Who's To Blame?

Episode 15:  Tuttle

Trapper:  Listen, how did you come up with a name like Tuttle   anyway?

Hawkeye:  He was my imaginary childhood friend.

Trapper:  You had an imaginary friend?

Hawkeye:  Yea, if anybody said, “Who knocked over the garbage?” I said “Tuttle”. If they said, “Who broke that window?” “Tuttle.”  Who wet the bed?”

Trapper:  Tuttle.

In an attempt to help out Sister Theresa from the local orphanage with money and medical supplies, Hawkeye invented Captain Tuttle as a fictional scapegoat to credit the blame for the unauthorised philanthropy. 

There seems to be a default setting within human beings that automatically passes blame onto someone or something else when things go wrong.  Maybe the childhood rhyme “Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?” planted a seed for what has grown into a significant ‘denial and blame’ epidemic in adulthood.  Leaders understand the challenge of discerning responsibility when those we lead play the denial and blame game.  However, for a leader to blame others for their own actions is to abdicate responsibility and risk the credibility of their leadership. Author Reggie McNeal acknowledges that, "All of us make mistakes and exercise poor judgement occasionally. The key is to get in front of critics by owning mistakes quickly." I find it refreshing when a leader steps up and accepts responsibility for their actions by saying, “I messed up” or “I got it wrong.”

What's Love Got To Do With It?

Episode 14:  Love Story

Hawkeye:   Without love, what are we worth? 89 cents. 89 cents worth of chemicals walking around lonely.

Henry:      That means my marriage is only worth $1.78?

Radar receives a “Dear John” recording from his fiancé causing him to slip into a state of depression, until a new nurse arrives at camp who captures his attention.  While Hawkeye and Trapper try to help Radar win her heart, Margaret tries to force Henry to break them up.

Tina Turner once asked, “What’s love got to do with it?”  Love is a fundamental quality that is foundational to all human relationships and an essential characteristic of leadership. Leadership expert John Maxwell identifies relationships as key to effectively leading people and asserts that “you can’t lead them if you don’t love them.”  In leadership, love cannot be written off as a secondary emotion when you are dealing with real people, with real feelings.  Love is a holistic expression of our humanity that enables us to value the people we lead beyond the purpose they fulfil.  Jesus identified love as the greatest commandment and manifested love in all it’s fullness by laying down his life for the salvation of humankind.  His sacrificial love provides us with a model of leadership that will radically impact the lives we lead and the world in which we live.

Team Morale

Episode 13:  Edwina

Hawkeye:    An attitude like that could destroy morale – weaken the fibre of our brave men in white.  These boys depend on their relaxation to renew and refresh their flagging spirits.  They must be allowed a moment’s respite from the trials of war.  The whole thing is inhuman, unfair and un-American.  Besides, it’s bad for the health…There comes a time in every soldier’s life, from the lowliest private to the lowliest officer, when he must put his own wellbeing second to the greater good of his fellow fellows, his comrades in arms, his war buddies.  Let us each, in his very own quiet heart, say to that courageous man, whoever he may turn out to be:  And there, but for the fickle pick of fate, go I.  And que sera, sera.

After accident-prone and awkward nurse Edwina reveals to another nurse that she has never been with a man, the nurses band together to withdraw their affection from the doctors until one of them goes on a date with Edwina.  When morale hits an all-time low, they draw straws to see who will step up for the team.

Every leader knows that morale has an enormous impact on the cohesiveness and productivity of a team.  Amidst the demands of an organization, it is easy to become obsessed with the function of a team at the expense of the friendships that are integral to a positive team spirit.  I recognise the danger in my own leadership to become so task focused and mission oriented that I forget about the importance of just having fun together.  In his book, “IT,” Craig Groeshel speaks about the importance of teams having an ‘Unmistakable Camaraderie’ where “not only do they minister together, they do life together.”  When we genuinely care about and invest into the lives of team members it lifts morale leading to a stronger and more effective team.

Competent Leadership

Episode 12:  Dear Dad

Hawkeye:   [writing a letter to his dad] Henry Blake is a good doctor and a pretty good “Joe.”  As a commanding officer, it’s a bit like being on a sinking liner, running to the bridge and finding out the captain is Daffy Duck. But more about old Henry later.”

In a letter to his dad, Hawkeye describes the personalities of the people he works with and their antics amidst everyday camp life during their first Christmas season at the 4077.

If character is the foundation of good leadership, then competency provides the framework around which leadership is built.  A leader’s ability to lead effectively is directly proportional to their commitment to personal growth and leadership development.  At my previous appointment I arrived feeling way out of my depth and unqualified to lead the team I inherited.  I knew that if I had any hope of leading this team, I had to gain the knowledge and develop the skills necessary. According to John Maxwell’s ‘Law of the Lid’, my leadership ability determines my level of effectiveness; therefore, I embarked upon a journey of significant personal growth.  It is the responsibility of every leader to develop the level of competence necessary to effectively lead the people or organization entrusted to their leadership.  Leaders cannot lead where they are not travelling, nor can they teach what they don’t know.

Hypocrisy

Episode 11:  Germ Warfare

Frank:      Isn’t that the POW?

Hawkeye:    That’s right.  He’s in my c-o-t.

Frank:      I ordered him shipped out. What’s he doing here?

Hawkeye:   Easy Frank. Henry okayed it. He’s not taking up anybody’s space but mine. Why don’t you buzz off, Frank? Go review your hypocritical oath.

When a North Korean POW arrives wounded and in need of blood, Hawkeye discovers that Frank Burns is the only person in camp with the same blood type.  Frank expresses his disapproval of the 4077 caring for the enemy and tries to have him shipped out, while Hawkeye and Trapper arrange for a midnight caper to swipe a pint of blood from Frank.

Hypocrisy is the ugly side of humanity where stated values and beliefs are out of alignment with actual behaviour.  It is one of the biggest challenges of my leadership to discern what is real when the face of the people I lead hides a contradicting attitude of the heart.  It is also a big challenge for the Church, as hypocrisy is one of the biggest accusations that are levelled against the body of Christ.  Christian leaders have the enormous task of not only setting an example after Christ of authentic leadership, but to recreate a culture in the Church where what we believe consistently defines the way we behave.  While the Church may be the context for my leadership, authenticity and integrity are coveted values in every arena of leadership.