Wisdom for the practice of leadership

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Podcast, Season 2, Episode 3: Lessons On Leadership From the Life and Times of Ezra (part 3 – On Your Mark!)

In my thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are leadership lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This particular series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament, the same lessons that I have published in my latest book. This week, (along with the next two weeks, and in honor of the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris) we are starting the race of leadership. Today, in part 3, the topic is “On Your Mark!,” where we step up to the starting line by stepping back to recognize the necessity of being genuine – of consistently matching what you believe with how you live, and matching what you know with how you will act. This is the transcript of the podcast.

In the last two weeks, I introduced the series and said that we would be diving deeper into principles and practices that connect biblical truth with wisdom and applying them to the practice of leadership. The purpose of the series, and of the website as a whole, is to connect faith, wisdom, and leadership in a way that will help you grow in your leadership and make an impact. That starts with realizing that God has a plan and purpose that can be trusted, whether or not we can visibly see His hand in it. That plan is not contingent upon or predicated by my perfection. He doesn’t wait until you are perfect before choosing you as a leader or carrying out His plan. He has a purpose, and you get to be part of it. So my challenge was for you to look back over your life and experiences and identify where His sovereignty has been at work in the seemingly random circumstances.  Look for times where something “just so happened,” and I think you will be able see how God was involved, and for a purpose. That will help you trust God’s activity in your life and in your leadership.

Now I am beginning a 3-week subset in this series in which I am laying the groundwork for effective leadership. I am using the analogy of the starting blocks in a race, when all the runners line up and get into position, and the starter yells, “On your mark, get set, go!” (I know that the starter actually fires a starter’s pistol, and doesn’t yell “go!”, but you get the idea.) Those three commands capture the ideas I will be discussing:

  1. “On Your Mark” – that’s all about getting to the starting line and in the right place. As a leader, that means getting yourself into the right frame of mind and equipping yourself for what is coming.
  2. “Get Set” – that’s all about getting into position in the right form, so that you are best prepared to start well. As a leader, that means performing the actions that set you up to be followed and trusted.
  3. “Go” – that’s when the starter’s pistol goes off and you start running. As a leader, that’s when the work begins as you start leading your people and your organization toward your mission, vision, or change.

Today, I’m focusing on the first command.

In the corresponding website article this week, I talked about my early experience as an organizational leader, an experience in which I did not first learn the right things I needed to know before undertaking the task of leadership I was facing. As a result, I had to deal with challenges and obstacles that were my own making. But I learned from that experience, and years later, when I arrived at a new organization, I started differently.

This time, my first priority was to learn where I was. I identified different groups of people among employees, customers, and stakeholders that I need to hear from. I started meeting with those people one at a time (in fact, this was probably how I spent at least half of my time in the first couple of months), asking questions, listening, probing, and taking notes. Over a little bit of time, I began to gain an understanding of where I was, and to develop a good picture of the history, culture, and challenges to be addressed. It was only after I had done that, that I was able to start preparing my plan of what I would need to do. I was able to prioritize the needs in the context of the organization and created a strategy of what I needed to do, in what order, and in what way. What I was able to do was to match what I learned and knew with what I needed to do, and that consistency would be crucial to my success.

In essence, I was able to get to the right starting lane before ever beginning the race. Before I determined what I needed to, what changes needed to be made, or what programs to drop or add, I needed to know the culture, community, history, and people. There was a lot that I needed to learn before there was a lot that I needed to do. So before I could start “doing,” I had to spend time “knowing,” so that my knowing and my doing could match in the way they needed to match.

That’s the lesson for your leadership. If you start doing before knowing, you can end up doing the wrong things, or even doing the right things in the wrong time, place, or way. Therefore, before you prepare a strategic plan or start running ahead with a great idea, first take some intentional time to learn. I once went to a new school and tried to use something to connect with students that had worked wonderfully in the previous school. But when I tried it in the new school, the students looked at me like I had three heads.  It was a good idea in one environment, but not in another.  I needed to learn that, and once I did, then I could find the right ways to engage with students in this new environment.

The bottom line is that if you are going to lead effectively, knowledge must precede action so that your actions match your knowledge. You need to know the people and place where you are, and understand how and why they operate. Only then can you strategically plan your action steps out of an informed awareness. As a leader who also follows Jesus, on a deeper and spiritual level that also means you need to know God before you can serve God. You need to understand who He is, His nature and character, and then you can act in a way that reflects and honors Him.

So, as you are getting ready to run your race of leadership (or run the next lap, or run your leg in the relay), remember the importance of knowing before doing. To get “on your mark,” you need to prepare and equip yourself for the race you are about to run, so that the race you run is the right one, and that means knowing God, knowing yourself, and knowing where you are. Only after that has happened are you ready to “Get Set!”

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Leadership Ezra: Who’s In Charge Here? (Part 3, On Your Mark!)

In thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament (and then published in my latest book). This week (along with the next two weeks, and in honor of the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris) we are starting the race of leadership. Today, in part 3, the topic is “On Your Mark!,” where we step up to the starting line by stepping back to recognize the necessity of being genuine – of consistently matching what you believe with how you live.

Before you can teach and lead others, you have to live it. But in order to live it, you first have to know it. I experienced this (or better put, failed at this) in my first experience as the senior leader in an organization. To be honest, as I walked in the door I was questioning my own preparedness, unsure of whether I knew enough to be able to lead well. But I had been given the opportunity, so I quelled my fears and jumped. 

I arrived at a school that had longstanding, competent employees, and my relative youth probably didn’t help my reception. Then, in my enthusiasm, I started to run without first taking the time to learn. I began making changes (some of them drastic) and implementing new policies and procedures but failed to take the time to study the history, culture, and people involved. As a result, my actions stemmed from ignorance and arrogance rather than knowledge, and the outcome was conflict and disruption. It wasn’t until I took the time to learn, developing the necessary understanding of the relevant information, that my actions of leadership could represent the right knowledge and therefore win followers and become effective. I needed to know the right things before I could do the right things.

