Leadership lessons, connected with faith and wisdom.

Podcast Episode 18 – Without Compromise (part 1)

This week’s episode builds on Monday’s article of the same name, “The Most Important Thing.” Here is the transcript of the podcast:

Have you struggled with compromise or conformity? That’s the question we are going to talk about today.  This discussion is going to be the first in a series, all based on a study of Daniel Chapter 1 and corresponding to articles posted on the website.  The big idea we will be discussing is how you can navigate pressure – specifically, the pressure to compromise or conform in an unhealthy or immoral way – without deviating from your values.  It’s really going to be a discussion of how to lead and live with excellence without compromising your faith.  And today, that begins with an understanding of the most important lesson.

When I was a senior in high school, I had a job working in a local meat market and butcher shop.  My job was to come after the shop was closed in the evening and clean everything up from the day.  Keep in mind, this was a butcher shop so that included cleaning up after the slaughtering and process were done for the day! It was not only messy work, but it was also lonely work, because I was there by myself after everyone else had gone home.

One day, in the late spring, I was doing my job while listening to a Detroit Tigers baseball game on the radio (they won the World Series that year, with the dynamic team of Alan Trammel at Shortstop and Lou Whitaker at 2nd Base, and the outstanding pitching of Jack Morris).  My boss was a heavy smoker, and on this evening, he had left a pack of cigarettes behind, which had never happened before. As I was cleaning the front, I came across the cigarettes and was faced with an ethically dilemma.  I had never smoked before and had been vocal about my faith with classmates and adamant that smoking, and the use of substances, didn’t mesh with my faith.  But now they were right in front of me, and no one was around to see it.  I had the chance to pick up a cigarette and smoke it just to see what it would be like, and no one would know.  I picked one up and held it in my fingers, looked at it, wondering what it would taste and feel like, then put it away and never lit it up. 

Why did I make that decision?  In retrospect, that’s a simple answer:  I had already established my internal framework to guide my decision-making process, driven by my worldview that was based on my commitment to Jesus Christ and to the Bible. So, when the situation presented itself in front of me, I had actually made the decision ahead of time by doing that.  As tempting as it might have been as a teenager to try a cigarette, my beliefs and resulting personal principles directly corresponded to my behavior.  Therefore, I didn’t smoke because I couldn’t smoke and still be true to myself.  My behavior reflected my pre-established beliefs.

One of the most important – if not the most important – things you need to do to prepare yourself to stand against compromising your faith is to understand that your beliefs and your behavior are inseparable.  I’ve quoted my dad on this before, but as he used to say, “Your walk talks and your talk talks, but your walk talks louder than your walk talks.”  Your beliefs will result in your behavior, and your behavior will be a reflection of your beliefs.  Because this is so, two things will inevitably happen:

1) when you are confronted with a circumstance that challenges your faith and your values, how you respond will be a direct result of the worldview belief system that you have intentionally developed, and

2) Everyone around you will make judgments about who you are based on how they see you act in these circumstances.

Here’s what you need to take away:  What you believe and how you live go together.  Know what you believe and why it matters; just as importantly, your actions must match your beliefs. 

The bottom line is that your walk needs to be consistent with your talk, and that happens when your talk is consistent with your worldview, with what you hold to be true as your foundational belief system. Therefore, if you want to be able to navigate circumstances that challenge your faith and your integrity and come away without having compromised, then you must be purposeful about solidifying your worldview.  You won’t have one without the other.

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Podcast Episode 17 – It’s Time for a Self-Assessment

This week’s episode builds on Monday’s article of the same name, “It’s Time for a Self-Assessment.” Here is the transcript of the podcast:

Have you done a self-assessment lately? That’s the question we are going to talk about today, because it’s a perfect time to do it.  Self-assessment and self-reflection are important to your growth – both personal and professional.  The beginning of the calendar year is viewed as a time to reset and to make resolutions or set goals for the year.  Put both of these things together – the importance of self-assessment and the start of the new year – and it becomes the perfect time to do a self-evaluation to prepare your personal improvement plan for the coming year.

Years ago, my siblings and I, with our families, were all visiting at my parents’ house.  My dad was talking about wanting to build a deck on the back of the house outside of the back door, and in the course of the conversation we decided that the best time to do it was while we were there, so that we could all help.  So, my dad grabbed some paper and drew a sketch of what the deck would look like, made a list of materials and supplies he would need, and order them from the local lumberyard to be delivered the next day.  When the materials came the next morning, the four of us – my dad, me, and my two brothers – went to work, following my dad’s plans and instructions, and built a beautiful deck before the end of the day.  It’s a wonderful memory for me, but the point of the story for today’s question is that before we built the deck, dad did an assessment to determine what we had, what we needed, and how we needed to do it.

