The process of change

Since my last post, I’ve been experiencing more and more change in my life.  Not the least of which is the hiring of a professional fitness coach at the gym.  OUCH!  I thought I was in better shape than this.  I almost blacked out!  Let me confirm to you right now that change can be painful – but worthwhile.

I know some people around me get tired of hearing me talk about my weight-loss journey, but it has become a metaphor to me.  I have learned so much about myself through this process.  Not just things about nutrition and my bad habits, but also how I react to the need for change in my life.  That is important, because if I am going to be able to lead others through change, and if I am going to be able to lead an organization through needed change – then I am going to have to be willing AND ABLE to accept the need for change in my own life and do something about it.

Leadership is not about learning a set of tools to manipulate people.  It is about learning how to lead yourself first.  I’ll write about emotional intelligence next time; but, according to Daniel Goleman, the first component of an emotionally intelligent leader is self-awareness, followed by self-management.

So here is the challenge for you, the reader.  What changes are necessary in your life?  As parents, organizational leaders, teachers, or whatever role you fill – are you asking those in your charge to make changes you aren’t willing to make?  Do you have a “do as I say, not as I do” attitude?  If so, that will only take you so far.  You must be willing to face the need for change in your own life.  You never “arrive.”  You must always be growing.

In a wonderful book called Talent Is Never Enough, author John Maxwell writes about the process of facing truth about ourselves.  It can be difficult to do, but it is most definitely necessary.  Here is how he describes it:

• The issue: Often it is something we do not want to hear about.
• The temptation: We want to ignore it, rationalize it, spin it, or package it.
• The decision: To grow, we must face the truth and make personal changes.
• The challenge: Change is not easy; our decision to change will be tested daily.
• The response: Others will be slow to acknowledge it; they will wait to see if our behavior changes.
• The respect: Respect is always gained on difficult ground, and it comes from others only when our behavior and words match.  (John Maxwell, Talent is Never Enough, Nashville, Thomas Nelson, p. 152)

So here is my question:  do you have the courage it takes to make the change in your life?  As a Christian I am convinced that we have the resources from God to do what is necessary to enable us to come into our destiny.  But we still have to do our part.  What issues might you be ignoring in your life?  What response is necessary?  What are you willing to do?

One last thought.  I hired a trainer because I realized I could only go so far by myself.  Change will never happen in a vacuum.  You need a trusted other to give you support, encouragement, and accountability.  That may be a pastor, a mature friend, or even a life coach.  Whoever it is and whatever investment is necessary – the results will be worth it.  Food for thought.

BW

 

Transformational Leadership – The Power of a Changed Life

I am sitting in the corner of a room full of women at the Hot Springs, Arkansas Convention Center. The event is called EMerge and is sponsored by EMWomen. This organization is founded by Larry and Staci Wallace whose purpose in life is to empower people to fulfill their destiny.

Here’s the thing about EMerge – it is not a church service. No worship music. No preaching. No prayer – not public anyway. Very much prayer has been offered privately – I know this for a fact. As a matter of fact I was praying for Larry and Staci this very morning myself.

What I am hearing as I sit here is story after story of people who overcame obstacles that could have stopped them from living their lives to the fullest. At the same time I see people in the audience that are looking for hope and answers to the very real problems they are facing. And they are finding that hope listening to these speakers tell their stories.

A couple of things I want to say. First of all, from a leadership perspective we need to understand that telling people what to do doesn’t have a very powerful transformative effect on their lives. But your life story can. Seeing true change and empowerment in the life of a leader can cause people to rise to the challenge of taking responsibility for their lives. For those of you that know me, you know that I have been on a personal journey to health through healthy eating and exercise. Fifty five pounds so far and fifty more to go! I feel better than ever, but there’s more to it than the effect it has on me. As a Christian leader I am in the change business. How can I tell people they can kick a drug habit if I can’t kick a fast food habit? The truth is – I can’t. But as I take responsibility for my own life, I can empower others to do the same.

Secondly from a Christian perspective, I want to make a couple of comments. We need to quit perpetuating a mentality that says we do not have power over our own life. I believe God is sovereign, but in His sovereignty He has chosen to give us the tools and the knowledge to make good decisions and fulfill our God-given purpose. In Christ, everything has been accomplished to redeem our lives. He has given us the power to live life to the fullest. The choice is yours and nobody else has the power to take that away from you. No excuses!

Finally, a word on evangelism. In my opinion, the day of “cold-call evangelism” going from door to door talking to total strangers is over. Not to say that it accomplishes nothing. Just to say we are going to have to be more strategic. People are buying books, watching TV shows, following self-help gurus, and hiring life coaches to show them how to get more out of life. Friend, there is no better life than that of a true Christ-follower. So let’s live that life ourselves first, then as we walk in spiritual health, emotional health, physical health, and financial health we will draw people to us. In turn we can lead them to follow the One greatest “life coach” that ever lived – Jesus Christ. The only One that can teach us how to live this life AND the life to come.

