#Beingaleader means you are often uncomfortable. Uncomfortable conversations. Uncomfortable meetings. Uncomfortable decisions. Dealing with things most people would rather avoid. And in fact usually do. That's what #Beingaleader often means. Uncomfortable conversations could include facing our fears, helping others do the same, telling someone "no", etc. One of your fears might be these uncomfortable conversations. … Continue reading Uncomfortable
Category: Self-Leadership
Discord or Discourse
#Beingaleader means you need to make a decision whether you will participate in discord or discourse. Too many leaders make the wrong decision. As a result, they use their influence to sow discord rather than encourage civil discourse. By discord, I mean creating an environment where opinion becomes fact and one's opinion is greater or … Continue reading Discord or Discourse
Impact
#Beingaleader means you have impact. Known and unknown. Close and far reaching. Generational. To me it's sad that we often only hear of the impact someone had on another person's life at the funeral of the first person. Regardless, the impact was there. The person might not have even known that they had that impact … Continue reading Impact
For Such a Time
#Beingaleader means you are in a leadership position for such a time as this. Are you prepared to handle the moment? This is the moment to rise up. To give direction. To lead. To figure out things that others cannot or will not figure out. To move into action while others are paralyzed. You have … Continue reading For Such a Time
Clarity
#Beingaleader means you have to have clarity. Clarity of purpose. Clarity of mind. Clarity of communication. You need all three. Having only clarity of purpose or mind but not of communication makes it very difficult to achieve your goals. Each of us are better at one or two than the other and so we need … Continue reading Clarity
Forgotten
#Beingaleader means that sometimes you feel forgotten. Alone. Left alone. On your own. Even worse: sometimes you actually are forgotten by others. And yet you continue to lead. Continue to pursue the goal. #Beingaleader means you often live there. In that moment when you are working hard, even accomplishing your goals, but nobody notices or … Continue reading Forgotten
Unfinished
#Beingaleader means you are unfinished as a leader and will always be unfinished. You will never reach completion on this side of eternity. Always improving. Getting better. Content but not satisfied. If you don't know how to lead the way you want to today, you have an opportunity to continue to grow. Sometimes we can … Continue reading Unfinished
Significance
#Beingaleader means you need to know where you significance comes from and where it does not come from. If it comes from the wrong place it will not last. It will not be real. Many leaders find their significance in their accomplishments. They seek glory from what they have done. They look upon what feat … Continue reading Significance
Failure
#Beingaleader means you will fail. At some point in time. Likely at many points. It's just part of the journey you've been called to as a leader. Sometimes it's an actual failure. Sometimes it just feels like a failure. Either one can be devastating to you, to others or to the project. And it's unavoidable. … Continue reading Failure
The Unknown
#Beingaleader means you have to deal with the unknown. Unknown events. Unknown circumstances. Unknown reactions. And possibly unknown people. How you respond to these unknown things, events and people will show a lot about who you are as a leader. Do you react in a knee-jerk manner causing confusion and concern among your team members? … Continue reading The Unknown
Crisis
#Beingaleader means you have to deal with crisis. Yours and others. The actual crisis and the emotional impact that it brings. The ones that you created and the ones that just happen to you. How you deal with crisis will determine your leadership impact and potentially your longevity as a leader. At the current moment, … Continue reading Crisis
Alone
#Beingaleader means you are often alone. Even in a group or crowd. This can occur for numerous reasons. Often it is because you see things differently than others. Have different goals. Different motivations. You see life differently. You often have to inspire others while trying to motivate yourself in the same circumstances. While you may … Continue reading Alone
Fear
#Beingaleader means you have to deal with fear. Yours. And others. And on the surface there seems to be a lot to be afraid of. Stock values go down. Supply chains get interrupted. Plans get canceled. Deadlines move and shift. People fail you. You cannot do much about things out of your control. But you … Continue reading Fear
Completion
#Beingaleader means you are trying to accomplish a goal. To complete a task. But there are some things bigger than that. Bigger questions to ask. What does completion of your life look like to you? What will you have accomplished? What do you want others to feel at the end? This is in fact the … Continue reading Completion
Age
#Beingaleader means you have to deal with a lot of different ages on your team. Young. Old. Experienced. Inexperienced. Wise. And maybe not so much. All age levels might be on your team and each might react differently to the same approach you take. You will have to deal with this no matter in what … Continue reading Age
Hurry
#Beingaleader means you are sometimes in a hurry. Maybe most of the time. Hurry to get somewhere. Hurry to accomplish something. Hurry to make a decision. Deal with an employee. Finish a task. The speed of life can overtake you. This is not an article about slowing down your life. But you still need to … Continue reading Hurry
Reflection
#Beingaleader means oftentimes you see your reflection in your team. They often exhibit your characteristics and tendencies. Your energy. Your drive. Your emotions. Even your priorities. Your team could be your children as well as your team members in a work environment. They usually take on the tenor of the leadership. Exceptions? Yes. But on … Continue reading Reflection
Meditate
#Beingaleader means you need time to meditate. To reflect. To focus your attention on what has been accomplished. To rekindle the 'why' or the joy or whatever it was that pushed you in the direction you are going. It's what keeps you going. Keeps you from backtracking or detouring away from the goal. Course correction … Continue reading Meditate
Timing