That’s the purpose of a self-assessment.  It’s to reflect on where you are, where you want to be, and what it’s going to take to get from where you are right now to where you want to be in the next year (and beyond).  This process for me evolved over time.  It started rather simply.  When I first became a teacher, I took time in the summer to determine where I wanted to go in each of my classes and laid out a plan of what I would need to do to get there.  Then when I moved into administrative roles, that became my annual practice in preparation for the next school year.  I would reflect on the previous year, and determine what changes and growth needed to take place in the next year and prepare a plan of implementation.  I didn’t turn this process into a truly personal growth plan until I started my doctoral program, and a process of self-reflection and assessment was built into the early stages of the program.  It was then that I started taking time every December and January to reflect on my previous year and set some personal growth goals.  Over time, as I grew in my leadership, this process grew into a more formalized process with categories and a template that I use every year to determine my 1- and 5-year goals.  A few years ago, I added in the stop of determining my personal “word for the year,” a word that became my focus for that year.  (A personal note here – for quite a few years before I did this, my wife would give me word or phrase to hold on to each year that she felt would be great help to me.  My wife is amazing).

I believe you need to have a similar process.  You need to have an annual process of self-reflection, self-assessment, and self-direction.  That means that every year, you should be taking some time to reflect on the previous year, assess where you are in your life (personally, professionally, physically, spiritually, in your relationships, and wherever else you think appropriate), and then you need to determine the progress, goals, and steps you want to put in place for yourself.  It doesn’t have to look exactly like mine.  In fact, there are lots of different templates and formats that you could follow, but regardless of how you do it, you should have one. 

Here’s what you need to take away:  It’s the beginning of the calendar year and a time of transition from one year to the next.  That makes it a natural time to review and reflect on the past year, evaluate the present, and determine the direction for the coming year.  Write it down in whatever format works best for you and refer to it throughout the year.  That will be your own personal improvement plan.

The bottom line is that self-assessment is important to your growth, both personally and professionally. Author Laurence J. Peter is said to have said, “If you do not know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else,” and you’ve probably also heard the adage, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” If you want to grow in the direction in which you intend, then you need to build this regular or annual discipline into your life.  Take time to self-reflect, self-assess, and prepare your plan for the next year.  And right now, at the beginning of a calendar year, it’s the perfect time to do it.

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It’s Time for a Self-Assessment

When I started my doctoral program, I first had to attend an orientation program with the other students who had been accepted as part of that year’s cohort. During those two weeks, we read books, listened to lectures, interacted in discussions and activities, and wrote. And wrote. And wrote.

Several of the writing assignments were specifically aimed at helping us to formulate our own personal IDP (Individual Development Plan) for the program, or, what we intended to accomplish and get out of our graduate school experience. One assignment in particular required us to take a variety of personality and ability inventories, outline our life experiences, and think through the things that most drew our interest and brought joy and fulfillment in order to identify our passion and calling.

It was this exercise that really helped me to clarify what it was that my experiences, abilities, and passions had prepared me to do, and why those things were driving me. Through this process of reflection and writing, I realized what I loved doing, why I loved doing it, and how I was making a difference, and it confirmed and affirmed in me what I was doing with my life. (For me personally, it was also an affirmation of how God had gifted and prepared me, and what He had called me to do for His Kingdom.) It was a very valuable thought process, one that became a touch point in later years for keeping myself in the place where I best fit.

In the years since, I have incorporated a variety of other tools and activities to help me refine my own skill set and passions, and to help me continually improve at what I do. One of those activities is a yearly practice in December of listing my major goals for the coming year and maintaining a list of 5-year goals. The categories that work for me include personal/family goals, spiritual goals, financial goals, intellectual goals, and physical goals. This annual practice is one of the things that helps me regularly self-assess, thinking about what I’m doing, how I’m doing, and what I need to do in the near future in order to grow.

It’s that time of the year when many of us have done or are doing some kind of self-assessment. We remember what we did (and didn’t) accomplish in the last year. We determine what we might want to accomplish in this next year. We try to make a fresh start. We make New Year’s resolutions.

