The real priority of leadership: Humility

Humble leadership in practice

1. Judge people by their strengths, not yours.
2. Understand that success depends on understanding, releasing, focusing and developing talent in others.
3. Know yourself through habitual self-reflection.
4. Understand how others perceive you. A disconnect between the way you see yourself and others see you indicates lack of self-awareness.
5. Thank people when they share their insights and provide feedback. Painful feedback is good.
6. Expect people to be their best. The guiding term is “their” best.
7. Create environments that nurture and protect excellence. Expect the most from yourself.

Bonus: The uncomfortable truth of surrounding yourself with people who are smarter than you is you become the dumbest person at the table, unless you’re a know it all.

Pass The Salt

This is a must watch - So good!

12 Ways to Move From Powerless to Powerful

A great post by Dan Rockwell.

Frustration is connected to feeling powerless. You wouldn’t be angry if you had the power to change it.

People who feel powerless respond with frustration to opportunity, difficulty, challenge and uncertainty.

Power:

Power is the ability to change something.

Even weak people have power.

Weak people use dark-power to make things worse.

Dark-power:

1. Backstabbing.
2. Undermining.
3. Gossip.
4. Distracting and diluting focus.
5. Pulling back.
6. Deception.
7. Sabotage.

Successful leaders use power to make things better.

12 ways to move from powerless to powerful:

1. Say yes selectively. How will saying yes move you and your organization forward. If you aren’t sure, say no.
2. Learn to say no with compassion, but don’t come off angry, resistant, or reluctant. Say no to activities that collide with your values, priorities, mission, and vision. If you’re saying no to indulge yourself you’re losing power not gaining it.
3. Focus on things within your control – yourself, your responses, and your immediate environment. Ask, “Can we control this,” if not, let it go and move on.
4. Be grateful when others serve you. Gratitude increases your power and empowers others.
5. Expect people on the team to step up. When they don’t, encourage, reassign, marginalize, or replace them.
6. Talk about tough stuff. Just bring it up, compassionately.
7. Say what you really think, kindly. Pretending drains power.
8. Believe you can make something better. Power is part perception. If you were powerful, how would you act? Act that way.
9. Find a new channel of service. Make the lives of others better. Solve a problem.
10. Relax. Frantic thoughts and frazzled emotions move you toward powerlessness.
11. See strength in others, but don’t minimize your own.
12. Just move toward better. Don’t fix everything.

How can leaders help others move toward feeling powerful?

What do you do when you start to feel powerless?

Your Pain Often Reveals God’s Purpose

A great post by Rick Warren. 

“God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things.” (2 Corinthians 1:4, 6 NLT)

Your pain often reveals God’s purpose for you. God never wastes a hurt! If you’ve gone through a hurt, he wants you to help other people going through that same hurt. He wants you to share it. God can use the problems in your life to give you a ministry to others. In fact, the very thing you’re most ashamed of in your life and resent the most could become your greatest ministry in helping other people.

Who can better help somebody going through a bankruptcy than somebody who went through a bankruptcy? Who can better help somebody struggling with an addiction than somebody who’s struggled with an addiction? Who can better help parents of a special needs child than parents who raised a special needs child? Who can better help somebody who’s lost a child than somebody who lost a child?
The very thing you hate the most in your life is what God wants to use for good in your life.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1, verses 4 and 6, “God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things” (NLT).

This is called redemptive suffering. Redemptive suffering is when you go through a problem or a pain for the benefit of others. This is what Jesus did. When Jesus died on the cross, he didn’t deserve to die. He went through that pain for your benefit so that you can be saved and go to Heaven.

There are many different causes for the problems, pains, and suffering in your life. Sometimes the stuff that happens you bring on yourself. When you make stupid decisions, then it causes pain in your life. If you go out and overspend and buy things you can’t afford and presume on the future, and then you go deeply in debt and lose your house, you can’t say, “God, why did you let me lose my house?” You can’t blame God for your bad choices.

But in some of your problems, you’re innocent. You’ve been hurt by the pain, stupidity, and sins of other people. And some of the pain in your life is for redemptive suffering. God often allows us to go through a problem so that we can then help others.

Talk It Over

• What are some of the problems in your life that you have questioned God about or wondered why they had to happen to you?
• How could you use your painful experience to minister to others?

