Loneliness seems to be on the rise. So much so that Britain appointed its first ever “Minister of Loneliness” to work to combat the rising problem of loneliness in the country. Research uncovered that nearly 9 million people in the Country “often or always feel lonely.” Why is loneliness on the rise? What values have…
Conflict
Links for Leaders 5/18/18
Good and Bad Reasons Not to Tackle Problems—Brian Dodridge The people around you will catch on that you’re problem-avoiding. It’ll be like Maverick in the movie Top Gun when he wouldn’t re-engage in the dog fight (I always look for opportunities to point people to Top Gun) and people around him are screaming, “Engage, Maverick!” But even before…
How Should I Confront My Leader?
In my latest book, How to Ruin Your Life, I share how isolation typically leads to destruction. Leaders are not the only ones who face the temptation to abandon community, but the temptation for isolation is strong for leaders because they can use the guise of “it is lonely at the top.” Since writing the…
Links for Leaders 1/26/18
10 Ways to Listen to Church Leaders—Chuck Lawless The focus of a leader’s words reveals the leaning of the leader’s heart. In the course of a day, do you hear about their activities, exploits, knowledge, and renown more than you hear about others? Good leaders point to others, knowing that their responsibility is to build…
Links for Leaders 10/13/17
How Leaders Solve the Biggest Problem-Solving Problems—Scott Cochrane Problem-solving is in the “DNA” of effective leadership. So how come sometimes it just doesn’t work? Why is it that some attempts at problem-solving feel like you’re just butting your head into a brick wall? Why do some of the best-intentioned problem-solving initiatives just fall flat? Sometimes…
Fighting with Ed Stetzer, Becoming Friends Again, and Lateral Leadership
I recently Skyped in for a class Ed Stetzer was teaching at Wheaton, where Ed teaches and serves as the Executive Director of the Billy Graham Center of Evangelism. Ed asked me a series of questions to kick off the discussion, and in one of those questions, he asked for my perspective on why we…
4 Harmful Impacts of Leaders Who Need to Be Liked
Typically genuine and kind and reasonable people like being liked. They don’t wake up in the morning wondering if they can cause a new person to hate them today. But needing to be liked is different. When someone needs approval from others, the person is willing to sacrifice conviction and do anything to earn that…
Civil Conflict and Battles That Don’t Matter
The head coach of UConn’s football team attempted to declare a rivalry against University of Central Florida and named it the “Civil ConFLiCT” (notice the FL and CT are capitalized for Florida and Connecticut). The two teams play in the AAC conference, with UConn playing in the North and UCF playing in the South (thus…
Links for Leaders 11/18/16
Killing a good idea, losing influence, and more.
Links for Leaders 7/29/16
How often do you take the temperature of the culture at your church or organization? How well do you know the feelings, fears, joys of those on your team or in your office? Culture matters. Leaders who neglect culture usually regret it later. Here are five characteristics of a healthy culture from Mike Lukaszewski. Conflict…