So, as you make your resolutions this year, I would encourage you to be very intentional about this process. Identify your own specific interests, abilities, and opportunities. List your own one-year and five-year goals (and put them in a place where you can refer to them regularly). Take advantage of self-assessment tools, such as the (free) Myers-Briggs Personality Test; the One Page Personal Plan (OPPP) from Verne Harnish’s book Scaling Up;  the Rockefeller Habits, which incorporates the 5F’s (Family, Faith, Friends, Fitness, Finance); or use any other tool that works for you. Regardless of what you use, be purposeful about assessing yourself – reflect on your past experience, identify your current abilities and passions, and decide on your direction for the next year.

It’s a new year, a natural time for this kind of review. Do it, do it purposefully, and do it to grow. Happy New Year!

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Podcast Episode 15 – Fill In the Gaps

This week’s episode builds on Monday’s article of the same name, “Fill In the Gaps.” Here is the transcript of the podcast:

Have you ever felt like you had to know how to do everything, and do it well, in order to be a good leader? I have, and on today’s episode, that’s the question we are going to explore.  Whether it’s because of pride, perfectionism, fear of rejection or failure, or being a people pleaser, it’s the tendency to think that we must be the expert in every facet of leadership and organizational needs. This false ideal is what is called the “myth of the complete leader,” according to an article I read in Harvard Business Review’s “10 Must Reads on Leadership.” 

In my first role as the head of school in a small midwestern Christian school, the administration consisted of me, the receptionist who was also my administrative assistant, and the athletic director who was also a teacher.  So in reality, most of the time, when my administrative assistant was serving as the receptionist and the athletic director was in class teaching, I was on my own.  Often I would joke (and usually out loud) as I was walking to my office that I was headed to an administrative meeting with myself.  The small size of the school necessitated that I wore many administrative hats (and one year also taught a class), but that also made it easier for me to think that I had to be do everything, and do it well.  “Surprisingly” that turned out to not be good leadership. I had to learn over time to identify other people who could do things better than me and tap into those resources (like getting the church’s volunteer accountant to help me learn to build and maintain the budget).

The truth is, you can’t do everything well. My dad (his name was Jack) was good at a lot of things, but whenever someone tried to portray him as good at everything, he would say, “I’m a Jack of all trades but a master of none.”  God has gifted us all in different ways, but no one person has all gifts, so no one person can do all things exceptionally well. The challenge for leaders has been the pressure to appear knowledgeable and excellent on everything related to their organization or job.  Whether that pressure is self-imposed or others-imposed, it’s not realistic and can result in poor leadership over time.

What that means for you is that you need to take off the mask of perfection and completeness and learn to fill in your gaps with others who are more gifted in some ways than you.  I have been married to my wife for almost 36 years, and throughout my whole marriage I have told people that because of her, I am a much better person than I would have been without her.  She has filled in my gaps and strengthened my leadership in the process.  I am convinced that most of the Jobs I have had have come after my prospective employer met Nora, because she made me look better.  Similarly, having people around you who fill in your gaps will make you look better and help you lead better.

Here’s what you need to take away:  Stop trying to do everything.  There are people around you with gifts and abilities who can do things that will complement your leadership if you will humble yourself, accept that you can’t do it all (and realize that most people aren’t expecting you to), and let other people help fill in those gaps. 

The bottom line is that none of us is a complete leader.  We will be stronger in some areas than others, and so our leadership will be better if we let others do things that they do well, that we don’t.  That’s how our gaps get filled in, we become much better leaders who are operating in reality, and the organization as a whole improves.  Think about it – if doing this makes the organization better, doesn’t that, in turn, reflect on your leadership? So, find the right people to fill in the gaps.

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Podcast Episode 14 – The Theory Behind the Theory

This week’s episode builds on Monday’s article of the same name, “The Theory Behind the Theory.” Here is the transcript of the podcast:

Have you ever struggled with trying to figure out whether or not a leadership principle was good? I have, and on today’s episode, that’s the question we are going to explore.  In fact, early in my leadership experience, I noticed that some leadership principles and practices seemed to ring true to me, or seemed to particularly resonate with me, but at that time, I wasn’t thinking about why that was so.  That eventually led to my own wrestling with how to know what principles and practices were good ones, which in turn led me to the idea of the theory behind the theory.

