#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
Category: Uncategorized
Juggling
#Beingaleader means you have to juggle. A lot. Whether you are a parent, a coach, or a CEO, you have a lot to juggle. At one time. With competing priorities and timelines. Pressures from many different corners whether your boss, a project deadline or a screaming infant. Everyone thinks their stuff is the most important … Continue reading Juggling
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
Popular
#Beingaleader means you need not worry about being popular. You will be. Popular is formally defined as being liked or admired. I would view popularity more vainly than the official definition. When someone is popular it usually means they are superficially liked by people that don't know you. You see this with athletes, industrial leaders, … Continue reading Popular
Struggle
#Beingaleader means you will struggle. With time pressure. Stress. People. Communication. Personal issues. Identity. Confidence. Maybe depression. With a lot of things. Most of the definitions I found of the word struggle were negative in connotation. But I think that struggle is part of fighting for what you want. Overcoming obstacles. Even striving to go … Continue reading Struggle
New Day
#Beingaleader means you need to look at things with fresh eyes. A clean slate. Like it's a new day. The canvas of a new decade is before us. What do you see? Challenges? Victories? Sadness? Joy? How do you want to spend the next 10 years of your life? What do you want to look … Continue reading New Day
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
Service
#Beingaleader means that you are in the service business. To your team. To your customer. To those above you and to those below you. If you think #beingaleader is about you, you are mistaken. It is others-focused. What makes you successful is meeting the needs of others. I am defining service simply as helping others. … Continue reading Service
Long Term Thinking
#Beingaleader means you need to have long term thinking. Not just in-the-moment thinking but about what long term strategic impact you want to have or see be accomplished. To give things up sometimes in the here and now for something greater coming later. That is often a difficult thing to do in one's personal life. … Continue reading Long Term Thinking
Restlessness
#Beingaleader means that sometimes you live in a state of restlessness. I am defining restlessness as the state of mind you have between being content with what you have and believing that there is more out there for you. Contentment with the current state of affairs but not fully satisfied that this is all there … Continue reading Restlessness
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
Meaning
What brings you meaning? #Beingaleader, you must find meaning in what you do. Without meaning you will flounder in the tough times. And quite frankly, what's the point if you don't find meaning in what you do? Beyond just inspiration, meaning is the sense of purpose wrapped in a gut feel or heart sense that … Continue reading Meaning
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
Buy-In
#Beingaleader means you have to understand the 80/20 rule and work hard at overcoming it. The 80/20 rule states that 80% of the work gets done by 20% of the people. We've all seen it. A few people doing most of the work. The rest are helping in some capacity but frankly, you're not sure … Continue reading Buy-In
Encourage
#Beingaleader means it's your job to encourage others. To encourage is to give someone else the courage to keep going. To finish a task or to keep plugging along. To give them hope and strength. But how do you encourage someone? Here are three ways: tell someone that they can do it; that they have … Continue reading Encourage
Subtlety
#Beingaleader means you need to understand subtlety. Subtlety is defined as a fine-drawn distinction. Nuance. Being able to see small things that could have big impact on you or your team. Without it you will miss many opportunities or will live with the consequences. Subtlety in circumstance. What circumstance do you find yourself in? Can … Continue reading Subtlety
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
Manners
Parenting is #beingaleader. In that leadership role, it is your responsibility to teach your child(ren) manners. I am not simply talking about not speaking when your mouth is full of food (although that can be an issue too and clearly many adults were not taught that). I am defining manners as someone "having respect" - … Continue reading Manners
Next Generation
#Beingaleader means you need to think about being replaced. Succession. Carrying on the vision. And you are never too young to start thinking about or preparing for this. If your vision is important enough for you to spend your life on isn't it important enough to keep it going after you're gone (whether moving on, … Continue reading Next Generation
SHIELD
I need to revisit a topic that I touched on earlier as it's a topic that people can debate on but it's also a critical test of your character that #beingaleader requires you to pass. #Beingaleader means you sometimes are a shield for your team. Shielding them from attack and criticism that would weigh them … Continue reading SHIELD
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
Greatness
