Leadership

It sounds silly, but a healthy team is more than one person acting alone. That is called an individual action, not a team effort. As we are exploring what makes for a healthy team, I believe one of the most important commitments we can make is this: We are committed to helping each other succeed, because our individual effectiveness is directly related to our overall effectiveness. Teams are comprised of individuals with a variety of skills, abilities, and backgrounds. But this alone does not guarantee a high-performing, healthy team. That requires individuals to function like ... are you ready ... a team! Think about professional sports. Imagine an athlete that is only concerned about individual achievements or records. Every move is based on what will allow them to accomplish more. They decide not to do things that are outside their self-interest. If the athlete is a golfer, bowler, or singles…

Why do teams stacked with superstars fail to win championships? Whether it's business or sports, high-performing teams rely on more than just natural talent alone. Having been in various positions of senior leadership for nearly 30 years, I have noticed that the healthiest teams share certain commitments. It is the strength and keeping of these commitments that often make the difference. Here are the five commitments I believe are crucial to building an effective team: We are committed to building trust into our interpersonal and team relationships. We are committed to helping each other succeed, because our individual effectiveness is directly related to our overall effectiveness. We are committed to being teachable and to take personal responsibility for our own leadership growth. We are committed to the principles of self-care. We are committed to living on the solution side of every issue. We are committed to building trust into our…

I love living in the 21st Century. Because of the internet, we have access to more information -- and coffee beans -- than ever before! With a few clicks or a voice command, I can search the haystack and find the needle. As access to information has increased, so has the amount of information itself. Granted, not all information is equal and you'll wade through a lot of discarded junk to find the right needle. Even still, what a tremendous blessing to have so much information at our fingertips. While we have blogs, news sites, tweets, updates, and Instagram stories, I remain a big fan of plain, old-fashioned books. Whether they are on a screen or paper (though you should look into the benefits of reading paper books - just Google it!), books are the best way to grapple with tough issues, develop deep thinking skills, and become better equipped…

When your day is long And the night The night is yours alone When you're sure you've had enough Of this life Well hang on Don't let yourself go 'Cause everybody cries And everybody hurts sometimes -- REM, "Everybody Hurts" It's true, everybody hurts at some point in life. Live long enough and you will experience your share of minor scrapes, twisted ankles, broken relationships, panic attacks, and unfulfilled dreams. As we start 2020 and close out not only a year but also a decade, I've been drawn to a rather strange story in the Hebrew scriptures. It involves two brothers (Jacob and Esau) who are grandsons of the great Jewish patriarch, Abraham. These two brothers have quite a history. In Jewish culture, the firstborn son inherits the leadership and influence of his father, as well as an increase in inheritance. This is called the birthright. Esau is the oldest…

Today is January 1, 2020. As I type, the new year and decade (depending on how you reckon a decade) is approximately nine hours old. I've been awake for about four of those hours. Reflecting on the last ten years, I'm amazed at how much has changed and what remains the same. Along the way, we encountered a few challenges and have been reminded of some very important truths. The changes ... We spent our first full year in Denver, having relocated from San Diego and a church we helped start. Both of our girls graduated high school. Our oldest daughter, Hannah, just graduated from Bethel University. Our youngest daughter, Hope, is a sophomore at the University of Northern Colorado. Tonya has been teaching at Southeast Christian School for nearly seven years. We bought a house. We bought both girls their first cars. Parts of our family traveled to places…