So I offer my appreciation, support, and congratulations to Larry and Staci Wallace. Without a doubt, lives will be changed for all eternity as a result of their efforts.

Until next time, keep moving forward!

 

Live with the end in mind

I am preparing my sermon for this weekend and thinking about life.  I have been doing that a lot lately.  Trying to take life lessons and distill them down to maybe somehow help someone else.  Today I am thinking about living with the end in mind.  Let me explain.

I know it is important to be “present” in the moment, but we can be so present that we fail to look to the future.  Here is a question I just sent out over Twitter – “If you continue living the way you are right now, what will your life be like in 10 years?”  Think about it.  I’ll give you a minute.  While you’re thinking I’ll be working on some other stuff….

…….

…….

……

Well, have you really thought about it?  Let’s get into particulars.  If you keep managing your money the way you are managing it now, what will be your financial picture in 10 years (or 1 for that matter!)  How abou this one – if you keep taking care of your physical body (nutrition, rest, exercise) the way you are right now, what will you look/feel like in 10 years?  Scary, huh?

How about this?  If your relationship with the Lord continues as it is right now, how much more like Him will you be in 10 years?  That is the most important question, because it really affects the other two and everything else.  Our physical, spiritual, and emotional health rests squarely on a relationship with Jesus Christ.  And there is no sitting still on this issue – either you are moving forward or you are moving backward.  Which is it for you?

I challenge you to take the time to visualize your life 10 years from now.  And while you are at it, as morbid as it sounds, visualize what it will be like when you know you are out of time on this Earth.  What will you celebrate?  What will you regret.

Until next time….

 

Hope in the Unknown

As you can see from my picture I am currently stuck in traffic. We have a long trip ahead of us and it is somewhat frustrating. But I have been thinking since I have been sitting here (Lord knows I have the time….). I’m thinking about the hope we find in the unknown future. Let me explain.

I have no idea how long the traffic jam is ahead of me. But in a strange way that fact is comforting. I keep thinking “it will clear up just ahead.” Even when it doesn’t right away I’m still okay becausw I know emergency vehicles are deployed and people are doing their jobs. I have faith in them. That hope keeps me sane on a moment by moment basis. It helps me keep my attitude in check.

The same thing is true about our lives and the organizations we lead, even our families. Sometimes things happen and the timetable for our dreams is not what we hoped it would be. This could be because of other people, the current economic environment, or sometimes it is the result of a character trait within us that still needs to be developed. Regardless of the cause, we can rest assured that the Lord has swung into action because He had already prepared for it ahead of time.

If you are dreaming God’s dreams for your life, don’t let the “traffic jams” upset you. Have faith because God is working and your breakthrough moment could be just around the next curve!

Keep moving forward . . .

 

The iPhone and Steve Jobs

First of all, I want to apologize to all of you who absolutely don’t care about the iPhone.  I confess that I lined up this morning amidst the mindless masses who march to the beat of Steve Jobs’ drum.  I went to buy the iPhone 3g.  I did it because we were about to buy Pam a smartphone anyway, so why not just give her my current iPhone and let me get the new one?  (I’m so generous.)

So I bought the phone and the first sign of trouble was when they couldn’t activate it in the AT&T store.  So I was told to go home and activate on my computer.  Fine.  I get home, and I can’t do it.  All of Apple’s activation servers are down (globally) and I am stuck with two dead iPhones.  They were about as useful as coasters.  Frustrating.

I won’t bore you with all the gory technical details, but suffice it to say that several hours later I finally am up and running with my new phone.  Apparently, the problem was that Apple decided to release critical software updates and launch a new phone on the same day at the same time and their computers just couldn’t handle the load.  Bad show, Apple.  But at least they got it fixed.

I’m sure that we will know more about the Apple debacle later on, but
it sure seems that they weren’t prepared for the crowds.  They hyped
the iPhone and wanted everyone to get it, but when everyone responded -
Apple wasn’t ready.

So what does this experience have to do with leadership?  I kind of relate it to another experience I had a few years ago as a pastor.  My first Easter Sunday at River of Life we had a record attendance of 181 people.  I remember thinking – “this is it!  They’re here!”  The next Sunday – back to 110.  Then it hit me – what would we have done with them if they stayed?  We say that we expect peope to come into the church and we are looking for multiplication – but what will we do with it when it comes?

That’s from the standpoint of a pastor.  But the lesson is applicable in other spheres as well.  If you have a sense of destiny in your life about something, what are you doing to prepare for it?  Are you going to be ready for it when it happens or are you going to be scrambling on that day?  Have you gotten the education/training you need?  Do you have the resources you will need ready to go?  Have you prepared your family, your schedule, your finances, etc?