#Beingaleader means you can see the greatness in others. Usually before they do. It is a skill to work on and perfect. To practice on those around you. To call them out to be better then they currently are or to help them see what's already there. #Beingaleader means you are able to see this … Continue reading Greatness
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
Train
#Beingaleader means you have to do a lot of training of others. On a lot of subject matter. A lot of skills. Ways to communicate. How to manage stress. How to manage teams. Sometimes, even how to do a specific task. You're the leader. You cast your vision. Others have signed on and want to … Continue reading Train
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
Delegate
#Beingaleader means you have to learn to delegate. Your job includes finding the right person with the right skill set(s) to achieve what needs to be done. You often don't have the time nor the right skill set(s) to get the job done yourself. You need others. Your job is to identify them and delegate … Continue reading Delegate
Projecting Peace
#Beingaleader means you have the ability to project peace to others. To project is to extend outward from yourself to someone else. To give of what you have to sustain others or fill their tanks. Peace is a sense of tranquility or calm that you have regardless of the current circumstances. So in order to … Continue reading Projecting Peace
Different Than Me
#Beingaleader means you need people around you that are different than you are. Different in perspective. Different in style. Different in skill set. Different temperament. We hear a lot about diversity and inclusion. In the marketplace. In church. In politics. In society at large. This is not a post about racial or gender diversity specifically … Continue reading Different Than Me
Leading Leaders
Not everyone you lead will be a follower. Sometimes #beingaleader means you have to lead leaders. This is a different level of leadership and requires a different skill set, mindset and demeanor. You cannot treat other leaders as followers but rather co-voyagers on a journey. They are already people of vision, inner strength and motivation. … Continue reading Leading Leaders
It’s a Gift
#Beingaleader is a gift. Be grateful for it. With all its headaches, stress and difficulties, #beingaleader is a gift given to only so many people. Yes there are skills you can learn. But those are a gift too. Treat it with the reverence and responsibility with which it was given. #Beingaleader is not something that … Continue reading It’s a Gift
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
It’s Love, Stupid.
We often hear in politics that "it's the economy, stupid." But in #beingaleader (a parent) to your family there are way more important things to discuss than just economics. Today we will touch on one of those fundamentals. Love. When talking about parenting, there is no more important facet than the showing of love. I … Continue reading It’s Love, Stupid.
Trust
#Beingaleader means that your people trust you. Your motives. Your direction. Your leadership. Otherwise they wouldn't be following you. They trust you. Not your title or your position. You. Don't lose it. #Beingaleader means you need to foster that trust. Build it up. Words. Actions. Attitude. Time spent. You need to invest all of those … Continue reading Trust
Celebrate the Wins
#Beingaleader means you have to celebrate the wins of your team. They need it. You need it. Don't forget it. Too often we focus on the negative and fail to recognize the wins along the way. #Beingaleader isn't always about hardship and difficulty and failure that you have to overcome as a team. There are … Continue reading Celebrate the Wins
Stress
#Beingaleader means you live in a world of stress (defined as a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.) Changing circumstances. Pace of life. Unforeseen issues. Volume of issues. Loudness of the questions. All of these can lead to stress. How you handle it will show how … Continue reading Stress
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
Lead Something
#Beingaleader means you lead. Something. All the time. Small. Big. It doesn't really matter. You hone your skill in the doing. There is no substitute for this action. Reading and listening to the advice of others are important and good and can give you examples of how you should do things. But you learn more … Continue reading Lead Something
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
You’re Fired
#Beingaleader means that sometimes you have to let people go from your team. It's not fun. It's not easy. But it's sometimes necessary. There are plenty of euphemisms for this: reduction in force; it's just not working; we're going in another direction; etc. Lots has been written about being on the receiving end of such … Continue reading You’re Fired
Stand Firm
This coming weekend I will be speaking at my church's men's retreat on the subject of Standing Firm (see 1 Cor. 16:13 for context). What was surprising to me as I prepared was that we are told to stand firm. Not to stand still. It is an active thing. Not a passive one. #Beingaleader means … Continue reading Stand Firm
Being A Leader
There are a lot of materials both written and spoken about becoming a leader; training for leaders; leadership tips etc. While I plan to touch on all of these topics, it is important to define the term "Being". I prefer this definition: something that actually exists. In other words, "Being A Leader" is about accepting … Continue reading Being A Leader
Being A Leader 