Why You Should Receive Correction Well

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Has anyone ever spoken these words to you?

“You really need to work on ___________.”

“The way that you ______________ really isn’t the best approach.”

“Have you ever thought about a different line of work?”

Well, I have.  I’ve had all of these said to me at some point in my ministry….and probably more than once.  The reason?  More often than not, I wasn’t open to learning.  Why should I have been?  I was the ‘paid’ professional…right?  I’m on staff because I know everything.  I’m the leader and they are the followers.  (insert extreme sarcasm)

Now, this is pretty normal for most young leaders to experience.  The hope, however, is that we grow and mature out of this stage of knowing EVERYTHING and into the stage of realizing that we really KNOW VERY LITTLE!

How do we make that move?

By simply practicing how to receive constructive criticism with humility and a heart for learning.

Look at what Ecclesiastes 7:5 tells us.

Better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool.

Let me offer my translation as this passage relates to leadership.

Learn from those who notice your weaknesses when you don’t, and minimize your exposure to leaders who value flattery over health.

Don’t get me wrong.  We all love words of encouragement and praise for a job well done.  But all of that is useless if it  leads  to stagnant growth.

Key point:  All criticism, both positive and negative, should have only the best intentions in mind for the individual and the organization.

Leave me a comment below or a voicemail with your thoughts.

Stay true to your call

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“You are a king then?”  Pilate asked.

“You say that I’m a king,”  Jesus replied.  “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”   – John 18:37

Even on the verge of Jesus’ death.

Even when it seemed like everyone was against Him.

In a moment when anyone else might have taken this interview  as a chance to escape death.

Even when those closest to him stopped walking with Him.

Even now (and I love how this reads in the HCSB version) Jesus replies with, “I was born for this!”  Then, He goes on to clarify what He was born for.

As ministers of the gospel, both vocational and volunteer, we should have this same attitude.

When things get rough in ministry, can you boldly proclaim “I was born for this” without hesitation?

Second, can you quickly rattle off your specific calling?  Do you know (remember) what God has called you to do for His kingdom?

May you have boldness and clarity of your calling in this season of your partnership with the Lord.

Leave me a comment below or a voicemail with your thoughts.

 

 

‘Leadership is…’ Part 2

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(This is the second post in this series.  Be sure to check out the rest of the series in the ‘Most Recent‘ section by scrolling down on the right-hand side of the page.)

Joy

Do you have joy, REAL JOY, in your life today?  Ok, that’s a pretty big quesiton.  Let me scale it back just a tad bit.  Do you experience Joy in your job?

See what I did there?  I fine-tuned the quesiton while keeping it’s magnitude.  But it really is a fair quesiton.  Do you honestly look forward to going to work each day?  Now, reality proves that ‘every day’ Joy in heading to work might be a slight stretch.  The heart of the question, however, is asking, “Do you love what you do?”  If your answer is ‘no,’ you might need to start examining why that is.  If you are in a leadership position and you don’t love what you do…..we need to talk!

It is absolutely critical for leaders who lead others to have REAL JOY in their position.  If you are miserable, everyone you lead will be miserable.

REAL JOY is not dependant upon our circumstances.  Go back and read that part again!  Let me paint a quick picture for you.  Even if…

…everyong on your team isn’t catching your vision.

…your boss is not pleased with your overall performance.

…you don’t have all the resources you need to do the job well.

You’ve got to be able to experience Joy in spite of your circumstances.  Why?  Because our circumstances cannot be our source of hope and fulfillment.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him.  Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.     Romans 15:13

Today, rediscover Joy in your leadership role.  And if you have never really had Joy at work, I’d encourage you to  take some serious time away to reflect and pray.  Search for why Joy is absent.

Have you worked for someone who clearly disliked their job?  How did that effect your work?

Comment below or leave me a personal voicemessage!

‘Leadership is….’ Part 1

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This is the first of nine posts I’ll be doing on a series based on how the Fruit of the Spirit should drive our leadership.

So, to start us off in the right direction….how well do you love?

Love is the greatest virtue, so doesn’t it make sense that it should be our primary driving force in leadership?

It should be evident in…

…how we make decisions.

…how we correct others.

…how we handle stress.

The ‘Love‘ chapter in 1 Corinthians tells us this about love.