The issue of Delegation

This is an excellent post - Thanks to Dave Kraft

Excellent Ideas From Matt Perman on Delegation

 

Delegation is a lost art today among leaders. Too many do too much and are not trained enough and secure enough to entrust decision-making authority to other capable leaders.

Here is Matt Perman sharing five components of effective delegation. Matt is the best selling author of, “What’s Best Next.” A book which I very highly recommend. His book is the best out there on how to anchor energy and time stewardship in a gospel centered way.

Originally posted on the Catalyst website by Matt Perman


With so many things on our to-do lists and so many new things coming at us every day, how do we stay above water as leaders?   


One common answer is delegation. That’s good advice, but it’s often incomplete. The problem is that we often aren’t taught how to delegate effectively. As a result, when we finally overcome the mistake of not delegating at all, we easily end up making the other mistake of delegating in the wrong way. Unfortunately, this mistake can be even worse! Bad delegation results in frustration, confusion, and discouragement for the people we delegate to.

So how do we delegate in a way that works? That is, what does real delegation actually look like, and how do we do it?

That first thing to know is that real delegation is above all based on a philosophy, rather than a series of steps. The philosophy is simply this: respect for the individual. Since people are created in the image of God and have incredible intrinsic worth, they are always to be treated in accord with that worth (even when delegating!).

Practically speaking, this means that our aim in delegation should not just be to the get the tasks done.

It should be to build up the other person through the accomplishment of the tasks.

Real delegation is about more than just the tasks; it’s about the people and the tasks.

When our aim is to build up the other person through the tasks that they are delegated, we treat the other person as they ought to be treated and  create far better results. For this type of delegation is motivating, instills ownership, and ultimately increases the capacity of the entire organization.


With this philosophy of delegation in place, how do you delegate in a way that gets the tasks done and builds people up in the process? You do this by communicating five things.

 1. Desired Results

These are the things that need to be accomplished. This is the most important thing because the person won’t be able to get anything done if they don’t know what they need to do in the first place. But note that these are the what—not the how. For example, when I call up the local sandwich shop to order a sub, I ask for a #2 (roast beef) and tell them my address. I don’t tell them how to make it, how to get to my house, or how fast they should drive. Likewise, the key to delegating in an empowering and motivating way that instills ownership is to make sure the outcomes are clear while preserving as much freedom as possible for the person to find their own way to accomplish those ends.

 2. Guidelines

Of course, while you want to preserve as much freedom as possible, it’s not enough just to tell the person what is needed and give no other guidance. There are often standards that are essential to accomplishing the task effectively. So, give the guidelines and point out any wrong turns they should be aware of. But note that you are giving guidelines, not detailed rules. You aren’t determining methods; you are showing the broad parameters that will help them to be effective. Also make sure that they are truly empowered—they need to know that they are free to do whatever it takes to accomplish the desired results, within the guidelines.

 3. Resources

This step is often skipped in delegation. Let the person know what is at their disposal, such as the budget available (if relevant) and additional personnel.

 4. Accountability

You don’t need to define accountability for every task delegated—that would get tiresome. Accountability just needs to be in place for the overall context of the relationship. This means knowing what the standards of performance are and when the regular reviews are.

 5. Consequences

Again, this doesn’t have to be defined for every specific task, but simply as part of the larger framework of the relationship. This would include both the good outcomes if the accountability is fulfilled and what will happen if it isn’t. Positive outcomes might include increased responsibility, promotions, financial rewards, natural consequences, and so forth.

It is true that delegation means that some things will be done less efficiently—at first. But it is worth it, because the aim is not just efficiency, but building people up. By building people up in this way through delegation, you increase the capacity of the entire organization for the long term—which is always both more efficient and effective.


Matt Perman is former director of strategy at Desiring God and author of  What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done. He blogs at www.whatsbestnext.com and lives in Minneapolis. Twitter: @mattperman ​

Who needs discipline?

A brilliant post by Dave Kraft (Leadership from the heart) A must read for the person committed to the leadership journey for the long haul.

Discipline, the Flagship Virtue

Okay, today we’re going to deal with the subject that many don’t like to think about, but most of us need to work on.   DISCIPLINE!  Wait! Wait!  Before you close this and move on, discipline yourself for five minutes and keep reading. You can do this.
 

