No, I don't
believe in waving around my degrees as evidence of my expertise. One, that
would be false advertising, because all the degree means is that I've studied
the ACADEMIC aspects. Two, only practical real-life application gives one the
EXPERIENCE aspect that is"on the job training." For example,
you can read all about working on Black Friday in the retail world, but until
you do it ... trust me on this ... you don't get it. Same with leadership. You
can understand how to lead a team on paper, but until you start dealing with
different people’s attitudes, quirks, and priorities, you won’t understand how
difficult it is.
You don’t need a degree to be a good leader. There are
great leaders who have little schooling, and there are those with a plethora of
degrees who have no idea how to lead a team. Leadership is more about ATTITUDE
than ACADEMICS.
Sure, having the education is a tremendous advantage,
because surrounding yourself with theories and reading the great works on
leadership help form your own attitudes and opinions. If you approach your
leadership education as a dry sponge, absorbing what you learn and appreciate
from others, you are certainly better off than when you started.
But, as I said, education is a recommendation – a VERY strong
recommendation, mind you – but it is not an absolute prerequisite. Great leaders
who have no formal education have the “dry sponge” attitude, learning from
those around them. Attitude, grasshopper, attitude. Many of us have had
horrible managers who thought they were good leaders. They were ignorant fools
who thought they had leadership figured out, rather than trying to learn from
others.
Unfortunately, some leaders today are also ignorant
fools. They think leadership is treating people fairly, being open and honest,
etc. Yes, that will get you a good way down the road. But the real problem is
that most leaders don’t challenge themselves by asking a simple question – “What
if I’m wrong?” By opening yourself up to this question, by allowing yourself to
have this attitude of "maybe I have a wrong opinion," you may just stumble on a better way to do
things. I firmly believe that the vast majority of SUCCESSFUL leaders have an
attitude of, “I need to keep learning.” So keep reading, grasshopper, and keep learning.
And whatever you
do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through
him to God the Father. Colossians 3:17
Pastor Daniel
Twitter: @PastorDaniel321
EMail: PastorDaniel321@gmail.com