We build leaders!
We’ve reached a very busy and exciting time in the Masonic calendar…installation season! As lodges hold elections and plan for installations, holiday parties, and gatherings, this is a great time to reach out and extend invitations to brothers you haven’t seen in a while.
I’m honored to have been asked to lead some installations around the state but one in particular stands out this month. Warning – proud father moment incoming! During the 5-lodge joint installation in Eau Claire, I will be installing my sons as officers in our local DeMolay chapter. My oldest son will be master councilor, and our middle son is set to be the junior deacon. I’ve tried to stay at arm’s length for them to find their own Masonic path forward. The chapter is still trying to reestablish and grow DeMolay in the area, but the willingness of a couple shy kids to take on leadership roles is encouraging. They are quickly learning valuable leadership lessons as they lay out their plans for the year. Pretty great to see.
Of course, there are similarities to our new lodge officers starting to lay out their trestleboard. Numerous tools have been added to our toolbox over the years to help build your plan. PGM Hensiak’s four P’s offer a solid framework (People, Planning, Programming, & Proficiency). PGM Struble’s listening sessions delivered lists of programming ideas for lodges, and I can still hear PGM Tourville pounding the drum to embrace a rolling lodge calendar. They’re all great ideas and are baked into the Lodge Planning Guide. It is created to help new officer teams build a comprehensive plan for the year. These efforts shouldn’t be a one-year shot. I’d encourage new officers to establish a long-term strategic plan with your entire lodge officer team. Current leaders can plant seeds for harvest by new officers in years to come. Your WI leadership team has worked from a strategic plan for many years and is actively working to refresh the plan for the future of Freemasonry in WI.
Building the plan is part of being a leader and leadership development is a critical function for Masons to make “Good Men Better”. We build leaders through mentorship. Sometime mentorship is active and involves direct engagement like in our ritual and WI Program. This is the first opportunity for mentors to guide, correct, and encourage our new brothers. Our ritual and WI Program create an environment to build relationships with new brothers with lots of structured opportunities for growth. Getting our new Masons off on the right foot requires mentors to actively invest time and effort, share Masonic knowledge, and sometimes, life experiences that illustrate Masonic principles in action.
Sometimes we grow passively by spending time with good men that live the example and inspire us to be better. Simply being in the company of those who exemplify the virtues we aspire helps us improve. I’m sure you can picture Masons that fit this description. These mentors might not even be aware of their influence; it’s the quiet power of living Masonic principles transparently. Brothers might observe how a fellow Mason handles a difficult situation with integrity or how they lead with humility and compassion. Without some awesome mentors, I wouldn’t be a Mason today.
Our fraternity is unique. It offers brothers a chance to be a student and teacher. Use the tools taught in our ritual and lead by example. You never know who’s watching and how you may impact their Masonic journey.
This month’s picture grid highlights a few brothers celebrating over 50 years in Freemasonry. Congratulations and thanks for your many years of service to the craft!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to brothers wherever dispersed – cheers to a wonderful year in 2025!