But for Christian leaders, this truth goes much deeper: to do what God wants, you first have to know who God is. To be effective in your actions of leadership, you must first and foremost have a personal and in-depth knowledge of God and His Word. Your knowledge of His truth is more important than anything else in your preparation. Ezra, as a leader, provides a great example of this. In the description of his preparation for leadership – and more pointedly, his preparation for a specific task – Ezra 7:10 states, “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.” Clearly, he had prepared himself for what he was about to undertake, but notice the order of the steps, because the order is important! The first step in the process was “to seek the law of the Lord,” which led him to living out what he knew, and in turn enabled him to teach and to lead. People followed him because his life gave him the credibility to lead, but first having the knowledge gave him the capability to lead. 

What does it mean, then, that he had sought the law of the Lord? It means that he had spent time with God. He had studied the Scriptures intensely and diligently, learning who God is and what He says. And that took time and intentional practice. At the core, this is a basic and fundamental part of the Christian walk, and so it shows up nearly everywhere that someone talks about steps of spiritual growth. Gordon MacDonald, in Ordering Your Private World, discusses the importance of first having the private world of the inner man in order, and says that this must come from developing intimacy with God through regular time with Him and in His Word. Tim Challies, in The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, explains that the ability to discern is directly related to knowledge of God and of His Word. J. P. Moreland, in Love Your God with All Your Mind, communicates that faith is also an act of reason, based on truth – specifically the truth of Scripture – and therefore Scripture must be studied for faith to grow. Kevin DeYoung, in Taking God at His Word, explores the doctrine of Scripture, and in the process argues for the importance and necessity of reading and studying the Bible. And the list could go on and on. The clear understanding is that every Christian (not only leaders) needs to regularly spend time with God, studying Scripture and building that personal relationship.

Scripture itself supports this truth, as is seen in the examples of men and women of God (like Ezra), but as is also specifically stated in various passages. Psalm 1 describes the person who will be blessed because of his moral choices, and states in verse 2 that this is someone “whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.” In the book of Joshua, chapter 1, verse 8, as Joshua is preparing to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land, God challenges and encourages him with this statement: “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” The bottom line is, our thought processes, choices, and outcomes are directly impacted by our time spent in the Word of God.

As a crucial byproduct of studying Scripture, Ezra developed an intimate, personal relationship with God. Because of that personal and deep relationship, he didn’t simply learn to know who God was and is; he also came to understand God’s nature and heart. He had developed a relationship that enabled him to trust in God even in uncertainty and difficulty. It was from this relationship that he was therefore able to move and act with confidence in God’s sovereign plan, and that he was able to see God’s hand and His purpose in the events that occurred. His personal, intimate knowledge of God (and of His Word) was the necessary prerequisite to living the right kind of example in his leadership.

This is a critical lesson for you and me. It’s been said that leaders must be learners; but Christian leaders must also be learners of God’s Word. Therefore, in our leadership development, we absolutely must study Scripture, growing in intimacy with God. We need regular time with God, in prayer and in His Word. This must be central and foundational to what we do, how we live, and to our call or purpose from Him. Doing this first is what makes us knowledgeable and gives us the capability to lead, because we will learn to see people and circumstances from God’s perspective, shaping how we think and act. It is from this growth of knowledge and relationship with God that we are able to “walk the talk,” modeling and practicing what we know, and living authentic, genuine lives that inspire trust and result in effective leadership. So before getting into the starting blocks of your leadership, spend time with God and make sure your thoughts and beliefs are aligned with Him (and, therefore, on the mark), and then you’ll be ready to “Get Set!”

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Podcast, Season 2, Episode 2: Lessons On Leadership From the Life and Times of Ezra (part 2 – God Has A Plan!)

In my thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are leadership lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This particular series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament, the same lessons that I have published in my latest book. This week, in part 2, we build on Monday’s website article and are reminded of God’s plan and purpose in our lives and in our work. This is the transcript of the podcast.

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Last time, I introduced the series and said that we would be diving deeper into principles and practices that connect biblical truth with wisdom and applying them to the practice of leadership. The purpose is to connect faith, wisdom, and leadership in a way that will help you grow in your leadership and make an impact. So, whether you are new to leadership, struggling in your leadership, or simply want to learn more and grow in your leadership, the goal is to help you lead like Ezra, which is to know God deeply, live by His Word, and apply that wisdom in your leadership of others. Therefore, we will be talking through lessons and insights in this series of articles that capture the ideas I talk about in my book, Leadership Ezra (available on Amazon) that can help you in your leadership role!

One of my favorite stories to tell is the story of how God introduced me to the person who would become my wife. It is a story that reveals God’s activity in retrospect even though I didn’t know it at the time, because of how many instances of, “It just so happened . . .” that took place.  It began with a new youth program that my dad just happened to introduce in my church when I was a junior in high school, and this particular program included a competition component that let you compete against teens in other churches around the U.S. I did well enough in the competition that I was invited to the awards week that as taking place during a week at a Christian camp in another state, but no one else from my church had qualified for the awards reveal or would be attending the camp week, so my dad happened to find me a ride with another church group taking a busload of their youth to the camp. The driver of that bus was the principal of the Christian school associated with that church. When we arrived at the camp, the counselor of the cabin I was assigned to just happened to have gotten sick, the bus driver and school principal that drove us down filled in as my cabin counselor, and over the course of that week, he had lots of conversations with me as he got to know me.  At the end of the week, based on what he had learned about me, he asked me to consider enrolling at his Christian school. As it turned out, they were not able to offer the classes I needed for my senior year, but it just so happened that the principal offered me the opportunity to join them on their school senior trip to Europe anyway. And it just so happened that they were partnering with a couple of other Christian schools from other states in order to have a larger group, and therefore, a lower price for the trip.  At the end of that school year, I embarked on that trip, and on day 1, when I got on the tour bus and sat down in the back, it just so happened that the very next person to get on the bus was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, the one would become my wife.  And the apparent coincidences didn’t end there. We met and learned that we were both planning to attend the same University.  Once we got to college, we just so happened to end up with jobs at the same place, and eventually just so happened to get leadership roles in brother and sister dorms.  It took a while, but we finally realized that God kept bringing us together for reason, and she has now been my best friend, companion, counselor, and spiritual encourager for over 36 years of marriage.  And all because it “just so happened . . .”.

