If you are a leader who believes in coaching, here are three quick tips to help you add value to the people you lead: Be Consistent. A good coach -- in baseball or in life -- knows that it takes multiple practices to master even the most basic skills. Even then, the skills must be taught in a consistent manner. A good coach values consistency and sticks to it. Make Relationships a Priority. We listen to those that we have relationships with. If the person being coached senses that you don't care about their needs, hopes, or dreams -- that it's only about your needs, hopes, and dreams -- then the relationship will break down. Ask Good Questions. When it comes to helping an employee master a new set of skills or walking your child through a difficult conflict, ask good questions. Help them clarify what is really happening. A…
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After being snowed out a few times, we finally had a softball tournament this past weekend. Hope played down in Castle Rock and did a great job. Here's a snapshot of an at-bat.
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It hit me about midway through our three Easter services that this morning was only the second time in 19 years I haven't preached on Easter. The only other time was in the months leading up to the grand opening of our church plant in San Diego -- when we didn't have any Sunday morning services. Truth be told, it felt a bit weird to not be preaching. I've always enjoyed the Easter crowd because it is so diverse in nature ... a challenge I find energizing and engaging. Plus, Easter lends itself to great themes which are fun to speak about: hope, redemption, transformation, and more. I'm learning to appreciate the different "angles" of worship. This morning, my view was from the side.
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Warning: a techie tip is about to follow. For the non-geeks in the crowd, feel free to play Solitaire for a few minutes. Actually ... even the non-geeks will appreciate this. Have you ever needed to edit a photo or image and not have Photoshop installed on your computer? It happens to me on my work laptop on a regular basis (I have Adobe C3 installed at home). Pixlr is a free online image editor that looks pretty slick. I took it for a test drive this afternoon and it will do two-thirds of what most people need to do (and maybe more). Check it out!
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"My experience suggests that excellent execution of simple ideas will yield better results than great ideas executed poorly." -- Tanmay Vora
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