[SPEAK] K is for Keep Growing
Whenever I lead a session at our Summer Institute training shifts, I give the students who participate a chance to ask me questions about anything they want. Last summer, one young leader raised his hand and said, “Do you ever want to quit?” I laughed and responded, “Every Tuesday!” Another student leader replied, “Wow, what happens on Mondays?” There wasn’t anything actually bad about Mondays. It just seemed like about once a week, I would question things. Am I doing any good? Is it worth it? Is it worthwhile? Does that feel familiar to you? In this series we’ve explored the power of encouragement and the power of…
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…
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,…
