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Archive for the ‘Leadership’ Category

The Effective Leader

Posted in Leadership on February 24, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Have you ever heard of the 80/20 principle?  I am sure you have.  If you haven’t, you may be in the 80% group.

The 80/20 principle states that 80% of the work gets done by 20% of the folks.  That applies in most any organization – but especially in a volunteer organization.  20% of the folks give 80% of the money, do 80% of the work and take on 80% of the responsibility.  Like I said above, if you have never heard this, then chances are, you are in the 80% group.

But my mind is not focused on an organization today.  Today I am thinking more personally.  This principle also applies to our leadership.  Typically, leaders spend only 20% of their time working in the area of their strengths.  Which means, 80% of the time we are doing things that don’t pay many dividends.  That is not to say we are slacking off or wasting time, it just means that many of the tasks that we must do, or choose to do, are not in the area of our strengths.

So here is my challenge to you today from one leader to another – focus on your strengths today.  What drives you?  What are you passionate about?  Where do your skills lie?  Now, how can you work in that area today?

Today, you need to turn the 80/20 principle on its head.  This may mean you have to choose not to do something in favor of doing something of greater importance.  It may mean you have to delegate some things in order to focus on your area of giftedness.

I realize for most of us that this seems a bit “pie in the sky” – that it is easy to say but harder to do.  Well, it is.  If it were easy, we would have the 20/80 principle.  But the mark of an effective leader is how well one navigates this principle.  We can try and blame our ineffectiveness on circumstances or budget or any number of things, but an effective leader finds a way to work within his or her strengths.

How effective will you be today?

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Heed the Call

Posted in Hope, Leadership, Motivational on January 24, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I have mentioned before that I am reading through the Gospels with this specific question in mind:  “What was important to Jesus?”  I have made it all the way through Matthew 4.  As I read of Jesus’ calling of the disciples, I am reminded of the fact that Jesus called common folk.  Jesus didn’t approach community leaders and politicians.  He did not approach the religious leaders of his day and ask them to follow him.  He went to the working class and even to the undesirables – to fishermen, tax gatherers, terrorists.

What do I take away from that fact?  It tells me that what was important to Jesus was not the person’s standing in the community but the person’s character and willingness to follow.

That is still the case today!

I don’t know about you, but that brings great hope and challenge to me today.  Jesus calls each of us, regardless of our position in society.  The expectation of us is to use what we have been given to affect the greatest influence possible.  Each of us has a sphere of influence – and each one is different.  Jesus calls us to impact our sphere for him.

That is his call!

That is what is important to him.

Shouldn’t it be important to us as well?

Heed that call today!  Go make a difference for Jesus!

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You Can Change the World!

Posted in Hope, Leadership, Missions on January 20, 2011| Leave a Comment »

If you are like me, you have a pretty good handle on your world.  You know that at the end of the day you will go home to a comfortable place, probably eat a decent meal and tomorrow you will get up and head off to your job or to school or whatever your day normally involves.  You might even have weekend plans that include some downtime and time with family and friends – who knows, maybe even church on Sunday.

We have grown very comfortable with our lives.  And as long as no one comes in and messes with it we are OK.  We may be aware of suffering on the other side of the world, but it is over there – too far away for me to worry about – heck, I have my own problems with which to be concerned.

We easily go about our insulated lives choosing not to concern ourselves with real needs of others – some just down the street.

Last night I had the blessing to begin a study on the new book, Out Live Your Life, by Max Lucado.  If you haven’t had a chance to pick up the book, I would strongly encourage you to do so but with a warning.

Don’t get it with the thought that it will make you feel good about yourself and your world.  It isn’t that it is depressing but it will mess you up.  It will open your eyes to things that you cannot, as a Christ follower, continue to ignore.

I would also invite you to join us in this journey on Wednesday nights at 6 if you are in town.  But again, don’t come to the study thinking it will be anything but challenging.

Last night I showed the promotional trailer for the video study.  As we watched, this flashed across the screen: “Remember when you thought you could change the world?  Well, you can!”

Come join us as we set out to change the world!

 

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Importance of Clarity

Posted in Formation, Leadership on January 17, 2011| Leave a Comment »

One of the additions to my spiritual reading routine these days is reading through the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the New Testament) with one sole question in mind.  That question?  What was important to Jesus?

It gives an interesting lens through which to view the life and ministry of Jesus.  Today, I began chapter 4 of the book of Matthew.  I didn’t get very far – all the way through verse 2. As I pondered these first two verses with my question in mind, I realized just how important it was to Jesus to have a clear vision in his mind of what his mission would be for the next couple of years.

