IDEAS AND LEADERSHIP
By: Allen E. Roberts
Bro. Allen, Roberts is one of
Freemasonry's most talented and respected authors.
He has written many books, and articles, and
has always strongly supported Masonic Education
and Leadership Training. In this STB, Bro. Roberts
explains the importance of effective leadership
and how the newly created Masonic Leadership
Center can be of help to all Freemasons.
Editor
Leadership! This is the key to Freemasonry's
growth. (And we believe we can offer some assistance.)
Leadership. It must be the key
that unlocks the door to Freemasonry's potential.
Digesting and using ideas are the backbone of
leadership. This pierces and destroys apathy.
It's the key that unlocks constructive leaders.
A good leader motivates other
people to get things done! This is a fact that
has been known and stressed for hundreds of
years. The constructive leader realizes he must
depend on others to accomplish his goals.
Thomas Edison, one of the greatest
inventors of any age, told us why he was successful.
He said he was an awfully good sponge; that
most of the ideas he developed were those of
other people. Edison evaluated those ideas,
adapted them and adopted goals for himself.
They became his goals. By perfecting
these ideas, and directing his associates, he
was able to achieve his objectives. This is
fine, if there is only one person-you-to consider.
It's entirely different when we're working for
an organization. Then these goals must be set
by everyone involved. My goals are fine, but
they are mine alone. You may, or may not, help
me reach them. But if we establish goals together,
they become our goals. We then stand an excellent
chance of reaching them.
Every seminar and workshop I conducted
for over 40 years began with this statement:
Every person in this room knows something no
one else knows. The truth of this statement
becomes quickly apparent. By bringing together
this vast store of knowledge, everyone becomes
the beneficiary.
We've often heard stories about
the reinvention of the wheel. The wise leader
seeks methods to improve on this creation of
the stone age. Brother Henry Ford did it when
he gave us the horseless carriage. He not only
improved the wheel, he enhanced the means of
travel. He did so by developing the ideas of
those who had come before him. This helped him
change the life of every person on earth, forever!
Then along came others to improve on what Ford
had achieved.
There's a lesson in this one example
that every leader should follow. The automobile
of today wasn't conceived and designed from
nothing; it benefited from what Ford, and those
who came before him, developed. Countless man
hours and millions of dollars were saved to
use for other purposes.
Consider what I call "the
miracle of television." Those of my generation
can remember the first crude radios. We can
look back and follow the improvements through
today, from the ideas of yesterday, and expect
further advancements tomorrow. These ideas have
been incorporated into television and the other
means of communication we enjoy, and too often
take for granted.
It's not difficult to consider
another "miracle"-the personal computer.
Even a younger generation than mine can look
back on the day the electric typewriter was
a wonderful invention. Fortunately, along came
the "space age" with its inventions
of better means of communication.
The computer was far out of reach
of all but the wealthiest businesses. There
were a few, thank goodness, working to change
this situation. The world of communication has
been completely revolutionized!
It doesn't take much thinking
to understand why we have the "miracles"
of today in communication. Constructive leaders
improved on the ideas that began thousands of
years ago. From the sticks used for drawing,
to chisels, to quills, to ink and pen, to type,
and then Gutenberg's movable type. This latter
freed people from ecclesiastical bondage by
making the printed word available to all.
No longer did the "average"
person have to depend on the translations of
a few learned clerics for the knowledge available.
No longer did man have to learn by "mouth
to ear." Books became more and more prevalent.
Libraries began to become accessible. Schools
expanded. Other means of accumulating and disseminating
information grew.
What has this to do with Freemasonry?
EVERYTHING. I hope.
For hundreds of years Freemasonry
has been the leading fraternal organization
in the world. It has set the mode for the morality
of man. It has stood for justice for all peoples.
It has been far ahead of its time.
How can I say that? By researching
the past.
If we follow the history of our
operative brethren we learn how they constantly
improved their methods of building. They continually
modified the ideas and methods of other masons
and builders. The cathedrals, castles, and other
buildings that have withstood the ravages of
time are testimonials to their continual progress.
From the far flung lodges, or
guilds, came an attempt to associate the operative
masons with speculative associates. The men
who had been admitted to the builders' guilds
who were not craftsmen, wanted the lessons of
the operatives perpetuated. This brought some
of the members of four English lodges together
in 1717. From this meeting evolved the Freemasonry
we follow today.
