Daily Concern

Commonly leaders refer to (and treat) individuals within organizations as "resources" as if they're a commodity like grain or corn. You'll hear management refer to their people as their "most valuable resource". They establish Human "Resource" departments. They also refer to them as a "work"-force or "labor"-force.

Is it any wonder then that the individuals in these organizations begin to feel de-humanized and commoditized?

Don't commoditize what God made unique. As a leader you must establish personal relationships with each of the individuals within your direct circle of influence. Each person that works for you or with you is a unique creation of God. Each one has different interests, feelings, likes and dislikes. Each one prefers adoration and affirmation in a distinctive manner. Some like hand-written notes, others like verbal words of encouragement. Each one receives and responds to constructive criticism and correction in a different way.

One of the best things our HR Director (yes, through tradition we still use the term ‘Human Resources') introduced into our culture at Fellowship Tech was an individual survey that captured information about each person's favorite colors, foods, music, etc. It asked them for their preferred method of receiving feedback and affirmation. She distributed the completed surveys to each of the team leads for those under their span of care.

Without this information I would never have know that someone from my team loved U2 or another liked Cherry Garcia ice cream. Many preferred verbal public affirmation for a job well done over a financial gift. I've found the information to be invaluable. It allows me to provide feedback to my individual team members in a way that matches their uniqueness.

Of course, a survey can not replace or supplant "quality" time spent with each individual. Sitting down over coffee or lunch to patiently listen to their frustrations and their successes is a must. If they stop by your office unexpectedly, it's best that you turn towards them and look them directly in their eyes while they speak rather than allowing your eyes and attention to dart back-n-forth between your computer monitor, blackberry, or your watch.

These things may seem self evident but too often our actions betray our intent. You may have intended to listen patiently but your body language indicated differently. I know I've been guilty of this far too many times to count.

So take to the time to get to know the people on your team. Each one is a unique child of God and needs to be treated as such.

God bless,

Curtis S

My stomach was empty and I was full of optimism as I carefully placed my order through the faceless drive-in. “A number one with cheese, no tomato,
and a Dr. Pepper”. The person repeated the order back to me “A number one with cheese, no tomato, and a Dr. Pepper”. I naively thought to myself “They’re going to get my order correct!” I pulled forward, paid for my order, and they handed me the sack with the receipt attached. I rarely ever check the receipt but I did this time and wasn’t disappointed. The order clearly stated “minus Tomato”.

I was brimming with pleasure and satisfaction as I reached in to get my burger. What’s that? It feels too big, too heavy. Oh no, not again… Yep, you guessed it. I lifted the bun to find three large slices of a tomato sunk deeply into the cheese and soaked into the bun. My spirits fell, I was dejected, wronged once again. What started with such hope and promise ended just like every other trip I’ve made through a drive-thru. I like tomatoes as much as George Dubya likes broccoli.

Why do we even bother customizing our order at a drive thru? Why are these businesses and employees so indifferent? Is it a lack of training? A lack of knowledge or tools? Or a lack of motivation and emotional connectedness to their work?

Do you feel under qualified for your work? I do. Could you use more training? I could. Do you believe that more money for the proper tools, software and personnel is needed? I do. However, if you think about it, we’ll always feel that way regardless of what opportunities or resources are at our disposal. What we need most of all is to remember who we work for. Regardless of whether you flip burgers, gather trash, write software, lead people, teach children, or preach the word – we all should work as if we’re working for the Lord not for men. God expects our best, our very best. I believe it’s a good thing and a God thing to sweat the small details. Seek out excellence not just enough to get by. This is one of the reasons I love working for Fellowship Tech. Sure there are times we must compromise, make concessions, or we fall short of our goals or others’ expectations. However, our standards remain high. We have 100s of areas in which we are seeking to improve but I can assure you that our staff is committed to excellence, committed to a Colossians 3:23 attitude.

So next time leave off the tomato, go the extra mile, strive for excellence.

God bless,

Curtis S

Lately I feel like I'm entering into a mid-life crisis. But this one is neither biological nor emotional. Coloring my hair and buying a red sports car won't make me feel any better (ok, well maybe it will). No, this crisis is a technology one. You see, much like when my metabolism slowed to crawl after I passed 30 so has my ability to keep up with technology.

