2 Lessons Learned From the Popes Resignation

There can be a fine line between a leader and a dictator.  A leader serves others.  A dictator serves themselves.  The former is how I would describe the actions of Pope Benedict XVI who made the historic move to step down from the highest office in the Catholic Church.  His reasons?  He felt his physical limitations kept him from serving in the role to which he was called.

I’m not a Catholic but I do admire the strength of decision in this physically frail man.  Here is what I can learn as a leader from the Popes action.

1. Good leaders give those He leads advance notice of pending changes.  To the world, it appeared sudden but to the Pope’s leadership circles, they knew that this was coming.  One of the Cardinals a few clicks away from the Pope said that the Pontiff had mentioned several times within the last 6 months that the change was on the horizon.  This “holy heads up” gave the decision makers time to start the process of finding a replacement which should be named before Easter.
2. Good leaders get out of the way if it is for the betterment of those whom they serve.  Like I said before, dictators serve only themselves.  If the Pope was dictatorial, we wouldn’t be talking about a resignation until funeral plans were being made. Humility is a key attribute in a good leader.

I applaud the Pope.  I honor his wisdom and I’ve learned from his decision and action.

Peace!

What To Do When Your Lights Go Out

Superbowl 47.  Stellar performances.  Great come backs. Manly squabbles on the field.  And yes, even a “lights out” moment that changes the energy of play.  During those 34 minutes, the coaches on both sides instructed their teams to do four things while they waited in half darkness.  What the coaches told them applies you personally and if you’re leading a team.

1. Accept that you’re not always control – The opposing coaches (who happen to be brothers) were frantically trying to get information about what was going on but knew that there was nothing they could do to change the situation.  They accepted the reality that sometimes stuff happens but to keep their focus where it needs to be.
2. Keep your mind straight - Much of life is mental.  The coaches told their players to keep focused on what they were there to do – win the Big Game!  Coach Jim Harbaugh was overheard going from player to player saying, “Keep your mind straight!”  His players knew what that meant and they did whatever they needed to protect their thoughts from wandering off mission.
3. Keep moving – Both sides of the field had players laying on the turf, stretching, squatting and jogging to keep limber.  The worst thing for any team in the middle of darkness is to let laziness and status quo slip in.
4. Stay together – They were in groups as they waiting.  Talking.  Processing.  Looking over past plays.  But each team stayed together as they huddled under a half lit dome.  They kept encouraging each other by repeating the above three actions: Accept that you’re not always in control, Keep your mind straight, Keep moving.

That is what good coaching and leadership is about.  That is what teams do.  That is what makes for success in the midst of darkness.

Peace!

Recommended Post on Martin Luther King Jr.

I’m a bit picky about what I post on my blog and don’t fancy sporadic recommendations.  But I thought that this podcast by Michael Hyatt was appropriate and beneficial.

CLICK HERE to check it out.

Peace!

2 Principles on Being an Excellent Leader

I’m forty-something years old (really, I’ve forgotten the number) and somewhat confident in what I can do.  The ref was still wiping Cheerios from her bib but she was the one the league chose for my daughters volleyball game.  I’ve line judged for games before, many times in fact.  But this youngster ref wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing.

So a few minutes before the game she pulled me aside and “quizzed” me on my flag motions.  In front of a crowd, she said, “Ball is in – what do you do?”  I casually pointed my flag diagonally to the ground.  She shook her head.  She wanted a sharp, intentional movement.  I had to do it again.  Then another move.  Then another.  It was rather embarrassing being schooled by this toddler in front of my peers.

During the game however, it dawned on me that even though she was young, even though she took time to make sure I “got it – the right way,” her insistence on excellence made me a better at what I was doing.

Here are two lessons from my experience that can help your leadership:

1. Work with your team to be excellent, even though it’s uncomfortable at first.  Those few moments of being uncomfortable paid off when I needed to perform.  Don’t be afraid to practice excellence with your team.
2. Make adjustments and corrections along the way.  During the time-out’s, she would tell me if the angle of my flag wasn’t quite correct when I made certain calls.  Little corrections makes for excellence.

In the end, my daughters team won.  And so did I.  All because of a young ref who wanted this old-time-line-judge to be the best.

Question:  How have you become a more excellent leader?

Peace!

“Leading from the GUT” Free e-Book

For those new to my blog, I rarely advertise on it.  However, this is one of those rare occasions.

I’m giving away (yes, for FREE) my new e-Book to anyone who subscribes to my blog.  All you have to do is fill in your email address on the right and within 24 hours, you’ll recieve a link to download the e-Book …

“Leading from the GUT – 3 Practices of Healthy Leaders”

 

Peace!

