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Thoughts and observations of being in the east for the first time

Bostonian

Bostonian

Registered User
Good evening Brethren,

I hope everyone is having a wonderful and joyous thanksgiving holiday. After presiding over 2 meeting so far as Worshipful Master, I have to say it's been quite a wild experience. Some thoughts and observations:

1. Having a good management background helps immensely. As someone who manages large scale projects and human capital, this experience has come into handy.

2. Ritual is easy in the shower, a lot more difficult in front of people!

3. You can't please all of the people all the time, only some of the people some of the time.

4. Brotherhood and fraternity are much stronger with a cohesive great officer line.

5. October, November and December are wicked busy months!

That's it for now!
 
Warrior1256

Warrior1256

Site Benefactor
Congratulations brother. If all goes according to the way it is going now I will be in the east in approx. 2 yrs. so I view the opinions of those in the east with great interest.
 
GrandJojo

GrandJojo

Registered User
Well done :)

I wish you well - and more particularly, no dispute between Brethren - for wich I was unprepared for during my Mastership ...
 
BroBill

BroBill

Site Benefactor
Site Benefactor
What I've learned so far:
1. It's nothing like it looks from the sideline or from the other stations

2. If it's not on your calendar the day you're installed, it probably won't happen

3. You're in for very big surprises as to where your most time-intensive issues will pop up- hint: they weren't where I thought they'd be!

4. It helped me having been in MEHP, TIM, and Chapter DDGHP before hitting the East in Blue Lodge

5. When everyone knows you take their opinions, suggestions, and input seriously, they participate more - and you'll be surprised at where some of your best rewards will come from! FOOT STOMP this one.....

I think for midway through my year, those are my key "lessons learned"..... Now, over to the West to kick my SW into gear and get him to start his planning......
 
Bloke

Bloke

Premium Member
BroBill said:
I think for midway through my year, those are my key "lessons learned"..... Now, over to the West to kick my SW into gear and get him to start his planning......
Click to expand...

Excellent thought WM ! Grooming your successor and setting him up right is key and often overlooked.

Lessons I've learned or those I teach to those heading East.
  • You are a manager. Take control but without being domineering but collegiate, foster participation and solicit feedback.
  • Control the agenda and schedule, dont leave it to the Sec (unless you make the conscious decision to do so - I did third time around because he was so capable and simply asked him to let me know of plans before he announced them).
  • Be accessible to all. LISTEN first, talk second..
  • If the sec is controlling or a poor planner and an issue (second time around) - hand him a Master's plan for the year several months before you're installed and BEFORE you appointment him, circulate that plan to him with the SW and JW.
  • Anticipate problems and solve them before they become terminal.
  • Plan...plan plan plan and communicate the appropriate bits to the lodge in advance and drop any idea you don't have buy in from key personnel.
  • Use the (financial, intellectual and social, skills) power of the lodge..
  • Discuss and build consensus to plans
  • Have the power to be patient.
  • Communicate and delegate clearly, follow up.
  • Groom your SW from the moment you are in the chair if not before, bring your SW and JW into leadership conversations - *with* PMs, but make the WM, SW and JW the leadership team (this will depend on personalities and abilites, but training your future masters is important).
  • As a manager, it's not all about operations, but critically also about strategy and goals. Articulate your goals and put plans in to make them happen(mind you, I dint articulate all of them but beavered away on the quietly, some would have met opposition and slow imperceptible positive change held me in good stead).
  • Talk to the lodge - use the phone to follow up with everyone. I tried to talk to ever member (about 30-40) once a month.
  • Learn your ritual when sitting in the wardens chairs - when in the chair you should focus on running the lodge and not learning ritual. (stopped writing this to call and nudge our SW on that - he will be installed in August next year).
  • Preserve harmony
  • Delegation is key. Delegate well and clearly, follow up in a timely way before situations become crises .
  • Play to your strengths
  • Try to foster a team atmosphere.
  • Be ambitious for the lodge, but don't overload it (or you). A few good goals well achieved are better than many which are not.
  • Foster a feeling of success and admonish in private and praise (often) in public - do a lot of encouraging... A LOT !
  • Be positive, communicate and foster positivity and never loose your cool, esp in lodge.
  • Have a good time !
 
BroBill

BroBill

Site Benefactor
Site Benefactor
Bloke said:
Excellent thought WM ! Grooming your successor and setting him up right is key and often overlooked.