#Beingaleader means you need to understand something about timing. When is it best to start? To finish? To change course? To change personnel? How about location? All of these changes might be the right decision but if the timing is off your project or great idea might fail as a result. While God is never … Continue reading Timing
Patience
#Beingaleader means you know the old adage "never pray for patience." However, without patience, you will not succeed at #beingaleader. You will push people away, alienate team members, and likely, in the end, irreparably blow up your team or project. Patience is defined as "the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without … Continue reading Patience
Work
#Beingaleader means you have to work. Hard. Strategically. Effectively. Continually. #Beingaleader is about working hard. There is no substitute for perspiration. There is no easy success. Success comes from hard work, even if unseen by others. Getting up. Doing your job, business, career etc. Repeating this process over and over. #Beingaleader is also about working … Continue reading Work
Rest
#Beingaleader means you learn how to rest. It's a skill. You learn how. Sometimes a change is as good as a rest. But sometimes only rest can actually be rest. Rest is needed daily, weekly and annually. Too many people neglect rest. And they burn out. They get sick. They stop leading. They think they … Continue reading Rest
Can-Do
#Beingaleader means you have a can-do attitude. The dictionary defines this as "being positive about your ability to achieve success." Positivity and confidence in your ability to achieve a goal or complete a task go a long way to making that a reality in your circumstance. Last time we talked about Belief Breakthrough (https://beingaleader.blog/2019/09/10/belief-breakthrough/) and … Continue reading Can-Do
Belief Breakthrough
Belief breakthrough is crucial to #beingaleader. I am defining belief breakthrough as identifying and changing those things you believe about yourself or your situation that keep you from achieving what you want to achieve. You must constantly be challenging and re-evaluating the beliefs you have in order to make steps towards your goal. #Beingaleader means … Continue reading Belief Breakthrough
Purpose
#Beingaleader means you know your purpose. We will talk another time about finding the purpose for your team but today I wanted to touch on finding and knowing the purpose for you and what you are putting your time, energy and money into. Two recent activities/events in my life have merged to focus my attention … Continue reading Purpose
Energy
#Beingaleader means you need to bring energy. Energy to yourself; to your team; to your goals. In order to bring energy you must have energy. So how does one get energy? I am seeing that we all have the energy we need within us. The issue is whether or not we are willing to have … Continue reading Energy
Think
Are you a doer or a thinker? That's an interesting question to me. One that needs to be pondered more often than it is. While we all would like to answer "both", I believe that most of us are doers by nature and thinkers only by learned discipline. We like to "accomplish" things and not … Continue reading Think
Focus
#Beingaleader means you need to focus. Not just on the end prize of a project or task completion but on the specific step in front of you. Studies have shown over and over that we are not really as good as we think at multi-tasking. If we are trying to accomplish a task, it is … Continue reading Focus
Self-Aware
#Beingaleader means you are self-aware. Self-aware is defined as "being honest with yourself." You need to answer at least these two important questions in this regard: "Who are you?" and "What brings you life?" You cannot truly be in the right place as a leader without being honest with how you were made, what your … Continue reading Self-Aware
Keep Going
#Beingaleader means you get tired. Keep going. I've touched on this topic before but it's forefront in my mind. My month has been full of funerals/memorial services. Sometimes you just get tired of it all and want to quit. Is it really worth it? Keep going. Press through. The darkness will dissipate. God's mercies are … Continue reading Keep Going
Lead By Example
#Beingaleader means you lead by example. Want a great team? Be a great leader. Want a hard working team? Work hard. Want a team that communicates well? Learn to communicate well. Want a team that serves others? Be a servant leader. Your priorities will be their priorities. #Beingaleader means that you don't settle for a … Continue reading Lead By Example
Margin
#Beingaleader means you need to create margin in your life. I define margin as creating time to think, prepare and build your future and the future of your team. This impacts everything from relationships to business ventures to family life. We get so busy living the here and now that we don't want, that we … Continue reading Margin
Inspire
#Beingaleader means you need to inspire people. The successful team is one that wants to go where you are going. You inspire by giving them vision; a reason to go in a particular direction; and the tools to get there. #Beingaleader is about letting them see where the team is going; to so inspire them … Continue reading Inspire
Let’s Get Real
#Beingaleader sometimes sucks. There. I said it. It's not always "yay, I'm a leader." If you ask some leaders they would say it's always bad but that's a subject for another day. #Beingaleader can be lonely; difficult; make you feel defeated; a constant struggle; etc. It can leave you feeling like everything rests on your … Continue reading Let’s Get Real
Standing on Their Shoulders
#Beingaleader means you stand on the shoulders of the generations of leaders who have come before you. Whether it's your family lineage, faith ancestors, business leaders of the past or whomever was the cutting edge thinker in your industry, #Beingaleader means you need to take what you have learned from them and press into new … Continue reading Standing on Their Shoulders
Inner Strength
#Beingaleader means you are someone who has inner strength. Someone with the ability to keep going when others say it can't be done or won't come with you. It's the feeling of 'no matter what' this will be accomplished. You need to be able to buttress yourself against the naysayers. You need to have staying … Continue reading Inner Strength
Leading You
The hardest person to lead is yourself. Yet without the ability to lead yourself you will be in a much more difficult place in trying to lead others. I define self-leadership this way: spending time, energy and money on growing you. You only have so much time, energy and money. Spend some on yourself. Does … Continue reading Leading You
