Humanitarian/Education Visit to the Dominican Republic: “Liderazgo, Hoy y Para Siempre”

Humanitarian/Education Visit to the Dominican Republic
“Liderazgo, Hoy y Para Siempre”

Joanne and I just returned from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, where we were able to participate in a phenomenal humanitarian/education visit in support of the Dominican Starfish Foundation. 

Louise ZoBell is the Executive Director of the Dominican Starfish Foundation, based in Sterling, Canada, with two sister groups: “PAL Humanitarian dba Dominican Starfish Foundation” in the United States (Utah), and the “Fundación Amor, Estrella de Mar, es Amor” in the Dominican Republic. 

Darrel, Joanne, and Louise ZoBell

Over the past several years, the Dominican Starfish Foundation has built or renovated over 160 homes in the Puerto Plata area. They have also renovated a school and helped numerous families by providing clothes, shoes, food, playground equipment, and so many other items.

Recently, they built an education center in the community of Javillar to begin offering a cadre of educational services and providing places for dentists, doctors, and chiropractors to provide medical and dental services to those most in need.

Education Center in Javillar

At the end of 2021, I met with their board of directors and help develop a strategic plan for them to build capacity and enhance what the Foundation was doing.

After several conversations, Louise and I decided it would be wonderful to initiate educational offerings by providing a leadership workshop to emerging and future leaders in Javillar and Puerto Plata.

I contacted the Foundation’s Dominican director, Amarilis Ureña, and others about the training. They were ecstatic about the potential of having leadership seminars. So many people were instrumental in planning and developing the training. Many thanks to Amarilis and her amazing equipo (team), Louise, Lorenzo Castillo, Eddy Morrobel, and Immanuel Rosario. 

Graduation time

For our first class at the Foundation’s Education Center on March 22, 2022, over 40 participants participated in “Liderazgo, Hoy y Para Siempre” (“Leadership: Today and Forever”). We discussed leadership on the fundamental levels, what a leader is or should be, the role of a leader, leadership styles and characteristics, values, and principles of leadership.

On the second day of the class, we developed a plan of action as to what they were going to do to implement the principles we had discussed in the class. I was impressed by how excited they were to complete this task. They worked diligently by themselves and in groups to develop their “Plan de Acción.” (“Plan of Action”). 

Class members engaged in group discussion

One particular company had sent five of its employees to participate and learn. They went away with both a personal plan and a plan to help the company.

These five young men came from their
association to learn about leadership

At the end of the leadership training, the Dominican Starfish Foundation and I had prepared a certificate to give each participant who completed the two-day event. It was patterned after a graduation ceremony, with each person coming forward, receiving their certificate, and having their picture taken.

I thoroughly enjoyed being there with them and teaching them the fundamentals and principles of leadership—all in Spanish, which was a joy! Probably the most fun was taking pictures with all of the participants. So many of them wanted group pictures with various students and me. How can you say no to that?

Certificates for everyone who participated in the two-day seminar

Also, I did an evening truncated version of the two-day leadership seminar with a group of 90 people—members of our church, community members, and city leaders. It was an incredible three hours of conversation, questions, learning, sharing, and preparing their own plans of action.

The group at the stake center

Again, we had a graduation ceremony and gave a certificate to each person who had participated. So many of them came forward and thanked me for the training they had received.

Darrel, a city leader and her husband, and Lorenzo Castillo

Joanne and I thoroughly enjoyed our time there with our Dominican friends, new and old. There is something about sharing leadership principles and values with others and seeing them grab hold of them and instilling them into their lives. We will be having Zoom follow-up conversations with the participants—at their request.

If any of you reading this would like to participate in a humanitarian/education experience in the Dominican Republic with the Dominican Starfish Foundation, please contact Louise ZoBell at dominicanstarfish@gmail.com or me at darrel.hammon@gmail.com. Your expertise will be well received by these emerging leaders and so many others. If you are wondering what is needed, please contact me to discuss potential educational needs.

For more information about the Dominican Starfish Foundation, please go to their website: www.dominicanstarfish.org.

