#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
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
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
Setting the Tone
#Beingaleader means you set the tone for your team. You create the atmosphere so be careful in selecting what that atmosphere is going to be. It is very difficult for your team to rise emotionally above where you are at so set the bar high. Everyone of us has ups and downs. #Beingaleader means you … Continue reading Setting the Tone
Responsibility
#Beingaleader means it's your fault. You have to take responsibility for the bad things that happen in your group or on your team. This includes errors in judgment, mistakes, giving authority to those who can't handle it, or any other thing that falls within your purview. #Beingaleader means you cannot blame-shift. You cannot point fingers … Continue reading Responsibility
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
Culture
#Beingaleader means you are responsible for the culture of your team. Today we are going to touch on communication culture. That is: how do the team members communicate with you and with each other? Good, bad or indifferent? Simon Sinek had a TED talk about similar things that you can watch here: https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_why_good_leaders_make_you_feel_safe. The premise … Continue reading Culture
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
Communication
#Beingaleader requires you to communicate. Well. I start this topic with that statement because so many people communicate. Poorly. Communication is defined as having the person you are communicating with understand what you said and meant. Whether face to face. Texting. Facebook Messenger. Email. Instagram. Video. You need to learn to communicate to different types … Continue reading Communication
Change
Most people hate change. Personal change. Organizational change. Vision change. Schedule change. Change in their pocket. What is it about change that people fret about so much? People get frustrated, angry and resistant. Change is the opposite of routine, tradition, familiarity, what's expected of me. It shakes our world up in small or big ways. … Continue reading Change
Decisions
Decisions. How often do you make them? Does the feeling of responsibility overwhelm you? Being a leader means you make a lot of decisions. Interestingly enough, most decisions once made can be wrong and still not cause irreparable harm. I would guess that 80% or more of a leader's decisions are not critical in content … Continue reading Decisions
All In
In the book The Last Arrow by Erwin McManus, he uses a phrase that struck me as critical for being a leader. He says "leave nothing for the next life." What he means by that is that we need to give ourselves totally to the cause for which we have been called and not keep … Continue reading All In
The Art of Asking Questions
A leader questions everything: belief systems; “we’ve done it this way forever”; “why do we do it that way?” etc. I know it can be viewed as annoying, confrontational and even frustratingly negative. But if you do not question the status quo you are not a leader. Let me say that again: if you do … Continue reading The Art of Asking Questions
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
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 