Tag: Communication

Here are four downsides to every message, announcement, meeting, or event being the most important one in human history, ever.

The most important leadership characteristic is credibility. Here are five common ways leaders lose their credibility.

I can still recall walking out of the leadership meeting, feeling deflated and invisible.  They just don’t get me, and what I’m trying to do,...

The late, great Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty) was once asked why so many people like his novels. He answered, “I leave out the parts...

I’m a dad. I’m also a son. And it occurred to me recently that there are certain things that kids need from their dad. In fact, as I pondered the whole idea of fatherhood, I recall several examples in the Bible of “dad gifts” that were passed on to children. I think any dad would benefit from considering these, and, if you didn’t get these from your dad, there’s a pleasant surprise for you at the end of this article.

The coaching approach listens and asks for understanding through open questions first, rather than sharing opinions and making judgments. It can be useful for all kinds of issues and in all kinds of relationships, including marriage and family, not just ministry or with our staff.

Although we may be highly motivated by a unique calling to serve, we often face numerous barriers along the path towards more effective leadership. Brittney shares a few of the potential hindrances that she has faced in her own time as a servant leader.

When close friends and colleagues approach us with problems, it may be difficult not to offer solutions immediately. In a position of leadership, we often believe that is the best way we can help. Ahadu shares an experience where a counterintuitive strategy of prayerful counseling produced fruitful results.

Communication is worth the investment and is very powerful. We can recall when our communication mattered, such as ordering a meal and enjoying it when it is placed on our table, when a family member humbly asked for forgiveness, or when a colleague offered much needed help. This is one of the great questions about human communication: Why do we believe that our communication can make a positive difference?

Humans make dumb mistakes. With more than 33 years in ministry, Charles has committed his share of dumb mistakes, as have we all, without ill will or an evil heart. Even so, these mistakes are … well, just dumb.

Everybody faces conflict. Wise leaders, however, know how to manage conflict when it comes. Four good questions arise from Acts 15 for how to face conflict.

As a leader, having routine conversations to collect feedback about what you can do to become a better leader can be uncomfortable at times – at least when the person you’re seeking feedback from is either your boss or peer.

If your team really hasn’t embraced an idea as their own, they aren’t prepared to put in the long hours and sacrifice it takes. You have to slow down to bring them with you, and perhaps let them shape the vision too.

What should you communicate to your leader, to your boss? What needs to be shared with your leader to help him/her understand the area you are leading and stewarding? Here are three things you should communicate to your leader.

Unfortunately, leaders can talk too much, not necessarily by monopolizing conversations, but by giving too many answers. So, how do you know if you are a leader who talks too much and what can we do to stop?

Here are five types of questions that have helped me to improve my emotional connectivity with people.

In some ways, dating has misled us men on this point. Courtship conversations were romantic, spontaneous, exciting, and everything you said was interesting to her. You just knew she was the right girl because she made you feel so “listened to.” Marriage inevitably changes the relationship dynamic, and it is wise to adapt to a different communication strategy based on listening.

I had an eight-year head start since I was counting the quality of our marriage from the first day we met, which she didn’t even remember. Apparently, buried somewhere in my psyche, was the expectation that she hadn’t caught up yet. No wonder the poor woman couldn’t get a break.

Hmm … what began as a demo had developed into a significant marriage moment with a little bit of embarrassment. The “expert” coach-trainer was being asked in front of the class to improve his listening. The observers were quiet. They realized that this was sacred territory.

Bats and owls have the best hearing in the animal kingdom. They can hear, but if they are not listening and paying attention they will go to bed without their dinner. Listening is deciding that the other person is important, and what that important person is saying is more important than what you are doing. Listening, coupled with periods of reflection, is essential to the growth and well-being of the servant-leader as well as the organization.