I am on a “6 word” kick. Here are 6 words every senior leader loves to hear from a team member:
“I’ll make sure it gets done”
This is a very
cool scene in Genesis 43. This very dysfunctional family’s survival depends on
one thing; getting Dad (Israel) to let his baby boy (Benjamin) be taken to
Egypt by his big brothers. Dad is not an eager beaver. He really wants to
revert to his favorite “plan of inaction” which is sticking his head in the
sand. In his mind he has lost his previous favorite son, Joseph (he thinks
Joseph is dead), and isn't about to allow the new favorite baby boy, Benjamin,
to be put at risk.
The room is full of tension, hurt feelings and competing agendas. There is also an urgent situation that’s needs action, not further analysis.
Ya know----that
Judah kid had his faults and failings but I love this move:
Genesis 43:8-10 (NIV) Then Judah said to Israel his father, "Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die. I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice."
Judah becomes a mongo leader here.
1. He
realistically sees a full blown problem, “so
that we and you and our children may live and not die”
2. He is willing
to speak it. Somebody just needed to say it. Everybody knew it... but somebody
needed to say it. Judah did.
3. He is still an
optimist, though in the middle of a very real crisis, “I myself will guarantee his safety”
4. He has a bias
for action, “As it is, if we had not delayed, we
could have gone and returned twice."
5. He is willing to wear the target, “you can hold me personally responsible for him”
I love that last one. Judah accepted full responsibility for Benjamin’s safety!!! Judah was willing to step up, speak up, stick his own neck on the line and take responsibility for the outcomes, even though they were yet unknown. He was determined to take action and he was willing to accept the blame if it went wrong.
He is saying the 6 magic words... "I’ll make sure it gets done.". That makes me smile and get little bumps on my arms. If you want to get your bosses attention master those 6 words and deliver.
Leaders step forward and take charge when others step back in fear and uncertainty. I like people who face a difficulty or even a crisis and are willing to try instead of sigh. I like people who are willing to wear the target. Accepting responsibilities is not for the timid soul. It requires character, confidence and just plain guts. I like guts.
“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”
-George Bernard Shaw
blessings, joy
and peace
jess
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