 The truth is, I don’t believe any of those things were coincidences.  I believe God was at work with His plan and purpose, and all of those apparent coincidences were the working out of that plan.  The last verse in Proverbs 16 says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but it’s every decision is from the Lord.” I learn from that verse that there are no coincidences with God, so I have therefore also learned to trust God’s sovereign activity in my life.  When I see things that appear to “just so happen,” I intentionally choose to recognize them as the hand of God at work. 

That should do a few things for your leadership:

  1. It should take off some pressure that it’s all up to you.  Now, that doesn’t mean that there is nothing you need to do, because God still expects you to make your plans and do your work, but (as I have talked about in other places on the website and the podcast) you can trust God to be directing toward His desired outcome. So rest in the fact that God has control, not you.
  2. It should give you a confidence in the right outcome that God intends, even if it’s not the outcome you intended. There may be things that you learn, or that God teaches, in the process, but your learning is also part of the process. Proverbs 16 also says to “commit your works to Lord, and your thoughts will be established.” Commit to the Lord what you are doing, place the outcomes in God’s hands, and leave them there.
  3. When it doesn’t go the way you thought, look for what God is teaching you. Even in failure God brings good and uses it to conform you even more to His image.

The bottom line is that God has a plan and purpose that can be trusted, whether or not we can visibly see His hand in it. And as I pointed out in this week’s corresponding website article, that plan is not contingent upon or predicated by my perfection. He doesn’t wait until you are perfect before choosing you as a leader or carrying out His plan. He has a purpose, and you get to be part of it.

 I would challenge you to look back over your life and experiences and see if you can spot where His sovereignty has been at work in seemingly random circumstances.  Look for times where something “just so happened,” and I think you will be able see how God was involved, and for a purpose. Once you can start seeing it there, it becomes easier to see it in the present, which in turn also makes it easier trust God’s activity in your life and in your leadership.  God has a plan, He wants to use you in it, so look for and trust His active involvement.

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Leadership Ezra: Who’s in Charge Here? (Part 2, God Has A Plan!)

In thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament (and then published in my latest book), and this week, in part 2, we are reminded of God’s plan and purpose in our lives and in our work.

The work of leadership is hard, and it is not for the faint-hearted. There are decisions to be made, problems to be addressed, challenges to be solved, tensions to be managed, conflicts to be resolved, tasks to be accomplished, and numerous other responsibilities that ultimately have an impact on many people. And add to that the work of leading and managing people, who are imperfect and operate in the context of a fallen world. For the Christian leader – regardless of whether you are a school leader, church leader, ministry leader, or a Christian leading in a secular industry or organization – it can be even more challenging as you seek to reflect Christ in all you do.

The good news is that successful and effective leadership is a skill that can be learned, but it requires intentional effort. In today’s world, there are a multitude of valuable resources available for helping you in your development of leadership, however many of those do not address the spiritual context for the leader who is a follower of Jesus, which is just as important (if not more so) for Christian leaders. So where can you go to get help for understanding leadership principles and practices within a biblical context? This may seem to be an obvious answer, but ironically it is one that is often overlooked by leaders: look to examples of leadership in the Bible.

The book of Ezra, surprisingly, is one of those examples that has a lot to say about leadership. It is a relatively short book, with ten chapters, that tells a 2-part story. The general story involves the fulfillment of the prophecy found in Jeremiah 29, when God foretold the return of the people of Israel to Jerusalem. Chapters 1 through 6 describe the return of a remnant specifically for the purpose of rebuilding the temple, and chapters 7 through 10 – which take place a number of years later – describe Ezra’s role in leading religious leaders back to Jerusalem to restore the spiritual culture of the people. In essence, it is a story of restoration by God, the restoration of His house and His people. Along the way, there are a great number of lessons that are applicable to the task of leadership for the Christian in today’s world.

One of the most important lessons is a big picture lesson, representing the overall theme for the book of Ezra, and it is this: God’s sovereignty operates in conjunction with man’s responsibility, in the context and for the purpose of restoration, resulting in relationship and purpose. Therefore, in the application of leadership, it is vital that we begin with an understanding that God has a plan and a purpose, and He is actively involved in the events of our lives.

Throughout the Old Testament it is apparent that God has a sovereign plan and purpose – again, largely connected to the restoration of his house and of his people – and He works to carry out that plan. However, we usually spend our time acting completely unaware of that truth in our own lives today. We know that it is true, in a nebulous, spiritual truth kind of way, and we can see it clearly in retrospect (both in the stories in the Bible and in reflection of our own past experiences) but in the actual current day-to-day experiences of our lives, we behave as if we don’t realize it.

The events of Ezra provide a wonderful backdrop for seeing God’s involvement, for spotting His sovereignty at work in apparently random circumstances. Although God’s sovereignty is evident all through the book, interspersed throughout are a number of references that specifically point out His intentional involvement. Among these verses are the following:

  • Ezra 1:1, “the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom”
  • Ezra 1:5, “all those whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem”
  • Ezra 5:5, “the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius”
  • Ezra 6:22, “for the Lord made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God”

Numerous other verses and passages – such as 1:4-8, 4:24, 6:8-10, 7:6-10, 7:27-28, 8:18-31, 9:9 – state or imply God’s involvement in a variety of ways, such as in the circumstances, the preparation, the call, the timing, the plans, the processes, the provision, their protection, the results, and the responses. These verses reveal that God’s sovereignty is evident from start to finish, throughout all of the events and activities that were taking place. They also reveal that God’s sovereignty occurs both externally – directing outside circumstances, people, and activity – and internally – moving in the hearts of people, including me.

Why is that important for you in your leadership? It matters because it offers you a confidence, one that exists outside of any present events or circumstances, that God has an intentional plan and purpose, and that His plan can be trusted. If the direct references to God’s involvement were removed from the book of Ezra, it would read like a great story with amazing coincidences that seem to work in favor of the Israelites, and reflect excellent leadership by Ezra. But, like what happens in the “The Wizard of Oz,” the curtain is pulled back so that we can see behind the scenes, providing us with a view of God’s supernatural involvement on so many levels. Because we believe the Bible and know that God is God, we are not surprised to see this, and yet we can easily fail to realize that God is just as involved in our stories!