Leadership requires clarity.  These verses show us the importance Jesus placed on spending time alone with God and working through things in our hearts and minds to clarify who we are to be for God.

How clear are you on what God expects of you?  How solid is your vision for your life as you follow The Way?

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Leadership Lesson From a Dilated Pupil

Posted in Humor, Leadership on January 5, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Several days ago I received a courtesy letter from my eye doctor telling me it was time for my annual check-up.  Yesterday morning I decided I would attack my To Do list and get some quick “wins” by being able to check something off.  So I called the eye doctor to schedule an appointment – thinking it would surely be sometime late next week before I could actually get in.  Nope – they had an appointment for yesterday at 2:45.  I was already on the phone and committed so I took it.

I got there and filled out the usual paperwork and then was politely ushered back for the routine puff of air to the eye (Wow!  That’s fun!) and then on into an exam room.  The doctor came in and everything went like clockwork.  I even made it through all the:  “Better one . . . or two?  Three . . . or four,” routine pretty much unscathed.  But then came the dreaded question:  “When is the last time you had your eyes dilated?”  I tried to tell her it hadn’t been that long, but alas, she had my chart and could see it had been a number of years.  I had no excuse.  So five minutes later, there I sat with the eye drops in, waiting for my pupils to get to the size of frisbees.

Everything checked out fine, but the walk back to the office was excruciating.  I never noticed the sun being that bright!  Back in my office, I turned on a lamp and turned off the overhead lights and even the computer screen was too bright.  Couple that with the fact that I couldn’t focus my eyes and it made the rest of the afternoon a bit challenging.

Believe it or not, I have a reason for telling you this story.  Turns out that the reason one should allow an optometrist to dilate one’s eyes is to allow them to check the eyes for problems.  By forcing the pupil to dilate, the doctor is able to see what is really going on inside the eye.  The point is to determine how best to maintain good vision for the patient.

As I thought about it, I was reminded of a comment made in a book I am reading called, The Leadership Challenge.  One of the fundamental keys to good leadership is clarity.  As a leader, you must be clear about what needs to be done.  Part of that clarity is found by asking yourself the question, “What grabs me?”  Or another way of asking it is, “What fuels my passion?”  The answer to these questions can only be found when you look inside yourself and really think about what is going on inside you – the things that drive you and keep you up at night.

So just as the doctor dilated my eyes yesterday to see what was going on inside, I must spend some time looking inside myself and rekindling the spark that fuels my passion.  Only then can I lead from the heart and only then can I lead in a manner worthy of being followed.

Set aside some time to look inside yourself today!

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Climbing the Ladder of Success

Posted in Leadership on December 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »

As leaders, we hear a lot about success and striving to be the best we can be.  We understand that climbing the ladder of achievement takes dedication, discipline and hard work.

Let me be the first to admit that I am a driven person.  It may take me a while to really focus in on what God is expecting of me but when I do finally get the picture, there is little that will stand in my way.

But I don’t think there is anything wrong with being driven and passionate.  In fact, Jesus made the statement that he would rather we be hot or cold when it comes to following him.  He has no use for luke-warm followers.

So being passionate and driven are God-given traits of leaders.  God expects us to use our talents and passions and skills to impact this world.

There is nothing wrong with climbing the ladder and improving ourselves.

But here is the foundational issue when it comes to climbing that ladder.  We must make sure it is leaning against the right structure.

If we set our sites and climb that ladder all the way to the top and gain the success we have strived for only to find that it is not success in God’s eyes, then what have we accomplished?

Make sure your foundation is in God’s word and part of God’s plan before you start climbing – it will make all the difference!

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Leaders Must Challenge The Process

Posted in Leadership on December 6, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I keep several books going at a time from different genres.  Last week I started a new book entitled The Leadership Challenge.  I haven’t gotten very far into it yet but far enough to be reminded that a large part of leadership is always being aware of the environment.  It is so easy to become comfortable and complacent.  When things are going well we tend to catch our breath and relax a bit.

When we have an idea and we put our efforts behind it – developing it, casting a vision for it and then implementing it – we have a lot invested in it.  Then when it works wonderfully, we have a tendency to repeat it.  Before long, what was once a ground-breaking revolution, is now simply part of the landscape – we keep doing it over and over.  We get comfortable in our success and a rut is formed.

In understanding the environment, a leader must be willing to challenge the norm.  In the book mentioned above, Jim Kouzes calls this, “challenging the process.”  A good leader must be able to look at the process with an eye for evaluation and then be able to envision something better.  That is why leaders are not always popular, but if an organization is to grow and stay relevant, someone must be willing to challenge the process.