Exceptional leaders are like delicious banana bread

Exceptional leaders are like delicious banana bread, a perfect blend of flour, oil, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and a touch of salt—

Flour to give texture, structure, and the framework to the team

Oil to meld the team together in a moist, live way

Sugar to add sweetener and flavor when times are challenging and sometimes overwhelming,  thus improving the overall quality of the team

Baking Powder to act as a leavening agent that allows the team to rise and do incredible things

Baking Soda to neutralize the acid or the negativity in a team, even adding a bit of tenderness to any situation

Vanilla to enhance the flavors of the whole team, even a complex one

Salt to perk up the depth, complexity, and melding of the entire team

Do you possess all these ingredients? 

If not, please message me, and let’s talk!

The Art of Leadership—Decision Making

The Art of Leadership—Decision Making

Over the years in my leadership positions, I have made numerous decisions, some disastrous and some genius, many more somewhere between the two. I have enjoyed making decisions. The better ones have always been more effective if I follow a process. The following ten decision-making principles constitute a process that has helped me make good decisions in the workplace and beyond.

Realize you are the decision maker

Ah, therein lies one of the biggest scopes of a leader. You have to make decisions. You cannot avoid them! Even not making a decision is a decision, albeit sometimes not necessarily a good one. Some decisions will be easy, some will be hard, some will create challenges for others, some may even offend others, some will be genius, some will be dumb, and some will show you are the greatest leader of all times. But mostly decisions will propel you and/or your organization along the path of success. 

Understand both sides of the decision

Perhaps, we should say that you must understand all sides of the decision. Initially, you may think that a “yes” or a “no” decision is in order. In reality, there are other sides of the decision: “Maybe not right now,” “Let’s involve others in the decision-making process,” “Are there aspects we are not seeing?” And many others. 

Do your homework

Decision-making constitutes doing your homework, whether it is visiting with others, reviewing the data, digging through the research, contemplating outcomes and workload, debating pros and cons, or acknowledging and ultimately accepting consequences. While doing your homework, you should also realize that your decision must be timely. 

Involve others in the decision-making process

You may have to make the final decision, but you should involve the people you have hired in helping you make the decision. If you have hired correctly, they are smart people, more than capable of reviewing with you any challenges that might come because of the decision. They probably can see angles you may not have foreseen. Trust them. Include them. Involving good heads, strong hearts, and good visionaries and pragmatists will always make you a better leader. 

Make the decision

Ironically, you have to make the decision. Of course, you will make the decision after you have done your homework, listened to others, and understand the potential consequences. But ultimately, the decision is yours. I know a few so-called leaders who think about it and think about and put off making the decision to the extreme. So, when the decision is finally made, people whose lives and jobs depend on the situation and have done everything in their power to help their leader with the decision have basically downgraded their opinion (s) of the leader. Leaders make decisions. Better stated: Leaders make timely, informed decisions.  

Understand the consequence (s) of your decision

Fortunately or unfortunately, there will be consequences to your decision. Many “ouches” will come your way, like ripping off a band aid. It may hurt for a moment or two—maybe even a year or two or even longer—but if you have done your homework, involved others, and made a good decision, then you can and should accept the outcome. 

Take ownership of the decision

There will be decisions that will not be good ones. It is inevitable. Instead of blaming others, take full ownership of it. You are/were/will be the ultimate decision maker. If the decision is not a good one, go to the evaluation/assessment component of the process. There may have been an angle you or your team overlooked. Or there may have been an unintended consequence. Do not be afraid to be accountable for the decision. Be sure, though, to give out the appropriate accolades because of a good decision. It will make you a better and a more effective leader. 

Assess the decision

Yes, you have to determine whether your decision is a good one. When you brush your teeth with an electric toothbrush, you know that’s a good decision, especially when you go to your six-month checkup, and the dental hygienist tells you your gums are looking good. Assessment should always be a part of the decision-making process. If changes need to occur, then make them, following a similar process you followed with some variation to make the right decision. 

Follow up

Once the decision has been made and you have completed the assessment, continue to follow up to make sure the decision is still a good one and on track toward success. Sometimes, you will have to review and perhaps reevaluate the decision. There is no shame in saying, “Well, that wasn’t the best decision we have ever made. Let’s take another look and try again.” 

Do not beat yourself up for the bad decisions

Guess what, bad decisions creep into the leadership equation. Unfortunately, you cannot make good decisions 100% of the time. You can make a zillion good decisions, but often there will be that one decision that may haunt you for the rest of your life. You cannot, however, continue to focus on that bad decision. Why? Because it will be so close in your line of vision that it will obstruct the bigger picture, the vision of what you need to do. The most amazing thing that can happen from making a bad decision is how you turn a bad decision into a good one and move forward. Or maybe even be willing to discard the decision completely. Sometimes, you just have to shake your head a few times and move on. 

