Leadership

"For a leader, communication is connection and inspiration – not just transmission of information." -- Gary Burnison, The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership Most of may remember the basic definition of communication we learned in school: you have a sender and a receiver and information flows between the two.  Communication has occurred if the transmission was successful. Along the way, we recognize the deficiencies in such a definition.  If the receiver doesn't understand what the sender has said, no matter how often he or she says it, communication has not occurred.  If the sender isn't listening, communication has not occurred.  And, according to Gary Burnison, if the transmission of information is the only goal, communication has not occurred. Good leaders understand that one role of communication is to forge a connection with the listener.  A good speech or conversation reinforces what the sender and receiver have in common.  Leaders (or preachers or teachers) use…

Tennis rackets have them.  So do baseball bats.  On any given swing, you know when you get it right ... and when you don't. I'm talking about the sweet spot -- that place on the racket or bat that produces the best result.  Hit it there and the ball takes off; miss by a few inches and you have a squibber (that's baseball talk for a weak hit). God has wired each of us with our own unique sweet spot.  It's a mix of gifts, abilities, talents, and experiences.  The sweet spot may show up on the job or in areas we love to volunteer in. When we're operating in our sweet spot, time either stands still or flies by.  Athletes call this being in the "zone."  Operating in our sweet spot energizes us and those around us.  When we're outside of our sweet spot, it drains us (and, if…

Over the past week, I've been reading two books from the Gallup Organization: "Now, Discover Your Strengths" and the more recent, "Strengths Finder 2.0".  The idea is simple: discover your strengths and build on those. Actually, it only sounds simple.  Much of what has been written in leadership development -- or even personal development -- has focused on how to improve in your areas of weakness.  Growth plans outline how to develop new skills or improve weaker ones. It's not all bad.  Some areas of weakness can be deadly if not improved upon.  Take the ability to listen.  If you're not a good listener, you had better learn how to hear what your spouse (or boss) is saying to you. However, what makes these two books different is the idea of focusing on your strengths.  It's our strengths that make us productive, creative, and energized.  While we don't ignore our…

We are a nation of consumers.  Where I went to college, a town of only 3,000 people, there were more restaurants than places to get your hair cut.  Surprisingly, no enterprising entrepreneur ever combined the two. We consume ... food, toys, gadgets, data, information, internet, news, entertainment ... in short, we consume everything. Just this morning, I consumed bacon, eggs, and coffee. The problem is not with consumption per se* but when we develop a consumer mentality.  What does a consumer mentality look like? It's when you ask, "What will you do for me?" before you ask, "What can I do for you?" It's when you would rather have your hand out than to offer a helping hand. It's when you process every decision through the filter of your own feelings instead of asking, "Is this the right thing to do?" When the consumer mentality shows up at work, it…

This past weekend at Mountainview was a "tithing challenge" weekend.  Depending on their situation, we challenged people to begin giving, to give ten percent, or to give more than ten percent. When it was time for communion, Mark Scott made this comment: "What if Jesus had only given ten percent?"  In other words, what if he had only healed ten percent of the people who came to him for help?  What if he had only taught one-tenth of what we have in the Gospels?  What if he had only shed ten percent of his blood? Thankfully, Jesus gave one hundred percent.  He gave it all.  He held back nothing. Which brings me to the number one. You have one life.  What will you do with it? You have one today.  How will you spend it? You have one opportunity to leave a legacy.  What will it be? In a casual round…