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Posts Tagged ‘Leadership’

To Let The Oppressed Go Free

August 26, 2013

“Is this not the fast I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?”

I’m studying Isaiah 58 right now. These are the words of the Lord spoken through his prophet. (That’s what prophets do, you know.)

This week is the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington where Martin Luther King, Jr., caught up in the Spirit, deviated somewhat from his prepared text and spoke about his dream. A dream where people were judged on character, not on skin color.

I was only a kid, living in a small village where everyone was either of German or Irish descent (read “white”)–well, except for one “hillbilly” family that moved in, and they were white. I never knew a black person until I was in college.

But for some reason, I was haunted by images of Ku Klux Klan cross burnings and murders. I can still remember nightmares that there was a local branch (don’t think there ever was–we didn’t have black people, but we did have a secret society of which my dad was a member called the Masons). I feared that they found out that I was pro civil rights and surrounded our house.

Later while I was in college, I endured much teasing about my civil rights stance (I still lived in town and drove 40 miles each way to college to save money since I was now mostly paying my own way). I remember driving through Mississippi to Louisiana in 1970 when I entered graduate school at LSU. Had an equal rights decal on my car. Arrived and then had the thought, what if my car had stopped in the piney woods? Still, I’m white. Not as bad as if I were not.

Progress toward freedom

There has been a lot of progress over the last 50 years. Like all human social change, there were cycles of success and cycles of regress. Many things are better for people of different colors, ethnicities, even gender. Many people have been set free. The leadership of Christians was an example to me that maybe the Christian church wasn’t all bad.

But we still have far to go.

Jesus understood. As have many spiritual people throughout human history. That passage from Isaiah is probably 2,800 years old. Yet, until we all change our hearts and begin to truly worship the one God, then we will not have the justice God demanded so long ago.

Tags:Christianity, Ethics, Faith, freedom, Leadership
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Getting Things Done and Keeping My Sanity

August 21, 2013

This time of year is always the busiest and most hectic for me. In business, I’m gearing up for the fall travel season plus planning for the next year.

I’m very involved with soccer and have been the referee assignor for 25 years. Practice for teams start at the beginning of August. I have almost all my games assigned for the year by then. Suddenly plans change. Referees drop games. Schools add games. I just went from needing to fill only 6 games to 21 games in the past three days. (OK, to my friends in Toledo, Columbus and Dayton, only 21 games is almost heaven, I know.)

I try to research and find topics 4-5 days a week for this blog. I have a business blog–The Manufacturing Connection–from which I derive a little income. I have several writing gigs.

Not to mention a new ministry leadership position in the church.

Getting Things Done

At times the workload seems overwhelming.

Then I take a deep breath. Maybe a walk around the block. Then tackle the list one thing at a time. Soon, I’m back in control, and much work gets accomplished.

I follow David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD). And I use a Web-based application called Nozbe to help follow the methodology.

This approach of living only in the present (that is, not worrying about tomorrow–see Jesus for advice); taking a few deep breaths to relax, then tackling the to-do list from most important (not urgent!) down, is how I’ve survived over the years. Try it.

Tags:attention, decisions, disciplines, Leadership, Work
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Dare To Communicate Clearly

August 16, 2013

Leadership

Jesus spoke directly and clearly when he was speaking directly to an individual. Even his parables were clear when you figured out the key. The biggest problem with his message to his listeners was that it was so radical it took time to soak in.

Donald Miller wrote several books I admire. Yesterday, he wrote about being clear. Referring to a poetry reading by former Poet Laureate Billy Collins, Miller writes, “How can any of us get what we want in life if we don’t communicate what we want clearly? Billy Collins might as well have been echoing the words of Jesus: Ask and it will be given to you.”

He says later in the essay, “Everybody kind of knows what they want, but few people have taken the time to reflect so they can communicate in such a way people understand. Most leaders kind of know where they want to take people but revolutionary leaders say it clearly.”

Ah, here is a key–take the time to reflect. Don’t short circuit the path from thought to mouth. Actually think about what you want and where you want to go. Victoria Elizabeth wrote recently on a Website called Problogger that we should blog like Hemingway. Use short sentences and research the truth. There’s more, check it out if you’re a writer or leader.

Miller says this process of thinking and speaking clearly is especially important for leaders. “The reality of leadership is this: The world is standing before you, curious, asking where you’d like to take them. If you kind of have an answer, they’ll follow somebody else. If you want to be a leader, communicate clearly because that’s the only way anybody can know whether or not they want to join you.”

This is important for leaders. And for all of us trying to communicate the Gospel. Think things through. Find the truth. Use simple sentences. And, “Know where you want to take people and ask them to come with you. Then, confidently take them there.”

