Tag: Leadership

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You Have a Vision. Now Get Clarity on the Path.

“What’s the best way to get there?”

I don’t know. Where’s there? You might think.

In leadership, you have to have a destination in mind. You need a vision. If you are going to help others, you have to get clarity on where we would like them to be.

However, once you have clarity on the vision, you can find clarity on the path. When you know where you want to go, you can begin to plan how to get there. That’s the second part of the leadership process.

A friend of mine was concerned about the direction of the youth in her town. Her own family had been touched by the scourge of drugs, and she had known many of her kids’ friends who had experienced the same problems. But she also believed that things could be different.

So, what could she do? She had a vision of kids having hope that would lead them away from drugs and other destructive behavior, but she had to think about the means. How would she help them get from where they were to where they could and should be. She discovered the story of Joseph Rojas, the lead singer of the Christian rock band Seventh Day Slumber. Rojas had been deep into drugs but had found hope in Christ that led him out of the deep hole he was in. Continue reading “You Have a Vision. Now Get Clarity on the Path.”

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Leading from Vision Rather Than Reaction

Leadership by Reaction
And now, Geometry. That was the new subject in my friend’s sixth grade class. His teacher, Mrs. Smith, walked slowly through the class. She stopped behind my friend and asked a geometry question, “What do you call two points on a line?”

Like myself and many of you, he responded, “I don’t know.”

Whack!!! Mrs. Smith took the paddle that she carried around with her and whacked him in the head with it.

Now did he know? Of course not. All he knew at that point was that he did not like Geometry or Mrs. Smith.

Mrs. Smith’s method of leadership is ludicrous, but that’s often how we try to lead. People aren’t doing what we want them to and then, whack! We respond in a way that demands people change immediately. We react by by attacking, withdrawing, or complaining. It is leadership by reaction.

When we lead by reaction, our leadership helps people move forward with about as much efficacy as Mrs. Smith’s whack on the back of the head moved my friend to new knowledge. It’s good to want people to be in a better place, but leadership by reaction is often not based on thought or reality.

Everybody has people or communities that they want to see in a better place. The trouble is that so often we pursue it by simply reacting.

Is there a better way? Absolutely there is.

The Alternative: Leadership from Vision
It’s called leadership from vision. It begins with a vision of where people could and should be. This type of leader then chooses the path that will be the best route to help people get where they need to be. Then, the leader helps people walk that path through teaching, examples, steps, and encouragement.

Take the story of Mike Lanza. Lanza remembered kids playing outside together when he was young, and he thought this was a better place for kids to be than what he saw around him. Like many of us, he was concerned about the amount of time kids spent in front of screens. Continue reading “Leading from Vision Rather Than Reaction”

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5 Reasons Churches Should Talk a Lot More About Leadership

Leadership is extremely important. Few things happen in this world without it. We all recognize this. For example, when our favorite sports team is not doing well, who do we blame? The coach. Then, the team ends up hiring a new coach. People are excited . . . or worried. Why? Because leadership matters.

So, if the church is concerned about making people better and making this world a better place to the glory of God, then it should teach on leadership. However, I’ve seen mixed reactions to instruction on leadership. Here are a few of the objections/comments I have received to teaching on leadership. I put my answer next to it and then the positive reason for teaching on leadership in the church.

Reason # 1: Leadership is an inescapable part of the human way of life created by God.

1. Objection: Leadership is a secular topic. Answer: I do not call secular that which belongs to normal human life. It is part of God’s created order. Just as work, marriage, and education are part of life, so leadership is part of life. All of these are part of God’s creation. Faith in God and His Word reorients our way of thinking about all of life, including leadership. If God exists and created this world in which leadership matters so much, then we would expect that He would have something to say about it.

Reason # 2: We all do have and should have people we want to lead to a better place.

2. Objection: I’m not a leader. Answer: people often think of leadership in terms of a leadership position such as a boss, teacher, or pastor. However, leadership is a broader concept than that. We are leading someone whenever we want to influence people to move to a place where they could and should be. Anytime we are concerned about people’s behavior or character and want to see it changed, this involves leadership. Anytime we are concerned about a community, group, or individual, this is an opportunity for leadership. In addition, we not only are already seeking to lead, but we ought to have concern about the people around us and want to see them in a better place. This is our just duty. Continue reading “5 Reasons Churches Should Talk a Lot More About Leadership”

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Cicero: Clear Your Head So You Can Serve the Community

We do not exist for ourselves. We are made to serve the community. Serving the community is not always easy. The community does not always appreciate such service, but we should be willing to bear all sorts of hardships and all sorts of toil to serve the community. For, “justice is the single virtue which is mistress and queen of all virtues” (Cicero, On Obligations, 93). This is the opinion of Cicero, as he describes it in his book On Obligations or On Duties.

The key to understanding our obligations is to understand that we are not just an isolated individual. We are created for community and for service to the community:

I have often made the point earlier, but it must be repeated again and again: there is a bond of fellowship which in its widest sense exists between all members of the entire human race, an inner link between those of the same nation, and a still closer connection between those of the same state (107).

We are made for each other. Our destiny is not an individual one. It is to use our resources in service of those around us. As Cicero says, the interest of the individual is the interest of the community and vice versa. Continue reading “Cicero: Clear Your Head So You Can Serve the Community”

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Dollywood and the Essence of Leadership

I’ve been to Dollywood dozens of times, but last Wednesday was one of my best experiences. The reason? I put my oldest daughter Anna in charge. Instead of complaining about me, the rest of my seven children complained about my daughter. I was off the hook!

Not only did I not have to lead, Anna led really well. She handled the complaining better than I would have.

As I reflected on what she was doing, I realized that she was doing exactly what I aspire to do as a leader. Here’s what I saw her do.

First, she cared about and understood those she was leading. She works at Dollywood and received compensation tickets with her paycheck. When she had collected enough, she cared enough about her family to want to take them rather than a bunch of friends.

Second, she grasped intuitively that complaints and disagreement are part of the leadership process. When you have to take the interests of a variety of people into account, not everyone will be happy. This is just part of being a leader.

Third, she made decisions. She downloaded the Dollywood app and looked at the wait times for the various rides. She thought about what she wanted to do, what the family would want to do, and the time we had, and then she made decisions about it.

Fourth, she didn’t change her decisions based on the differing opinions of any of the individuals, however strong those opinions might be. She realized that she was the leader, and she needed to lead. So, she led.

Fifth, she wasn’t mean about it. She had to hold to her thoughts in the face of sometimes strong disagreement, but she didn’t lash out defensively. She just made her decision, kept going, and kept smiling. It was a joy to watch.

Here’s one example. When we walked by the Wild Eagle, the wait was 25 minutes. Several children wanted to ride it right then, but she knew from experience that the wait time would decrease. So, she made her decision to move onto another ride. There was grumbling, but it died down. Eventually, we made our way back to the Wild Eagle and got on in less than 5 minutes.

As a smart and sweet 15 year old oldest sister of six siblings, Anna seems to have grasped the essence of leadership. I think I can retire.

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