Doing the Scary Things of Leadership—Brian Dodridge
It’s our job to go out first. If something needs to be discovered, we need to discover it. If you’ve been given the role of a leader, go outside your office, and investigate the hard things. In a church setting, there’s so much at stake. And ignoring the possibility of dangerous things can literally have eternal consequences.
So whether you feign bravery, or even sprint back to safety after your discovery in the dark, check it out. Don’t send others to do your role as a leader (in my case, my wife is faster than me, so I did consider sending her to check out the trash can area).
7 Leadership Lessons from U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis—John Boitnott
In day-to-day operations, military officers aren’t usually expected to do manual labor. Their subordinates, the enlisted personnel, will dig trenches, fill holes, and other tough jobs as required. The story goes that Mattis, upon witnessing a shortage of enlisted personnel one day, addressed his officers with this quote. Soon, they were also filling sandbags.
Leading by example is a leadership style that is often overlooked by CEOs and others in positions of power. When subordinates are in need of support or guidance, a good leader will often roll up their sleeves and jump into action with their people.
5 Traits of the Heart People Want From Their Pastor—Dan Reiland
People intuitively seek traits of the heart over skills of the trade when choosing a pastor to connect with and follow spiritually.
Yes, things like good preaching, wise administration, and strong ministry programming matter, but they are not at the top of the list.
There’s a lot of grace for a “good not great” sermon when the pastor is fully trusted, loved and is a good leader.
Create a Growth Culture, Not a Performance-Obsessed One—Tony Schwartz
A culture is simply the collection of beliefs on which people build their behavior. Learning organizations – Peter Senge’s term — classically focus on intellectually oriented issues such as knowledge and expertise. That’s plainly critical, but a true growth culture also focuses on deeper issues connected to how people feel, and how they behave as a result. In a growth culture, people build their capacity to see through blind spots; acknowledge insecurities and shortcomings rather than unconsciously acting them out; and spend less energy defending their personal value so they have more energy available to create external value. How people feel – and make other people feel — becomes as important as how much they know.
3 Simple Steps to True Authenticity in Leadership—Scott Cochrane
Every leader has multiple circles of influence, each defined by levels of intimacy, familiarity, or responsibility.
What I share with my wife is different than what I will share with my kids.
What I share with the leadership team is different than what I will share with part-time contracted staff.
Authentic leadership involves the wisdom and discernment to know what information is appropriate to be shared with each of these levels of influence.
Video of the Week: 3 Ways Leaders Must Communicate Vision
