CLARITY
Def: The quality or state of being clear; Lucidity: Clearness of thought or style, a presumed capacity to perceive the truth directly and instantaneously.
This essay has been a bit tougher to write than last week’s entry on DISRUPTION. Possibly because I am still drilling down on my CLARITY and possibly because there is a bit of spiritual warfare taking place in my midst. Just as Ebola and Grease Trap displayed True Leadership going through times of DISRUPTION, this week’s focus is on a PAX that displays what I refer to as the 1st C, CLARITY that comes only after we have been disrupted. CLARITY of why, CLARITY of who, CLARITY of how and CLARITY of what.
When I think of CLARITY, I think about MISSION, as defined in Q Source as Service in the high impact zone (Q2.3). A High Impact Man, a HIM, lives in this Zone.
Think for a minute about the story of the Israelites who wandered in the desert for 40 years. The reality is, even with a group that size, they probably could have made the trip in a matter of weeks but without a course of action taken to achieve an articulated purpose, they wandered. (Q2.3). Obviously, God had a plan and a course of action and a why for their wandering but they didn’t have any CLARITY for it whatsoever.
When most people encounter DISRUPTION, there is no clear path, only the fog of war and the chaos of not knowing. As we become TRUE LEADERS in these times of DISRUPTION, our target comes into view. I believe it is this view of our target that gives us CLARITY and puts us on MISSION.
To me, the truer meaning of CLARITY comes from LUCIDITY, a presumed capacity to perceive the truth.
Most of you know Funyuns as a GoRuck’n beast, a guy that gets up and gets after it around 0445 most mornings and the former site Q for Racetrack. I want to tell yall how he has demonstrated CLARITY to me and is a TRUE LEADER. I first met Funyuns at our Memorial Day Modified Murph in 2015, he was an FNG. So how about that, a dude shows up on his off day from work to get better with a group of guys he didn’t know outside of his EH, Baltic Predator. (Side note, BP had been sidelined with Thyroid cancer and bad knees from his time in the NFL.) So here Funyuns shows up and lays it all out there with us. Fast forward to 2019 and Funyuns has been one the HIMest HIMs we have, leading, serving, EH’ing and living out F3.
About a year into our friendship, Funyuns shared some of the details about his DISRUPTION. That DISRUPTION which we won’t cover here has led to many positive outcomes for Funyuns as well as those of us who know him…whether we realize that or not. I argue that the most important outcome of that DISRUPTION was CLARITY.
Leadership traits I experience through my brotherhood with Funyuns…
His Relationship with his Maker (WHY):
Funyuns has a deep love for Jesus and knows that any CLARITY he will ever live in comes through a daily walk with the Lord. My man Funyuns is a deep reader of God’s word and communicator with God throughout the ritual of daily prayer.
If you don’t have an open line of communication with your Maker, you won’t have CLARITY and you won’t lead well. Why? We are designed to be in relationship.
His Relationship with his Family (WHO):
Funyuns loves his wife Jaclyn and his baby girls Mary Michael and Lela. This sounds like a pretty low bar but man if you have ever spent any time with Funyuns you know his devotion to them. This devotion emanates from Funyuns in how he talks about them and how he serves them.
If you aren’t loving those well that you are in proximity to (your WHO), if you don’t have CLARITY around the “Die to Self” mentality they need, how can you be a servant leader at work, at F3, in your community or in your place of worship? Those of you who ascribe to my particular worldview can think of the ultimate HIM who laid down his life for us.
His Relationship with his Friends (WHO pt 2):
What does true friendship look like to you? Do you have a crystalline definition of true friendship on your heart? Are your true friends faces burned in your mind’s eye? That’s it for me, it is easier for me to see those HIM in my mind as opposed to defining them with you know, words. When I think about the true friends I have, Funyuns would be on my Mt. Rushmore. You all know the benchmarks to friendship…Borrow your Vehicle > Help you move > Advice on work > Pray over You (getting a bit more real now). What about that HIM that asks you the hard questions? Do you have that guy on your team? What about the guy that gets in there where the dark stuff is? You got him too? You have to get clear on who those HIM are that get beyond the surface, the ones that are deeper than a rain puddle and Funyuns has done that. He is that 2 AM call for some of us and when you get CLARITY, you will be that 2 AM call for others.
His Relationship with his Work (WHAT):
What does CLARITY in terms of work tell us about leadership? How has Funyuns CLARITY with his work taught me about leadership? I will share that with you through a quick example. Last winter, Funyuns and Big Bang were training for a custom F3 Heavy. Those dudes were crushing regular F3Nashville and F3Franklin AOs after doing their own 45-60 minute Pre-Parties. As a follower of Funyuns on Strava, I would see regular posts of 12 Mile solo Rucks on Sunday mornings. Those solo Rucks are the loneliest of the lonely and he did them week after week because he had the CLARITY of crushing the F3 Heavy in NC.
Great story, how does CLARITY in work come into play? Well about a week before the Startex, Funyuns partner/employer had a family emergency. No big deal, his bossman would be back in time for Funyuns to clown car over to NC with Big Bang. Only that he wasn’t, he was delayed and that put Funyuns in a pickle. No big deal, Funyuns could head out for one weekend, the techs on his team could handle the office, his friends in the industry would be on call for any emergency that came up. But no, Funyuns CLARITY was devoted to his work, to his goal of buying the practice, to his years of dedication and skill building. As someone who has had to bag out on a Big Hairy Audacious GORUCK event, I can assure you losing out on this event was weighing on him. There would be other HTLs, other GORUCK events, a STARCOURSE to crush.
A lesser man, a MASCOT would have put in the B team, called in some favors but not Funyuns. He sacrificed a short term, albeit badass event, for the long term right thing to do. The leadership lesson that Funyuns confirmed for me here was that you don’t use short term information to get CLARITY on long term decisions.
CLARITY is a result of DISRUPTION, great leaders are true to their MISSION when their behavior exhibits adherence to the following (HOW):
- An open, ongoing dialogue with your Maker through the study of the scriptures and through prayer
- Loving and serving well those you are in proximate relationship with
- Being that 2 AM phone call guy
- Favoring the dedication to the long term goal over the feel good use of short term information…not letting the short term cloud the long term
PARTING SHOT: Can you be on MISSION without CLARITY?
