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One in six of us (1.1 billion people) on our planet do not have access to clean drinking water.  charity: water is doing something about it.  Check out how they began and how the rest of us can get involved.

Three months in and I’m still on track.  I’ve been following the YouVersion Bible reading plan.  While reading Proverbs 1 I was reminded of how to be a fool.  I was also reminded of how I’ve been a fool.  It’s actually quite easy.  Here are some of the best practices of foolishness:

1.  Hate Knowledge.  Simply believe that you already know it all and acquire a strong distaste for learning.  Proverbs 1:22.

2.  Despise Wisdom.  Reject the lessons life teaches you.  Disregard the insight of those who have gone before you.  Proverbs 1:7.

3.  Despise Discipline.  Expect positive results without inentional effort.  Live lazy.  Aimlessly wander through life.  Proverbs 1:7.  

At times I’ve been guilty of all three.  Today’s contribution to the world from @scottrodgers – ‘How you to can be a fool’.

When I was single I had all I could handle.  When I married Shelly I had all I could handle.  When we had our first child we had all we could handle…  Isn’t that how it works?  Wherever we’re at, we think that’s all we can handle?

Life and leadership are similar.  We tend to think we can’t handle more responsibility, another project, or one more problem to solve.  Don’t believe it.  We can handle more.

We should read the books, the blogs, and listen to the talks on leadership.  However, we grow as leaders primarily in two ways.  One, the demand for more leadership is thrust upon us from without.  Two, we volunteer ourselves and the demand for more leadership comes from within.  Leaders who volunteer for more are the leaders that leaders are looking for.  

To be a leader who volunteers for more, you’ll need to:

1.  Get in over your head.  That’s where you sink or swim.  There is more in you.  Fighting for survival draws it out.  

2.  Make stress your friend.  Standing in the path of most resistance is where you grow.  Don’t run from it, embrace it.  Learn to appreciate those seasons of high demand.  Stress is the companion of a growing leader.

3.  Be willing to fail.  The fear of failure will paralyze your growth as a leader.  Why?  Because when we fear to fail we drift back to doing the things we’ve already done.  Growing leaders who often fail (at the right things) are not failing leaders.  

Here’s a sure fire way to not grow as a leader:  Don’t get in over your head – play it safe.  Resist the stress – walk the path of least resistance.  Avoid failure – keep doing what you’ve always done.  Don’t volunteer for more leadership responsibility.  Or, volunteer for more.  That’s the leader that leaders are looking for.

Leaders solve problems.  There are thousands of books focused on effective problem solving.  I should probably read some of them.  Here’s my ‘Problem Solving 4 Dummies’ primer.

Identify the problem.  Sounds like a no brainer.  How many times, after digging into things, did you find that the problem you thought you had was not really the problem you have?  

Believe there’s a solution.  No matter how difficult the problem is, it’s critical that you believe there’s a solution.  Cancer, AIDS, human flight, the lightbulb, the BCS – be the one who believes there is a way and be the one who finds a way.

Don’t go it alone.  Collaborate.  It’s amazing how others can add a different perspective, share valuable information, and connect you with the resources you need to help solve the problem.

Orchestrate the process.  Complex problems may demand complex solutions.  They may not.  Regardless of the complexity, orchestrate the people, the parts, and the process toward the goal of making progress one step at a time.  That’s a lot of P’s.  

Celebrate the success.  When your problem is solved, share the success with those who contributed toward the solution.  They deserve it.  And, you’ll build an army of people who will be there for you again and again.

Find another problem.  Go back to step one and begin again.  That’s part of what leaders get paid to do, solve problems.

Some leaders make the decisions, some carry them out.  Leaders at every level often stand as ambassadors for those who lead them.  They are tasked with carrying out the decisions of others and representing the organization well.

Leaders who do this well typically start their coversations with the word ‘WE’ when discussing organizational decisions or changes.  They publicly own the decisions of their leaders.  Those who don’t do this well typically start their conversations with the word ‘THEY‘.  They publicly dispossess the decisions of their leaders.

Here are some other differences between the two.  I will call them the ‘WE’ and ‘THEY’ leaders:

1.  WE leaders take the lead.  They stand in front and lead with optomism and confidence, even when the outcomes of others decisions are uncertain.  THEY leaders cower, complain, and while physically standing in front, fall back to the rear of the line.

2.  WE leaders take the bullet.  They absorb the pushback and frustration of those who disagree with the decision.  This frees their leaders to lead without unecessary distraction.  This takes a lot of character.  THEY leaders are more like Wonder Woman.  THEY raise their indestructable bracelets of self preservation and deflect the peoples resistance back onto their leaders.

3.  WE leaders take it further.  They cast vision, create excitement, and get innovative on how to move their leaders decisions forward.  THEY leaders frustrate progress.  THEY do this by digging in their heals and not representing their leaders with visible support.

 As leaders, those who lead us need to trust us to ‘represent’ well.

Leaders don’t like to hold hands.  For a leader, empowering someone else to lead who is not resourceful is like dying a slow and painful death.  

I’ve discovered this through personal experience.  As a result, during the interview process, I try to discern a potential new team members ability to be resourceful.  I’ve learned to look for it early on because it seems to be more an inherent quality than it is teachable.  

Here are some of the qualities I have observed in those who are resourceful as compared to those who aren’t:

1.  They love to create the path.  Point these people in the right direction and off they go.  ’There is a way, I just need to find it.’, is their starting point while those who aren’t resourceful begin with, ‘There is no way, I can prove it.’

2.  They are energized by the challenge.  Those who are resourceful enjoy climbing the mountains.  Those who aren’t, stick to the sidewalk.

3.  They ask, ‘When?’.  They need a deadline as they begin creating the recipe and assembling the ingredients.  Those who aren’t resourceful ask, ‘How?’.  They want both the recipe and the ingredients handed to them.

4.  They think people.  They network because they know they’re only one relationship away from what they need to make things happen.  Those who aren’t resourceful think money.  They see money as the vital resource and not people.

The list could go on.  A person who is resourceful adds an incredible amount of value to any organization.  That’s why I say, ‘Give me resourcefulness or give me death.’  What are some ways you could strive to become more resourceful?