I’m a proponent of leadership over management as the primary course of study to improve one’s ability to influence people. Management, however, seems to have reigned as a subject in books since the 1800s. The google Ngram below charts the usage of the keywords “manager,” “leader,” “management”, and “leadership” in books since 1800. I...
Benedict believed the basic leadership virtue was humility. Leaders had to demonstrate competence and ambition, but their passion was to derive from a desire to improve and contribute to the health of the organization, not from individual ego. He believed that true humility was a skill one had to learn and practice. John Mount, in a Forbes.com review of the book The Benedictine Rule of...
The great leader is seen as the servant first. – Robert K. Greenleaf
Great leaders tell stories that create pictures in our minds and have emotional impact. Martin Luther King Jr., had a dream, not a strategy or a goal, and he showed us his dream, his picture of the future. People change when they see something visual (the vision) that touches their feelings, challenges their thinking, and incites actions. People may realize the need for change, but not do...
The following leadership lesson was circulated around our organization today. I’ve read this before, was inspired, and moved on to the popular leadership theories and acronyms of more “modern” leader training. But this is a story that deserves to be revisited often, it teaches lessons lacking in today’s leaders. In an article published in the Warton Leadership...
The Maxwell Leadership Bible counts the leadership style in the United States since World War II. There has been an evolution of leadership styles over the past sixty years which illustrates the change in the generations and a move to more internalized and inspired followers. 1. Military Commander. Leaders returned from the war emulating the leadership styles that won the war. They...
A warrior is a person experienced in or capable of engaging in combat or warfare, literally or figuratively. Most leaders are figurative warriors, those who show great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness in everyday challenges. Merely acting like a warrior is insufficient, a warrior leader must become one by consistently walking the path of: 1. Integrity – honest and sincere 2...
Sermon Audio “The Journey” When the Israelites stood at the far side of the Red Sea they had escaped certain death and were delivered to life by the hand of God, but their journey wasn’t over. The Israelites wandered through the wilderness before reaching their promise, and it wasn’t always pretty. At times God’s anger burned toward them but in the end both He and...
All who are blessed with the gift of leadership will at some point discover they are the most powerful person in a group. It may be when an older sibling realizes the influence they can bear on the youngsters or when an adult is promoted to a position of authority. How we handle power is key to successful leadership, as a Christian the decision is absolutely critical. Popular culture will beg...
I have to ask….Why? As a father of two teenage daughters I frequently hear their friends and them state somthing akin to “I just want to do something to be famous..” I cringe every time I hear it because they envision a life of glitz, glamour, and glory….I see a life of discontent, decadence, and diversions. Jesus was arguably the most famous person to live; almost 2000...