My observations on leadership

"Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership." - Gen. Colin Powell

"Leadership is action, not position." - Donald H. McGannon

"The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.” - John Maxwell

"A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit." - Arnold H. Glasow

These are all very true...I've learned this truth from observation and actual practice.  I had some good sailors in my Navy days who helped me learn these lessons, and many others. 

Delegation...being the leader does not mean you do everything yourself.  Give your subordinates the athority to do their jobs, hold them accountable, and be willing to accept that it may not get done exactly like you would do it.

You don't have to be the technical expert on everything.  That is why you have your team...use them.  Familiarity with all aspects of the job is necessary, but you may not be the best person for each job.  Again, that is why you have your team...let them do their jobs. 

Respect...it is a two-way street.  It is earned...there will initially be respect for a leader by virtue of position, but no rank or title will earn you true respect.  How you treat your people, in both good and bad situations...how you lead your team...the trust you engender in them...that you stand up for them, that you are willing to accept responsibility for both success and failure...those things earn the real respect.  Position/rank/title only go so far.  If the only respect you receive is due to position, you've failed.

Ultimately, you also have to be willing to accept the results of your endeavour...especially when failure is the result.  The captain of a ship understands this probably better than anyone...he may be asleep in the dead of night, but the ship running aground will still cost him his command.  It's easy to step up and accept success...how failure is dealt with is far more telling.  It certainly doesn't make it hurt any less when you do have to accept it, but owning up to it will earn that respect for "next time".  Done right, the praise goes to the team...and the blame, mainly to the leader.  Is it fair?  No.  If it's "fair" one desires, being the leader is the wrong position for them. 

A prime example is that of the University of Hawai'i football program.  The Rainbow Warriors, under head coach Fred von Appen, were 5-31 for his three years as head coach, culminating in a 0-12 season in 1998.  von Appen was fired and replaced by the interim head coach of the NFL's San Diego Chargers, former UH quarterback June Jones.  Jones maintained most of the team's starters for the following season, and with largely the same team he led UH to the best turnaround in NCAA history, with Hawai'i sharing the WAC championship and winning the O'ahu Bowl.

Don't be afraid to pitch in and work with your team.  Don't ever expect more of them than you are willing to do yourself.  Hold yourself to the highest standard.  Don't worry if you are not perfect, either...but definitely worry if you repeat the same mistakes (or worse, if you repeat them in a more damaging manner).  If you cannot learn from your mistakes, you cannot lead.

Last...but not least...the true leader doesn't need to broadcast it or brag about it.  That they are truly in command will be evident, and that they are competent at it will be visible in the results. 

The end of the book

I just want to go somewhere and let this all go. My rage, my pain, my anger, frustration, hurt. I want this to end.

 

It's supposedly easy for me. Well, that's bullshit. There are aspects that are, but overall it is not easy at all. I hate every second of my life right now. Any fun or seeming happiness you see right now...is an act. A facade. You may find this hard to believe, but even someone like me has some feelings, and they all just hurt right now.

 

To hear that I somehow just made this as a snap decision...just a whim, with no consideration at all...that is such utter crap. I question this every waking minute of every day. I hate this...it is not what I wanted.

 

Now that it's inevitable...I wanted to at least make it as painless as possible. As minimally devastating as possible, for everyone. Well, so much for that. Rational and sensible take a back seat to emotion. Apparently the preferred course is bitter, resentful, and painful. For however long we have to share the same roof, it has to be hostile, or at least tense.

 

So...what life I thought I had is over, with no turning back, and it can't even end decently. It has to drag out like an ugly, painful cancer that can't even kill its host quickly.

 

I once believed in all those fairy tales that life could be happy. Well, I was wrong. The only thing you can depend on is that it begins, is a barrel of shit, and ends. Maybe the religious people are right...there is a Hell, and it's here.

 

The world wouldn't miss me, and at this point I sure wouldn't miss the world.

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"A Doll's House" at AACTFest 2013 Region VI

The Community Players of Hobbs production of "A Doll's House" will represent the Playhouse and New Mexico at the AACTFest 2013 Region VI Festival! 



"A Doll's House" will perform on Saturday, April 20th at 10:00 AM.



Various ticket packages are available for the festival and individual shows, and tickets can be purchased at http://www.acadianacenterforthearts.org/Tickets. 



The Region VI Festival will be held at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Tickets are on sale for "The Importance of Being Earnest"

Tickets are now on sale for the hilarious farcical comedy "The Importance of Being Earnest", an Oscar Wilde play directed by Jonathan Bertschinger ("Line").

Working within the social conventions of late Victorian London, the characters maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations.

A long time audience favorite, "Earnest" has been revived as recently as 2011 on Broadway, and been adapted three times for the silver screen.

All seats $10. Tickets can be purchased via the ticket icon on the left side of our website. Show dates are April 18, 19, 20, 26, 27 (7 PM), and matinee show April 28 (2 PM).

Don't miss "The Importance of Being Earnest"!

AACTFest 2013

Our AACTFest 2013 entry, "A Doll's House", will perform at the AACTFest on Saturday, March 23rd, 2013, at the Los Alamos Performing Arts Center in Los Alamos, NM.  
The Los Alamos Performing Arts Center is located at 1670 Nectar Street, Los Alamos, New Mexico. 
The performances on March 23rd start at 7 PM.  In accordance with AACTFest rules, if you attend the performance you will see both shows that perform that evening (the theatre is closed once performances start, if you leave you cannot re-enter).   
For more information on the AACTFest as a whole, visit http://www.theatrenm.org (Theatre New Mexico, which runs the state AACTFest), http://www.lalt.org/AACTFest/index.shtml (Los Alamos Little Theatre, the 2013 host theatre), and http://www.aactfest.org (the national AACTFest site).

Slow times for the blog

I at least post once a month. Nearly missed February. Fact is, I don't use this blog much anymore. I post mainly on Facebook now. So I'm considering shutting it down on it's 10th anniversary (August of this year). Thoughts?

GOP to oppose GOP nominee...proving once again that if the President proposes it, they will blindly oppose it

President Obama should nominate Lindsay Graham for a cabinet post...or Mitch McConnell.  It would be funny to see the GOP reflexively oppose them.

If Ronald Reagan were alive, and President Obama nominated him for something, the GOP would oppose him just as surely.

That's all they know how to do...sit back and oppose.

John Boehner is an absolute disgrace

"It's why the American people hate Congress. Unlike the people in Congress, we have actual responsibilities.
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Last night, the House majority failed most basic test of leadership and they did so with callous disregard to the people of my state. ... It was disappointing and disgusting to watch.  There's only one group to blame ... the House majority, and their Speaker, John Boehner." - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R)
"I would say the Republican Party has said it is the party of family values.  Last night it turned its back on the most essential value of all, and that is to provide food, shelter, clothing and relief for people who have been hit by a natural disaster. And I would say that the Republican Party has turned its back on those people." - Rep. Peter King (R-NY)
Conservative activist groups such as Americans for Prosperity, the Club for Growth and Heritage Action all pressured congressional Republicans to **vote against Hurricane Sandy relief**.

Simply put...WTF?  Disaster relief is now a point of blind obstruction for the GOP in Congress?  Boehner is a disgrace.  But guess what?  He gets a raise.