I'm about to head out the door but I've been wanting to write about this for the past week.  Last week, Maria and I had the opportunity to work on set with the Erwin Brothers producing three music videos for Warner Brothers Records country artist Whitney Duncan .  Her album won't be out for some time but I'm really looking forward to hearing the whole thing even though I'm not a huge country music fan.

On the last day of the shoot, Bill Bennett, President of Warner Brothers Records, Nashville, showed up on location.  I had the opportunity to chat with him for quite a bit and it was a great experience.  He's been in the business for a long time and seen it all.  Previously, he ran Maverick Records, Madonna's label (he was her next door neighbor).  He also ran Geffen in the 90s when they had their big run.

Anyway, I knew he was the president and we'd been on set a while chatting about other things but I asked him, "So, what do you do at Warner Brothers Records?" I wanted to see what he'd say.  It was funny because he didn't know what to say.  I could tell he didn't want to be like, "I'm the president... the big honcho... the bossman!"

His response?  "Umm... I... uh... I kind of run it.  I mean, really I just work there."  We talked about different things and he seemed really pleased with the way the shoot was going.  Great, fun guy to be around.  You would have never known he was the president of a major record label.  Then he did something that probably shouldn't have blown me away but did.  We had wrapped and I was walking them back to the RV and he was all like, "You guys need any help carrying stuff?"

Now, I'm not saying that those few instances qualify as Level 5 leadership in it's totality but it sure is an indicator and a great example.  (If you're not sure what Level 5 Leadership is... read Good to Great by Jim Collins.)  I will say that is was refreshing to see the kind of servant-leadership that is lacking in our world and sometimes even in our churches.  It wasn't about titles or position.  It wasn't about pastor this or that... bishop this or that.... executive this or that... it was about getting the job done and respecting others in the process.

The last thing he said before leaving was... "I've been around and seen a lot and this was the most stress-free environment I've work ed in.  No alcohol... no profanity... everyone was polite and helpful.  Had a great time!"...  Yeah, we did too.