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#5: Year of Discipline
My big goal for the year was to read through the Bible with Eugene Peterson’s Daily Message. Previously, I first read through the Bible using John Maxwell’s Leadership Bible (a great resource for students of leadership, by the way!). Peterson paraphrased the Bible in a flowing narrative using contemporary language. In his Daily Message, he provides six readings a week (giving a needed day for reflection and catch-up time!). I was able to finish it early this year, spending 2 hours in the waiting room of Jennifer’s knee rehab appointment on Christmas Eve. Reading through the Bible is an accomplishment requiring great daily and weekly discipline…
In June of this year, I decided to run the 35th anniversary Lunar Rendezvous 5k. After less than six weeks preparation, I completed my first 5k!
Unfortunately, that discipline died with the August heat…maybe it will be resurrected in 2014!
#4: Coaching Tanner’s Teams
The last couple of years, I’ve been privileged to coach Tanner’s baseball and flag football teams. Now, I’m coach of his Upward Basketball team. For each of those teams, I incorporate leadership principles for the kids.
This year, we were the Marlins. Our team yell was, “Go F.I.S.H.!”
- F – Fill Buckets. Each team member read the children’s book “How Full is Your Bucket?” This leadership classic by Tom Rath was adapted for kids and shows how positive words fill others’ buckets while negative words “dip” from others’ buckets. It was a good way to reinforce how to be positive with teammates.
- I.S. – Improve Skills. We focused on improving our baseball skills.
- H – Help Teammates. For 7 year-old baseball, a key skill is learning to throw the ball to the first baseman, instead of racing the batter to the base. We said this is a way to help our teammates.
As I mentioned to the players, these are all skills I use everyday in my job…they help not only with baseball but also in life…
For the Upward Blazers, we will do our BEST (Basketball Skills; Effort; Sportsmanship; and Teamwork). It should be a fun season!
#3: Deacon Fellowship at University Baptist Church
This year, I had the honor and privilege of serving as Chair of our Fellowship of Deacons at University Baptist Church. Ever since I joined the Deacon Fellowship, it was unclear what we expected from Deacons and how we could best serve alongside our Pastoral Staff. After an early meeting with our Pastor, Dr. Steve Laufer, we agreed that Deacons should serve as liaisons with each of our Weekend Bible Study Groups…serving as spokespersons for the pastors and serving the unmet pastoral needs in our small groups.
It was great to see how our Deacons seized the opportunity and created a new expectation for serving in our church. Then, we determined we needed additional Deacons to cover all of our small groups. Following an extensive process, we added nine more Deacons to the Fellowship, ordaining them in December. In January, we’ll hold our first-ever orientation for new Deacons, where we will prepare them for their service and outline expectations for them. The late Dr. Wayne Young—Deacon Emeritus at UBC—would be pleased!
#2: The Happiest Place on Earth
The week of November 11th, we took all 3 kids out of school and headed to Disneyworld with my parents. I remember well taking a trip to Disneyland with both sets of grandparents 30 years ago and wanted to provide an opportunity to create similar lasting memories for the kids. Disneyworld didn’t disappoint…it was a great week! We had perfect weather, and it was a lot of fun seeing Pappy & Grammy with the grandkids. Of course, my favorite ride was “Star Tours”. The first time we rode it, Cody was the “rebel spy” that Darth Vader sought. The second time I rode it with Tanner, he was the “rebel spy”! It was also great watching the Disney hosts through a leadership lens…they definitely have created a culture of happiness…
Speaking of organization culture, I spent 9 months of the year on a development rotation as a front-line leader in our technical engineering organization. I was able to work with one Branch in particular on efforts to improve the organization culture. Just last week, I facilitated a mini-retreat using Gary Chapman’s The Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace. My hope is that my new friends and colleagues will build a culture of appreciation…and we plan to use that material further across the organization…and possibly even with our HR team!
#1: Beyond Federal HR Leadership
Perhaps the biggest leadership story of the year for me relates to my developmental rotation. Getting out of the day-to-day job as Deputy Director of HR, I recognized that I needed to start considering my longer-term career development options. What are my plans for the next 5-10 years, for example? After reading The Chief HR Officer, consulting the SuccessInHR.com blog, and talking with mentors, I recognized that I needed to create a Personal Board of Directors—from the HR field but outside of NASA. I’ve reached out to a few colleagues from graduate school who are in Houston, and I met some other friends of colleagues…
But the greatest story this year came when I was on furlough during the Government Shutdown of October. I started this blog! OutOfThisWorldLeadership.com combines my passions for leadership…both at NASA and as a follower of Jesus Christ….
In my first 3 months, I’m finding that this is a great professional development experience…I’m reflecting on books I’ve read, lessons I’ve learned, and plans I’ve made in a deeper way…and looking to share those reflections with you.
Thanks for reading… I hope your reflections on 2013 are just as helpful, as you shoot for the stars!