Leadership

In ministry we talk in terms of a "calling."  A person may be called to youth ministry or working with the poor.  A calling is a divine placement upon a person's life.  It's passion and purpose wrapped up in one. Here's another way of thinking about it: people who are living and functioning out of a sense of calling are following their compass and not watching a clock.

In their new book, The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work, authors Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer talk about what motivates employees.  In a Harvard Business School article, Carmen Nobel uses their book to talk about small wins versus major breakthroughs: But fortunately, seemingly minor victories turned out to be nearly as effective as major breakthroughs when it came to enhancing employees' inner work lives and, therefore, inducing their passion and creativity. The book refers to these as "small wins." "We found that 28 percent of small events of all kinds had a major impact on inner work life," Amabile says. "This is good news! Big breakthroughs at work are really rare. But small wins are something people can experience pretty regularly if the work is chunked down to manageable pieces. This suggests that you really do have to sweat the small…

Of all the sessions at the 2011 Willow Creek Leadership Summit, the one by John Dickinson may have been my favorite.  An Australian, which gives him an automatic advantage due to a cool accent, Dickinson spoke powerfully on the topic of humility. First take home: humility makes the great greater. Here are the five reasons he shared as to why we should cultivate humility. Humility is common sense.  In short, none of us is an expert on everything.  Leaders have to fight the temptation to believe that expertise in one area automatically transfers to another area. Humility is beautiful.  We are more attracted to the great who are humble than those who are great and know it. Humility is generative.  Humility generates new knowledge, new abilities.  A humble person is willing to learn; the proud already know it. Humility is persuasive.  The most believable person in the world is the…

Dr. Henry Cloud spoke at the Summit about three kinds of people in this world: the wise, the foolish, and the evil.  While a little (or lot) of each exists in each of us, some make a career out of it. The key question is: what do you do when presented with the light of truth? The wise are thankful for the light.  The light helps them improve.  The light points out weak spots.  When you confront a wise person, they are likely to say, "Thank you." The foolish try to adjust the light.  They adjust the truth.  Or put this way: the fool tries to change the truth rather than change themselves.  My favorite line?  When feedback is given and the first reflex is to find an excuse -- that person is squinting into the light. The evil?  Some people simply have destruction in their hearts and want to…