Intentional

I went to bed disappointed last night after my favored team, the Atlanta Falcons, allowed an NFL championship to slip from their grasp in the closing minutes of the game. I woke up this morning ready to take on the day without regard to who won or lost. It is a game and it is a game I love. But, I do not live or die by what happens on a football field. I did learn something about leadership, however.

The theme for the New England Patriots this year was “do your job.” The premise is to focus on your responsibility, do it with excellence, and see it through. Don’t be concerned about what others are supposed to be doing. “Do your job!” I have often stated that the greatest expertise lies in knowing how someone else should be doing their job. Whether it is a referee, a coach who makes a call we don’t agree with, a president, our boss, or a CEO, we have a tendency to mentally (and sometimes verbally) critique and pontificate on how they can do their job better. It is so easy to be an expert on someone else’s job when you have no personal responsibility or consequences for an opinion. Bill Belichick drove home to his team day in and day out to focus on their own job rather than the job or task that someone else has responsibility for.

The theme this past year that drove the Atlanta Falcons was “brotherhood.” The year started with four days of exercises that had little to do with football. Team building exercises were engaged in to bring the team members together on a personal level. The exercises and the time together engendered greater loyalty, personal connections, appreciation for teammates, and common purpose. Genuinely caring for team members or co-workers should compel team members to always give their best in the interest of the team.

These two strategies beg the question: As leaders, should we influence followers to focus on their assigned task or to expend greater energy on working together. The answer is “yes.” A skilled leader does both. You can rest assured that Coaches Quinn and Belichick promoted both levels of focus while highlighting a message for this particular season that his players needed to hear and apply. Both teams were served well and yours will be too. “Do your job” and “serve those around you (brotherhood)” and you will maximize your leadership!

I am now ready for the new season and my hope for my beloved Falcons springs eternal! Congratulations to both teams on excellent seasons.

I recently shared about how leaders seek to circumvent, minimize, and solve problems. The easiest problem to deal with is the one prevented before it even occurs. However, some crises come without warning or in spite of your best efforts to anticipate in advance. Effective leaders are problem solvers and I once read that you can judge one’s level of leadership by the size of the problems that he or she is tasked with addressing. They are effective because they recognize and utilize these three approaches to solving problems.

1. Brains. That’s right. They use their brains. Here is the good news. A high I.Q. is advantageous but there is more to solving real world problems in your organization than the ability to solve a Rubik’s Cube in a short amount of time. Good problem solving takes a combination of intellect, education, training, experience, creativity, patience, assertiveness, risk, and street smarts. I am reminded of the truck that got stuck under an overpass and after several hours, the engineers were getting to the point of suggesting a major deconstruction of the bridge. That is until an uneducated farmer observed the situation and suggested that they try deflating the tires on the truck upon which it was removed within the next ten minutes. An effective leader feeds his or her intellect through life-long learning by formal (degrees) and informal (avid readers) means as well as being a student of leadership and problem-solving.
2. Teamwork. Sometimes a problem needs more brain power than one person possesses. In addition, intelligence comes in more than one form. Everybody’s brain works a little different. Some people have mechanical intelligence, while others possess verbal intelligence, or musical ability, athletic or physical skills, logic skills, emotional intelligence, and on and on it goes. The combination is different for everyone. Once you mix in education and personal experiences, the blend is unique to each individual. That is why an effective leader will get the perspective and input of team members and trusted colleagues to find solutions. The bigger the problem the more likely the team is brought into the process. The collective I.Q., experience, and wisdom of a team will almost always exceed that of even the most gifted individual leader.
3. Humility. This is the quality that separates the good leader from the great leader. Superman is a cartoon character, not a real person. Sometimes you need the help of an expert from outside of your organization. One of the most humbling experiences of my life was my inability to effectively parent a strong-willed child when she was a teenager. I had to get help and admit to myself my own shortcomings in being effective at solving the problems created by her rebellious nature. It was by the grace of God and the guidance of a skilled counselor over the course of a year that we advanced and ultimately solved a series of issues that could have been catastrophic but instead became a source of ultimate blessing and strength. Leaders are strong by nature and don’t like to admit their shortcomings. However, they place the needs of their organization, their church, or their followers ahead of their ego and do whatever it takes to get the job done. That sometimes requires the partnership of an expert from outside their circle, their staff, their church, or their organization.

I will add, in conclusion, that the inability or unwillingness of some to seek outside input or guidance is the reason that many people never maximize their leadership. Use your brain, consult with your team, but don’t be afraid to get the objective perspective of other skilled leaders from outside of your organization when you tackle the bigger problems that you face.

