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Category Archive: Servant Leader

Don’t Burn Bridges

Posted by on September 20, 2020

The secret to representing Christ to the world is to always know the right amount of grace and truth in every situation. We should never in any interaction violate one truth in scripture to support another truth we feel even more strongly about. If we blow people up on social media then so much for loving your enemies. This post by Sam Luce gives us the right approach:

“Remember when Facebook was for sharing photos of your children and videos of otters holding hands? Me neither. Social media has become a battlefield of conflicting ideas. A minefield of potentially explosive issues. It has gone from a digital scrapbook to a digital equivalent of a dual. Every post seems to be about the defense of a person or idea and with those who disagree hurling horribly generalized caricatures of who they think you are based on what party they think you are a part of.

As Christians, we have to guard against this. Some of the most scathing reprimands of scripture are towards those who can not control their tongues. In James 1 where we famously quote the passage that states “True religion is taking care of the widows and orphans.” This is a feel-good statement that is completely true and we love it. You know what it says in the verse right in front of it. James 1:26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle (control) his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.”

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The Single Best Way To Motivate Your Team

Posted by on February 24, 2019

The classic leadership division for the last 50 years has been between leaders who can primarily drive results and those who have the ability to prioritize relationships. The first group would be in operations and the second in sales. Today unless you can do both and everything in between you will not be effective. This Carey Nieuwhof post is excellent:

“There are some kinds of leaders (often in churches and not-for-profits) who are wonderful with people, but whose organizations don’t produce great results. Often there’s little accountability, a general drift, poor metrics and just a lack of overall excellence. But the leader’s a really nice person.

There are other leaders (often in rapidly growing churches and businesses) who are not so great with people, but there’s tight accountability, laser-like focus, clear results and tremendous progress.”

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5 Ways Smart People Sabotage Their Success

Posted by on November 29, 2018

The ability to process information quickly and come up with successful solutions is a tremendous asset. However, in this ever increasing collaborative work environment this strength can become a weakness. We must find a way as leaders to bring our best to the organization but make sure we are developing other leaders in the process. This HBR post was excellent:

“Raw intelligence is undoubtedly a huge asset, but it isn’t everything. And sometimes, when intellectually gifted people don’t achieve as much as they’d like to, it’s because they’re subtly undermining themselves. If you’re in this situation, the good news is that when you understand these foibles you can turn them around. Here are five I’ve seen smart people particularly struggle with:”

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The Top 5 Qualities Employees Want In A Leader

Posted by on November 5, 2018

Some things about leadership are dramatically changing and some never will. The external forces of disruption are forcing more strategic thinking than ever before just to survive. However, the basic character and competency qualities leaders must have actually become even more important. This Forbes post hits them all:

“The portrait of a great leader looks a little different to each of us. When we get down to it, though, many of the characteristics we expect of our leaders are fairly universal and timeless. When it comes to the employee-manager relationship, it turns out most of the workforce stands in agreement on some of the best qualities they want to see in the people they report to. Here are just a few of them.”

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How To Build A True Following As A Leader

Posted by on July 25, 2018

The greatest need I see for leadership development among my clients is to learn how to effectively lead others without positional authority. I have seen a consistent pattern where leaders are ranked higher in all skill areas on 360’s by their direct reports than by their peers or corporate shared services partners. If you don’t build relational trust and sincerely want to invest in others you are in trouble. This Forbes post was excellent:

“Leadership is hard enough. Why make it harder trying to be all things to all people, hustling to be someone you’re not?

In reading Dr. Brené Brown’s book, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone, my mind went to my clients and when they lead with their authentic leadership style. I’m always amazed by the freedom many of them feel when they let go of who they “should” be and show up as they are, creating a greater sense of belonging with their team.”

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It's Time To Redefine Executive Presence

Posted by on July 6, 2018

I am a passionate believer in Situational Leadership as the best way to lead anyone based on the context of the person and the challenge. However, just as daily leadership challenges are constantly changing so is the market context in which we lead. So today with disruption everywhere, the old leadership best practices need to change as well. This post by Forbes provides much needed clarity:

“If an executive recruiter or anyone else suggests you need executive presence, stop and ask, “How do you define executive presence?” Traditionally, executive presence has been a hard-to-describe, elusive characteristic. It’s how individuals package their looks, style and demeanor to give them an advantage for being considered for a promotion into the executive ranks.”

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How Humble Leadership Really Works

Posted by on May 4, 2018

When I started my corporate leadership journey the leaders were very directive and the results were the number one priority. The people in the organization were simply a means to that end. Today, results are still critical but the best approach is to value your people first and then they will deliver consistently great results. This HBR post is excellent:

“When you’re a leader — no matter how long you’ve been in your role or how hard the journey was to get there — you are merely overhead unless you’re bringing out the best in your employees. Unfortunately, many leaders lose sight of this.”

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Tomorrow's Best Leaders Will Lead With Questions

Posted by on February 21, 2018

Most leaders who were trained in the last century in leadership theory were told to use their positional authority and to become the answer man. The best way to help your people was to be the smartest person in the room and to always be ready to give clear direction to your team. All of this thinking has flipped to the point that today great leaders ask more questions than they give answers. This Forbes post is excellent:

“Disruption, complexity and ambiguity are the new normal in today’s working world. As a result, many leaders are finding they can no longer rely solely on their past experiences. To lead well in the future, leaders need to ask questions that unlock better answers and better solutions.”

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The Calling Of The Christian

Posted by on April 5, 2017

The days of build it and they will come are over for churches. We may not want to admit it but for most Christians when they talk about church in their minds it’s about what happens at the buildings and not out in the community.

We must as leaders move the conversation from what we do on Sunday to what we do every day of our lives. The Christian life is not just about coming to church but being the church everyday where we go to school, live in our neighborhoods and work in our careers.

I recently met with a very successful committed Christian who is a pediatrician who wanted to grow more spiritually and get more involved in ministry. It was obvious to me from the very start of the conversation this meant to him taking on more responsibility at the church.

I began to share with him the vision that he could do more through his practice to reach young couples for Christ than we could ever do at the building. They would not even come to the building to hear Billy Graham but they were several new couples sitting in his waiting room every week expecting their first child.

In this postmodern age, we must never minimize the importance of the church gathered for worship and ministry but we must prioritize the church scattered for evangelism and missions. We must find new ways to take the gospel to where people live, work and play.

By the end of the conversation the light had come on for my friend because he no longer had a career but he now had a calling. That’s what happens when you change the definition of success from increasing profits to impacting people.

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3 Strategies To Become A More Inspiring Leader

Posted by on March 20, 2017

Great leaders always give credit to others when things are going well and they assume responsibility when they fail. Leadership is about inspiring others and empowering them to reach their potential. It is also about becoming an example for everyone to see you own your part of the problem and commit to getting better. This post by Forbes helps in both areas:

“Are you getting the results that you want from your team? Do you blame them for not taking initiative, underperforming, or not completing projects quickly enough?

As you think about your complaints, think about what your part is in the results. You may be a partner, director, principal or founder, but you should strive to be an inspiring leader no matter what your title. Having that attitude can change what you say, how you say it, and how it impacts your team.”

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