often complain that his hard work is unrecognized. Before this person can ever go to the next level, he must become aware of his own incompetence and recognize the need for new skills. Next is conscious incompetence. This is the person who is failing, but fortunately, knows he is failing. He knows what he doesn’t know. He doesn’t blame others for his failure because he understands the reason is his own incompetence. As a result, he wants help, and is determined to improve himself. The Holy Spirit can work with this man because he is teachable, wants to go higher and is willing to humble himself to get there. This person is moving toward the next level. Then there is conscious competence. This is what happens when a person has learned a new competency; however, demonstrating those skills do not yet come naturally. They have been teachable, they have submitted to instruction and have implemented necessary changes in their performance. But the new skills are still forced behaviors. It is a level of competence that requires focus and concentration. It’s not natural. There is an understanding of what must be done to succeed, but it is only through strong conscious effort that the new skill is executed. Finally, there is unconscious competence. This is the kind of efficiency that seems to come naturally. This person has dedicated himself so diligently to learning, developing and honing a new competency, that it can be done almost unconsciously. He has had so much practice, that the new skill is “second nature.” God is trying to bring each of us to a level of unconscious competence. Where effective living, serving, leading and loving is second nature. It’s a place where our efficiency and impact is effortless. It comes without thinking. But this level of competence does not “just happen.” It happens because teachable people have come to recognize their own deficiencies. They “know what they don’t know.” They don’t pretend to have all the answers and reject voices of criticism and concern that God uses as surgical instruments of correction. They submit to God’s gracious attempts to repair their disabilities. Check back next week for further discussion competence and how it is essential to promotion. Or, check out my newest book, Upward: Taking Your Life to the Next Level.  It has often been said that God promotes a person to the level of their own incompetence. In other words, God sometimes elevates people who are not sufficiently prepared to demonstrate His strength through their weakness.
While this does happen, it’s the exception, not the rule. More typically, preparation is essential to promotion. Moses endured forty years of preparation in the backside of the desert, and Joshua was prepared for another 40 years as his protégé. Samuel had his school of the prophets and Jesus had a three-year school for His disciples. Paul spent an unknown number of years in the Arabian desert and told his apprentice Timothy that “the man of God (should) be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:17, ESV) In other words, anointing is not enough—the call of God is not enough; one must acquire a certain level of competency to qualify for the next level. Competence is having sufficient ability to do the job. It is a combination of spiritual gifts, personal values and practical skills that enable an individual to perform a given task to a successful standard. Competence is the key that unlocks opportunity; without it, opportunity will be lost. In other words, when the occasion for promotion is presented, those who have achieved certain abilities will enter in. Those who do not, will be left behind. Check back next week for further discussion on competence and how it is essential to promotion. Or, check out my newest book, Upward: Taking Your Life to the Next Level.  So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. Nehemiah 4:6
It’s what Proverbs calls our most precious possession: diligence. It means to move quickly and do your best. It is a skillful hustle. More plainly, diligence is work ethic; it’s the moral obligation to do one’s best. It means you don’t look for an easy way out or leave the difficult jobs for someone else. If something needs be fixed, you fix it. If something needs to be cleaned, you clean it. If something must be done you, do it. It’s this demonstration of character that distinguishes you as a person of value, deserving of promotion and advance. Success doesn’t “just happen.” It happens because diligence made it happen. Lou Holtz, the only college football coach to lead six different college football programs to bowl games and four different programs to the final top 20 rankings, understood the value of diligence. He said, “Winners embrace hard work. They love the discipline of it, the trade-off they're making to win. Losers, on the other hand, see it as punishment. And that's the difference.” Diligence isn’t suffering, it’s the fertile soil of opportunity. It’s the difference between winning and losing, success and failure, and going to the next level or staying stuck in complacency. Opportunity is not sitting idle and waiting for someone to open a door for you. Opportunity is found in the hustle and hard work. It’s early mornings and late nights; it’s long, hot days and tired afternoons. Opportunity presents itself in the refusal to cut corners and quit. Opportunity doesn’t just appear, it is provoked, incited and inspired to appear by diligence. Work hard—harder than anyone else—and see how opportunity presents itself. Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” This is especially important for people of faith to understand. It’s amazing how many Christians believe success will come if they simply get a “man of God” to lay hands on them or a “prophet” to prophesy over them. They believe the con-artist-preachers who say, “Bring an offering and I’ll pray an anointing upon your life for success and prosperity.” Or, “Come to my church and I’ll lay hands on you and impart an unction for favor in your business.” New cars, new homes, more clients, greater revenue—all you need is a prayer, an anointing. I even heard one preacher toting his “Holy-Ghost-Anointed Pens.” He said, “Use these pens that are anointed by God and you’ll pass every exam and succeed in every contract.” Nonsense. Not only is it not biblical, it’s a heresy that borders on witchcraft. It’s spiritual junk food. It has no value, no nutrition or substance. There’s no talk of hard work, discipline, study, preparation, core competencies or simply having a good attitude. Just get someone to pray for you and you will succeed. Ludicrous. If there is any formula for success or prescription for promotion, it’s not found in a prophet’s prayer, it’s found in diligence. In Matthew 25, Jesus emphasized the need for diligence in His Parable of the Talents. There were three workers; each was given resources according to his ability. One was given five talents, another two talents and the last was given one talent. The reward they received, the next level to which each was assigned, was proportionate to their performance, their diligence. Those who worked hard, properly prepared, demonstrated diligence and became productive were promoted. Those who did not, were condemned. The message is clear. God has incredible plans for our lives. There are things He wants to release to us, blessings He wants to give us, but the key to receiving them is faithful diligence. This is what He meant when Jesus said, “'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.” There’s no mention of one’s special gifting, talent or skill. Those who worked hard—who demonstrated diligence where promoted to the next level. Check back next week for further discussion diligence. Or, check out my newest book, Upward: Taking Your Life to the Next Level.  Regardless of political affiliation or which candidate you support, we can all agree that this has been a turbulent election cycle. For leaders, it has largely been a lesson in “What Not to Do!” The following are some observations that I recently shared with our leadership team.
