Process

6 Leadership Lessons from Building a Camper

June 2, 2021
Priscilla Archangel
Leadership, Problem Solving, Process, Team Building
6 Leadership Lessons from Building a Camper

“Belief in what someone can do is more powerful than knowledge of what they can do.”

This is a quote from my friend and colleague Dr. Lee Meadows. I read it and chuckled as I thought about a significant accomplishment on the part of my niece, Carolyn DesJardin.

As a millennial, military spouse, mother of two preschoolers and federal security project manager, she embarked on an ambitious project last summer while in the throes of the pandemic. She decided to build a camper. Never mind that she had zero experience in anything associated with doing this. She needed a COVID-19 safe project to work on and wanted to start camping again, something she and her husband had put on hold after the kids came along. It was also a decision to regain a measure of control over her family’s ability to move about. So, she researched the idea and purchased a 30-year-old pop-up camper, tore it down to the frame and rebuilt it using wood and fiberglass, with a pop top, and outfitted with a queen and bunk beds. She calls it a super tent on wheels. (more…)

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Purpose, Patience and Preparation: 5 Principles for Success

May 1, 2019
Priscilla Archangel
Patience, Process, Purpose

Purpose, Patience and Preparation: 5 Principles for Success

Everyone has a purpose, but not everyone will recognize it and fulfill it. And one of the biggest reasons why is because they won’t have the patience to go through the process to see it come to pass. Joe is a good example of how practicing patience and preparation ultimately led to fulfilling his purpose.

Joe grew up the youngest of four brothers on the family farm in the Midwest. His father owned herds of cattle and while they weren’t poor, they were far from rich. One day Joe had a dream that he would be running a multi-million-dollar company and make a distinctive impact on millions of people. Different from any other dream, this one was vivid and clear. The next morning, he remembered every detail of it and couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow this meant something. Now this seemed the farthest thing from reality because none of Joe’s brothers had gone to college or left the family business, and there was no expectation that he would either. (more…)

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Leading in a No Wake Zone

September 5, 2018
Priscilla Archangel
Change, Leadership, Process

Leading in a “No Wake Zone”

Imagine that you’ve just joined a new organization or department or been appointed to lead a significant new project. You’re excited about your new role and have been given a charge by your new leader regarding specific outcomes and metrics to achieve. You took some time to evaluate the challenge ahead and get to know the team, and you’re ready to make some “quick wins.” There are obvious areas for improvement that will impact organizational metrics favorably. As you meet with your colleagues and team members to introduce your plans, their responses are muted. They don’t seem to appreciate the value of these initiatives. You continue to meet with key people one-on-one to gain their support and probe for issues, but you keep hitting a wall filled with excuses, pushback and noncommitment. What’s wrong? You’ve entered a “no wake zone.” (more…)

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Pivot to Purpose: Moving From Career to A Calling

December 6, 2017
Priscilla Archangel
Change, Coaching, Consulting, Faith Based Leadership, Leadership, Process, Purpose

Pivot to Purpose: Moving from a Career to a Calling

What were you doing as a teenager that really excited you and that you continue to do today?

A speaker asked this question years ago while talking to a group about understanding their strengths and passions in life. Several years later, when I was at a pivot point in my career, trying to decide whether to take the “safe” route, which required less faith, or the “risky” route, which required a lot of faith, it helped me make my decision. I recognized four key things I did during my teens that I was passionate about and how I continued these themes later in life.

Writing – When I was about 14, I decided on my own to read 1 and 2 Corinthians in the Bible and write down, chapter by chapter, what it meant to me. I was analyzing and trying to understand it and relate it to current life. Thirty years later, I continued that theme by writing a book of insights reflecting a faith- based approach to leadership. And I’ve followed that by writing a monthly commentary for individuals, teams and organizations focused on development of successful leadership skills. For me, the creativity of writing is intellectually stimulating and has become a passion and a priority in life. (more…)

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Developing Leadership Perspective: Fact vs. Reality

June 7, 2017
Priscilla Archangel
Decision Making, Leadership, Process, values

Developing Leadership Perspective: Fact vs. Reality

There’s an old fable about three blind men who touched an elephant to find out what it was like. One man touched the leg and declared that the elephant was like a tree trunk. Another touched the elephant’s tail and declared that it was like a snake. The third man touched its side and declared that it was like a wall. A disagreement ensued as they each defended their perspective on the animal. After all, they knew what they felt.

Were each of them right? Yes, and no. They each experienced a part of the elephant, but none experienced the whole. They each described the elephant from their perspective, but due to limitations in their vision and space, none of them could see it in its entirety. Only when they began to compare notes, and to walk around the elephant feeling different parts of it, could they begin to piece together a view of the entire animal. They had to experience it from different angles. Later, a sighted man came along and immediately saw the entire elephant. He quickly walked around the animal, sized it up and fully described it to the men. Their facts were not the same as reality.

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Should Leaders Really Be Patient

February 1, 2017
Priscilla Archangel
Leadership, Patience, Process, Results

Should Leaders Really Be Patient?

Leaders are rewarded for action. They’re used to being in control and working to influence the environment around them. They have a vision, mission, and objectives to accomplish. Other stakeholders hold them accountable for developing and executing plans to drive results. Providing excuses isn’t part of their vocabulary. So what place does the word “patience” have in the context of leadership?

To understand, let’s look at patience as a leadership competency.  According to Michael Lombardo and Robert Eichinger’s model of leadership, patient leaders are tolerant with people and processes; they wait for others to catch up before acting; they try to understand people and data before making decisions and proceeding; and they follow established processes. Meanwhile, leaders who are unskilled in this area act before it’s time to act; they don’t take the time to listen or understand, they think almost everything needs to be done quicker and shorter; they often interrupt others and finish their sentences; they’re action oriented and avoid process and problem complexity; and they sometimes jump to conclusions instead of thinking things through.1 

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