I shared the story in the article that I posted earlier this week about the experience that led me to the realization that there is “biblical theory” behind any good theory proven to be true. It started when I read a book by Margaret Wheatley called “Leadership and the New Science.” (if you want to hear the story, you’ll have to listen to the podcast!). 

When you start from the presupposition that the Bible is true, that God is real, and that He is the Creator of the universe, it shapes your foundational beliefs.  One of those beliefs is the understanding that, as the Creator of the universe, of the world we live in, and of you and me, it makes sense that He knows best how everything should work, and how everything should work best.  He created with intentional design, and there is order that governs the internal operations of all things (these become the laws of science).  Therefore, when something works well, it is because of the God-created design behind it.

What that means for me is that I now understand that when there is a leadership principle that is effective, that means that behind it is a truth based on God’s intentional design.  It works because it stems from how God created things to work.  So if something works well, I can learn and see God’s design behind it – this is the theory behind the theory.

Here’s what you need to take away:  as a leader, understanding leadership theory is important.  When I was researching for my dissertation, my advisor kept stressing that I needed to identify and communicate the theory behind what I was saying.  Understanding the theory – or, the why – is important to becoming effective and growing, because theory translates into practice.  However – and this is what I kept saying to my advisor – I can see deeper theory – God’s truth and design – behind any effective theory.  As a Christian leader, you will be better if you study God and His Word to such an extent that you recognize biblical truth behind any good leadership theory and practice.

The bottom line is that good leadership has biblical truth behind it, even if that is not recognized by the leader.  My challenge to you is to become so knowledgeable of and intimate with God that you recognize it; that you see the theory behind the theory.

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The Theory Behind the Theory

It was when I was in graduate school doing research that I think I finally fully realized what it means to say, “All truth is God’s truth.” It clicked when I was reading a particular book that was drawing lessons on leadership from the principles of Chaos Theory. As I worked through the book, I began to see – underlying its principles – a clear representation of God’s sovereignty. Then I began to recognize, in many of the books I was reading, that the truths that most resonated with me were truths that I could see were expressions of biblical truths.  Aas my advisor and my instructors kept pushing me to identify “the theory behind the practice” for much of my research, I realized that the reason why there was truth in these theories, evident in how they worked in practice, was because of what I would call the “theory behind the theory”: original truth, found in God’s Word.

As an example, this became apparent to me again when I was reading a book called The Happiness Advantage, by #ShawnAchor.   This particular book is in the realm of positive psychology, and is based on research; in it, Achor describes seven principles related to the way that your attitude, choices, and behavior can benefit your personal growth.   More pointedly, the first principle in the book (‘the happiness advantage’ principle), discusses how a positive outlook improves fulfillment and success. Within this principle, he explains:

  • How happiness gives your brain – and your organization – the competitive edge
  • That when we are happy, we are smarter, more motivated, and thus more successful; happiness precedes success, not vice versa
  • That happiness (a positive mood in the present and a positive outlook for the future):
    • Primes and enhances creativity and innovation
    • Is an antidote to physical stress and anxiety
    • With intentional effort, can raise your daily baseline level of happiness
  • That our brains are hardwired to perform at their best not when they are negative, or even neutral, but when they are positive.
  • That happiness and optimism fuel performance and achievement

The reality is . . . this is true. A positive attitude helps you do better, an optimistic outlook helps you respond to defeat and difficulty better, and a joyful approach helps to prevent discouragement. You probably don’t need to see research to believe that this is true, because you’ve seen it lived out in practice in your life and experience.  And that’s what takes me back to my point. You believe that this is true because you have seen it in practice, but a book like The Happiness Advantage provides “the theory behind the practice,” the research that explains why it is true in practice. But there is theory behind that theory, found in the Bible long before any studies in positive psychology were ever conducted.

Specifically, Proverbs 15:13-15 says this:

13 A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. 14 The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness. 15 All the days of the afflicted are evil, but he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast. Proverbs 15:13-15

In particular, verses 13 and 15 in this passage point out two very important truths. Verse 13 points out that your internal emotions and attitude directly impact your external response and reaction: positive on the inside leads to positive expression on the outside, and negative on the inside leads to brokenness on the outside. Then verse 15 points out that your outlook on and experience of life are a direct reflection of how you perceive your life circumstances: a “woe is me” or “I am a victim” mindset sees every day as bad, but a positive outlook finds value in all circumstances.   So it is true that choosing to have a positive mood has great benefit for your life, but the reason why it is true is because it is God’s truth, found in the very design of human nature in how God created us to be.

