Leading Within a Bureaucracy | An Interview with Andrew Marshall

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Andrew Marshall served a mission in Portugal as well as a welfare service mission in Salt Lake City with his wife, Ariel. He is the Director of Leadership Development at the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that strives for a more effective government for the American people. Andrew is also currently serving in the stake presidency of the Washington, D.C. stake.

Highlights

10:20 Effective leaders make a difference wherever they are 15:15 You have to get close to an organization to really understand what it is doing on the individual level: bureaucracies are filled with individuals doing remarkable things 20:15 Zooming out and remembering the principle of stewardship when working inside a bureaucracy 22:50 Liz Wiseman’s concept of Multipliers and Jim Collins’ research into level five leaders: people working tirelessly but it’s not about them; empowering others and getting out of their way 24:40 Lao Tsu: When all is said and done, the people look around and think they did it all themselves; how much of your service is about you? 26:20 Experience with the leadership transition after the sudden passing of a stake president 28:20 Ward and branch councils need to see themselves as enterprise leaders across the system, working collectively; much of this comes from the facilitation habits of the leaders 29:15 Becoming a facilitator: Ask questions instead of giving directions, listen instead of talking, think about the talents of the people in the room and how you can allow them to use them 31:40 How much are you thinking about yourself or getting credit? You are the Lord’s steward and the credit comes in that relationship 34:10 Ego leads to a failure to listen; happiness is the extension of self, joy is the merger of self; holiness of heart protects from the ego 37:30 If we serve as President Nelson has asked us to, there would be joy in every congregation 39:30 Thinking about the why, the motivations of the individual members 44:35 Stewardship is taking care of the things with which we are blessed from God 45:40 “The passing through” 47:50 The key characteristics of steward leaders include deep humility and fierce will: study the Savior’s leadership 49:50 Spend some time studying the handbook section on leadership (4.2) 52:40 Getting out of the programs and activities to create generational impact 54:10 Key behaviors of leaders who practice good stewardship: watch President Nelson’s leadership practices; “the cause” as a constant north star