“WE SURVIVED!” HOW TO STAY CALM IN THE MIDST OF A CHAOS

I work with incredible leaders.  It’s a good thing because yesterday was a crazy day.  This time of year always is in the line of work to which I’ve been called.  But yesterdays event, while planned out in advance, had the potential of a train wreck.  Here’s why…

First, our worship services were overstuffed with, what I call “extras.”  Extras are those elements of a service that are not normally experienced during the course of a typical worship experience.  Important as they are, they simple aren’t the norm.  Extra announcements, extra videos, extra ministry moments, extra commissioning, extra, extra!  They all seemed to fall on yesterday. Second, our worship leader was out of town and her substitute went into labor the night before.  Third, I was late in getting my presentation material to our media team.

As the clock ticked down toward the beginning of the service, all of our team was making last minute changes, edits and additions.  Then the worship team launched into the first song, leading the standing-room only crowd in a smooth and God-honoring worship experience.

On my drive home, I pondered how blessed our church/organization is to have such great leaders.  Leaders who care, leaders who step up, leaders who lead with elegance and grace.   This is what I learned from my team on how to stay calm in the midst of chaos:

In the midst of chaos, good leaders …

• Find perspective:  With a smile on their faces, my leaders kept reminded me that it’s going to be OK.
• Remove emotion in the moment:  They clicked into task-mode and got the job done.
• Get laser focused:  They prioritized what really mattered in a handful of moments.
• Execute flexibility when needed:  The leaders adapted the worship plan and changed songs, unnecessary announcements and talking, all to streamline what we did.
• Portray external calm while ignoring internal nerves:  Like ducks on the water, the team looked calm to those they were leading as we all paddled like crazy behind the scenes, just to keep afloat.

Yesterday, no one would have known that the wheels could’ve fallen off in the worship service.  That was because of the professionalism of our team.  I pray that you have people around you like I do.  A big thank you goes out to Ann, Mike, Terry, Amy and Nicole (just to name a few) who did what had to be done, even in the midst of chaos.

How have you learned from the people you lead?

Peace,

I WANT TO BE THE LEADER!

When our kids were young, we camped along the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota.  Beautiful canopies of humidified trees sopped the muddy path from our car to our campsite several hundred yards away.  Back and forth, our little family trudged, unloading gear, setting up tents and staking our claim along the waterside.

On one venture heading back to get the cooler, Maddie our youngest, who was 5 at the time and 10 feet behind us, stopped in the middle of the pathway and shouted, “STOP!  I WANT TO BE THE LEADER!”  The word “leader” echoed for what seemed to be a solid 15 minutes, bouncing from tree to canyon to mountain peak.

Have you ever asked yourself why you want to be a leader?  For Maddie, she simply didn’t like dodging the mud thrown from the back heels of everyone else.  But what about you?  Why do you want to lead?

Bad leaders simply want to be controlling (see related post).  Weak leaders need to have their ego’s bronzed so their insecurities stay hidden.  Cowardly leaders like the feeling of popularity when situations are good and blame others when situations are bad.

So why do you want to lead?  Here are a few right answers to help you become a better leader:

1)  I want to lead because in leading I have an opportunity to learn.
2)  I want to lead because I love to see other people not just survive but thrive.
3)  I want to lead because I feel I can contribute to the entire organization in a positive way.
4)  I want to lead because I desire to add value to other peoples’ lives.

As you ponder your own answer to that question, remember that leadership is, at it’s core, a servant’s role.

Why do you want to lead?

Peace,

THE BENEFITS OF DOING A JOB YOU HATE

All of us have had them or at least have experienced the angst of them.  Jobs you hate to do.  Realistically, there isn’t any job or career in the world that you will love 100% of the time.  Everything we do has at least a little part of it that you’d rather put on the shelf and leave alone.  But there are benefits to the “hate-part” of your job.

For me, the worst job I ever had was a one-day stint as a prep cook at an Italian restaurant.  Chopping, dicing, cutting – at that was only  my fingers.  The kitchen was hot and the chef was Jerry Garcia, back from the dead (no pun intended).  But the benefits of having even that one day gig were plentiful.  They came in the form of 3 learning’s:

First, I learned what I didn’t want to do.  This is obvious when you’re doing a job that isn’t a fit.  You instinctively know that you’ll be job-hunting again soon.

Second, I learned not to go after the money.  My brother worked at the restaurant at the time and got me the job.  After his first week, he brought home a paycheck that was double what I was making at the time.  I went after the money and was miserable.