Now, the practical application is that you can improve your performance (and as a byproduct, your results) by intentionally cultivating a positive outlook and response to life and its circumstances. But I also want you to understand that the real theory behind it, the theory that backs it up, is truth that originates from God’s Word – a merry heart (positive attitude) makes a cheerful countenance (external expressions of happiness) and has a continual feast (positive view of and response to life).

Then, I would encourage you to take two more steps in this line of thought. First, begin to look for other places where you can see that there is biblical truth behind other leadership principles that also appear to be true when put into practice. Second, reverse the process by looking for biblical principles that can be translated into leadership principles, with the confidence that if it is a biblical principle, it will be true, and, therefore, will have legitimate and credible application to leadership. My hope is that, at the bottom of your own study and research, you too will see that all truth is God’s truth, and will learn to identify principles that work, because they are principles that reflect His truth.

This thought process is the foundation of my book, Leadership Ezra; the idea that there is biblical theory on leadership that can be found behind effective theories of leadership.   Leadership Ezra is a book that draws out specific leadership principles that are reflected in the Old Testament book of Ezra in order to apply them to effective leadership practice today.  It connects illustrations and principles from the Bible to the practical application of leadership from the experience of one specific time period of activity in the Old Testament.  In this book, I seek to find the “theory behind the theory,” and then to connect truth from the story of a set of events in Scripture to the practice of good leadership; specifically, to the leadership principles and practices that are often considered as “best practice,” that are seen in the story of Ezra, reflecting a biblical basis that underpins good leadership.   My goal was to start with an understanding of Ezra, the leader, then explore what we need to do to prepare for leadership and explore practical leadership principles and ideas.  At the core of it all, I hope to be able to communicate what it looks like to lead well from a foundation of biblical truth.  To see for yourself, order your copy on Amazon.

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Podcast Episode 13 – Your Family Is More Important Than Your Job

This week’s episode builds on Monday’s article of the same name, “Your Family Is More Important Than Your Job.” Here is the transcript of the podcast:

Have you ever struggled with balancing your work aspirations and family obligations? I have, and on today’s episode, that’s the question we are going to explore.  I think most of us want to grow and excel in our work, which requires a level of commitment.  At the same time, we want to invest in our families. It’s been said that no one says on their deathbed, “I wish I would have spent more time at work,” but the struggle is often in figuring out how to find the balance between investing in your career and investing in the people who matter to you.

I told part of this story in the article that I posted earlier this week, but it was really the beginning of when I came to terms with this, early in my experience as a head of school. (if you want to hear the story, you’ll have to listen to the podcast!). 

First of all, work is necessary and can have great value. One of the things God created us to do was work, which was evident in the Garden of Eden when God told Adam and Eve that one of the three things He wanted them to do was to take care of His creation.  At the same time, one of the other of the three things God wanted them to do was to build a family.  (The third was to fill the earth.) The problem comes when we pit those two things against each other, or sacrifice one for the sake of the other.  The other problem comes when we confuse a job with our calling to work.  The end result tends to be that we seek to find greater value in our work than in our family, and our family pays the price. 

If you have a family, part of your calling is that family.  Yes, God has called you to Kingdom work in your career, but He would not sacrifice your family on that altar, no more than He would let Abraham sacrifice Isaac.  In that circumstance, God was asking Abraham for willing obedience to serve Him and did not intend for Abraham’s family to be sacrificed in the process.  He wanted to show Abraham -and, by extension, us – that God is more important than your family.  But your family is also very important to God and functions as a picture of God’s character and nature to the world (again, at Creation, Scripture tells us that man and woman together reflect God’s full image). And so God wants you to protect and care for your family. 

God ordained that we should work at the beginning of creation, but He wants your work to be a calling, not a job, and therefore the content and context of what you do can change to fit the time and circumstances for which He wants to use you.  However, He also established the importance of family from the beginning. He is not a “lesser of two evils” divine being who gives these two things and then forces us to choose which is less damaging; rather, He always has a right and good way of doing all that He has established.  He therefore will not call you to do something that costs your family.  If that is happening, it’s because of expectations that you are placing on yourself, not that God is placing on you. When that happens, it’s time to recalibrate your expectations to align with God’s and to commit your work to His purpose, not your own.

