Enjoying the task

By Jeff Becraft

Leadership is not about me or any individual. Leadership is about others.

Several times I have referred back to the past during the YC era, of people going up a 40-foot climbing wall. Some might consider this an individual activity but it is far from it. I remember the first time I did a high-ropes course and I was petrified of heights. It was the people on the ground that got me through those five stations 30 feet up in the air.

And so it just goes to show how we need one another.

Each of us has more effect on others than we realize.

Leadership is about getting everybody up the climbing wall. Not just me but getting each person to know that success and victory… that “overcoming.” It applies in every area of life.

A big part of leadership is also passing things on to others. That is, in a small way, what the Friday emails are about. They are to encourage people in their daily lives, that our daily lives and what we do in our daily lives is important. But it is also an opportunity to pass on, in some small way, life principles that I have gained over the years and that have made a difference to me and have brought daily encouragement to me.

We have a fairly new member at Our Place of Hope. Her name is Sarah. I told Sarah recently how much she has impacted Our Place of Hope – that she helps to set the atmosphere. That is what leaders do. Sarah is friendly, she smiles… and she enjoys being there. So she jumps into the work, enjoys being part of the work, and then that brightens everybody’s life that is around her.

Just imagine that. Just think if, instead of us just doing something because it’s our job… what if we took a different approach and said, “I’m doing this and I’m going to enjoy doing this.” What a difference that would make if all of us took the attitude of enjoying what we are doing.

That would set the atmosphere for being a productive… and enjoyable… day.

One time at a weekend camp where I was speaking, the camp director was sitting across from me during breakfast on Saturday morning. We were talking about some of the things that neither one of us really liked doing in our jobs (like logistics and administrative details). We got off talking about email and having to go through emails and everything else.

She then made this comment: “I am starting to take a different approach. It’s not that I have to get through these emails or I have to get this work done, it’s that I get to read through these emails and I get to get this work done.”

What a difference that makes. I have two friends who are blind. I am sure that they would love to read through some emails.

So as we head into work or family or whatever else it is, enjoy that time. It is not just something we have to do – it is something we get to do.

Not only will this make a difference in our life, but it will make a difference in the lives of everyone who is around us.

Jeff Becraft is the Director of Our Place of Hope located in Columbia, South Carolina, where people find encouragement to regain meaning, purpose, and hope for their lives. Jeff has dedicated much of his life to helping shift the vision of people’s lives. If you would like Jeff to speak to your group or event, you can connect with him at  [email protected].