Love is patient and kind.  Love is not jealous or boastful or proud  or rude. It does not demand its own way.  It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.  It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Does this depict your leadership?  Maybe the better way to react to this passage is to ask, “Do those I lead see this in me?”

I’m taking time today to personally reflect on this in my own approach to leadership.  And may all of us be consistant in reflecting the love of Jesus to those around us this week.

Leave me a comment below or a personal voicemessage.

Questions on Leadership?

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I’m taking suggestions for future posts on leadership.  What specific topics / issues / areas would you like to see me address here at #LeadRight?

2 ways to do this:

- Click HERE to leave me a personal voice message!

- Leave a comment below this post.

“Leadership is influence.”  – John Maxwell

Defensive Driving & Ministry

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After our family moved across the U.S. from WA to GA, one of the biggest differnces I noticed…..was the drivers!  Holy Cow…and I thought people in L.A. drove bad.  (no offense, CA) When we found out that our auto insurance was going to more than double, they (the insurance) informed us that it was because of the high rate of accidents and speeding tickets in the area.

As a result, I have taken on the attitude of ultra-defensive driving.  Hey, it’s survival of the most alert where I live.  I am not lying.  There are certain intersections in town where I actually expect a car to come flying through a red light.  I expect it!

Have you experienced this approach……..to serving in ministry?

Gunshy?  Fully expecting the next wave of church un-health to T-bone you without warning?

If you’ve been a leader in a church before you know what I’m talking about.  You finally start attending a new church and the first time someone asks you about getting involved….you pause!

Just like me at those intersections.  Expecting the worst.  Anticipating getting hurt….AGAIN!

Can I encourage you today?  I’ve been there.  I’ve taken two huge pauses in ministry work, essentially leaving my calling both times.  I’ve learned one key lesson from those pauses.  I was only hurting myself.  When you’re called to the ministry, I believe it’s a life-long calling.  It’s something that lives deep down inside of us.  Therefore, we won’t be able to find real fulfillment doing anything else.

So, what does moving on look like?  Simple.  Get back in the driver’s seat and hit the road.  But here’s the key.  Problems in the intersecion are still going to occur.  What we must do is watch our approach and how we drive through it.

Navigation is everything.

How have you navigated through the intersections of ministry?  Leave me a voice message.

4 Food Groups of Leadership

Five Guys, Dunkin’ Donuts, Subway, Golden Corral….and the list goes on.

I love food!  So when I had a thought about how to relate leadership to food, I simply had to go there.  Now, similar to our need for a balanced diet regarding our personal health, our effectiveness in leadership also requires balance.  Too much of one or two and omitting the rest can lead to malnutrition.

Fruits, grains, veggies, and dairy.  We all learned about these in 1st grade, right?  So here’s my 4 basic food groups of leadership.  Let me know what you think.  (happy eating)

Knowledge – Always be reading something on leadership that offers practical advice in your area of leadership.  Subscribe and listen to podcasts or buy some audio books.  I tend to load up my iPhone with new podcasts to listen to when I’m traveling.  Once in a while, read from authors on leadership who don’t share the same approach to leading others as you do.  This will challenge and strengthen you.

Experience – Everything you have done is a valuable experience to learn from…both successes and failures.  One of the greatest tragedies young ministers/leaders make is avoiding conflict.  Conflict (good and bad) is a buffet for gaining experience.  Embrace it and then learn something from it every time!  The more experiences you have and learn from, the better potential you have of becoming an insightful leader.  Lastly, learn from others…and mostly from their mistakes.  These will hopefully be mistakes you won’t have to make on your own.

Application – When we take knowledge and experience and pack them away in the attic, we essentially have an empty house.  We must try things, even if some are a little frightening.  Start something new.  Try a different way of doing something.  Ask someone younger than you what they would do and then try it.

Spiritual Awareness – This food group gives some ‘crunch’ to the other three.  Without this one, Church leaders are no different than your average corporate America department manager.  But with it, we have the ability to tap into the most brilliant CEO  (God).  It is so important that we continually check our growth, decisions, vision, and actions with Him in prayer.  Doing this ensures a much better success rate than merely leading on our own.

Question:  What would you add or edit in this Leadership Pyramid?