Tag: Leadership

Questions for the Heart

“Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.” Henri Nouwen

Imagine a congregation where, at the end of the day, everyone took the time to answer these questions affirmatively. If we focused on putting the needs, concerns, cares, worries, and desires of others first, the church and this world would sure be a different place.

Intimidating Leadership

Leaders commonly feel they need to intimidate their followers to accomplish their goal or purpose.

However, this style of leadership will only create a temporary and false sense of accomplishment. In the end, people do not want to follow such leaders.

If they do, it is only because they feel trapped. Hope is lost and there is no purpose for the future.

People should not be intimidated by you and, as a leader, you should not intimidate those who have entrusted themselves to you.

Spiritual leaders guide people to heaven and they need a leader who gives them hope!

Preparing for Leadership

Expect the best, but prepare for the worst.

Every leader needs to possess and portray a level of expectation as well as preparation.

Sadly, the opposite mindset often exists. Leaders expect the worst, while preparing for the best.

Leaders must always expect the best because the result instills hope in all who follow. Therefore, the key element is preparation. Consider a few questions:

1) Who will be affected if the worst happens?
2) What actions need to be taken to prevent the worst case scenario?
3) How will we respond to our leadership role if the worst case occurs?

Preparation minimizes the opportunity for the worst.

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.

P B and J

Growing up, I knew what was on the menu when mom said, “P B and J.” A peanut butter and jelly sandwich seemed to speak of a healthy lunch, the perfect combination of protein and carbohydrates.

From a leadership perspective, P B and J carries another important thought.

Promise: Leaders hold promise for a better tomorrow.

Belonging:
Leaders make it possible for others to belong, the security of a stable environment.

Journey:
Success is not about a destination, it is the journey. Make it rich.

The next time you hear P B and J, maybe you can remember the leadership connection.

Healthy Leadership

Leaders who desire to please everyone, in reality, end up attempting to please only those who matter least.

Leaders need wisdom to identify the people who aren’t good for them. A few qualities stand out: negativity, cynicism, malicious, deceptive, self-centered, and venomous are unhealthy for any relationship.

The ability to walk away rests upon knowing the value of one’s own mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health, and walking away takes courage.

The wisdom to know the people who aren’t good for us and the courage to walk away from them are steps toward a happier and healthier leadership.

Fear and the Leader

Fear of the unknown can be challenging.

The task for spiritual leaders is to remove the unknowns for others. When considering death, there is a fear related to the
process of dying and what happens at death, the unknown.

Scripture teaches us the body will return to the dust, but the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the fear of death has been removed. The unknown has now been made known.

We can provide no greater confidence to others than sharing this hope. Because He lives, all fear is gone.

The Leadership App

We’ve all heard the phrase, “There’s an app for that.” No matter what happens in life, or what need might exist, there is an app for it.

There are apps that deal with health, fitness, world news, travel, banking, social media, photography, weather, education, leadership, and the list is unending. You may be reading today’s post from an app.

More to the point: when you consider the far reaching nature of your leadership, are you influencing others in areas concerning life’s circumstances and their various needs?

Imagine the impact if they knew that you were a resource they could turn to instead of a technological device.

Metabolism and Leadership

Metabolism is the chemical process that occurs within a living organism in order to maintain life. If that were not enough, we learn there are two kinds of metabolism: constructive and destructive.

One involves the synthesis of various components that strengthen life and the other breaks it down.

The application is not hard to make. Leaders carry the responsibility of pulling together the processes needed to maintain the life and health of the organization.

Two types of leaders exist in this realm. Constructive leaders synthesize the components needed to strengthen life and destructive leaders constantly look for ways to tear it down.

Which one are you?

Relational Leaders

Think about your personal influence as it relates to the development of others to lead.

Our paths cross with a variety of people from all walks of life. Throughout life, we may experience relationships with hundreds, if not, thousands of people.

During these encounters we make decisions about the individuals we want to spend more time with in order to develop a deeper relationship. These relationships make us vulnerable as we begin sharing our personal lives: failures, weaknesses, and even inadequacies.

Remember, the effort we put forth to develop these relationships extends beyond this physical life into eternal realms.