For the first 10yrs of my career I was a programmer and an application architect working with a wide array of technologies like C++, Java, Unix, Windows, Oracle, SQL Server, WebSphere, WebLogic, IIS, etc., etc. I had a voracious appetite for technology. However, over time, I moved into broader leadership roles and before I knew it my technology life was passing before my eyes. Here at Fellowship Technologies I have a wide range of teams that report to me, from Data Center Operations to Customer Services to Professional Services and Product Development. Time and other factors preclude me from exercising my tech skills as heavily as I did in the past. When I recently celebrated my 3rd anniversary at Fellowship Tech I realized that I may have indeed become… dare I say it?… a "Generalist".

I believe I'm still an effective leader. My background in SaaS technologies and architectures allows me to challenge the team's ideas and help to ensure we've arrived at the best possible solutions. Solutions that serve our current customers well and scales effectively and efficiently in the future. But thankfully both for my team, and for our customers, I am no longer making the daily, low level, technology decisions, I leave those to our experts.

Here are a few of the warning signs of a Mid-Life Technology Crisis (perhaps you to are exhibiting a few of these):

10. You find yourself writing down terms and acronyms used by the team during a meeting and then secretly Googling them later to figure out what they mean

9. You use a formerly relevant TLA (Three Letter Acronym) such as "DTD" and your team begins to refer to you as "Grandpa"

8. You have to get assistance to setup a blog reader because it now suddenly seems as difficult as it is for your Dad to set the time on a VCR

7. Your iPod is filled with PodCasts of the McLaughlin Group and episodes of The Office

6. You get a new laptop and after your install Microsoft Office you realize that you really don't need to install anything else to do your job effectively

5. You begin to lower your screen resolution rather than raise it so you can read the text without squinting

4. When the team was speaking about Scrum and Agile you pipe in with a comment about Rugby

3. You prefer to be in bed eating a toaster pizza watching The Colbert Report rather than staying up till 2am watching Microsoft's Channel 9 vlogs

2. You have to get your teen age son to help "fix" your computer

1. Pulling an "all-nighter" now means you didn't have to get up out of bed to go to the bathroom

I'm clearly exhibiting all 10 of these behaviors so I'm now focusing on other skills like leadership, team building, vision casting, metrics, best practices, etc. I will miss being in the thick of technology things but I'm finding that these new areas are just as challenging and fun.

God Bless,

Curtis S

At our Dynamic Church Conference in May 2008 we were blessed to have Randy Draper, a business leader, lay leader at Fellowship Church, and dynamic speaker, give a keynote speech titled Accelerate with Passion. If you are feeling a bit down, stuck in a rut, frustrated with your current position or responsibilities, or just need a bit of inspiration then I strongly encourage you to take some time to watch Randy’s message. I promise that you’ll be challenged, inspired, and likely laugh out loud. Feel free to pass it along to others who might benefit from it as well.

I’ve embedded the video below, you can also access it www.vimeo.com/fellowshiptech (All of our future videos will be hosted at that address)

Enjoy and God bless!

Dynamic Church 08 – Randy Draper – Accelerate with Passion from Fellowship Technologies on Vimeo.

I’m frequently engaged in conversations about an individual’s career through informal one-on-ones, mentor sessions, semi-annual checkpoints, or interviewing prospective new hires. Frequently one of the following statements are made — “I feel limited in my current role”, “I feel like I’ve accomplished all that I can in my job”, “I need a new challenge”, “Will this role allow me to grow?” Taken by themselves the statements and questions are valid. There are times when someone is ready to be moved to a new role or promoted to new levels of responsibilities. There are legitimate instances where someone worked in a “dead end” job at their previous employer. However, it’s been my experience that often the individuals making those statements and asking those questions are placing self-defined limitations on themselves based on the perceived scope and responsibilities of the role they were assigned within an organization. Or put another way, they are letting the size of the fishbowl (role) stunt their growth unnecessarily.

You shouldn’t feel limited by your current role or situation. Joseph never let his circumstances or role limit what God had planned for him (Genesis 37 – 50). He didn’t complain or “shut down” when things didn’t go as planned. Instead, Joseph kept his eyes on the prize, working as for Lord and not men, and through prayer, hard work, dedication, loyalty, and a servant heart he was rewarded with new challenges and new responsibilities.

So I encourage you today to feel empowered in your role and responsibilities, whatever they may be. You can grow and make a positive and lasting impact regardless of your circumstances.

God bless,

Curtis S