In some quarters the subject of discipline is treated with loathing and disdain and is suspect of flying in the face of the gospel!  Yet scripture is explicitly clear on the subject: In the quintessential passage on leadership, I Timothy 3, verse 2 we find the words self-control.  In the second most referenced chapter on leadership, Titus 1, we read: “He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.”  Much of this screams discipline!
 

“In a race, everyone runs but only one person gets first prize. So run your race to win. To win the contest you must deny yourselves many things that would keep you from doing your best.  An athlete goes to all this trouble just to win a blue ribbon or a silver cup, but we do it for a heavenly reward that never disappears. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I fight to win. I’m not just shadow boxing or playing around. Like an athlete, I punish my body, treating it roughly, training it to do what it should, not what it wants to. Otherwise I fear that after enlisting others for the race, I myself might be declared unfit and ordered to stand aside.” I Corinthians 9:24-27 (The Living Bible) Emphasis added.  “The road to life is a disciplined life; ignore correction and you’re lost for good.” Proverb 10:17 (The Message) Emphasis added.
 

The longer I live, the more I’m convinced of the need for discipline in the leader’s life. In actuality, the road to anything and anywhere of significance is paved with the asphalt of discipline. Any leader trying to pursue anything will need to learn discipline in:

Time

Money

Emotions

Exercise

Eyes

Ears

Eating

speech

You can add a few of your own to this list

My former co-worker, Scott Thomas, said this in a recent tweet: “Just because you have an opinion doesn’t mean you have to share it.” I thought long and hard on that and then added this for myself: Just because you have an emotion doesn’t mean you need to show it. Both of these have to do with discipline--of my tongue and of my emotions.


How many leaders have you known, read about, or heard about who disqualified themselves over the lack of self-discipline? How many leaders have fallen well short of their potential in making a significant contribution over the lack of self-discipline? How many leaders in their 40s or 50s are in such poor health due to the lack of self-discipline that they are not able to continue to minister with energy, joy and enthusiasm? And yet we are clearly and categorically told that one of the qualifications for leadership is self-control and discipline. We ignore this clear admonition at our own peril.


Look again at the list above. 


How about picking just one of these and making it a focus and priority for the next six months? In what area do you desire and need God’s grace?


Don’t think in terms of perfection but of progress through the enabling of the Holy Spirit and a few good friends to hold your feet to the fire.


Set some goals. Make yourself accountable. Memorize some passages of scripture. Depend on the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit. Pray focused and regularly about this one area. Watch what God does!

7 Payments to Passion October

This is a brilliant post and a must read!  Thanks to Dan Rockwell.

 

The trouble with passion is the cost. Telling people to follow their passion is irrelevant in a world where they actually do.

The deeper question isn’t what’s your passion, it’s what are you willing to pay.

Passion is good, even essential, but it takes more than passion to succeed.

7 payments to passion:

1. Failure. The possibility of painful failure is the price of passion. Those unwilling to pay fade into oblivion.
2. Investment. Passion gives energy but it also demands energy. Invest your energy in your passion and it gives energy in return. Neglect passion and energy declines.
3. Restriction. The more passionate you are the narrower you become. The opportunity of passion is it’s power to enable “No” with clarity and conviction. Lack of focus destroys passion.
4. Action. Action fuels passion like gas fuels fire. The more action you take the hotter passion grows. Apart from action, passion turns into frustration and eventually depressing ambivalence.
5. Approval. When you act on passion, friends try to fuel or cool your passion. Many are perfectly content to let others waste life.
6. Control. Passionate people are control freaks.
7. Trust. The price of taking passion to the next level is building a team – trusting others. The roadblock to trust is the conviction that others don’t have as much passion as you.

Passion is good but _______ is better:

1. Grit.
2. Commitment.
3. Integrity.
4. Action.
5. Character.
6. Purpose.
7. Dedication.
8. Tenacity.
9. Persistence.
10. Discipline.

Passion makes the previous list relevant. Thanks to Facebook fans for filling in the blank. More on the Leadership Coffee Shop.

Lots of people want something but only those willing to pay move toward getting it. Those who refuse to pay grow frustrated.

Anger is paralyzed passion that won’t pay the price of responsibility.

Passion, when put into action, offends mediocrity.

What does passion cost?