Tag: Future

How Will We Lead?

How will we lead…

Our children? The choices they make, places they frequent, friends they associate with, and work ethic they possess.

Our church? The confidence of the church, their hope for a better tomorrow, and their assurance of an eternal destiny.

Our neighbors? Who they seek during trials, where they turn with spiritual questions, and how they see Jesus.

Our friends? The development of a spiritual focus, thoughts of relationships, and how to deal with giving into temptation.

Our co-workers? Their knowledge of biblical principles, their understanding of character, and approach to life.

Considering their future is worth giving thought to how we will lead.

The Past

We cannot live in the past, nor can we return to change it. If we had a chance to live yesterday over I am sure there are areas we would change.

Yesterday provides a benefit to our leadership in several ways.

1) We can learn from the successes and failures.
2) We can plan a better future based on the history.
3) We can establish measures to prevent duplicating mistakes.
4) We can lead others onto a straighter course.

I know we all strive to survive the present with an anticipation of the future. However, we also need to stop on occasion and benefit from the past.

Preventing Emergencies

Recognizing problems in advance and preventing them from becoming emergencies both provide powerful benefits.

What can a leader do to recognize these problems in advance?

Accept that problems will happen. Living in denial, ignoring, or hoping a problem will go away is an invitation for an emergency.

Practice good communication. Many problems could be detected sooner if leaders listened more carefully.

Ask appropriate questions. At the first sign of a problem, learn to ask the right questions.

Learn from the past.
Lessons learned from previous experience are a foundation for the future.

There are no exact lists to resolve every problem in advance. However, these few will help.

Creativity…

I love watching the imagination of children this time of year. From marrying Prince Charming to Belle dancing with the Beast to shooting a web like Spider Man, their imagination is refreshing.

Leaders need creative power to lead others, to provide a better focus on the future and what can happen when we believe. When leaders create a vision for what can be and how to make it happen, people will follow.

Observe the world built by a child’s own creative power: their ability to see what is unseen, believe the impossible, act it out in their minds, and speak with incredible creativity.

Try it and see how it works for your leadership.

Merry Christmas

Choices

In our lifetime we will make millions of decisions. Most of these decisions come with little or no consequential value. Obviously, we know some decisions carry major consequences: who one marries, where they live, having children, and a career are a few.

How powerful is it to realize each day provides an opportunity to make the right choices?

No leader is exempt from making wrong decisions. The key is how we handle ourselves when the wrong decisions are made and how we approach making the right ones in the future.

Since / If

Imagine leading with certainty. No longer would we speak in terms of if, but rather the certainty of since certain conditions exist we know where to lead.

Since we influence at least four people a day, we should study leadership more, and learn how to make a greater difference.

Since we lead others to heaven, we should prepare ourselves with a greater understanding of how to lead them there.

Since we serve to keep people focused on this goal, we should be more tolerant in matters of personal opinion, and work together to achieve unity.

Let us lead with certainty to make the future a better place.

Future of Leadership

While growing up it was common to hear, “Son, when I was your age I used to…” The idea spoke of fond memories from the past. Do you remember the good ole’ days?

We may look to the past with regret over words or actions, or we may look with hope to greater opportunities for the future.

Leadership is not about the past, but the future. Leaders do not lead people where they have been, but where they need to go.

Do not allow the past to dictate direction. Acknowledge it. Learn from it. Leave it where it is, and focus on the future.

Powerful Communication

How can leaders ensure their message is understood?

Have a clear understanding of the past, present, and future. How did you get here? Where are you now? What direction are you headed?

Prepare a strong defense as to why you are communicating this specific message at this specific time.

Plan how the destination will be reached and communicate it often to ensure no one forgets.

Implement a confirmation brief, which means you ask others to explain what they heard you say.

It takes time and effective communication to get everyone on the same page.

Past, Present, and Future Lessons

Several years ago, I came across a quote that I loved. It simply said, “The past is where you learned the lesson. The future is where you apply the lesson. Don’t give up in the middle.”

Based on the lessons learned, the wisdom gained directs the decisions, attitudes, and actions of our future. Here, we apply the lessons gained from past experiences.

The challenge is learning to never give up in between learning the lessons which are connected to our past and recovering enough to make the proper application of those lessons in the future.

Leaders do well to learn and apply accordingly.

Elevating Others

One of the greatest qualities a leader possesses is the ability to elevate or stimulate someone morally or spiritually.

Consider two key principles for leading:

1) We don’t always have a second chance to make a good first impression. Use those first few moments to focus on the other person and lift them up in conversation.

2) Perhaps the most significant need within each person is that of reaching their potential, improving, growing, and achieving success. Find a way to help them do so.

Much more could be said, but consider the importance and value of lifting others up in leading them. When we do, an amazing future awaits.