Some leaders are blessed with “gravitas.” They can command a room or an audience by their very presence. People naturally turn to them and tune in to them whenever they are present. I admire their natural and God gifted abilities to influence others with charm, good people skills, compelling personality, and natural born leadership ability. What these type of leaders have cannot be bought and cannot be learned or developed. However, any leader, and you must not be a “natural born leader” in order to lead, can develop their own abilities and increase their ability to influence and motivate others. I’m still working on it and perhaps you are too. Therefore, here are some thoughts that I encourage you to apply as you consider what happens when a leader enters the room.

1. The leader is ordinarily on time. I say ordinarily because there are exceptions to everything. Sometimes there is a necessary meeting before the meeting or a unexpected urgent matter calls for their attention. If they have charge of the meeting you will notice that someone is there in their stead and everything is prepared so that once they arrive there is no further delay. The leader will offer an apology and explanation. However, their late arrival is the exception and not the rule. Why? Because a true leader can be counted on and that is modeled by arriving at the agreed upon time.
2. The leader greets everyone personally if possible. Again you will note the caveat of “if possible.” A gathering of six or eight people and a gathering of six hundred people are not the same. In the first instance, all in attendance will be personally engaged. In a larger setting the leader will seek to engage as many people as possible before and after the event.
3. The leader projects energy and optimism. He or she may not even feel like being there. He may be tired, frustrated, or fighting a cold, but will not tip his or her hand. This energy and optimism does not mean that he is not serious but as a leader, he is there to help find the way forward and confidently helps everyone present to know there are alternatives and hope for the future.
4. The leader is prepared. Preparation may mean providing an agenda, having pre-determined questions, having studied in advance to offer answers to questions or concerns, or preparing a message to deliver. While a leader learns to be extemporaneous, he or she is known for being well prepared.
5. The leader is focused on the people in the room and not electronic devices. I do not object to the possession or use of electronic devices in meetings but you will notice that leaders may use them as a tool but not as a distraction. Their focus is on the people inside the room rather than those outside of it for the duration of the gathering.
6. The leader leaves when they must but never appears to be in a hurry. People have schedules to keep and leaders are no exception. The leader will tend to linger when possible to continue personal interaction with those in attendance but sometimes has to move along to other obligations. He or she will make their way to the exit and though they may be in a hurry will avoid giving the appearance that they are anxious to depart.

I want to add one other note for the Christian leader. Let’s pray for one another for God’s anointing on our lives. My desire is that He would place on me a supernatural and spiritual drawing that makes my leadership, wisdom, and guidance fruitful and compelling to others, not for my own elevation, but that I might be used mightily of God for His Kingdom purposes. How about you?

I confess that I am much more skilled at breaking things than building things. When it comes to the work of a handyman, I can get the job done but I am slow and unskilled. However, I have learned how to apply an important element of the handyman’s work to my leadership. My dad used to remind me of an important principle when cutting wood when constructing or repairing anything. He would remind me before applying a saw to wood to measure twice so that I would only have to cut once. The point is to verify what you already know to be true in order to minimize making a mistake and having to cut again or to waste wood that was not measured correctly to start with.

I am blessed with some administrative gifts, but being far from perfect I have also learned to apply new skills to help in getting my work accomplished. I talk to myself and almost every day I remind myself to “measure twice and cut once.” As I work with an assistant, a fellow staff member, or an employee, I tell them that I would rather you ask the same question three or four times and get it right than to only ask once and let a detail go unnoticed. Understand that the nature of leadership correlates to increased numbers of details and responsibilities. Hopefully, you have a team and/or assistants to help with those details. Remind them and continually remind yourself to always measure twice (check it and double check it) and you will only have to cut once (the task will be done right).

I learned a new phrase recently that I have often repeated to myself from Coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots. He made a political endorsement that got members of the press in a frenzy. At his next press conference, a reporter ask him about the endorsement. About five or six times, as the question was being asked, he kept interrupting the question with this word: “Seattle….Seattle…Seattle.” The Seattle Seahawks were their next opponent. He was communicating that his focus was on the next game and not on political commentary.

I found myself recently distracted from a task and said out loud to myself….”Seattle….Seattle.” It was my way of refocusing. It may or may not make a difference to you but I find mental devices such as these helpful to keep me focused, attentive to details, and effective in my leadership. There are others. I have mine and you have yours. In any case you should be diligent in developing mental disciplines and exercises to maximize your leadership.