Here’s what you need to take away:  if your job is costing you your family, you have a problem.  I would also say that if your job is a ministry, and it’s costing your family, you are out of alignment with the work God has called you to do.  Yes, God should be the most important thing in your life, but second to that is the ministry that He has called you to carry out through your family.

When I came to this realization in my own path in that first head-of-school role, I made some changes so that my work was not superseding my family.  I started leaving to come home no later than 5:00.  I set limits on what I would say yes to.  And I intentionally protected my family time.  Sure, there were emergencies and exceptions, but that’s what they were – emergencies and exceptions.  During the next 25 years, God moved me to three more schools, and now to a new phase of ministry. By God’s grace, I have preserved and protected my family, and I believe my ministry to my family has had more of an impact on the lives of others than anything else I have done.  So I still say to people: your family is more important than your job.

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Podcast Episode 12 – Regretfulness or Thankfulness?

This week’s episode builds on Monday’s article on a related topic, “Thankful Trust.” Here is the transcript of the podcast:

Have you ever struggled with uncertainty and regret? I have, and on today’s episode, that’s the question we are going to explore.  What we are really going to be talking about is a mindset.  Specifically, your mindset when you face an unknown future and wish you knew tomorrow’s answers today, or when you reflect on your past experiences and wish that things could have been different.  In these circumstances, the real question is whether or not you can and should respond with gratitude instead of uncertainty or regret.

Let me tell you the story of the last year of my life (if you want to hear the story, you’ll have to listen to the podcast!). 

My future is unknown to me.  But not to God.  However, because my future is unknown to me, my present fear causes me to sometimes second-guess my past. When I do that, I am just like the Israelites after they were freed from bondage in Egypt, the first time they ran into difficulties and a food shortage.  Almost immediately, they started regretting their choice to leave Egypt and started crying for what they used to have.  In the same way, when I am being led by fear, I can start to question or even regret my choices.  But if I am being obedient to God and following His clear direction, I need to trust Him with an attitude of gratefulness for his purpose and provision – even when I can’t see it yet.

That’s where today’s question takes us.  What is our mindset, and on what is our mindset based?  When we are being faithful and obedient to God, He will not fail.  His plan cannot be prevented.  And He sees the future and knows where He wants me to be tomorrow and why.  Furthermore, there are times (and for me, this is one of those times) He doesn’t want me to see beyond tomorrow.  Again, this was modeled by the Israelites when God’s response to their fear was to promise them their daily food in the form of manna, but only for what they needed that day, and no more. For me personally, at this specific juncture in my life, but for a purpose that He knows, God is choosing to give me my manna on a daily basis, and I have to trust Him that it will be there the day after that, and the day after that.  But I also have to do it with an attitude of thankfulness that should arise from my confidence and trust in His goodness and purpose for me.

So, here’s what you need to take away: If you are being faithful and obedient to God, then you need to:

  • Place your uncertainty about the future in God’s hands, because He has a certain purpose.

  • View your past difficulties and current struggle with thankfulness, knowing that it is factored into the purpose God has for your future.

I am reminded, finally, of something my dad once said related to the topic of regret.  He was pondering the challenges that we experience in our lives, that cause us to sometimes question things, and he said, “You will never regret living for God”

I believe that is true with all my heart, therefore I am choosing in the present to walk in thankful trust of God, in view of both future uncertainties and past circumstances. And so, I am thankful that He has me in the position I am today, living completely in dependence on Him and trusting the purpose, plan, and timing of what He has next for me.  My friend, what about you?  As you face your past, your present, and your future, are you choosing to live in thankful trust?

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Thankful Trust

“Thankful Trust.” That’s the phrase my wife has been reminding me of repeatedly in the last few months, and it’s appropriate to share it with you during this week of Thanksgiving. Here’s the reason behind this frequent reminder.

A little less than a year ago, I entered a new place of transition in my life. I have been involved in Christian education for over 30 years and have been able to learn and grow as a leader through my experience. However, during the last two decades together, we (my wife and I) have also been walking through a challenging journey that included her battle with cancer, and it has progressed to the point where I needed to find opportunities to use my experience and skill set in ways that would allow me much greater flexibility to care for my wife’s needs. So, I stepped away from my role as the head of a Christian School, re-established my old website under a new name (www.LeadershipEzra.com), published my second book (“Leadership Ezra”, a book that specifically addresses effective Christian leadership drawn from lessons taken from the Old Testament book of Ezra, available on Amazon), and began to explore opportunities to teach undergraduate and graduate courses on leadership within online programs. I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to organize and clarify some of my thoughts in writing, and then being able to share those thoughts with you. It has helped me to grow even more in my own leadership while giving me the chance to benefit others, and so I hope it is helpful for you. But this process of transition I have been walking through is quite frightening with lots of unknowns – regarding my wife’s health as well as my source of income and service to God – and so I have had to be intentional about trusting God with a thankful attitude.