What are you doing today that needs to be challenged?  As a leader, what are you going to do today to challenge the process?

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A Legend of a Preacher

Posted in Church, Community, Leadership on October 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I grew up in a small town in west Texas – Kermit (Go Yellow Jackets!!).  In my hometown you could find a wide variety of folks but everyone got along fine.

One of the things I remember about our church and our community is that a couple of times per year they would do what I would call the “preacher swap.”  Our pastor would preach in another church in town one Sunday and a pastor from another church would preach in our church.  It was one of those Sunday’s that I was introduced to Brother Lewis.  He was the pastor of the black Baptist church in Kermit.  I had never in my life heard anyone preach with that much passion and enthusiasm.  When he really got “cranked up” he would begin to sing his sermon.  I never watched the time when I listened to him preach.  I guess the reason I was so drawn to him was that his preaching was a mere reflection of who he was and how he lived.  He was a true humble servant of God.  It affected me to the level that I would take some friends and go to their church occasionally, just to hear him preach.

The only catch to going to visit his church was that if you visited, he would expect you to get up and sing for the congregation.  Now, I’m not sure you are getting the picture, but it was impossible to sneak into their church and blend in and remain anonymous – I was a little lighter skinned than the norm of the others sitting in the room.  So I knew when I went that I would have to sing – but I didn’t mind – it was worth it.

I tell you all of this because I am going to today to pay my last respects to this legend of a preacher.  A man that affected so many lives.  A man that was arrested in the 60’s for his non-violent protests.  A man that marched on more than one occassion with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  A man who leaves a huge hole in so many lives.

He did not pastor a mega-church.  In fact, his name never became well-known.  But for those lives he touched – he was a giant and he will be missed!

So I am going to his funeral today – I wonder if they will ask me to sing! 🙂

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Never Quit

Posted in Leadership, Motivational on October 19, 2010| 1 Comment »

I want to tell you about a friend of mine.  I got a call last night that my good friend had gone on to be with the Lord.  She had to have some stints put in a couple of weeks ago and while she was in the hospital, she decided to go ahead and have a pace maker put in.  She has been feeling a little tired lately and it has begun to affect what all she felt like doing.

You see, she had a job at the hospital “sitting with the old people,”  and she needed to regain some of her energy in order to keep doing the things she loved to do – caring for people.

She had the pace maker put in and everything went fine.  But a day after going home from the hospital, she experienced a massive stroke – a stroke from which she was unable to recover.

All of this is very sad and some might even say tragic.  Why would a person with such a giving spirit (and at times a little stubborn) have to endure all of this?

Let me add a bit of information that will not make it any less sad, but it might just bring a peace in the situation.  Ettie was 92.  Most 92 year olds I know (which is not a large number) would most likely have not decided to try the pace maker.  The risks were too great and the pay-off too small.  But Ettie was determined that if she was going to live to be 100 (which was her goal) then she did not want to do it sitting around.

That is a testimony of a true servant of God.  I have found Ettie to be pretty inspirational to me for the 8 years I have known her.  But I think she is even more inspirational now.  How can I sit back and think, “I will sit this one out and let someone step up and do it.” when a 92 year old lady was willing to undergo a heart procedure in order to have more energy to keep on going?

Ettie, you will be missed, especially by me.  But you never quit!  You fought the good fight, you finished the race – and you did it well!

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Discipleship Challenge

Posted in Formation, Hope, Leadership on October 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »

We started a college and young singles Bible study class at our church two weeks ago.  We are going through a study that focuses on what it means to truly be a disciple of Jesus.

The study is called In the Dust of the Rabbi and it is written by Ray Vander Laan.  Our lesson yesterday painted a picture of what being a disciple meant in the first century.   It was a life choice – a commitment to dedicate one’s life to follow a rabbi (in some cases, 24 hours per day) in order to become like him.  When Jesus selected his disciples, they gave up everything to follow and learn from him.

As we worked through the study, a statement came up that has haunted me since.  It is this:  “If I am not completely and passionately committed to following Jesus with everything I have, then I really cannot call myself a disciple in the Biblical sense.”

Has the term disciple become so common that we forget the significance of the word and the ramifications of its meaning?

I challenged the class to do something this week that will bring them closer to Jesus – to being more like him.  I then assigned one of the class members (thanks Coe) to hold me accountable to the same challenge.

Will you take the challenge this week?  What will you do to become more like Jesus this week?

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