Several years ago, I became convinced that a significant program change needed to be implemented in an organization in which I was a leader. I did the research to confirm the need for the change, and then did more research on how to introduce the change. I prepared diligently for the big announcement, but then, at the midnight hour – literally – I was stopped from moving forward by the board of directors. I was frustrated and it threw me off balance, and I am afraid that I responded without a view of God’s sovereign purpose. As time passed, and the program changed was implemented a year later, I was able to see that God had a plan that also involved timing, and that He used people and events to carry out that timing. Of course His plan was better than mine, and if I had been alert enough to see that when it happened, it would have save me some anxiety and helped me to respond better.

So as a leader, it is essential that you understand and remember that God has a plan and purpose that can be trusted, whether or not we can visibly see His hand in it. Thankfully, that plan is not contingent upon or predicated by my perfection, as we can see in the last couple of chapters of Ezra, which describe the repentance and spiritual restoration of the people after the rebuilding and return. God had carried out his plan even before all the wrongs had been righted. The same is true for us. He doesn’t wait until you are perfect before choosing you as a leader or carrying out His plan. He has a purpose, and you get to be part of it. So, whether your current circumstances are challenging or fantastic, continue to trust that God has plan and rest in that knowledge.

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Podcast, Season 2, Episode 1: Lessons On Leadership From the Life and Times of Ezra (part 1)

In my thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are leadership lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This particular series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament, the same lessons that I have published in my latest book. This week, in part 1, we build on Monday’s website article and introduce the series titled “Lessons On Leadership From the Life and Times of Ezra.” This is the transcript of the podcast.

The series will have 14 articles and episodes that begin with an introduction – that’s today – followed by 12 different lessons on leadership from the life and times of Ezra – and all of these lessons are representative of the big ideas in each chapter of my book, Leadership Ezra – with a final episode to wrap it all up. Over that time, we will talk about things like finding the balance between God’s sovereignty and my responsibility, understanding team leadership, the value of celebrations, the process of strategic planning, and several other valuable leadership principles. Taken together, they are a set of ideas that reflect leadership based on scriptural truths and they can help you not just be a better leader but a more biblical one.

Let me take you back to where this all began, when my answer to a question from my dad was, “I think I want to write books.” Years, ago, even before I started my career in Christian education, I had completed my seminary master’s degree in marriage, family, and personal counseling and had started working in my first counseling job.  However, I was still wrestling with my future goals and where I ultimately wanted to be in my life. When I thought about what my future might look like, writing books sounded like a worthy goal. I admired people who could write books that inspired, helped, shaped, or guided others, and although I don’t think I realized it then, I wanted to emulate my dad by sharing wisdom with people that would make a positive impact.  So, when my dad asked me what I thought I wanted to be doing in ten years, that was my answer.  “I think I want to write books.”  He reflected quietly for a moment and then with his usual wisdom, said to me, “Jeff, before you can say something, first you have to have something to say.”

Now, thirty years of life and experience later, it seems God has given me some things to say.  Or, at the very least, something to say for my own benefit, lessons that I have learned and continue to learn from the life of ministry to which God called me over that span of time and that I can put down on paper.  In particular, God has taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  I am a connect-the-dots kind of person; therefore, one of the ways God has taught and grown me is by connecting the dots between scriptural truth and life application.   

That’s the goal, therefore, of both the book, Leadership Ezra, and this series of articles:  to connect the dots between Scriptural truth and life application, specifically within the realm of leadership, using a story in the Bible to do so.  In this case, the story is the story contained in the book of Ezra, a book comprised of two different journeys of return for the people of God.  The experiences in this book demonstrate and illustrate lessons that can then be applied to our practice of leadership today.  

One of the most important things I pointed out in my book was that Ezra had developed an intimate, personal relationship with God, and because of that personal and deep relationship, he didn’t simply learn to know who God was and is; he also came to understand God’s nature and heart. He developed a relationship that enabled him to trust in God even in uncertainty and difficulty. It was from this relationship that he was, therefore, able to move and act with confidence in God’s sovereign plan and that he was able to see God’s hand and His purpose in the events that occurred.

In our leadership development, we need to develop that same kind of relationship and intimacy with God; and to do that, we absolutely must study Scripture. We need regular time with God, in prayer and in His Word. This must be central and foundational to what we do, to how we live, and to our call or purpose from Him. Doing this first is what makes us knowledgeable and gives us the capability to lead, because we will learn to see people and circumstances from God’s perspective, shaping how we think and act. It is from this growth of knowledge and relationship with God that we are then able to “walk the talk,” modeling and practicing what we know and living authentic, genuine lives that inspire trust and result in effective leadership.

In the next few weeks, we will be diving deeper into principles and practices that connect biblical truth with wisdom and applying it to the practice of leadership. The purpose is to connect faith, wisdom, and leadership in a way that would help you grow in your leadership and make an impact. So, whether you are new to leadership, struggling in your leadership, or simply want to learn more and grow in your leadership, the goal is to help you lead like Ezra, which is to know God deeply, live by His Word, and apply that wisdom in your leadership of others.

 The lessons we will discuss over these episodes are some of the pivotal lessons on leadership that can be drawn from Ezra’s story, along with understanding our purpose and responsibility in the context of God’s sovereignty, and understanding the importance of the connection between what we believe and know with how we live and act. These are just a little taste of the lessons on leadership that I think we can draw out, and over the next few weeks, we are going to walk through these – and other – lessons in this series of articles that capture the ideas I talk about in my book, Leadership Ezra (available on Amazon). Order a copy to follow along with this series and learn valuable insights from Ezra that can help you in your leadership role! But even before that: first, open your Bible and read the book of Ezra from start to finish. You might be surprised at what God teaches you from your own reading of His Word!

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Leadership Ezra: Who’s in Charge Here? (Part 1, Introduction)

In thirty years of life and experience in leadership roles in Christian organizations, there are lessons that I learned (and continue to learn) from the life of ministry to which God called me.  Over that time, He taught me lessons based on stories, principles, and truths from the Bible that have been translated into personal application.  This series of articles focuses on a set of those lessons drawn from the book of Ezra in the Old Testament (and then published in my latest book), and this week, in part 1, we introduce the series.

One of the things I most love to do is to connect the dots between Scriptural truth and life application. More specifically, I love to do this within the realm of leadership. And that’s how I ended up seeing some great lessons on leadership from a story in the Bible. In this case, it was the story in the book of Ezra, a book comprised of two different journeys of return for the people of God.  

