Life Here and There

Today was gorgeous – slightly chilly but otherwise what I was expecting from southern California. I have had the privilege of meeting some great people this week who happen to have online identities.

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There’s a really great blog about leadership and ministry written by Scott Williams called Big Is the New Small. I’ve written an article as a guest blogger there that you might be interested in reading:

The Upside of the Downside of Leadership

Derailed: Five Lessons Learned from Catastrophic Failures of Leadership by Tim Irwin is one of the most frightening books I’ve ever read… and if you’re in leadership, you should buy it and be frightened by it as well!

Irwin does a masterful job of presenting a comprehensive take on the subject of failure. Irwin lays the groundwork by speaking of the qualities that prevent derailment that should be a part of every leader’s life. Thomas Nelson’s description of the book puts it this way…

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There was a recent study that suggested that power increases “moral hypocrisy.” That giving a person power makes that person feel entitled and causes a disconnect in their judgment. It also says that those in high-power positions tend to judge morality of others while not practicing what they preach.

As if everyone NOT in power practices what they preach.

Though I don’t agree completely with the study I will say this: character is a necessity in leadership.

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My father-in-law has often said that “an excuse is just a lie stuffed in the skin of a reason.” That’s a good definition. I have a tendency to make excuses sometimes, and I’m guessing you struggle with it sometimes yourself.

For those in leadership, we tend to be especially good at making excuses for why we can’t go to the next level, take the next step, or seize the next opportunity.

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Last year we bought a Nintento Wii and then later, a Wii Fit thingie designed to utterly humiliate me! It sighs when I step on the scale, mocks me for not showing up in xx# of days, and loves to point out how many Yoga moves I can’t do because… I’m inflexible!

But in leadership, I’m quite the opposite. I love and respond to flexibility. What I mean by that is, I love the freedom of trying things and failing, and knowing that failure is ultimately okay. I remember Rick Warren once saying that for everything Saddleback Church had succeeded in doing, there were twenty experiments at which they had failed.

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Stop it people!! Stop with your negativity! Stop the bickering, complaining, murmuring, backbiting, negative-thinking junk. Stop the stinkin’ thinkin’!!

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I just finished reading Building Your Leadership Resume: Developing the Legacy that Will Outlast You (aff) by Johnny Hunt. Here’s the bottom line… I feel like I’ve sat at at a table in a coffee shop with one of America’s great Pastors as he’s filled me with word upon word of great advice!

The book is forty short chapters in length, each one centering around a different aspect of the Pastor’s leadership (and any leader, for that matter). He deals with the huge heart issues as well as the day-to-day tasks and productivity issues. Rather than try to summarize all of the chapters, I thought I’d pass along the things I’m inspired to do more and better now that I’ve read this book:

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Quickly think of five common traits of high-impact leaders… good time management, assertiveness, drive, energy, charisma, etc. Humility rarely lands in the list when it comes to our modern, top-down management systems. But Jesus (the greatest leader ever) and Moses (perhaps the second) had this one thought in mind – great leaders don’t have power over people, but power under people by way of humility.

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Gandhi led millions via his wisdom and hunger strikes. Hitler led a young generation of mass murderers. Billy Graham has led millions to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. The list goes on. What do leaders of high influence have in common? The compel people to follow. In some cases, such as evil dictators, they coerce them, but for leaders of genuine impact, being compelling is part of the package.

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