That brings me back to “Thankful Trust.” It has kind of become a mantra in the last few months, especially when I become overwhelmed with anxiety and uncertainty. Clearly, God has been directing my life in this process (a story for another time), but in my humanity, it is still easy for me to take my eyes off of God and focus on my circumstances. Hence the reason for intentionally being frequently reminded to live in thankful trust: thankful to God regardless of the circumstances, and trusting His love, care, provision, and direction, fully believing that I am in His will and therefore trusting His plan and purpose. After all, isn’t that one of the primary lessons that I took away from my study of Ezra?

So, in this week of Thanksgiving, may I remind and encourage you to be intentionally thankful as well, regardless of life’s circumstances, knowing that God loves you and has a plan and purpose for you, Trust His plan, and choose a spirit of gratitude.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A

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Podcast Episode 11 – How Do You Learn to Lead?

This week’s episode builds on Monday’s article on a related topic, “My Simple Diagram of Leadership.” Here is the transcript of the podcast:

Have you ever struggled with understanding how you are supposed to lead? I have, and on today’s episode, that’s the question we are going to explore.  Every leader must lead for the first time sometime, and regardless of bravado, charisma, or confidence, you don’t know everything that you are going to know in 10 years.  Leadership is a learning process, and therefore, in that process, you are learning how to lead better than you did yesterday.  However, there are lots of theories and models in the leadership world of how you are supposed to lead, so how are you supposed to know what works? I think that ultimately, the real question is not so much, “How are you supposed to lead?”, but rather how are you supposed to lead?” 

For most of my life, I have been a larger person.  I also told myself and others that I was simply big-boned, that I carried my weight well, that I was “solid” (in a self-complimentary way).  In reality, I am in love with food.  I love to taste almost anything, I am a habitual grazer, and I would rather eat too much than throw food away.  As a result, regardless of how I phrased it, I was very overweight and unhealthy.  Then, in my mid-40s, I was confronted with three things: the needs of my wife, who was facing a health crisis caused by cancer; my own developing health issues caused by my eating habits; and a conversation with my son who confronted my gluttony.  I knew I needed to change, but I also knew that there were a myriad of programs and plans out there to help, but how was I to know what would actually work?  In the end, I figured out that I could do several simple, time-proven things, while at the same time being true to myself.  I counted my calories, ate smaller portions, ate breakfast in the morning to kick-start my metabolism, weighed myself every day, and did very moderate exercise.  But I also had coffee with milk and sugar every morning, and a small piece of chocolate every evening, and I ate food that I liked.  The end result?  I lost almost 60 pounds in 4 months.  And I have (mostly) kept it off since. 

What’s the point of this story?  It’s this:  there are dozens, if not hundreds, of plans, programs, and magic pills that all claim to help you lose weight, but in the end, it boils down to a few simple things regardless of the program:  eat healthy and in moderation, find a way to hold yourself accountable, and make it enjoyable. 

The same thing is true for leadership.  There are as many leadership theories as there are diet plans, so you do you know what to do?  The key is to do two things: 

1) Learn the fundamental leadership principles and practices that everybody needs to know, and

2) Make it personal by implementing those things in a way that fits who you are.

For example, as an introverted head of school, I knew I needed to interact with parents at events, but it is not part of my nature to “work the crowd.”  So what would I do?  I would position myself someplace where most parents would pass by me – at the door to greet people at a school event, or at the entrance of the bleachers at a ballgame – and let those interactions happen organically. 

So, here’s what you need to take away: you need to intentionally learn the fundamental principles of leadership, and you need to continue to learn and grow in your leadership for the rest of your life.  But at the same time, you need to be you.  That latest book you read likely has some great principles that you can implement, but you are not the author, and those principles won’t necessarily fit you the way they fit that person.   Therefore, you need to make it your own.

The question we come back to is, “How are you supposed to lead?” Do the few things that everyone should learn to do as a leader, but do it in a way that reflects your strengths, your personality, and your nature.  Over time, you will learn new principles, develop your own gifts, and become the leader you should be.

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