As a member of the staff of this magazine, I am a part of ground level issue planning; themes, securing writers, etc. As well, I am a contributing associate editor, and occasionally you will read my articles on these pages. As a result of the above capacities, I have written the following article in such a way that it will associate with the featured articles of this issue. Therefore; by intent, the nature of this article is supportive.
It has been my experience most often that when young people (men and women) study or discuss leadership – as to its character and content – it is among other things, understood as “that state of being to which one will attain in the future.” That is true but I ask you to notice as you read the feature articles that these writers bring out the idea of “natural groundwork being laid from early on.” As to this groundwork, I want to direct your attention to beliefs, values and norms which are influential in leadership.
Beliefs, values and norms are within the realm of human responsibility – that is to say, those things that you are able to and expected to develop.
BELIEFS are assumptions or convictions that you hold to be true regarding people, concepts or things. All people have beliefs about things, concepts and people. One may believe that being a student means putting in time only from 8:00 to 3:00. Another may understand being a student as an occupation – albeit not lifelong – for which they are responsible to themselves, other people and though not in an immediate direct sense, ultimately to God.
Some people believe a car is simply a means of transportation. Others believe a car is a status symbol.
Some people in authority (those from whom guidance is expected) believe young men and women tend to be lazy and irresponsible, that they must motivate by fear. Others believe true leadership is no threatening experience. They lead with the understanding that they too are in subjection to God and that their leadership arises out of this ideal.
VALUES are attitudes about the worth or importance of people, concepts or things. You may place high value on a family heirloom such as your grandmother’s pendant or grandfather’s watch. You may value a clean, well maintained car. You may value freedom to make certain decisions or to go places. You may value a friend, a relative or an adult who helped you during a particular time in your life.
Values influence your behavior because you use them to weigh the importance of alternatives. For example, a person who values personal pleasure more than he values a fit, healthy body continually makes choices about eating and exercising that will result in his becoming overweight and out of shape. Your values guide you in choosing whether to go out with your friends for the evening or to a family gathering on your grandfather’s 75th birthday.
NORMS are formal and informal. Formal norms are official standards or laws that govern behavior. Traffic signals and other laws of the land direct the behavior of American people. They dictate what actions are required or forbidden.
Informal norms are unwritten rules or standards that govern the behavior of group members. Certain military regiments have held an informal norm that the wounded were evacuated after a battle, regardless of danger. At the root of this norm was a shared value about the importance of caring for each other.
While I was a young teenager there was a group of young men (late teen and early 20’s) who shared an informal norm that was not at all dissimilar to that of the military regiment. Whether they were fully aware of it or not the norm they shared guarded their spiritual life. They each were a watchdog for the others. They each were accountable to the others. For example, if one of the group was getting physically involved with a girl and any of his friends was knowledgeable of the situation he/they confronted him and if need be removed him from the impending peril.
Each of these young men and members of military regiments, mentioned above, found comfort in knowing that they would be cared for when in danger or wounded.
Informal norms can also be counter-productive. Norms such as heavy drinking or drug abuse are physically harmful and also spiritually harmful.
Negative informal norms create peer pressure to conform.
IMPORTANCE: Beliefs, values and norms guide the actions of individuals and groups. They are powerful. People will risk danger and will often die for deeply held beliefs and values. Many early Christians died for their beliefs because they valued service to God more than their lives. Death in the service of God was an accepted norm.