leadership
Sherbet, Speech, and Skills for Success
This story is an excerpt from my book Vital Signs: Five Essential Skills Every Student Needs for Success in Education and in Life. Enjoy! I remember my first time meeting Janai. The shy little girl was gripping her mother’s skirt, hiding behind her back as we chatted. She only peeked out to say a quick “Hi” when prompted. Then she was right back in her hiding spot. When I first announced that I was starting a public speaking class, Janai’s parents signed her right up — to their daughter’s horror. I coached the timid girl for a year, watching her grow and grow and grow as she learned the foundational…
The “Reply All” Faux Pas
One of my priceless colleagues is currently transitioning out of her leadership role in my organization. (Insert saddest emoji here.) She has been a true visionary for us, someone who has greatly influenced everything we currently do to serve our mission. So, naturally, I wanted to break the news of her transition in a thoughtful, well-planned way to the rest of our global organization’s leaders and community. She crafted a letter of transition, and my team and I began editing it to incorporate into the announcement. After much discussion, my Chief Influence Officer, Mary, sent it out to all our leaders. I saw it pop up in my inbox, missed…
How Should Christians Behave During a Pandemic?
In a time of global unrest and uncertainty, Christians everywhere are seeking wisdom on how to respond to a pandemic. We know there’s trouble in this world. As a community of Jesus-followers, we have this unique opportunity to model how we can be joyful in the face of such trying times. John writes it this way: be of good cheer. Why? Because we know the One who overcomes even the worst crises in this world (John 16:33). Hard times are to be expected. But how should we, as Christians, respond to mass sickness and uncertainty? In the 16th century, Protestant church father Martin Luther gave this answer on how he…
Extraordinary
I witnessed something extraordinary last night when, just a few hours before boarding Turkish Airlines for our international trip, my team of teenagers gathered for dinner in the home of one of our organization’s senior leaders. As we ate, we observed a tradition that has become one of our ICC culture’s defining moments for every team we commission: Prayer ‘n’ Share time. While we visit over dinner, each member shares something they are looking forward to and something they’d like prayer for. The sharing last night was so precious. Team members were both anxious and excited about the travel, foods, encountering new people, and cultural experiences. Then the extraordinary happened.…
If I’m Unhappy With The Way Things Are, Why Can’t I Change?
We join others – organizations, friend groups, and like-minded communities – for a shared vision. We want to make a difference in the world – or at least in ourselves. Why don’t our best intentions consistently result in the change we hope for? There’s a huge barrier to positive transformation – one that continually makes change hard. This looming barricade to our success is comprised of our own beliefs and assumptions. We want to influence positive change, but our beliefs and assumptions continually pull us back. And unless we make a change to them, we won’t stop being tugged away from that vision of a better future. And here’s the…
Multi-Generational Teams
Originally posted at the Christian Leadership Alliance Blog Shifting from Frustration to Momentum “Nobody wants that!” These words expressed the sentiment of just about every organizational leader at the end of our annual international convention. Senior leaders left frustrated and exhausted. Younger workers felt devalued and overlooked. I was annoyed… angry…hurt… numb. Did I cause this? How could I have worked against the very ministry I passionately toiled to advance? I replayed their painful words of misunderstanding for days. The next week our ministry got intentional about creating multi-generational teams. I devoted myself to designing a culture fueled by multi generational leadership. I studied multi generational teams inside and outside of…
Becoming Transformers
In the 1980s, the Japanese playmaker Takara launched a series of toys called the Transformers. Shortly after that, the Transformers film series was released, generating a global sensation and taking us on a journey through an out-of-this-world story. You might know the story. There is war in another galaxy far, far away between the Opticons and the Decepticons. (Not too hard to figure out who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, is it?) They bring their war to planet Earth. To continue the warring, they need to inhabit other bodies, so they take the forms of vehicles. They become working cars and fire engines and helicopters.…
How Can Everyone Be A Leader?
As I prepare for a new season of equipping more leaders… I’ve been thinking about the approach to leadership of Ignatius Loyola and his followers the Jesuits. Former Jesuit seminarian turned successful investment banker, Chris Lowney, discusses leadership and followership in Heroic Leadership, a study of the 450-year old Jesuit institution whose practices, he asserts, are as relevant today as they were in Ignatius Loyola’s day. In the Jesuit tradition, leadership is defined “not by the scale of opportunity but by the quality of the response.” A similar definition is used by the Christian Leadership Alliance: “Leadership is a process of influence. Any time you seek to influence the thinking,…
