Tag: Leadership

People assume the surfer is in control, and he does control his body and the board, but clearly the ocean is in charge; the ocean can do what it wants with the surfer. The same is true in leadership. Most leaders live in a fascinating dilemma. Others see them as controlling everything, but they feel as though they are in control of nothing.

A beautiful parable of suffering. Read this if you would serve in leadership.

So how do we learn patience? Patience is about love and value. The more we love others, the easier it is to be patient with them. The more we value and respect someone, the longer it takes them to get on our nerves.

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.

What do you do when your plans get interrupted? Fume … fuss … cuss? I tend to fume. I recall two experiences that interrupted my well laid-out plans. In the process, I also learned a few important life lessons.

Above all, self-awareness is voluntary. The information we gain can only be applied by us — no one can force us to use what we learn about ourselves. But for the willing and the courageous, any chance to be crafted into a better leader will be welcome.

I’ve experienced one that I believe often trips leaders up. It’s called the confirmation bias. It’s a thinking bias that looks for information that supports our preexisting attitudes, beliefs, and actions. So, how can leaders counter the confirmation bias?

We can try to avoid conflict like kids playing hide and seek or we can learn to see the opportunity that comes from conflict.

Leaders tell me they wish their people had more ideas ‒ creative and innovative suggestions that will improve the organization. Maybe we don't know how to ask.

It only makes sense when you wake up to the fact that, as a leader, you need to manage diverse gifts, personalities, and talents to have an effective team.

Something significant happens when a small group of people, as few as two, hit the highway. If they’re open to God’s Spirit joining them, a simple trip from here to there becomes transformational.

I want to be like Christ and I want it now. I want God’s blessings and I want them now. I want my church to be huge and I want it now. But God doesn’t work that way. God begins His work with seeds hidden in the earth and babies in mangers.

We all put off difficult decisions. It’s part of human nature. Churches and Christian organizations and leaders seem particularly prone to this failing. We want to appear loving. We want to be nice. But the consequences of delay may prove disastrous.

In the Leadership Labyrinth, Judson Edwards describes 21 paradoxes in ministry. He defines the “relationship paradox” in this way: the people who like you most will be the ones you try least to please. He writes that three kinds of people fill every church. Would you agree with his assessment?

The world’s leading executive coach shares seven questions that can elevate your leadership significantly.

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.

Propaganda discusses why discipleship and disciple making is so important.

To know how much of the fullness of Christ in us can sometimes be hard to see or measure. What if we could see that our response in the face of hardship and injustice can give us a better glimpse at where we are in the process?

Paul Tripp shares how our sin and brokenness helps us empathize.

David Platt discusses why many Christians are deceived.