1. Be careful with your emails. The FBI recently reopened an investigation of Hillary Clinton due to the discover of 650,000 emails with metadata pointing back to her “persona” server. Although most of us may not have to worry about classified or confidential material, her mistakes give all leaders some food for thought when it comes to using email:
2. Be discreet with social networks. Donald Trump is renowned for his incessant tweets. In fact, he has been accused of lying because previous posts contradicted some of his more current claims. It suggests the need for all of us to be careful with social media.
3. Apologize when you mess up. Hillary wouldn’t apologize for her email debacle until her declining poll numbers forced her to. Donald Trump was forced to apologize for that infamous, disgusting video that we all hated. Many leaders refuse to apologize because they think it makes them vulnerable to criticism. Maybe so, but it also strengthens their character. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone. When you do, own it and apologize. It will increase your trustworthiness as a leader. How often have we seen colleagues who try to avoid admitting a mistake or incorrect statement? Such avoidances come across as weaknesses that betray a person’s ignorance and lack of self-awareness. In fact, we lose respect for a leader when he or she fails to acknowledge a mistake. What we desire in our leaders is honesty, humility and self-awareness. Most people gain confidence when a leader acknowledges a mistake and apologizes. Rather than opening the leader up to more criticism, it makes us believe that the leader can be trusted to do the right thing without begin criticized. It makes them stronger. 4. Respect diversity in ethnicity and differing lifestyles. Trump attacked certain ethnic groups and has never recovered. For many, this is unforgivable and I agree. Never should a leader discriminate based on gender, ethnicity or religion. We should respect all people. Obviously, in some organizations (such as religious), there will be lifestyles or religious views that would be considered antithetical to that organization’s values or beliefs and cannot be accepted. But while we may disagree and even reject certain contradicting values, we can still be tolerant. Tolerance means you put up with or bear with people who hold certain values you disagree with. It means that if you disagree, you are still kind and respectful toward them. Tolerance, however, does not mean we must accept and agree with those values to be as just as true as our own. Rick Warren said, “Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.” In other words, we can love someone without approving what they do. Always be kind and remain professional toward those with whom you may disagree. 5. Respect the younger generation. Neither Trump nor Clinton have a strong appeal to millennials. Millennials care about issues like minimum wage, student loan debt and equality. They feel as though the presidential candidates aren't talking about the issues that matter to them. Instead, they say the candidates speak about social security, taxes, and other topics that they don't view as priorities. Whether you agree with the millennials viewpoint or not, we as leaders must be careful that we don’t speak or lead past the younger generation, caring only care about issues that are important to us. The website Marketing Cloud identified several ways marketers can appeal to millennials
6. Trust is the leader’s highest commodity According to a CBS News poll last month, two-thirds of all voters don’t trust either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. A June Rasmussen poll found that 45% thought Trump was less honest even than most politicians. Clinton surpassed him with 46%. Trust requires four elements: character, competence, chemistry and care. Character is about honesty and integrity. These are the fundamental expressions of character, without them a leader’s ceiling is extremely low. Competence is about aptitude and skill set. One can have great character, but they also need the abilities to get the job done. Nothing is more frustrating than a leader who doesn’t know what he or she is doing. Chemistry is how well the leader gels with the team. What kind of relational dynamic and synergy does she or he bring to the other people in the room? Is the leader aware of others and tuned into their needs, or is he aloof, seeing people only as things to use to get his vision done? This leads to the fourth quality of trust: care. People don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care. Leaders who take the time to get to know their people, show interest in their personal lives and felt needs are leaders that connect well with their people and know who to get people to get things done. Take time to talk to your people, listen to them and show a genuine interest in what is happening in their lives outside of work. 7. Great communication skills really do matter. Hillary has become infamous for her very scripted, cold and clinical approach toward communication. Donald Trump speaks from his heart. Love him or hate him, his speeches are somewhat compelling and draw a huge amount of interest. Remember how you look and how you speak is almost as important, or even more important than what you are saying. Great communication skills are essential to effective leadership. But remember that great communication is always more than mere words. It consists of several components.
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It was concerning King Saul that David said, “How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished.” His was a life that began with great promise and celebration, but ended in miserable failure and humiliation. His life is an example of how the mightiest of leaders fail.
Why do great men and women fall? How do leaders, quick to ascend with such promise of unparalleled success, find themselves awash in disastrous failure and disgrace? More importantly, can the path toward one’s downfall be discerned before it’s too late and be avoided? It is the premise of my newest book, How The Mighty Have Fallen that such a decline can be detected and reversed. The life and leadership career of King Saul, Israel's first king, provides us with a treasury of examples of "what not to do." The below blog post is the first in series of excerpts from the book to examine and avoid Saul's mistakes and find a successful path through leadership. READ AN EXCERPT |
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