FIRST IN LAST OUT
LEADERSHIP CLICHÉ | Todd Elliott
“ People don ’ t care how much you know until they know how much you care .”
- Theodore Roosevelt
I heard this quote at an event today and I have to confess that I rolled my eyes . I ’ ve heard it so many times that it seems super cliche . It might be because I ’ ve heard it from people who I don ’ t really believe mean it . Which I guess proves the point .
I ’ ve been with a great crew on an event this week and I had an interesting conversation with a creative director who was responsible for a few creative elements in our general sessions . What we do as technical / creative artists happens in a stressful environment . Things not going as planned . Not having enough rehearsal time . Doors open before we ’ re ready . Is it even working ?
It can be so easy to give into the intensity and have it leak out on the people we ’ re working with . Short answers . Moving too fast . Yelling to the stage from front-of-house . For many of us , our team of volunteers are affected by this leaking . I know it is easy to think , “ We need to
What we need to be good at is handling the stress of our environment and leading our teams through it .
fix this probably as fast as possible . I ’ m not really yelling , I ’ m just intense .”
While I believe that we need to be competent at the task we have in front of us , I think that is the easiest part of what we do . What we need to be good at is handling the stress of our environment and leading our teams through it . Instead of our stress negatively affecting the people around us , we need to learn how to channel that stress into finding solutions with a positive attitude and kind words .
In the short term , there is a problem to solve . In the long term , how you solve it will determine what matters most to you . Reaching for perfection at any cost , or a culture of honor and continual improvement .
I want to be on the team of honor and continual improvement . I want to be a leader that shows honor and is pushing for continual improvement .
Todd Elliott Todd is a writer , speaker , technical artist in the local church and founder of FILO , which stands for First In , Last Out . FILO was born out of his own need as a technical artist in the local church to be in community with other church tech people , to learn new ways of doing things and to be inspired that what he did mattered . The more FILO-type people he met , the more convinced he was that these are things we all need . That ’ s why FILO exists : to equip , encourage and inspire technical artists in the local church to become the best version of ourselves . Formerly the Technical Arts Director at Willow Creek Community Church , he started FILO in 2015 to help other technical artists become more effective so that the local church can be more effective . In his free time , he enjoys being inspired by Winston Churchill speeches and visiting the gravesites of U . S . presidents . Residing near Chicago , he and his wife Bissy have three kids and a dog ... none of whom are into production .
FILO ’ s flagship event happens yearly : Our next FILO Conference will be May 7 + 8 , 2024 in Chicagoland , IL . Register now for best pricing options ! Follow us on Instagram for community + inspiration !
116 February 2024 Subscribe for Free ...