Lessons I've learned or those I teach to those heading East.
  • You are a manager. Take control but without being domineering but collegiate, foster participation and solicit feedback.
  • Control the agenda and schedule, dont leave it to the Sec (unless you make the conscious decision to do so - I did third time around because he was so capable and simply asked him to let me know of plans before he announced them).
  • Be accessible to all. LISTEN first, talk second..
  • If the sec is controlling or a poor planner and an issue (second time around) - hand him a Master's plan for the year several months before you're installed and BEFORE you appointment him, circulate that plan to him with the SW and JW.
  • Anticipate problems and solve them before they become terminal.
  • Plan...plan plan plan and communicate the appropriate bits to the lodge in advance and drop any idea you don't have buy in from key personnel.
  • Use the (financial, intellectual and social, skills) power of the lodge..
  • Discuss and build consensus to plans
  • Have the power to be patient.
  • Communicate and delegate clearly, follow up.
  • Groom your SW from the moment you are in the chair if not before, bring your SW and JW into leadership conversations - *with* PMs, but make the WM, SW and JW the leadership team (this will depend on personalities and abilites, but training your future masters is important).
  • As a manager, it's not all about operations, but critically also about strategy and goals. Articulate your goals and put plans in to make them happen(mind you, I dint articulate all of them but beavered away on the quietly, some would have met opposition and slow imperceptible positive change held me in good stead).
  • Talk to the lodge - use the phone to follow up with everyone. I tried to talk to ever member (about 30-40) once a month.
  • Learn your ritual when sitting in the wardens chairs - when in the chair you should focus on running the lodge and not learning ritual. (stopped writing this to call and nudge our SW on that - he will be installed in August next year).
  • Preserve harmony
  • Delegation is key. Delegate well and clearly, follow up in a timely way before situations become crises .
  • Play to your strengths
  • Try to foster a team atmosphere.
  • Be ambitious for the lodge, but don't overload it (or you). A few good goals well achieved are better than many which are not.
  • Foster a feeling of success and admonish in private and praise (often) in public - do a lot of encouraging... A LOT !
  • Be positive, communicate and foster positivity and never loose your cool, esp in lodge.
  • Have a good time !
Click to expand...
Great points! Especially "have the power to be patient" - if you start here, the rest become somewhat easier!
 
dfreybur

dfreybur

Premium Member
Bloke said:
Play to your strengths
Click to expand...

If you already know what they are! If you don't pay attention and you will find out.

I turned out good at leading by example and the types of work and delegation that moved teams and projects forward, poor at the administrative and financial parts of management. I'd make a better foreman that executive, a better NCO than mid-level officer.

When asked for a budget in a spreadsheet I handed in a graphed money burn rate per month with a list of specific events that has separate prices each. It looked completely different than previous budgets but the brothers understood it when I explained it in terms of an average of the monthly total expenses. It had the form of a plan of action, of moving a team forward not the form of financial management.
 
Bloke

Bloke

Premium Member
Hi Dfreybur, I agree with the subtext there - documenting problems in black and white is the way to go...
 
Companion Joe

Companion Joe

Premium Member
Our annual installation was today. We do an open installation, so everyone's family and friends can attend. At the reception afterward, I told our new WM to enjoy the day because it will be the most honored he has ever felt in his life; the most relieved he will ever feel in his life will be at the same reception a year from now!
 
Bloke

Bloke

Premium Member
Hi Companion Joe - what you say "open installation" does that mean that non-freemasons attend the Festive Board or that they are admitted into the lodge ? Here, it means we have non-freemasons into the lodge to see investiture of SW down, with no signs shown..
 
Companion Joe

Companion Joe

Premium Member
Open installation means non-Masons are in the lodge during during the installation (as well as the festive board afterward). There are no signs given, no work discussed, etc. That way, it gives family and friends a chance to be a part of it. There is a line in the introduction along the lines of "... we hope what you see here today gives you a favorable impression of Freemasonry." Many times, someone bringing friends or brothers to the installation has led to men asking for petitions.

Our state even does this at the GL level. It is tradition at GL for the man's wife to put the collar around his neck.
 
Bloke

Bloke

Premium Member
Nice Joe, we did this as well, your "open installation" is the same as ours (although wives dont place collars). Like you, it's been a a good tool to help explain freemasonry and to obtain new members. Thanks for the clarification.
 
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