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Category Archive: Personal Leadership

A Sobering Reality For Pastors And Leaders

Posted by on August 11, 2019

The voice of your character must be louder than the opinions of the crowd if you are going to sustain great leadership over time. People can make you think you are better than you really are or they can convince you that you have nothing to offer. I learned a long time ago to live my life before an audience of One. Ron Edmondson has some excellent advise:

“There is a sobering reality every pastor and leader needs to understand. Knowing this one can protect your career—help keep you from burning out—and guard your heart.

I see this impact leaders from all generations—but, I must be honest—I probably see it even more in our youngest generation of leaders entering the workforce.”

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Don’t Give Your Critic Words

Posted by on April 13, 2019

I can think of no greater leadership challenge than being a pastor, where the emotional and spiritual health of the leader has a greater impact on results. Many pastors because of a lack of leadership training wonder almost every day if they are doing the right thing. Combine that with all the negative people in their ministry and discouragement is inevitable. This post by Ann Voskamp encouraged my spirit:

“We stand on the corner of Randolph and Green after a breakfast of sourdough toast, housemade sausage, blueberry pancakes, and coffee with raw sugar. The Uber pulls up and we climb inside, falling into easy conversation with the driver.

Turns out, she’s a chef, but for now she’s feeling burned out. Driving meets the need she has for conversation, and she takes the long way through the city to prove it.”

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The Lifelong Journey Of Personal Development

Posted by on February 17, 2019

From a Christian worldview perspective we would see this as a journey toward spiritual maturity. If you integrate faith and leadership into your life as a means to that end then there is much to be learned from corporate best practices. This Forbes post has much to offer pastors on leading yourself:

“The term “personal development” is very much a part of today’s lexicon, but have you ever thought about what it really means? I describe personal development as a transformational journey, and improving your emotional intelligence (EI) can be a major part of that journey. This is because EI develops your self-awareness and gives you the tools to understand your own needs and the needs of others.”

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5 Keys To Reducing Stress And Anxiety In Leadership

Posted by on January 28, 2019

Margin is the gap between demand and capacity. Today with all the multiple inputs with most of the media and culture being overwhelming negative, it’s no wonder we are all stressed beyond measure. The church is no safe place from this toxicity and in many ways is even harder to lead. This is a must read for pastors:

When someone asks you how you’re doing, how do you answer? Most of the leaders I talk to these days answer with two variations: “stressed” or “busy.”

Dig a little deeper and you it’s easy to see that at a deep level, most leaders today feel anxious and overwhelmed. Welcome to life in the 21s century.

There are a million reasons why:

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Beware Of Emotional Affairs

Posted by on December 18, 2018

I warn you that some of you will think this post by TGC is over-reacting to the new realities of social media. After 30 plus years of dealing with broken marriages, especially with leaders in the ministry, I absolutely disagree. This content by Ellen Mary Dykas is spot on and the questions she asks are all extremely important:

“Josh had been at a new church for four months when Sara—his pastor’s wife—invited him to join their community group, which was a weekly gathering of both singles and married couples. Sara and her husband, Craig, wanted a group where married couples mentored singles.

Josh and Sara hit it off, and they discovered lots of common interests. Their conversation easily flowed during the fellowship time before the Bible study. Sara was surprised how much she missed Josh when he couldn’t attend. Josh realized that talking to Sara became the main reason he enjoyed the group. Not a big deal, it’s just talking.”

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How To Deal With Disappointment

Posted by on August 29, 2018

Great leaders are always taking risks and experiencing failure. The reason they have this ability is because they have learned how to process their failure quickly by learning form their mistakes and then trying again. You cannot lead others if you do not possess the courage to move on from disappointment. This HBR post was very helpful:

“Someone once said, “Expectation is the root of all heartache.” The quote recognizes that when we experience disappointment, our hopes and expectations are out of line with reality. We all feel this way from time to time. Some of these disappointments will not make much of a difference, but there are also disappointments that can change the course of our lives.”

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Seven Daily Rituals That Will Help Leaders Dominate Their Day

Posted by on June 18, 2018

The ability to consistently accomplish great things is not found in complex project management but in the daily routines that prepare you for every day. When I find myself loosing margin, I always return to the short but very powerful list of my daily priorities. Consistently accomplishing this short list helps me be able to deal effectively with all of the major challenges. This Forbes Coaches Council was great:

“My to-do list is always too long to accomplish in one day. The key to being effective is rating each item A, B or C. The A’s are the priority: Everything that will make a sizable difference in my business or life.”

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Signs You Are On The Verge Of Burnout

Posted by on June 15, 2018

The two high profile suicides this past week should cause us all to take an honest look at our emotional margin. We blow off all the seemingly temporary cycles of discouragement and frustration. What we miss is the chronic pattern of negative behavior that are clearly warning signs of a much deeper problem. This Forbes post was timely:

“However, just because society tends to look at burnout as going hand-in-hand with working hard doesn’t mean that it must become your reality. If you find yourself heading down the road to burnout or you believe the warning signs are creeping in, now is the time to stop and act.”

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10 Effective Ways To Help Manage Stress

Posted by on June 11, 2018

We all live with the reality of stress, it has become a part of the culture we live and work in everyday. What we don’t have to do is experience chronic toxic stress that drains all of the margin out of every area of our lives. To learn to live with the normal stress while eliminating the unnecessary is a key issue for every leader and this Forbes Coaches Council post is helpful:

“Little things you do while away from work can reduce stress and have a significant impact on how you do your job. Even better, many of them can be easily incorporated into your day, some of them even before you have breakfast.

So what works? Below, 10 members of Forbes Coaches Council share their best tips to help you keep your stress levels in check, in order to help you and your business grow and thrive. Here is what they recommend:”

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4 Questions To Ask Yourself When You Are Stuck

Posted by on May 16, 2018

I used to think of being stuck as these major times in my life where big decisions needed to be made and I could not find the answer. Now I see it as almost a daily event because I have to decide what is next in the midst of seemingly endless new inputs. It does require you to clearly know what the big rocks are for your life so you can say No to everything else. Great post by Jeff Boss:

“The good news is when you’re in a state of chaos (which I define as an unpredicted or unwanted change that impacts our physical, mental, emotional or spiritual well being) the only next step is to move toward clarity.”

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