Making Good Men Better? How? Why?

     We say we make good men better.  How do we do that?  Why do we want better men?

Masonry uses many symbols as you go through the degrees.  You learn what they stand for, but that is the extent.  Once you receive your Master Mason degree you can just go on your merry way.

We are told that if we really want to progress, we should look deeper and within ourselves.  It is almost as if being a good man is not enough.  You have to be a man that wants to improve and finds ways to accomplish this.

The three degrees take us through stages of growth as in life.

The Entered Apprentice learns to take a rough stone and turn it to a rough ashler, the fellowcraft learns to take the rough ashler to the perfect ashler, and the master mason learns to take the perfect ashler and place it into the building exactly where it belongs.

The preparation tools to do this as entered apprentice are the 24 inch gauge, common gavel, and chisel.

The 24 inch gauge is to learn time management and make sure we use the little time we have to balance God, our work, our relaxation and helping others.

The gavel to be our conscience and inner voice, the proverbial beat yourself on the head.

The chisel to cut off those rough edges with discipline, use of your mind, and fit into society.

The proofing tools in fellowcraft are the Square, Level and Plumb.

The square represents morality and to bring untrue edges to true form, the level to master our own soul, to endure without becoming bitter, and equality to all brothers.  The plumb line is integrity, and being ruled by duty and loyalty, never taking unfair advantage.  Not to envy or despise.

The master mason degree shows us(in some lodges) the Chalk line(skirret) to have a straight undeviating line of conduct, the opposite give us those tangled webs we weave, when we deceive), the pencil to make plans and the compass to cicumscribe the limits of our desires.  Also the compass can expand to wider circles to adjust to our circumstances.  We also especially learn the trowel that spreads unity and harmony.

These are the planning tools.

Besides learning the tools we also are told to accomplish memory work.  What does that do for us?

According to experts, 

"Memorization serves as a workout for the brain, training it to be quick, agile, and focused. The brain is like a muscle that requires exercise for optimal functioning. Besides being a mental workout, memorization also teaches the mind to remain focused when dealing with unpleasant tasks. "

"Memorization teaches your brain to remember and helps to prevent cognitive decline. Other benefits include improved neural plasticity, rhythmic patterns in kids, and more. Rote memorization is an excellent way to strengthen your brain and improve its capacity to recall things."

Why did ancient masonry want us to better these particular traits?  What is the outcome?

These happen to all be essential elements of leadership.  If you search online for top leaderships skills you will find a list of skills and the desire for leaders that I listed here.

"Anyone can be placed in a leadership role, but to be good and thrive in that position requires solid leadership skills. Leadership skills are typically at the top of the list of competencies that recruiters focus on when hiring, or when managers are promoted from within an organization."

"Some of the world’s largest companies hunt for people with well-honed leadership skills to fill their most sought after executive positions."

"Effective leaders must be able to adapt to both internal, and external changes – even if that means working outside of your comfort zone. As a leader you need to develop a lifelong learning mentality to ensure that you are not left behind by shifts in your industry, and can give your business the competitive edge. This is where as a leader you need to be agile and adaptable, which is easier said than done."

Relationship building (the foundation of a high-performing team)

Agility and adaptability (stay at the cutting edge as a leader)

Innovation and creativity (learn to push your boundaries)

Employee motivation (improve engagement and efficiency)

In a study done by the firm Interact on 10,000 employees in the US which cited that the number 1 complaint (63%) from employees concerning their managers is lack of appreciation, and, conversely, when managers appreciate their contribution, their engagement increases by 60%.

Decision-making (leading with conviction)

Develop strong decision-making skills and have the conviction to stand by your decisions, whilst also recognizing the need to adapt when those decisions do not lead to the desired outcome. It is a unique balancing act.

Conflict management (keeping the peace)

When a conflict arises, an effective leader should be able to jump in and resolve or at least mitigate the conflict before it affects the business negatively. When properly dealt with, a conflict may even turn out to be positive for your organization, as it can often lead to stronger bonds or new ideas.

Critical Thinking (understand the links between ideas)

Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly, whilst building a logical connection between different ideas. Critical thinkers are often intelligent decision makers, highly analytical and generally always rational. 

Empathy. 

Empathetic leadership focuses on identifying with others and understanding their perspective. Leaders who show empathy are successful because they can better understand how the employees feel about their work environment. 

Time management. 

This is an essential skill for leaders, as they need to delegate tasks, prioritize commitments, set attainable goals and multitask. Successful leaders practice time management skills by setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) goals for themselves and their team members.

Mentorship. 

Great leaders are always ready to mentor and teach to bring out the best in their employees. They put in a lot of effort to make the team successful by using positive reinforcement, clarity, motivation and by rewarding achievements.

So we can see that we need to keep learning those masonic tools to help us become leaders.  Leaders for what?

We need a society to have leaders in the home, leaders in business, leaders in society.

Leadership plays a very big role in the achieving of social change because it is not possible to unite and inspire a group of people without the of a good leader.

Good leadership makes the society into a positive and content society. A good leader can keep the people in the society motivated and inspired and work for the betterment of the society rather than the own benefits of themselves.