My all time favourite TV series is M*A*S*H, a comedy/drama centred around the doctors and nurses of the 4077th M*A*S*H unit during the Korean War. The series was so popular that it outlasted the duration of the 3 year war, spanning 11 seasons and 251 episodes.

The strong characterisation and story lines presented thought provoking themes that provide an ideal platform for lessons on life and leadership. Whether you are a fan of the show or not, I'm sure you will connect with my leadership insights from M*A*S*H.

LEADING FROM THE TRENCHES features bite-sized, candid insights that speak into the gritty space of leadership through the eyes of a fellow leader seeking to "lead with all diligence" (Romans 12:8).

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Beyond The Routine


Episode 53:  O.R.


Hawkeye:    I can tell the onset of Arthritis.
Henry:      It’s just fatigue, it comes and goes.
Hawkeye:    Henry, this could be your ticket home…
Henry:      Pierce, I’ll level with you.  I’ve got a great practice 
            back home.  They all come to see me.  I’ll bet there’s  
            no one in Bloomington, Illinois, that I haven’t seen 
            naked.  But it’s routine.
Hawkeye:    Cookbook medicine. 
Henry:      Yeah.  But this place, this place, which has all the 
           attraction of a lanced boil, has given me the opportunity to do more doctoring than I can do in a lifetime back in the world.


A busy day in the O.R. reveals the pressures and stresses of the medical staff who are overworked and have to make difficult decisions in difficult circumstances. 

One of the many things I love about my role as a Salvation Army Officer is that no day is the same and very few are predictable.  On any given day I can be sharing my faith, coaching leaders, preparing for public ministry, visiting the sick, responding to one crisis or another, supporting vulnerable people, managing programs, shuffling paperwork or leading a service.  Leading in a frontline mission context, while often demanding, is an exhilarating fulfillment of what I was called and trained to do.  While leadership that is bound by routine can be draining or even depressing, leadership that breaks out of the ordinary can be energizing and empowering, no matter how  challenging the context.  The key to turning the routine into the remarkable is to look for the extraordinary in the ordinary and embrace every moment as an opportunity.

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