Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Focus On The Younger

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As a leader, where is your focus? I have stated before that I believe everyone is a leader, because leadership is influence, and everyone has influence. How we use (or ignore) that influence determines your leadership effectiveness.
Most of us as leaders desire for the task to get accomplished, the desired outcome to be achieved, the organization to grow and move forward.

But there is a very important dimension of leadership that is sometimes overlooked as we go about leading: The development of Young Leaders.


Leading Young Leaders is difficult, time-consuming, and often frustrating. But, I believe it is one of the (if not THE) most important aspects of leadership.


One of the basic tenants of leadership is to work ourselves out of a job. To do that effectively, we must be mentoring others to replace us. And that's where investing in Younger and inexperienced Leaders becomes important.


Here are some simple suggestions for focusing on the Younger Leaders:

  • Spend time with Young Leaders. They need our counsel, input, direction, and mentoring. That can't be done effectively unless we spend time with them.
  • Teach Young Leaders. Simply directing them only makes them minions. They need our expertise to be shared with them.
  • Take Young Leaders with you. Allow them to see us in multiple leadership situations. Allow the down time (riding in the car, etc.) to be opportunities for influence.
  • Delegate to Young Leaders. Don't simply give tasks to do, but give them the responsibility and ownership of what you are delegating.
  • Allow Young Leaders to make mistakes. Don't chastise or immediately correct. Use times like this to be a learning experience. Allow them to suggest how to do things better.
Although this list is not exhaustive, it can serve as a starting point for focusing on Younger Leaders. Question: What are some effective strategies you use to focus on Younger Leaders?

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Tuesday, July 19, 2016

I Lost My Glasses!

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A while back, when I opened my backpack and took out my glasses case, it was empty. I had lost my glasses. I expected them to be in my glasses case. But they weren’t there.
I didn't panic. I am a planner, a big picture visionary, and an adapter. One of my Clifton Strengthsfinder Themes is Strategic: ...creating alternative ways to proceed.

As a result, I have planned ahead and I keep an extra pair of drugstore reading glasses in my desk just for situations like this.

Also being strategic, I was also able to quickly back-track my movements, and remembered the last time I wore them: Sitting on a friend’s couch while we swapped technology ideas. I am sure I left them on his couch.

So no worries, all is good. I was able to make it through the day, and I retrieved my glasses that evening.

Allow me to use “losing my glasses” as a metaphor for when things don’t go the way we planned. We have expectations from others, but they let us down. We chose a driving route but the road is closed. We expect pizza, but we get served soup.

How do we react when we "lose our glasses" and don't have a back-up plan? (No internet connection, floor monitor on the wrong side, slightly-off color paint, blue pen instead of black... You get the picture.)

Do we fuss, fret, and become hard to be around? Or do we adapt, and make the best of what we have?

Life is full of “losing our glasses”. In fact, most of us go through every day and “lose our glasses” in one form or another.

As for me, I adapted to my contingent drugstore reading glasses. My colleagues in the office asked me when I started wearing glasses (go figure). The lenses are too strong and I got a slight headache. And, they look really tacky. But hey, they worked!

Question: How do you adapt when you "lose your glasses"? Share your thoughts below in responses.

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Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Facebook Rules!

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Facebook. A phenomenon that cannot be ignored. According to Statista (a statistics portal), there were almost 1.7 billion active (logged-in) users worldwide last month. There are 222 million active Facebook users in the USA alone. Those numbers are hard to ignore.
I have a Facebook profile. Yes, I look at Facebook daily (but not the first thing I do in the morning). I also post a few status updates each week, and interact with others's posts.

Sometimes people ask me about my Facebook page, and how I use and manage it. Here are some of my tips and personal guidelines:
  • Facebook is one of the tools that I use for influence. I am a leader (as all of us are, because we all have influence), and I use the Facebook as one of my vehicles for influence.
  • I do not use Facebook as a personal soapbox. The people whom I am Facebook friends with are too important to waste personal, trivial words on.
  • I will only become friends with someone I personally know. Traveling internationally puts me in contact with many people, and I get regular (daily) friend requests. Again, for me Facebook is a tool for influence, and I am very careful with who I seek to influence. Relationships override number of friends.
  • I am slow to copy or re-post other's status or links. I seek to share original thoughts, not just pass on someone else's.  When I do share or re-post, I always seek to verify facts. Just today I saw that Miley Cyrus said she was moving to Dalton, GA (very near to where I live) to escape the "LA Lifestyle". I was not planning on re-posting, but I was curious. I did a bit of research and found that over the last few months she had "said" the same thing about moving to Longview, TX, Monroe, LA, and Plantation, FL. No credibility: Bogus information.
  • I do not use Facebook for public criticism. I know I will get some criticism for this, but public criticism is gossip. Period. If I go to a restaurant and the food is not up to par, should I post it? If I went to a friend's house and the food is not up to par, I wouldn't post that. What if the service is bad? Do I post about the terrible service? Maybe I should seek to find out if the server is experiencing personal issues that are affecting their work, and pray for them. Don't like a politician? Pray for them, or post my dissatisfaction? Again, I seek to be careful to not use Facebook as a forum for gossip.
  • I do not use Facebook as a gripe platform. When I am stuck in traffic, I assume God wants me use the time to seek Him. When I can't sleep (even on nights before a "big" day), I assume God wants to speak to me. Storm making noise? Pray for the people who weather storms with no roof. Having to wait in line? Begin a conversation with the person next to you and share Christ (rather than gripe to them). The bottom line for me: Griping makes what I have to say revolve around me. I hope I don't believe that the world revolves around me.
I use Facebook to encourage, challenge, and motivate others. I believe that we ought to demonstrate godly principles and share our Christian beliefs all of the time, including what we post on Facebook.  I am not talking about copying and pasting an "I am a Christian..." status, but to ask the Lord to give us creativity to use the tool of Facebook to help others to be better.

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Tuesday, July 05, 2016

Great Expectations

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What are you expecting? Did you know that what you expect will usually come to pass? I am not talking about rubbing a genie lamp, but rather I'm referring to our attitude toward what we expect.

When I was a Jr. and Sr. high student, I thought it made me funny to tell my friends, "I always expect a bad grade on a test, because when it's bad I'm not disappointed, and when it's good I'm surprised.”

It might have sounded humorous, but it was terrible reasoning for a high-achiever (which I was, and hopefully still am).

Here's the bottom line: People who expect bad things to happen usually experience bad things happening. Why is that? Mainly it is because people who expect bad things to happen tend to have a limited, negative, and pessimistic view of life.

Living with that attitude causes them to not try, not attempt, and to take the easy way. The result: Not a lot of good happens in their lives.

But the people who choose to expect the best usually receive it. Why is that? These people are positive, confident, and hopeful.


Living with this attitude causes them to expect the best, work toward the best, and take the difficult yet productive road. The result: Good things happening!

There is a spiritual dimension in this also. Isaiah 64:3 says, …for You did awesome things beyond our highest expectations… Ephesians 3:20 says, Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

God wants us to exceed our highest expectations. He desires to make us more effective in our job, our relationships, and our ministries. A lot of the time we are looking at the news, the economy, or our FaceBook feed, and what we see is pretty depressing. But, if we'll look to Him and His Word, we'll see goodness, hope, and life.

If you expect the worst, you probably won't be disappointed. But, if you will expect to see God's goodness and favor, you will also not be disappointed!

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