As a Christian, I believe that God has created a world that rewards people who live in faith.  It is an act of faith to set goals, but it is an activation of faith to take steps to prepare to reach those goals.

 

More Life Lessons from My Dog

Okay, I thought about this when I was in the middle of my sermon this morning at church.  Literally, it hit me while I was talking.  It is another insight gained from my dog, Midnight (see picture in previous post).  We utilize a dog crate with Midnight to kind of help manage her activities at times when it is necessary – hotels, etc.  She has gotten accustomed to being in it, and doesn’t seem to mind because she can still see everything around her (it is a wire crate).  The other day, I put Midnight in her crate, but I didn’t lock the door.  I just pushed it shut and didn’t utilize the latch mechanism.  You want to guess what Midnight did?  Absolutely nothing.  That’s right.  She just sat there when all she would’ve had to do was push on the door with a paw and she would be free! 

I thought this morning how much that is like us.  First of all, as American citizens.  We are blessed to enjoy the freedoms that have been bought and paid for by the sacrifice of men and women on the field of battle, as well as our founding fathers who risked their lives to sign the Declaration of Independence.  Sadly, though, people so often either abuse their freedom or they ignore it’s benefits.  People want to gripe and complain about life and how bad things are for them, when the whole time they are free to be and do more than they are currently being and doing!  They are just like Midnight, sitting trapped in an unlocked crate, not even trying to break out and really live! 

Secondly, as a Christian leader, I can’t ignore the implications for our faith.  We have been made free because of the sacrifice of Christ.  We are free to be and do everything that God has created us to be and do.  We can be free from our addictions, negative habits, relational issues, and all our other hang-ups by the power of God’s Holy Spirit at work in our lives through faith in Christ.  But so many Christians are not living up to what they could become because they can’t accept their freedom.  They are sitting as prisoners in an unlocked cage.

I challenge you to push on the door of your cage.  Start exploring the space in your life.  Exercise your freedom and become everything you can be.  Then begin empowering others to do the same.  As you lead your family or organization, live a lifestyle of freedom and abundance.

 

Lessons From My Dog

So today I am thinking about dogs. I came out to pick up my son from youth camp today and saw all these country dogs running around. I got to thinking about my dog. I’ve included a picture of Midnight the Wonder Dog for your enjoyment….

We have had Midnight since Christmas and it has fallen to me to train her. And I have learned some things about leadership in the process.

You see, Midnight just wants to make us happy. When I was trying to house train her, it didn’t do any good to yell at her when she messed up. What did work for us was taking the time to facilitate her success by taking her outside and encouraging her to do what she needed to do. When she figured out what we were asking of her, she was happy to cooperate!

So maybe I’m crazy but the thing that is on my mind today is the whole issue of reinforcement. Whether it is in the realm of parenting or leading a major organization, we deal with the issue of encouragement and motivation. Too often we don’t say anything to our kids or our staff/team until they do something wrong. How much better would it be if we could be an encourager instead and recognize them when they do things well. Then when we do have to correct them, the relational capital is already invested and they are much more likely to respond positively.

So remember me and Midnight. Take the time today to recognize when those you lead do something well. Find a way to be an encourager and see if the atmosphere doesn’t change for the better!

Peace!

 

Starting something new

Well, this is an old/new thing for me.  I have written blog posts on social networking sites before, and even on our church website.  But those felt more like a "lesson" than a blog.  I’ve been thinking a lot lately about leadership development and I’ve come to some conclusions. 

First of all, regular classroom instruction can only go so far in teaching and forming us.  As a student, I find that there are certain professors whose teaching I really enjoy.  But it is never enough to sit in a classroom with them.  I want to get to know them.  Find out how they handle situations that arise in their lives.  I want to "do life" with them.  The same is true of certain mentors that have been in my life.  Reading a book or going to a seminar/conference is never enough.

That leads me to my second point.  Life is a learning lab.  Everyday, we encounter situations that teach us something.  What is sad is that so often those things are overlooked because we just take them for granted.  Or maybe we have no one to share them with.  Or maybe we are afraid of being too authentic. I’m talking about things like a walk on the beach, a powerful conversation, playtime with your kids, etc.  I’m talking about life.  Not special events – just life.  We need to be more intentional about capturing these moments and sharing them in community.  Allow our friends and those we lead to benefit from those experiences. 

So that is why this blog is called "Leadership on the Go."  "Leadership" – because I believe leaders are not just born, but are made.  "On the go" because the lessons and thoughts conveyed here are going to be the result of my observations about my life experiences combined with anyone else’s comments on the same or similar experiences.  Let’s have community.  Let’s grow together.  The world is crying out for great leaders, so it’s time to rise up and be counted!