I “discovered” these lessons when I randomly decided to do a personal Bible study on the book. I had been reading in the Old Testament and came across the first verse of Ezra 1, and figured out that it was connected to Jeremiah 29:10-11. That piqued my interest, so I decided I wanted to start reading through the book as a Bible study and asked the Lord to teach me from it. I started writing down my thoughts and responses to the story I was reading and began to recognize valuable lessons that directly impacted my leadership role at that time and place. By the time I finished the study, I was amazed at how much God had taught me about leadership from this unexpected book.

One of the most important lessons I observed was that Ezra had developed an intimate, personal relationship with God. Because of that personal and deep relationship, he didn’t simply learn to know who God was and is; he also came to understand God’s nature and heart. He had developed a relationship that enabled him to trust in God even in uncertainty and difficulty. It was from this relationship that he was, therefore, able to move and act with confidence in God’s sovereign plan and that he was able to see God’s hand and His purpose in the events that occurred.

I also learned that, like Ezra, in our leadership development we absolutely must study Scripture, growing in intimacy with God. We need regular time with God, in prayer and in His Word. This must be central and foundational to what we do, to how we live, and to our call or purpose from Him. Doing this first is what makes us knowledgeable and gives us the capability to lead, because we will learn to see people and circumstances from God’s perspective, shaping how we think and act. It is from this growth of knowledge and relationship with God that we are able to “walk the talk,” modeling and practicing what we know and living authentic, genuine lives that inspire trust and result in effective leadership.

These are some of the pivotal lessons on leadership that can be drawn from Ezra’s story, along with understanding our purpose and responsibility in the context of God’s sovereignty and understanding the importance of the connection between what we believe and know with how we live and act. They are just a little taste of the lessons on leadership that I think we can draw out, and over the next few weeks, we are going to walk through these – and other – lessons in a series of articles that capture the ideas I talk about in my new book, Leadership Ezra (available on Amazon). Order a copy to follow along with this series, and learn valuable insights from Ezra that can help you in your leadership role!

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Podcast Episode 41 (part 14): Pairs in Review

This week’s episode builds on Monday’s article, part fourteen in the series titled “Complementary Contradictions.” Here is the transcript of the podcast.

Sometimes, you get conflicting words of advice, one which is good and the other which is not, and it requires discernment to determine which is the right advice to follow. But often, these seeming contradictions are, in reality, complementary and, when used appropriately and in the right way, can work together to help you make better decisions. In this series of articles and podcast episodes, we are looking at different leadership ideas or principles that seem to contradict, are opposite sides of the same coin, or at least differ from each other, and we are pairing them up to see how they actually complement each other to make you a better leader

When we started this series, I began by pointing out that there are often two different, or even opposing, approaches to leadership that both have elements of truth. For example, when working with a team, it is important to have a variety of strengths within the team that work together well while filling in gaps. But on the other hand, sometimes the team is not there (or the work you are doing is by yourself), and you don’t have that luxury, so you have to become competent at the things that are more difficult for you to do so that you can fill in your own gaps. Or, on the one hand, It is important for you to focus on your own leadership strengths so that they become even better, because a lack of exercise in those areas will lead to diminished strength. But on the other hand, at the same time, you still need to identify the things that are challenging for you, or are not in your wheelhouse, or not things you enjoy, and work to strengthen those to a greater level of ability so that you can do them when necessary. Failing to do that will likely cause important things to be neglected, which will have consequences.

These serve as examples of the point we were making in this series, that there are leadership principles and practices that may seem to be contradictory to each other but which are actually both true, depending on the need or the circumstance. So before you choose one or the other, perhaps you should first think about the valuable lessons found in both and figure out how to apply them cooperatively. 

Now coming back full circle, that’s what we did in the last few weeks. Specifically, we identified and discussed six sets of complementary contradictions as pairs of principles that play well together, with the purpose of helping you become a better leader by incorporating both pieces of advice, not just one or the other.

The first pair that we looked at was that you tend to see what you are looking for, but not see what you are not looking for.  What that means is that it is our tendency to see what we are looking for, and then to only see what reinforces the belief that has been formed by what we saw, which leads to forming perceptions that can color our view. To change those perceptions requires intentional work. Check yourself, to make sure that you are seeing things correctly and that you not letting a single experience, misinformation, or incomplete information become the filter through which you are viewing everything. At the same time, it’s fairly easy to miss things that you are not looking for. You need to recognize that tendency and then remove any expectations of what you think you might see. After that, you can work at zooming out and zooming in (which was the second pair of principles we discussed – to step back and take a wide-angle look at everything followed by looking at more specific details, and finally you can try to look through different eyes, by trying to see through the approach or perspective of other people or other angles.

The second pair we looked at was the matched skills of zooming out and zooming in, and we compared it seeing both the forest and the trees. A good leader needs to be able to see the whole forest, or the big picture. Like puzzle pieces, each piece of the context, the environment, the organization, or the situation fits into a larger context, and you can best see how it fits when viewing the whole picture. In order to see the whole picture, you, as a leader, must be able to get on the balcony, zoom out, and get above the forest to be able to see clearly. Being able to do this will keep you from getting lost among the trees, and will provide the perspective necessary to implement changes and adjustments. Therefore, at the same time, you need to be able to get in among the trees and see how they are connected. You will be more effective if you can learn to connect the dots.  See the trees, find the connections, and use those connections to make decisions that will result in positive changes and improvements, decisions that will move you and the organization forward. 

The third pair we looked at was what happens when a plan comes together, but then what to do when a plan falls apart. For this pair, we used the analogy of a road map to illustrate the importance of a strategic plan. We established the importance of having an intentional and methodical process for assessing where you are, determining where you need to be, and drawing the map that shows how you will get there. The map is your plan, and therefore it is crucial for getting from here to there without getting lost. So when you are stepping into a new situation, facing a need for change and growth, have carried out or completed the last strategic plan, or have simply stagnated . . . it’s time for a plan to come together. However, sometimes (to continue the road trip map analogy), the car breaks down, there is road construction and detours, or the rest stop is closed. Everything you planned out starts to fall apart, and you have to figure out what to do. You may have had the best of intentions, but it just doesn’t work out the way you wanted it to. Now it’s time to accept the circumstances and move forward and make adjustments and corrections, or start over, or throw it all out and move on to something else. Regardless of what you decide, it’s time to do something different.