It’s 2-0. 2-2. 4-2. 6-2……..18-14.  “Would you shut up! Are you the scoreboard or what?” Ouch. I was about fourteen years of age playing in a pickup basketball game calling out the score every time a basket was made when that stinging rebuke came my way. I didn’t think much about it but I was always into details and statistics from early on as you can tell. I like to know where I stand. I hate playing a game where no one keeps the score. It is a waste of time in my opinion. I would rather get stomped in tennis than play and not keep the score. I think details are important.

As an example, I will drive past three gas stations to get to a Quik Trip. My reason? Always clean restrooms, a variety of selections, and quick friendly service. Occasionally I am on the road and stop by a random station with dirty restrooms. Yes, details do matter! Maybe some store owners or managers think a clean restroom is an unimportant detail. But I know that Quik Trip has made a few bucks off of me because they always attend to this important detail. That is what outstanding organizations do. They pay attention to the details. There are no little things to the outstanding organization. Everything matters and everything makes an impression. Everything you do compels your followers and/or customers to become more or less loyal. Pay attention. Don’t neglect the details. By the way. My team  won that pick-up game 24-20J

Adapted from Chapter Forty-Four of John G. Miller’s Outstanding; 47 Ways to Make Your Organization Exceptional

One year ago, Dr. Tom Crites and I were honored to launch the book, Why They Stay. I hope you are well acquainted with this work by now and I must say that we are delighted at how it has been impacting church leaders and parents alike. Just in case you are unacquainted, the book is based on a national research project of 26-39 year olds who grew up attending church. While much has been written about why young adults are leaving the church, Tom and I took a different approach by analyzing why those who grew up and have remained faithful into their adult lives have “stayed.”

The results of the groundbreaking research revealed 15 major issues that church leaders and parents can tap into that magnify the likelihood that their children will remain committed to church into their adult lives. If that is your heart’s desire, I trust that you have read the book or perhaps this has piqued your interest. For those who have read the book, you can help propel the impact of the findings in a couple of ways. Amazon reviews carry a large amount of influence and Tom and I would be very appreciative if you would take a few moments to personally post one. Larger numbers of reviews lead to larger numbers of readers and larger numbers of readers result in more changed lives. Thanks for taking time to do so.

We are also pleased to announce the release of an eight part video teaching series. It consists of eight- thirty minute teaching sessions along with downloadable leader and participant guides. The videos can be used as a ten week (including an introduction and celebration session) Bible study, or in a retreat setting, or a parent conference. Discussion questions are included. Many thanks to Hebron Baptist Church in Dacula, Georgia for embracing this project and funding the professional filming and editing. Did I mention it is free for churches to use? If your church has purchased copies of Why They Stay, you can stream all sessions and download the resources at no charge. This is a great value (about $299) and is our way of giving back and investing in more parents and church leaders in the coming year. Visit www.whytheystay.com to learn more and I hope your church will use these videos with parents and church leaders in the coming months.

For anyone willing to post a formal review on a blog or widely read publication, we would be honored to provide a complimentary copy of the book. Let us know if you or someone you respect would be interested. Researching and writing is one of the ways I seek to maximize my leadership. I hope you are encouraged as I pour into you each week with maximized leadership articles.

Specialist, Consultant, Vice-President, Executive, Doctor, Reverend, Professor, Captain, Chairman, Director…. Pretty impressive, huh? Not really. Having a title does not make one a leader and an effective leader does not get caught up in titles. We all know someone with an impressive title who has little influence and fails to be effective. Titles are not a bad thing and there is nothing wrong with having a title. However, John G. Miller reminds us that “in truly outstanding organizations, it’s not titles that matter, but how well we perform and serve.”

That is actually good news. You can be effective and make a difference from whatever seat in the organization that you are assigned. Perhaps you desire more authority, more “say so,” or more leverage. What can you do? You can serve others, add value to others, and enhance the effectiveness of others from any seat in the organization. Did you notice the pattern in the preceding sentence? Focus on helping others and not only will the organization be more effective, but you will be highly regarded. It is more important to be “highly regarded” by your peers and constituents than to have a title. This attitude is actually consistent with the greatest commandment. Do you recall? The short version; first love God with all your heart and secondly love (care for) your neighbor (co-workers and constituents) as you love (care for) yourself. You may not have the most impressive title or any formal authority, but you sure will make an impression. That is the way you maximize your leadership!

Adapted from Chapter Forty-Five of John G. Millers’ Outstanding; 47 Ways to Make Your Organization Exceptional

I hate to make mistakes and I make them all too often.  The good news is that you don’t have to be “mistake free” in order to be effective. You certainly don’t want to make the same mistakes over and over. Outstanding leaders seek to minimize their mistakes and any diligent organization should do likewise. The person who never admits that they have made mistakes commits perhaps an even more egregious error than committing a mistake in the first place.

