Category Archives: leadership
Developing Leaders – Guest Post @scottwilliams
For some time I have been reading the blog of Scott Williams, Big Is The New Small. It’s fantastic. Current, interesting and insightful. We share similar passions for Leadership. He agreed to this guest post for our reading pleasure. you can follow Scott on Twitter too. If You’re Not Developing Leaders – You’re Not Leading Leadership Development is one of those terms that people throw around with ease, often times without embracing the true essence of what it’s all about. The reality is that leadership development is one of the ultimate callings of leadership. Without leadership development, there cannot be the reproduction of more leaders. Without the reproduction of more leaders, the evolution of leadership begins to cease. The problem with leadership development is the fact that it takes time, creativity, patience, thoughtfulness and too many other descriptive words for a single blog post. Leadership development requires a leader to focus on the success of those they lead, while simultaneously focusing on the vision of the organization. Those things do happen simultaneously and are not mutually exclusive. If leaders have a genuine interest and commitment to make sure that those that they lead are successful, that’s development. It requires varied … Continue reading
Have we lost the art of listening? #TEDTalk
As I watched this I wondered if listening needs to become a leadership imperative? As a communicator sound and sounds are essential to ‘what I do’ – listening and being present is just as important as the right words at the right time. TED is one of those gift boxes you uncover with delight, this one focuses on the gift of listening. It’s beautiful.
Prayer for my daughter
In the past 18 months I have without fail prayed for my daughter every night I get to put her to sleep. I believe there REALLY IS life and death in the power of our words and want to speak words of life over our little girl. As I have mentioned this to many others there have been some requests for it. I thought Fathers Day would be a good day to post it. MY PRAYER FOR ZARRIAH GRACE. Dear God, As Zarriah goes to sleep I pray that >> She would know you love her and she would love you back. She would know her purpose in life and maximise its potential. She’d be able to say “I’m blessed & the good hand of God is upon me.” That she’d be a leader not a follower. An influencer not the influenced. That she would >> Have friends because she is friendly. Be a quick learner, A wise decision maker, And a positive contributer to her world. Amen.
26 Questions to keep your Spiritual Journey on track
In my most recent Message at Careforce Church I mentioned the 26 questions Gordon McDonald uses to keep yourself and others on track. Here they are >> 1. How is your relationship with God right now? 2. What have you read in the Bible in the past week? 3. What has God said to you in this reading? 4. Where do you find yourself resisting Him these days? 5. What specific things are you praying for in regard to yourself? 7. What are the specific tasks facing you right now that you consider incomplete? 8. What habits intimidate you? 9. What have you read in the secular press this week? 10. What general reading are you doing? 11. What have you done to play? 12. How are you doing with your spouse? Kids? 13. If I were to ask your spouse about your state of mind, state of spirit, state of energy level, what would the response be? 14. Are you sensing spiritual attacks from the enemy right now? 15. If Satan were to try to invalidate you as a person or as a servant of the Lord, how might he do it? 16. What is the state of your … Continue reading
Seth’s Seven Questions For Leaders + 5 of my own….
I am consistently challenged to think harder, wider & deeper by Seth Godin. I look forward to his little bit of technological stimulation in my inbox every day. However, if it stays in the inbox it can’t and won’t serve the world. How does your own self development actually impact positively on the life of others? One of the many mantras that shape my world is this “What you have is NOT for you” What you have you look after for the benefit of others, for the greater good and for service. Seth offers7 helpful questions for you to reflect on life and business – I add 5 of my own. Do you let the facts get in the way of a good story? What do you do with people who disagree with you… do you call them names in order to shut them down? Are you open to multiple points of view or you demand compliance and uniformity? [Bonus: Are you willing to walk away from a project or customer or employee who has values that don't match yours?] Is it okay if someone else gets the credit? How often are you able to change your position? Do you … Continue reading
Credit Hogs (are you one?)
Let’s face it, it’s easy when you are a leader to subtly insist that people point their affirmation and honour TO us rather than us, as leaders, allowing that SAME affirmation & honour go THROUGH us. Credit feels good. It makes us look good. We like getting it. So do I. However, as leaders we need to deflect credit rather than direct it. ON our team we do this by spending the first 15-30 minutes of our staff meeting every week identifying people who have moved our Mission & Vision ahead and we want to acknowledge for it. Then we send handwritten postcards to those people. Some weeks people are overwhelmed with up to 20 postcards saying thank you. You deserve the credit we are giving you. What I’ve noticed is that most people don’t do it for any credit at all. That sounds like a good lesson for us leaders.
20 Questions TO Increase Your “Be Interested Factor”
Jim Collins, author of “Good To Great” says it’s more important to be INTERESTED than INTERESTING. Here are 20 Questions you can ask that will guarantee you are more INTERESTED. Credit to Michael Hyatt. Can you name a person who has had a tremendous impact on you as a leader? Maybe some one who has been a mentor to you? Why and how did this person impact your life? What are the most important decisions you make as a leader of your organization? As an organization gets larger there can be a tendency for the “institution” to dampen the “inspiration”. How do you keep this from happening? How do you encourage creative thinking within your organization? Where do the great ideas come from in your organization? Which is most important to your organization mission, core values or vision? How do you or other leaders in your organization communicate the “core values”? How do you encourage others in your organization to communicate the “core values”? Do you set aside specific times to cast vision to your employees and other leaders? How do you ensure the your organization and its activities are aligned with your “core values”? How do you help a new … Continue reading
The Eight Questions Every Pastor Must Answer Before Next Year – Part 3: How will you be as a leader?
How will you be as a Leader? “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” Jesus Several years ago I listened to Casey Treat open a conference I was attending. He simply said “Leadership is always the problem and leadership is always the solution!” I liked the second half of that statement and had to concede my pride to the first half. The bottom line is this, who we ARE as leaders will make a significant difference to the kind of year each of us has and the kind of year our ministries have. Who you are as the leader will positively or negatively affect your life and ministry. In my work as an Executive Coach we ask the question “Who are you being?” ‘Who do you need to be at this time?” Leadership is an inside job followed by the courage to act. As you focus on the new year I want to ask you the most important leadership question that when you answer you will notice how much clarity, courage and energy it gives you. That question is…. WHO DO YOU NEED TO BE AS THE LEADER FOR THE NEXT SEASON … Continue reading
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