My leadership hat

My brother-in-law has a hat that has two bills pointing in opposite directions. On one side, over the visor, is written, "Follow me... I'm the leader" while over the second visor are the words "Where are we going?"

I have often laughed over this hat, but every time I think about that hat I am reminded of the awesome responsibility I have as the Fleece Library Leader. At times I get a little scared over the responsibility I have to not only my institution and library, but also to my staff. I want a one-visor cap, not the two on my BI:'s cap!

I recently read a short article on this very topic from a slightly different perspective, written by Amy Simpson of the Christianity Today group. She was writing about how workers can "lead" their leaders. I thought she really hit the nail on the head, so to speak in her list of 10 things a worker can do for his/her leader, and I think 7 or 8 of them are very close to what I would have said I want my staff to do for me as their leader:

1. Pray for me.

2. Care about me. Think about ways to encourage me.

3. Make me look good. Find ways to compensate for my shortcomings.

4. Draw boundaries. Respectfully and graciously tell me if I am asking you to do something beyond your ability.

5. Tell me what you need to do your job, or to do a better job. I may not have figured it out yet!

6. Take responsibility for what I have entrusted to you. Develop a specific vision for your area of responsibility and make sure I know what it is.

7. Take initiative. When you see something that needs to be done, do it. Look for ways to make things better and share those ideas with me.

8. Let your obedience to God motivate you to get better at what you do. don't wait for me to push you along in that direction.

You can read the original list and Ms. Simpson's explanations at http://blog.christianitytoday.com/giftedforleadership/2007/12/leading_your_leaders.html