That leads to the fourth pair, where I said to do what works . . . until it doesn’t, and then do something different. First, be intentional about doing what works (which is generally evident in the results). Don’t be afraid of allowing the people who would know best to have input, and remember to periodically assess and analyze because we do need to make sure that what we are doing still works. But don’t change for the sake of change when what you have is working. However, if what you have is not working, don’t keep doing it. Life throws curve balls, and much of what happens around us and to us is unpredictable. Try as we might to prevent it or avoid it, change happens, and if we are not willing and able to have a degree of flexibility, we will be frustrated, disappointed, and defeated. Therefore, to be an effective leader, you must be able to be flexible, willing to give up control (specifically, over those things that you can’t control), and willing to do something different with a positive (not a defeated) attitude, and willing to learn to become more creative.

With the fifth pair, I talked about being a teacher, but first being teachable. To be an effective teacher, you must care, tell, show, and respond. These are all behaviors that can and should characterize you as an effective leader. Perhaps you have already been doing this and didn’t realize that in doing so, you have been a teacher. Perhaps you need to begin to do them. Regardless, remember that good teachers help students to achieve, even beyond what they believed was possible, and so it makes sense that if you can be a leader who teaches, the people you lead will grow, and you will benefit. But first, you must be teachable.  “Teachability” – or, the ability to be teachable – is essential to your growth as a leader. Therefore, humble yourself, study, practice self-reflection, and listen to feedback; all of these practices will help you to learn, but they must be willingly embraced. If you will do so, you will become a more effective – and respected – leader (and teacher), all because you made yourself teachable.

With the sixth and final pair, I focused on the two sides of communication, giving and receiving information, when I said to first close your mouth and use your ears, then to open your mouth and use your words. It is easy for a leader to assume that leadership means taking charge and giving direction. However, I believe that these principles from Scripture give us a very different picture: leadership should be characterized by listening. Ask questions. Make it safe for people to share. Validate. Make sure you get the whole story before you react. Close your mouth, open your ears, and listen. But then we need to talk as well as we listen. To do that, we must be intentional about what and how we communicate, to ensure that our words are meeting the needs of our listeners. Make sure that we are communicating information that our followers need to hear, that we are doing it often and accurately, and that we are using stories for the context. Then, when that happens, our words will fill in the page in front of them with the information that will be best for their growth and their performance. Be quick to listen, but then be careful to use your words well.

At the outset of the series, the goal in front of us was to see how these seeming contradictions are, in reality, complementary and can play well together so that you can use them to become a better leader. There are many situations you will face, many dilemmas to resolve, many choices to make, and many circumstances to address. Over the last 14 weeks, we’ve looked carefully at these six pairs so that we can learn lessons about how to lead well. The next step is up to you. Learn how to handle the challenges of leadership even better by putting these ideas together in your decision-making process. Applying these complimentary contradictions in practice will make you a better leader.

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Complementary Contradictions (part 14): Pairs in Review

Sometimes, you get conflicting words of advice, one which is good and the other which is not, and it requires discernment to determine which is the right advice to follow. But often, these seeming contradictions are, in reality, complementary and, when used appropriately and in the right way, can work together to help you make better decisions. In this series of articles and podcast episodes, we are looking at different leadership ideas or principles that seem to contradict, are opposite sides of a coin, or at least differ from each other and pairing them up to see how they actually complement each other to make you a better leader. Over the last 14 weeks, we have looked at 6 different pairs of ideas, and today we are going go back and do a quick review of them all.

Pair #1 – You see what you’re looking for, and you don’t see what you’re not looking for

The point we made with this pair was that, whether we realize it or not, we all develop perceptions of how we need to experience the world around us. Those perceptions tend to be based on either past experience, future expectation, or a combination of both. We either have an experience – positive or negative, real or imagined – or we have a specific expectation that we are anticipating, and we then form a perception based on which we look for a certain outcome, and only see the things that confirm that outcome. Consciously or not, we decide what we are looking for, and only see what affirms or confirms what we expect to see.

At the same time, and although we believe we notice everything (especially if we are looking) we tend to miss a lot of what is right in front of us, primarily because we are not looking for that specific thing in that specific way. When I am looking to see or find something, without realizing it, I am expecting it to look a certain way or be in a certain place, so I then overlook it when it is not in that place, or it looks different than what I remember or expect. Because our tendency is to only see what we are looking for, it takes a conscious effort to see things that we are not looking for.

Pair #2 – Zoom out and see the forest, and zoom in and see the trees

You have heard the saying, “You can’t see the forest for the trees,” and that was our primary metaphor for these contradictory, complementary ideas; contradictory in that you cannot do both things at the same time – see the forest AND see the trees – and complimentary in that you have to go back and forth – look at the forest, then at the trees, and back to the forest – repeatedly in order to successfully navigate where you are going and what you are doing.

The point we made with this pair was first about taking the time to see and understand the big picture. In successful leadership, you need to be able to get above the clouds and see the whole picture before you can drop back down to ground level and begin the process of directing, guiding, leading, and moving. If you don’t zoom out first, you won’t know where you are, you won’t know where you’re going, and you will end up someplace else. You can’t see the forest and the trees at the same time, so start by first zooming out to see the whole picture. But then, you need to zoom in to connect the dots, and identify and manage the details. And then make it a cyclical pattern in your leadership.

Pair #3 – When a plan comes together, and when a plan falls apart

With this pair, we applied the analogy of using a map for a road trip to show the importance of having an intentional and methodical process for assessing where you are, determining where you need to be, and drawing the map that shows how you will get there. The map is your plan, and therefore it is crucial for getting from here to there without getting lost. If you do it well, you will experience the joy of arriving at the destination that you have been eagerly anticipating. However, sometimes (to continue the road trip map analogy), the car breaks down, there is road construction and detours, or the rest stop is closed. Everything you planned out starts to fall apart, and you have to figure out what to do. You may have had the best of intentions, but it just doesn’t work out the way you wanted it to.