Decision-making is one of the most challenging aspects of being a leader. It can create heartache and heartburn while simultaneously euphoria and self-satisfaction. The key to good, effective decision-making is this: You have to make them. Just make sure you have done everything you can to make a good decision and then be willing to accept whatever consequence that follows, good or bad. 

Darrel L. Hammon, Ph.D.

Who are emerging leaders and are they easy to spot?

 Who are emerging leaders and are they easy to spot?

You could say I have been around a bit in leadership circles and roles, mostly in higher education, particularly community colleges and universities with community college roles and missions. Consequently, I have seen, helped, and mentored my share of people who I would classify as emerging leaders. 

For the past decade or more, a few questions have bounced around: “Who are emerging leaders? And how can we help them propel themselves forward?” I will answer only the first question and save the second question for another essay.

First, who are emerging leaders and are they easy to spot? In many ways they are. Some of them are already serving in leadership positions, some rounding off their edges, yet they possess a sense of vigilance and a willingness to learn and to grow. I have chosen just seven attributes or characteristics to help us recognize these emerging leaders:

They are influencers.

Now, some of emerging leaders may know they are influencers in a formal way, but many more are influencers in an informal way. This means that they do not try to impress. It just happens naturally by the way they say things or do things. They show up, full blown, ready to go every single day. They are consistent and persistent in all that they do, and they rise to the top by natural transition by creating, participating in, and seeking opportunities for themselves to grow and develop.

They are contributors.

They are ones you see asking good questions, questions that stimulate growth or show that they have done their homework before they ask the question. They are powerfully patience in their contributions throughout the organization. They do not force themselves on others or talk over other people to get their point across. They know when to contribute appropriately and strategically, and their contributions move the company and the conversation along in a positive way.

They are smart and exude a bit of savvy about what is happening.

These days it seems that everyone exhibits “smartness” or “intelligence” in a variety of areas. While some people exhibit these qualities, it does not mean that they know what to do with their smartness and intelligence. To me, emerging leaders exude a judiciousness about how they incorporate their smartness and intelligence in their normal, everyday actions. Gratuitous exhibition does not become them. Rather, these emerging leaders show it through ingenuity and conversation and the actual doing what needs to be done.

They are excited about coming to work and staying engaged.

Too many people are lethargic about coming to work and staying engaged in what we are trying to accomplish. Emerging leaders stay excited and motivated about the doings of the organization. They may not be the perennial show horse who comes to work all prim and proper although they may look good because they focus on what needs to be done instead of how they look. They possess a sense of energy all day long, perhaps even being the light that that shines on everyone as they are engaged in doing real work.

They are willing to go beyond the daily mundane.

Emerging leaders seek opportunities to show what they can do. There are those in our lives—past and present—who always ask for extra credit. While I am not one to give extra credit, I do believe if you can do the work, then just do it. The emerging leaders who go beyond the daily mundane do it because they have chosen to excel and want to become better, not necessarily because of the credit or accolades they may receive. They possess an internal guide that propels them forward in all that they do. They look forward to going beyond what is being asked of them. Their work ethic is impeccable.

They work in teams and often emerge as leaders of those teams.

Emerging leaders like to work in teams and implicitly understand the various roles in a team. They do not dominate the conversation or try to persuade everyone to come to their side. It is a natural progression as they rise to the occasion. By choice, the people in their groups tend to look to them because they trust them. Their groups tend to coalesce and become one, and their projects have positive trappings and show great thought, creativity, and resourcefulness.

They leave a trail of good and positivity behind them.

There are those so called leaders who advance but leave behind a wake of negativity and workplace debris—people whom they stepped on and over, projects that others did but they took credit for, and a sense of “we-are-glad-he/she-is gone-from-this-organization.” Exceptional emerging leaders leave their last position in better shape than the found it. People moan their departure because of what they have done and how they treated others. Emerging leaders understand culture and try with all their might and mind to leave behind a culture that wishes them well and welcomes them back anytime. When emerging leaders do this and they move from one successful position to another, they can always call back, ask for help, and never be turned down or away. They gain allies wherever they go, and they never forget where they came from.

