Patience and Humility

A few weeks ago, during a lull in the discussion of our career field and their year-long training syllabus, a visiting student aeronautical engineer asked me for my three leadership philosophies. The question, frequently asked by one of the student’s mentors and my friend, caught me entirely off guard.

I have spent two decades immersed in leadership and have focused on self-awareness for the past five years. Though I muddled my way to an answer, I had never considered how my current philosophy had evolved over time through a cohesive series of steps.

This unexpected moment of mentoring resulted in two valuable outcomes: an opportunity to reflect and material for a blog post!

Take Care

My first philosophy was formed in my twenties with the assistance of a friend during a deployment to the Bering Sea of Alaska. As a new leader, I learned a lot from him, a seasoned Army veteran. He taught me the basics of platoon leadership, including aligning with commander’s intent and issuing warning orders to our crew. We started with the Coast Guard’s core values and discussed what they meant to each of us during runs and meals. To me, if we cared for our aircraft and each other, we would collectively care for mission success. This philosophy serves as my guideline for “what to do.”

Festina Lente

As my responsibilities extended beyond unit aircraft maintenance and logistics, I needed a more generally applicable philosophy. I developed my second philosophy in my thirties, influenced by Eli Goldratt and Cal Newport. It started with implementing the Theory of Constraints for managing physical work production and resulted in the founding of a consulting company focused on doing the same for knowledge work. Translated from Latin, “Festina Lente” means “make haste slowly,” and this philosophy serves as my “how to do it.”

Deo Volente

The third philosophy, “Deo Volente,” or “God willing,” started unknowingly at my baptism and was shaped by the teachings of Tim Keller. The patience and humility this requires is still a work in progress in my forties (as evidenced in this blog) and I assume will be for the rest of my life. A major turning point in its development was discovering The Big Book during therapy, which transitioned my faith from intellectual to relational. This philosophy serves as my “why to do it.”

The Thread

So what is the connective tissue between these three?

• Each philosophy is other-oriented. This must be the path up the Second Mountain of which David Brooks writes.
• Each philosophy is more broadly applicable, a natural outcome of increased roles and responsibilities over my career.
• Each philosophy seeks further into the purpose of my work, as Viktor Frank teaches.

Another friend once told me that resources flow to those with a strategy. Perhaps, peace eventually flows to those with a philosophy.