Some criterion had to be developed
to bring order out of what could be chaos. So,
James Anderson, a Presbyterian minister, was
chosen to do the job. He solicited all the old
writings available about the operative craft.
From these documents he compiled the Constitution
of the Freemasons, which the Grand Lodge of
England adopted in 1723. His history of the
craft, which he found in the old documents,
has been termed, rightly, as "fanciful."
But the Charges and regulations are, for the
most part, still followed today.
Among these we find: Charge IV:
Officers must be chosen by merit, not by seniority
or favoritism; apprentices must be capable of
learning the art and being of service; work
must be learned before becoming a Warden; a
Master must have served as a Warden; a Grand
Master must have served as a Master.
We find that even in the 1720s
the importance of good management and constructive
leadership were emphasized. But actually, we
can trace the ideals of management to the Old
Testament of the Holy Bible. Among many such
lessons we find Jethro teaching Moses how to
be a good manager. He suggested Moses delegate
authority and responsibilities; how to set up
an organization much as the large, successful,
corporations are structured today.
This means that leaders will surround
themselves with subordinates who will tell them
the truth. It's easy for men to attempt to be
popular by always agreeing with the "boss,"
even when they know he's wrong. But this can,
and often does, lead to disaster for the boss.
Being encircled by "yes men" can destroy
a would-be leader.
Article V in the Constitutions
tells us that Freemasons must perform honest
work for fair wages. And the Grand Lodge must
approve the working tools. It is, therefore,
necessary for the leadership at the top to be
the best it's possible to find. The top leaders
set the tone for their whole jurisdiction. Obstructive,
or poor, leaders suppress growth; constructive
leaders will help their Lodges and members reach
for the stars.
Freemasonry, like most nonprofit
and commercial organizations, is not totally
democratic. This makes it all the more necessary
for Freemasonry's leadership to be constructive.
The iron fist the leader can use must be enclosed
in a velvet glove. In a voluntary organization,
such as Freemasonry, the leader can order no
man to do anything.
For over 75 years The Masonic
Service Association has provided information
to Grand Lodges and Lodges throughout the country.
Far too much of this invaluable information
has been ignored.
The Conferences of Grand Masters
and Grand Secretaries have provided excellent
information that could have produced phenomenal
results for the Craft. Much of this information
has been spoken and recorded in Masonic Educational
Conferences such as the Midwest and Northeast.
What was spoken, taught and recorded has been,
for the most part, buried so deeply it has rarely
been employed. The thousands of hours and dollars
that went into the planning were lost.
This isn't as it should be. A
few Masonic leaders have pleaded for years for
the establishment of a central location where
leadership and educational material could be
stored. Merely storing it, however, is only
part of the answer. The information must also
be cataloged, indexed, reviewed, then made readily
available for all Grand Lodges truly interested
in educating their leaders and members.
Over forty years ago I coined
this phrase: There can be no dedication without
Education; Leadership provides the background.
The means is now available for
Freemasonry to develop the leadership it must
have to remain a viable force for good. By teaching
Freemasons how to be leaders Freemasonry can
have thousands of Master Masons dedicated to
the principles of our Fraternity. This will
continue the growth of the Fraternity. Freemasons
who understand Freemasonry will be teaching
and working with Freemasons.
How has this important stage been
reached? Why can Freemasonry stop reinventing
the wheel, but continue to improve on its design
and utility?
The George Washington Masonic
National Memorial Association's Board of Directors
offered its facilities for a Masonic Leadership
Center. The Philalethes Society, a small Masonic
research body, contributed enough money to the
Center for the minimum necessities to get it
started. One of the Society's members,
Paul M. Bessel, agreed to act
as the Center's Executive Secretary. Others
have volunteered to help. They will review transactions
and books, then index them for the Center.
Much information is now available.
Time, patience and the assistance of volunteers
will provide the Masonic leadership with tested
programs they can then modify for their Grand
Lodges. There will be no cost to Grand Lodges
and appendant bodies for this information, although
monetary contributions will gladly be accepted.
Transactions, books, programs, and other educational
items pertaining to Freemasonry are solicited.
For information, contact:
Masonic Leadership Center
GWMNM
101 Callahan Drive
Alexandria, Virginia 22301
FAX: 703/739-3295
