Are you a Masonic Leader?

Leadership is not about a title.  It is about getting results. 

Today I believe the single largest problem we as a fraternity face is the lack of leadership. Sure we have men with titles, but are they leaders?  In most of our Lodges, the Secretary is the leader.  I did not say that he was necessarily a good leader, or a bad leader.  However, he is probably the only one willing to keep things going. 

How many times have we sat in the East and looked at the Secretary for help?   

Everyone needs help, but if you are the Master of your Lodge you are supposed to be the leader.  After all you do have the title.  What does a title mean?  Today it means absolutely nothing.  We have Masters that can’t open their Lodge.  We have Past Masters that don’t know any more about how their Lodge works today then before they were elected Junior Warden.

Leadership, or the lack there of, is responsible for the state of our Fraternity.  Leaders are not born, they are made.  You can learn to be a leader. Leadership is about the impact we have on others and ability to inspire them to believe they can do anything. Leadership is a learned skill that must be practiced.

Harry Truman said “Men make history and not the other way around.  In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still.  Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.”

Does your Lodge have any goals?  What do you want to accomplish?  Who do you want to help?  Now, how are you going to get it done?  Leadership is that simple.  Set goals.  Communicate your goals.  Then make a plan to accomplish your goals.

If your Lodge members elected you to an office, you were chosen as a leader.  Whether you are Tiler or Worshipful Master, you have been given an opportunity and the responsibility to make a difference in your Lodge.

We will soon be halfway through our Masonic year.  Do you have a plan?  Will your Lodge be a better Lodge after this year than it was before you were elected?  If not, why?  Step up and be a leader.  After all that is what you were elected to do, not to hold a title, but to get results. 

Jason Jefcoat, Grand Master
Grand Lodge of Mississippi