Now, there are many, many more qualities that may define an emerging leader, but these are the ones that have impressed me over the past several years. I have watched these types of leaders transition nicely from just pools of people to upper leadership in organizations because of their persistence and personality to do what needs to be done. While not one attribute completely defines emerging leaders, a combination of many create and propel emerging leaders to the top of leadership circles. 

Darrel L. Hammon, Ph.D.

Love, Lift, Lead, Inspire, and Invite— Five Basic Leadership Principle to Guide Your Life

Love, Lift, Lead, Inspire, and Invite—

Five Basic Leadership Principle to Guide Your Life

 My wife and I just finished a three-year mission for our Church. We both took hiatuses from our jobs to serve because we were asked to do it. We served as a mission president and spouse with over 500 young men and women, ages 18-26, some of the brightest, most talented, and most incredible young men and women on the planet earth.

We planned, developed, and delivered a plethora of trainings, from basic spiritual principles to self-awareness and self-mastery principles to leadership principles for current and emerging leaders. Plus, I interviewed all missionaries every six weeks and some more often than that to see how they were doing with these principles. I have watched them grow and develop into incredible emerging leaders.

So, what did I learn about leadership from serving with these young people as I watched them develop their skill sets?

 While we learned many, many leadership principles over the three years, let me begin with just five basic principles that really are enormous and life-changing in the long run and will form a firm and solid foundation in our lives if we abide by them: Love, Lift, Lead, Inspire, and Invite.

Love

I am not talking about romantic love. I am talking about love for your fellow men and women, your colleagues, and your jobs. If you do not love these things, you will become disinterested in doing the right things or failing to help others grow and progress or even withdrawing from reaching out to others because you focus too much on yourself and your own well-being. We learned that focusing and serving others (remember the servant-leadership conversations you have had along the way?) will propel you out of your self-absorption and into seeing how you can help others, thus propelling you forward onto a happier, more confident level.

Lift

You must lift others where they are. A former airline pilot and executive and now a ecclesiastical leader once said, “You must lift where you stand” (see https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2008/10/lift-where-you-stand?lang=eng). That counsel is for every leader, no matter where you are on the rung of leadership. As you lift others from where they are, you must be on higher ground. I believe that each time you lift others from where they are, you lift yourself even further. Once you lift yourself and others, you each see higher ground, gain a greater view of where you are going, and ultimately see more holistically your surroundings and your environment.

Lead

Leaders lead by example—a positive example. They do not push. They do not yank people around. They are not passive-aggressive. They do not cajole. They do not yell or scream. They do not hide things from others. They are not mean and nasty. They are not better than anyone else. Rather, they are honest and good. They are open. They involve everyone in decision making. They see people in a positive way. They exude happiness and positivity. Most importantly, they lead others to do the right things. Of course, to lead others, you must learn self-mastery by leading yourself in the right direction. Interestingly, when you lead by example, people will follow you because they trust you because you showed them love and concern and even compassion, and you have lifted them along the way and continue to lift them to do the right things. By leading by example, you help people become better, more than what they thought they could ever become.

Inspire

Inspiring people does not necessarily come by standing on the pedestal all by yourself, arms outstretched, and shouting convincing words to those in the audience. That may inspire them for a moment. The lasting inspiration that helps people more comes by what you do and say and think and how you positively and successfully involve them in the process. Doers of good always gain followers and inspire them to good things. You see, goodness oozes out of great leaders into everything that they do, and people want to feel this goodness or this inspiration because it makes them want to be better. They want to do things so they can feel the same goodness. Thus, their inspiration to do better, to be become better, comes from being inspired by you through your example.

Invite

The last of the five basic leadership principles is inviting others to do what needs to be done, even the most challenging tasks. We can all remember bosses who yelled at us, maybe called us a few names that singed our ears, bosses who instilled in us the fear of God if we did not do something. Even when we did good things, they were not happy with us. We did not like to be around them and sought for jobs to get away from them. The key, then, is to invite people to do things in a kind, gracious way. If you have loved them, lifted them from some doldrums or quandary to new heights, led them in the right direction before, and inspired them by what you have done, they will do whatever you invite them to do because they trust you and want to continue to grow and develop. They have been inspired by you and your example!

While there are so many more principles of leadership—some I will write about later—these five simple ones will help you establish a strong foundation for being a good leader and propel you on to become even a greater leader. Promise! 

Darrel L. Hammon, Ph.D.

August 2020