When that happens, what is most often going to be the best answer is to decide to accept reality and learn from it. At that point, the best thing you can do . . . is to do things differently, or start again, or make adjustments and corrections, or even throw it all out and move on to something else. Regardless of what happened, your plans fell apart. Sometimes the best of intentions come to naught, and all you can do is accept the circumstances and move forward.

Pair #4 – Do what works, or do something different

We began this pair by talking about the importance of figuring out what works, starting to do it, and continuing to do it. It’s been said that there is no need to reinvent the wheel, and what that means for you as a leader is that you don’t need to create a new plan and a new way of doing something every time you have to repeat the task or program. You don’t need to change something just for the sake of change, or because you think you know better even though you don’t have any data to support your idea. You may want to tweak the current strategy or tool to improve it, but you don’t need to start from scratch. You find what works and do it repeatedly . . . until you find that it doesn’t work.

If what you are doing didn’t work, is no longer working, or has never worked, it’s ok to scrap it and do something different. Don’t exercise insanity. Rather, step back onto the balcony to reassess the big picture, then zoom back in to make changes (the second pair of principles we talked about above). Then, make changes or start over. The bottom line is that you need to do what works, so if something is working, don’t change it (but make sure you evaluate it periodically to ensure that it is continuing to work the way that it should). However if, or when, it is not working, the best answer may simply be . . . do something different.

Pair #5 – Become a teacher, but first be teachable

This pair of principles focused on teaching, beginning with the understanding that you are a teacher. What I said was that you are already a teacher, even if you didn’t realize it, because you are modeling with your life, your actions, and your words, and others are learning from what they see you do and hear you say. I encouraged you, therefore, to be consciously intentional about those things. Own the fact that you are a teacher to your followers and do it with purpose.

However, in order to truly be an effective teacher, you yourself must first be teachable, because that attribute is one of the defining characteristics of a great teacher. You are already a teacher. If you want to be a great one, then you need to want to be teachable just as much as you want to be a teacher. So, humble yourself, open yourself up to receiving feedback, and be willing to honestly self-evaluate. Then, take that feedback and self-reflection, and grow. 

Pair #6 – Close your mouth and use your ears, then open your mouth and use your words

With this pair of principles, we focused on the understanding that communication is a two-way street, involving both the sending and receiving of information (otherwise known as talking and listening). In my observation – and likely in yours – most people tend to do far more talking than listening. That’s why one half of this discussion is that one of the skills necessary for effective leadership (and for healthy relationships) is the ability to listen well. We need to be quicker to hear than to speak (James 1:19), and we need to be careful to hear the whole story (Proverbs 18:13). In other words, close your mouth, use your ears, and listen.

However, while this is definitely true, it does not mean that we can neglect the other side of that street – we also need to be good talkers. Good communication involves both talking and listening, and so even though we tend to do one (talking) to the neglect of the other (listening), we can’t ignore either one. Yes, listening is crucial to effective leadership, but so is the other side of the communication pathway – talking. We need to do them both well. Put effort into what you say, how you say it, and why you say it. Choose your words with purpose, and express them strategically and carefully. 

At the outset, the goal in front of us was to see how these seeming contradictions are, in reality, complementary and can play well together so that you can use them to become a better leader. There are many situations you will face, many dilemmas to resolve, many choices to make, and many circumstances to address. Over the last 14 weeks, we’ve looked carefully at these six pairs so that we can learn lessons about how to lead well. The next step is up to you. Learn how to handle the challenges of leadership even better by putting these ideas together in your decision-making process. Applying these complimentary contradictions in practice will make you a better leader.

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Podcast Episode 40 (part 13): Open Your Mouth and Use Your Words

This week’s episode builds on Monday’s article, part thirteen in the series titled “Complementary Contradictions.” Here is the transcript of the podcast.

Sometimes, you get conflicting words of advice, one which is good and the other which is not, and it requires discernment to determine which is the right advice to follow. But often, these seeming contradictions are, in reality, complementary and, when used appropriately and in the right way, can work together to help you make better decisions. In this series of articles and podcast episodes, we are looking at different leadership ideas or principles that seem to contradict, are opposite sides of the same coin, or at least differ from each other, and we are pairing them up to see how they actually complement each other to make you a better leader. Last week, in part 12, we talked about the importance of using our ears more than our mouths, and this week, in part 13, we talk about the value of using our words well.

Words matter. The first indication of their importance was evident at the beginning of all things when God created our world. Genesis 1 tells us that God spoke the world into existence. Think about the power of those words! What God said out loud with words is what came into existence. Then, at some point after the creation was completed, we see a negative example when Satan deceived Adam and Eve by twisting the words of God. At the very origin of our world, words were used for great good and for great harm.

And not just the words themselves, but also the context in which they are used and the way in which they are said. In my marriage and family counseling years, I spent a lot of time talking about communication, and one of the points I would make to husbands and wives was that how they said something was often as important as the words that were said. 

Last time on this podcast, we focused on the importance of listening in the communication process, but today, we focus on the other half of that equation – using our words.

Early in my marriage, my wife and went to a social get-together with friends.  At some point in the conversation, I was asked a question, and so I started thinking about what I was asked. In my mind, I began to process the meaning of the question, what the possible answers could be, what the implications of those possible answers would be, what I had learned from my own experience that would apply, and, therefore, what would be a wise response. All of this was going on inside my head while I sat there in silence. Before my thought process finished, however, the conversation had moved on, so I never got to answer.

The next day, when I got home from work, my wife told me that the wife of the person who had asked me the question the night before called her to ask if I was upset at them. When my wife asked why she thought that, the other person said that it was because I had a serious look on my face and hadn’t answered the question, so they assumed I was upset. I wasn’t, but they didn’t know that because I had not used any words. My wife said something to me then that I never forgot, and I have used it repeatedly over the years. She said, “Jeff, if you give people a blank page, they will write their own story.” I learned in that experience that it’s not just important to listen; it’s also important to talk.

The point is that you need to use words. Last week I referenced the “grandma-ism” that “God gave you one mouth and two ears so that you would listen twice as much as you talk,” but don’t neglect the fact that God still gave you a mouth, and so you still do need to talk; you just need to do it wisely. People want to know that they have been heard, which is why it is important that you listen carefully, but they generally can’t tell that they have actually been heard if they don’t get a response. Therefore, you need to communicate with words. In the website article that parallels this podcast, I talked about the content of the words you use, and what it is that people need to hear, but the underlying idea is that they need to hear from you.