Russ Gasdia was once ask what he considered to be the three characteristics of an effective leader. He replied, “Humility, humility, humility. Effective leaders know they make mistakes, accept feedback from others to learn, admit that they don’t always know what’s right, and recognize that it is ‘not all about them. When they succeed they are humble. When they fail, they are humble. And lastly, they never think they are more important than their customer.”

Confidence is commendable but I believe we can all agree that arrogance is contemptible. Always do your best and seek to minimize your mistakes. However, you may have noticed that some leaders get “a pass” when they make mistakes and perhaps you can too. Those who get through the errors and continue to thrive have these qualities in common:

1. They have established a pattern of excellence and effectiveness while big mistakes are the exception rather than the rule.
2. They have focused on building relationships and therefore people know their motives are pure even if the outcome sometimes falls short.
3. They tend to make long-term commitments and don’t quickly move from place to place.
4. They tend to exercise grace themselves when others make mistakes.
5. They are always purposefully progressing in their skills and leadership abilities.

 

Do not misunderstand the intent of this message. Egregious errors and moral failures, while they can be forgiven, will result in the forfeit of leadership opportunities. But effective leaders find a way to be strengthened by mistakes rather than crippled by them. Examine yourself in light of these five qualities and apply them to strengthen your leadership even amidst occasional mistakes.

*Paragraph 2 taken from chapter 2 of John G. Millers’ Outstanding!

Imagine that you are driving down a highway at about 60 miles per hour daydreaming and listening to your favorite radio station. Suddenly, and without warning, a ball rolls into your path with a small child following darts into the road. While you only have a split second to determine whether to apply the brakes and strike the child or to swerve around the child knowing that you will collide with some object and perhaps suffer some injury to yourself as well as damage to your vehicle, your instincts kick in. You calculate in a millisecond that the damage to the child is greater than the risk to your own life or property. The foremost thought in your mind was not the decision making process but rather the implications of your actions.

Organizational leadership, whether with a small team or a large business, puts you in the driver’s seat of frequent decision making. Occasionally you will be compelled to make immediate instinctual decisions but rarely will you find yourself having to make a split second decision like in the illustration above. When you have an hour, a day, a week, or a year to make a decision, you should take advantage of time. Effective leaders excel because they take the time to consider the implications and consequences of the decision to be made. I would also add that time allows the luxury of seeking the counsel of team members, staff, trusted advisers, experts, and sometimes your community to make the best possible decision. I learned a tool some years back that is very helpful in weighing implications before making a big decision and I wanted to share a simple version of it with you. You can do this exercise mentally in the course of an hour, spend a two day retreat with a staff combing through each element, or something in between. Do you have a big decision to make? Go through this process to make the wisest and best decision possible:

1. Make two lists. One list should contain all of the possible positive results that could come from this decision. The second list should contain all of the possible negative consequences that could result. There is no wrong number of items to include on either list but the larger the decision, the more comprehensive you should seek to be.
2. Take each item on the positive results list and rate each one on a scale of +1 to +5. Plus one means it will make a mild positive impact and a plus five means it will be a game-changer for your organization. Do likewise for the list of possible negative consequences on a scale of -1 to -5. A minus one means a mild negative impact will possibly occur and a minus five means that the consequence could severely damage your organization, customers, or community. You should also rate both list with 2’s, 3,s, and 4’s if the impact falls somewhere in between.
3. Take each item and determine the likelihood that the positive or negative result will occur. Use a scale of 1 – 5 with one being a mild possibility and five being that it is almost certain to occur. Use 2, 3, and 4 also if the likelihood falls somewhere in between. For positive results, make it +1 – +5 and for negative results use -1 to -5
4. Evaluate the implications based on steps one, two, and three. Adding up the scores is not the way to evaluate in this instance. Look at the severity of any potential negative consequences and the likelihood that they will occur. It may be that you have to move forward with the decision but the exercise will show you where work needs to be done in advance to prepare.  You may realize the decision needs to wait. It could be that you change your mind if you see that the likelihood of negative consequences are severe and the likelihood is high.

A couple of other quick notes: Be reminded that you can conduct this exercise formally or informally. You can do it mentally, on a piece of paper, or on a whiteboard or wall. The bigger the decision, the more formal and detailed you should be. Second: For the faith community, what about prayer? That element is not absent but should be obvious to spiritual leaders. You begin with prayer, you proceed with prayer, and you process with prayer all the way through. Ineffective leaders make bad decisions because they don’t weigh the implications. Maximize your leadership by thinking through all of the consequences and not just the immediate outcomes.