Third, I learned how to quit gracefully.  After that first day, I went to my boss, thanked him for the opportunity and explained that if I were to stay, it would hold back the productivity of the kitchen and hurt his business.  I didn’t criticize the job, his chef or the patrons.  I simply stated why I felt it wouldn’t work and that I’d decided not to come back.  I felt bad but I knew it was the right thing.

What jobs have you had that you absolutely hated?

Peace

THE RED SEA PRINCIPLE – 4 WAYS LEADERS GET FREED

Have you ever felt trapped?  I mean, really trapped.  The bills are coming due and you’re moneyless.  The child’s behavior problem is out of control and you’re desperate.  The spouse’s distance is wider than the Grand Canyon and you’re depressed.  You team has no idea how to solve the glitch in the program.  You’re trapped.  Out of options. Just like Moses against the Red Sea.

You remember the Bible story.  A large group of people are at the edge of the Red Sea, hemmed in by the water to the West and a large mountain range to the East.  The Egyptian army is coming down the hill and there is literally no where to go.  But then, God’s intervention allows for an opening and – ala Charlton Heston – you are shown the way out, or rather through.  (Click Here for the Bible Story).

Just like Moses, here are some ways to lead your team out of feeling trapped.

1 – Stop complaining and start brainstorming.  The people in the Bible story freaked out and complained about their situation.  Complaining only wastes thinking energy because it taps into our negative emotional bank.  Leaders think before they speak and use their words to open the doors to possibilities.

2 – Be calm no matter what.  Moses didn’t allow the people’s desperation sway his focus.  Moses kept his emotions in check as he placed his trust in being shown a solution.  Leaders know that eventually a solution or way out will show up.

3 – Take small, simple action.  Moses took what was in his hand and made a simple motion on the water.  When stuck, leaders ask their team simple questions to help discover simple actions.  They prioritize what needs to or can get done now and are strategic in their motions. (Click here to read a post on simple daily action).

4 – Place your trust in something greater.  God knew what He was doing.  He used Moses’ small action to create a HUGE opening.  Leaders know that the best way to lead is to do your best and leave the results up to God.

Question:  What are some other ways you solved problems? Leave a comment above.

Peace!

5 WAYS TO DEAL WITH CONTROL ISSUES

I was meeting with a friend who was concerned about, what she finally called “Control Issues.”  She wants to know everything about what is happening in our church and has a deep desire to see that everything runs well.  She doesn’t want to micro manage.  In fact, she doesn’t have a history of that.  She doesn’t want to take over or run the shop.  She simply loves our church and has wonderful solutions toward making our ministry even more effective.  As we talked, it dawned on me that she was struggling with the difference between having control issues and being controlling.

Having control issues means you have concern about many things and you think you have the best answer to fix any problem.  Being controlling means you act out on those opinions by taking over, usually at the detriment of the person in charge.  Having control issues can be good – being controlling is mostly bad.  So how do you keep your control issues from turning into being controlling?  Here are 5 ways:

1)  Change your perspective and see that your concern can be a good thing.  If it doesn’t come from a desperate need to feel important or popular,  you may have some great ideas!  If you have opinions about a lot of things, it may also mean that you are wired to be a good leader if you can think before you speak or act.

2)  Accept the fact the you don’t always have the best answer.  I’ve had to grapple with this one.  I my pride, I think that my solution is the perfect one.  Often times, my answer is only the start and it takes my team to really come up with the best solution.

3)  Ask yourself if you have the right to dive in and take over.  Sometimes, in very rare cases, it may be good and necessary to jump in but only when your responsible for that area.  Most of the time, controllers are looking over the fence at other people’s business and break that boundary by offering opinions when they are not asked for or welcomed.

4)  Ask permission to share you thoughts.  You’re not the one responsible for every area, department or event in the world.  People who are controlling feel the need to voice their opinion all the time which inserts them into other peoples business.  If you have a good idea, say, “I think I could help.  Do you want to hear  my opinion?”  This then allows for conversation because you’ve disarmed the person in charge.

5)  Most importantly, resign as general manager of the universe.  If you’re a person of faith, you know that God is ultimately in control of everything.  You also know that the minutia of the daily grind really doesn’t matter in the large scheme of things.  It may not be the end of the world to have a program or ministry or product launch bump along and not be perfect.  You obviously want to do your best in any area in which you’ve been given responsibility, but God is and always will love you, even if your idea falls flat on its face.

Question:  “Do you feel that you are controlling or simply have control issues?”  Leave a comment …

Peace!