Tags:focus, Leadership
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Avoid Confusion and Distraction

August 14, 2013

I’m reviewing my notes from Henry Cloud’s Boundaries for Leaders for something else I’m writing and these words attracted my attention. “Set limits on confusion and distraction.”

In this book, he meant that organizationally. As you organize your company, department, ministry, family, assign tasks and responsibilities and hold everyone accountable for their actions and results.

Assigning your children tasks to help around the house at an early age with no thought of pay teaches them responsibility, accountability, and focus. These are life skills that will help them throughout their lives no matter what happens. My capitalist friends may cringe–thinking that everything must have a monetary reward–but they would need to calm down a little. Even economists will occasionally talk about intrinsic rewards.

Do you lead a group in either a marketplace company, a nonprofit agency, a church or volunteer organization? Think on these things. Think about each person–their tasks, responsibilities and desired results. Clearly state to them, ask for response that these are understood. Keep people focused on what is important.

This works for yourself, too.

What about you or around you contributes to confusion and distraction?

Not sure about your goals
Messy desk
Sloppy recordkeeping
Too much social media
Thinking you’re the exception to multi-tasking blues
Too many goals
Inability to say “No”

Now is the time to work on your own confusion. Eliminate distractions when you think or work. Organize your workspace. Organize your house. Organize your daily routine.

I often talk about Spiritual Disciplines (or practices). Adopt a couple of crucial ones. Every morning get up 15 minutes earlier than now so that you can spend time reading The Bible or other Spiritual book. Then spend some quiet time in prayer and meditation–even if it’s only 5 minutes.

Begin your days focused and organized.

Tags:attention, disciplines, Leadership, lifestyle
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You Get What You Create or What You Allow

August 1, 2013

I’ve been contemplating on Henry Cloud’s latest book, Boundaries for Leaders. There is a lot of research in that book. And a lot of wisdom.

At one point, he says, “Leaders will get a combination of what they create and what they allow.”

I thought, wow, this applies in so many areas.

Take raising children. Do we create an environment and expectations for them to grow and succeed? Or, do we allow them to do whatever whim comes along? Or, a combination–we create certain structures and allow other things?

Leaders in organizations do this. Same types of questions. Do we create an environment, expectations and structures for people (and the organization) to grow and succeed? Or, do we permit too much such that vision is lost, ethics are cast aside, and the whole organization crashes?

What about our personal life? We lead in that, too–I hope. Do we create structures and expectations in our own lives such that we grow and succeed? We have access to writings on the Spiritual Disciplines. These have been thought out and written so that we have a guide toward establishing the proper Spiritual structure in our daily lives so that we continue to grow in Spiritual maturity.

Attention is key

Then Cloud hits on one of my pet ideas–attention. “Brain researchers say that ‘attention’ is like a magic key that unlocks higher-order brain circuitry. ”

We must place our attention on the things we wish to create in our leadership and our lives. Then we do things with intention, that is, on purpose. Consciously. Things don’t “just happen.” We cause things to happen and construct structures to create opportunities to succeed.

By the way, the link to Amazon is not an affiliate link. I recommend so many books, I probably should sign up for affiliate status. I bet I could add $10 or so to my income 😉 And I certainly recommend this book. And if you’ve never read Cloud, try his other books. They are all excellent.

Tags:attention, disciplines, focus, Leadership, Spirituality
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Developing New Leaders in the Spirit

February 14, 2011

One of the most important tasks we have on earth is developing young people to become leaders. We need to provide them with the structure, tools, support that help them make life decisions solidly, in the Spirit.

Yesterday our congregation accepted a number of young people into membership. They have made a decision. We have guided them toward that decision. They have received instruction, been offered opportunities to grow and find their mission in life and supported. Are they ready?

Events come at them constantly. Decisions must be made. Many of these are small, but cumulative. Sometimes hell awaits just one little step at a time. Have we given them the foundation to make the right decisions?

There has developed a culture that I’ve seen in the United States, in some areas of Europe, and I fear it has reached into parts of Asia by now. This culture worships kids–by trying to make them stay kids (and the parents who, not wishing to grow up themselves, also want to be kids). Are we forsaking the future of these young people by not providing a disciplined lifestyle? The strength to face the world?

This is such an awesome responsibility that Jesus pointed out specifically–woe to those who cause one of these little ones to stumble.

It’s a role we should never leave. Even when our own children are grown and gone, there are always young people to teach.

Tags:Church, Leadership, service
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Ethics Matter In Business and in Life

January 6, 2011

Does ethics matter? If you are a leader, do you realize the impact of your ethical decisions and lifestyle on your team and on your career?

Try the situation of US Navy Captain Owen Honors (see The New York Times article).