What this really means is that you need to cultivate your skill at using your words intentionally. The words “skill” and “intentionally” are important words in that sentence. To make sure that this happens, I see three important qualifiers for the words you use:

1) “Sparingly” – use your words sparingly. An abundance of words can cloud or confuse your message. You probably know the acronym K.I.S.S., which I learned means, “Keep it simple, stupid!” Your words are valuable, so don’t throw them all over the place and cheapen their value.

2) “Carefully” – use your words carefully. Proverbs 25:11 talks about words being like “apples of gold in settings of silver,” but it also talks about the power of words to harm in Proverbs 18:21. Therefore, it is important that your words are chosen and used in a way that benefits the listener.

3) “Purposefully” – use your words purposefully. Your words need to be used to accomplish a specific purpose, and so it matters which words you use, and how you use them. 

The bottom line is that communication truly is a two-way street. Yes, listen well, but also communicate clearly and with purpose. Put effort into what you say, how you say it, and why you say it. Choose your words with purpose, and express them strategically and carefully. 

 As a final recommendation on this topic, I would encourage you to do a study in the book of Proverbs on the use of words. Read a chapter a day for 3 months (you will end up reading through the book of Proverbs 3 times if you do this), and make note of every verse you come across that talks about your words. At the end of the three months, read through those specific verses and form an organized description of the main ideas that you learn from them. Remind yourself of it often and make it a part of who you are. Learn to open your mouth and use your words well.

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Complementary Contradictions (part 13): Open Your Mouth and Use Your Words

Sometimes, you get conflicting words of advice, one which is good and the other which is not, and it requires discernment to determine which is the right advice to follow. But often, these seeming contradictions are, in reality, complementary and, when used appropriately and in the right way, can work together to help you make better decisions. In this series of articles and podcast episodes, we are looking at different leadership ideas or principles that seem to contradict, are opposite sides of a coin, or at least differ from each other and pairing them up to see how they actually complement each other to make you a better leader. Last week, in part 12, we talked about the importance of using our ears more than our mouths, and this week, in part 13, we are talking about the value of using our words well.

It’s fairly common knowledge (and common sense) that communication is a two-way street, involving both the sending and receiving of information (otherwise known as talking and listening). In. my observation – and likely in yours – most people tend to do far more talking than listening. That’s why the other side of this discussion is that one of the skills necessary for effective leadership (and for healthy relationships) is the ability to listen well. We need to be quicker to hear than to speak (James 1:19), and we need to be careful to hear the whole story (Proverbs 18:13). As we said last time, close your mouth, use your ears, and listen.

However, while this is definitely true, it does not mean that we can neglect the other side of that street – we also need to be good talkers. Good communication involves both talking and listening, and so even though we tend to do one (talking) to the neglect of the other (listening), we can’t ignore either one. Yes, listening is crucial to effective leadership, but so is the other side of the communication pathway – talking. We need to do them both well. That leads us to the importance of opening your mouth, using your words, and speaking intentionally.

I am, by nature, a reflective thinker, so I generally process my thoughts for a while before responding to people. What that looks like inside my head is, “Hmmm, let me think about that so that I can give you a very good answer,” but what it looks like to other people is, “Did he even hear a word that I said?” My wife humorously describes this thought process in my head as a train that is circling the tracks and eventually comes back around to the train station. So when my children ask me a question, and I haven’t answered yet, she will say, “Be patient children, the train is on its way back to the station.”

Although we joke about my train, recognizing this has helped me to understand that I have to verbally tell people that I am processing their questions, input, or ideas. I have learned that I need to tell people, out loud, that I have heard them, and that I am thinking through what they said. They need to hear me speak. Why is that so? I think the answer comes from something else that I have often heard my wife say – if you give people a blank page, they will write in their own perceptions and ideas. If you don’t give people information that they need to know, or let them know that they have been heard, they will form their own conclusions which may or may not be true, and which will likely have to be addressed and/or corrected, which in turn makes your job of communicating that much more difficult.

Therefore, even though listening is a critical skill that we must develop, we also must learn to speak. I am not talking about the skill of public speaking (although that is something that also ought to be developed in our leadership) but about the simple act of communicating our thoughts, ideas, vision, and responses. We have to talk to people, and we must do it in a way that lets them feel heard, gives them understanding, enlists their support, and provides information that they need. In order to do this well, there are three needs that must be met by our words.

First, people need to feel informed. No one likes to be surprised with information, especially if they will be impacted by the circumstances or the information. It is, therefore, important that they know what is happening around them. As you lead your organization or your team, there will be changes that you need to implement, strategies that you need to develop, and obstacles that you need to navigate. During those experiences, you need to communicate what is happening and what you are doing. And it is especially important that you communicate information to someone if you are obligating his or her participation. If they will be required to contribute or participate and they have not been properly informed, they will resist. So the bottom line is that you must be sure to communicate well and communicate much.

Second, people need an active, accurate data stream of information. They will generally believe what they hear most repeatedly, and so if you do not make sure that the information they receive is accurate and frequent, people will begin to believe things that are not true or will form perceptions that can be detrimental to your direction. And once perceptions are formed, they can be hard to change. The information that people will be exposed to will often come from other sources besides you – the gossip of coworkers, the opinions of friends and relatives, the advertising of competitors – so you will need to make sure that they are repeatedly hearing true information.

Third, people need to hear stories. Stories make cold facts become relatable, memorable, and more believable. They provide handles for information so that they can remember what is important and can share it with others. As Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker say in School Culture Rewired (2015), “Stories are the currency of a culture – they are the most effective means of transferring information from one person to another” (p. 38). It follows, then, that leaders should become good storytellers, able to put information in the context of a story that they tell. When you do that, people are more likely to listen and understand and will have a better grasp of the information that you share.

So, the conclusion should be that we need to talk as well as we listen. To do that, we must be intentional about what and how we communicate, to ensure that our words are meeting the needs of our listeners. Make sure that we are communicating information that our followers need to hear, that we are doing it often and accurately, and that we are using stories for the context. Then, when that happens, our words will fill in the page in front of them with the information that will be best for their growth and their performance. Be quick to listen, but then be careful to use your words well.

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