Failure is a funny thing... one has to examine - did I fail to meet expectations, did I not understand the objective, have I failed to communicate and mitigate outcomes appropriately or am I really just incapable of the task at hand?
I can tell you that I had a tough experience with failure several years ago, but it did launch me on the road to understanding real leadership. I had basically come to a spiritual crossroads (unbeknownst to me) but was faced with an opportunity to cave or submit. A professor in college once told me that without submission, there can be no learning. The first step to learning is doing what you are told (the way you are told to do it). Then when you achieve success at that level, you can take your experience to develop your own theories.
So, my tale of going from failure to leadership is one where submission was the key to unlocking a breakthrough. I went from Corporate loser to the owner telling me, after I resigned to take another job, that they could not do without me! The first 18 months of my employment with this company were a disaster. As I was learning to apply my technology education and experience toward the field of e-commerce marketing, I was marked a failure by my employers and colleagues. Complaints ranged from not working fast enough, my efforts weren't producing the sales figures they felt we should be garnering (results they expected from items selling less than $20 ea., and a good portion of those under $5 ea.) and there was just a general pressure to do more, better.
I knew that I was doing my job correctly and effectively and that the company needed to make investments if they wanted to produce better results, but they would not listen so I was forced to do what I could without any resources. At the end of this road I only found probation and the threat of being fired. I was forced to produce weekly reports of all my work, justifying why I was doing particular activities and keep a running project list of them all. It was tedious and humiliating. There were days when I'd drive in to work and have to wipe away tears from stress and frustration because we could not afford for me to quit this job either.
So, I turned to leaders in my church. They were well aware of my struggles and I told them I just could not understand why I was going through such extreme punishment. In love, these people told me point blank I was experiencing a spiritual test. I was never taught about such things. They explained to me that I should not worry and that what I was going through was most likely unfair for what needed to take place, but submission (to the Lord) was what was needed to turn the situation around. They explained to me that the Bible says we are to submit to our leaders, pray for them and do everything they ask me to do, unless it was sinful, of course. So, I did everything I was asked. I was able to work more closely with my Supervisor as a result of his 'weekly report' requirement. I began to not only pray for my Supervisor, but I asked the Lord to open his eyes - to see my real intentions as an employee, that I really was working in a manner that represented the long-term, best interests on behalf of the Company. Not long after this prayer, my Supervisor admitted to me those very words! He said 'Catherine, I now see that really you do work for the best interests of the Company.' Don't you know you could have knocked me over with a feather!
It took about three months to turn this situation around. Even the owner held me in high esteem, probably thanks to the reports he was getting from my Supervisor. Still, I did not feel my position was really maximizing my capabilities as an employee and I wished to move elsewhere for higher pay and more opportunities. With much prayer and some fasting, I did secure another job in the county and within a one year period between raises I got from my old employer to changing to a new employer, my salary nearly doubled!
I had learned one of the key ingredients for leadership - submission! The Bible teaches us that Jesus is the ultimate example of leadership. He is what we call a servant-leader. This type of person (some circles would call this type of communication style or personality a shepherd or feeler) leads by example, their demeanor is full of understanding and love, yet when it's time to draw they line, they can with all due reason and fairness.
Yes, Jesus is my savior, my teacher and my example of true leadership - even as a woman in the Corporate world!
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