Scrapyard Leadership

Yesterday, while out for some exercise, I came across a metal scrapyard where crane operators were using huge electronic magnets to move large metal debris from a railroad car to a huge stack.  The process was simple; place the gigantic magnet over the opened railroad car, lower it, turn on the magnet, and it picked up thousands of pounds of metal. The operator would then swing the boom over to the stack and release the magnet. The metal would fall with a crash, and the process was repeated. I assume this went on all day. The salvage yard was massive.

As I often do, I thanked the Lord that I did not have to make a living in such a monotonous and laborious way. But then, I believe the Holy Spirit spoke to me.  In more ways than I care to admit, my leadership can be similar to the crane operator’s job. Problems and issues and concerns and complaints find their way to my railroad car. On a daily basis, due to my responsibilities, I learn of challenges being faced by those great folks that I serve. And so, I spend much of every day, lifting up an issue, dealing with, and hopefully dumping it.  The problem may not be permanently solved but at least it is removed from my railroad car. 

Surely there is more.

Lest leaders become disenchanted with leading, we must learn and practice a better process, especially for those who serve in administration.  

Books have been written about how a leader can learn to lead and not just manage problems. True, someone must manage the problems, but if a leader spends all their time managing (moving scrap), that is all that will be accomplished; there will be no forward progress, there will be no dream, no vision. – Only scrapyard leadership.  

I want to be clear, people are not scrap. I do not want to give the impression that leaders view the people who have problems as disposable; they are not! But leaders cannot solve every problem. What an effective leader must do is decide what they can and should solve. “What is it that only I can do?” If you do everything, you won’t have time to do what only you can do.  Once that boundary is established, a good leader will make sure that managers are in place to deal with the issues that the leader cannot solve. Truthfully, someone who is called to be a manager is better at problem solving than a pure leader.   

I respect crane operators, and I hope they make a good living. But I don’t want to be one. I dream of more than scrapyard leadership. And I dream it for all my friends in leadership.