I bet there were sighs of relief in Oxford, Ohio, home of Miami University and the “cradle of coaches” in football, when the football coach they lost to Pittsburg University had a lapse of ethics and judgement and was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child. He was just over two weeks on the job at Pitt when he was summarily fired.

It really pays to think. We used to live in a world where ethical lapses of our leaders were quietly hidden by press relations and media. We live in a more transparent world now where instead of whispered rumors we have public information.
And it’s not just sexual ethics or restraining our violent side. There are tons of ethical decisions facing you every day. In my business, a big one is to not be bought off by advertisers, but to retain my independence and integrity. Not that we can’t be friendly, but I have to be watchful. What are the biggest temptations you face for taking the easy route? How do you handle them?

Tags:Ethics, Leadership, lifestyle
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Translating Passion into Action

November 16, 2010

I ran into another aspect of “faith and works” last night at a meeting. It’s having a passion for something and sustaining that passion through the hard work of acting on it. Passion starts out as an emotion. Maybe God speaks to you and you get really fired up about His suggestion. Maybe it’s starting a mission to another country. Maybe it’s feeding people thrown out of work by the recession. But it’s a God call.

God doesn’t expect you to only be fired up about it. As my new best friend James says, faith without works is dead. Or as Bill Cosby once described about his college football team (probably just a funny story) where the coach gave a rousing speech to get them all fired up to go out and win the game in the second half and then the door was locked from the locker room. The passion expired.

So there are stages to the process. You start out on fire with an idea. But then you have to do two things that can be tough. And you’ll lose some of that exuberance. These are planning the details of the work and convincing others that this is an important call from God. At first you’ll notice some fraying of the passion. You begin to doubt just a little in the face of opposition.

That’s when you take the advice of Thomas a Kempis I noted yesterday–just do something. Take the next action. Talk to the next person. That will get you back on track. And you’ll accomplish the work God has placed before you.

Tags:Leadership, Work
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New Leadership Rises

August 24, 2010

I’m still contemplating the end of the gospel of Mark. So the group has an intimate, friendly if not joyous, but yet strange Passover meal. The leader is acting a little strangely, what with washing their feet and all. They whisper about betrayal, but still don’t really know what to expect. Little do they know that by tomorrow night they will be leaderless–sort of. Or at least temporarily. Little did they know that they had to go from student to leader almost overnight. It’s sort of like going from adolescence to maturity in the space of a month.

Think about high school athletics. OK, maybe a stretch, but consider this. One year there is senior leadership of the team, but they inevitably graduate (or get too old). But the next year, last year’s juniors are this year’s seniors, and new leadership arises.

While the disciples had Jesus, they didn’t have to think. Jesus made the decisions. Jesus did the teaching. Jesus chose the inner circle. Jesus arranged the Passover dinner. And the next night he was gone.

So we sit in our comfortable homes and churches and criticize the disciples. What would you have done. You don’t become a leader overnight. Think of times in your life when there was a leader and then she or he was gone. Died. Moved away. Whatever. Wasn’t there a period of time for adjustment?

So they gradually regrouped. Then they experienced the new Jesus. Then they started to exercise their own leadership muscles. And in only 40 days came the day of Pentecost when they announced to the world, “We’re back.” And they each went out and started faith communities. And Paul, Barnabas and others were called, and they traveled the world establishing faith communities. And so, here we are.

The thing that grieves me personally is this thought–what have I done to start new faith communities and raise up new leaders? Have I done enough? Have you? That is one of our tasks–to bring up new leaders to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is here.

Tags:Call, Christianity, Church, Leadership, mission
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You Better Have Figs

July 28, 2010

“I just know one thing, if the creator of the world comes to you and asks you for a fig, you’d better have some–lots of them.”

I’ve been meditating on the Gospel of Mark for the past several months. Getting toward the end, we came to the story (not parable) of Jesus cursing the fig tree. I sort of skipped over that part of the story and went to the explanation. Jesus’ closest friends were shocked to see him exhibit such impatience and pointed out that the fig tree he cursed the day before (May no one ever eat a fig from you again) was now dead all the way to the roots. And that happened overnight.

Driving to Chicago last night, I was listening to the weekend message from Willow Creek Community Church on my iPod. Pastor Wayne Cordeiro from Honolulu was speaking. He cited that passage as one of his examples. He said, I have studied that passage for years. Never could figure it out. Finally I just thought, “If the creator of the world asks you for figs, you’d better have figs.”

A little later in Mark’s story (Chapter 13), Jesus tells his followers to stay awake, be aware of what’s going on around them, be aware of God’s movement in the world and their lives. I bet he was thinking something along the lines of “When I’m gone and you’re the leaders, you’d better have been cultivating figs–and you’d better have plenty. Because you’ll need them. And God’s asking.”

Got any figs?

Tags:Leadership, lifestyle, spirit
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