Bad and mediocre people are tempted to sin by their own habitual weaknesses. The earlier lies or thefts or adulteries make the next one that much easier to contemplate. Having already cut so many corners, the thinking goes, what’s one more here or there? Why even aspire to virtues that you probably won’t achieve, when it’s easier to remain the sinner that you already know yourself to be?
But good, heroic people are led into temptation by their very goodness – by the illusion, common to those who have done important deeds, that they have higher responsibilities than the ordinary run of humankind. It’s precisely in the service to these supposed higher responsibilities that they often let more basic ones slip away. – Ross Douthat, New York Times, November 13, 2011
Posts tagged: young leader
Sin Through Weakness and Goodness
Rules of Influence
- Live a life of undivided integrity
- Always demonstrate a positive attitude
- Consider other people’s interest as more important that your own
- Don’t settle for anything less than excellence
from Chris Widner: The Art of Influence: Persuading Others Begins With You
The Lost Art of Backward Planning
Jesus had a plan…and he executed it right on time.
As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. Luke 9:51 (NIV)
Short of the divine knowledge Jesus possessed, few of us would be able to deliver exactly on time with as far to travel and as many things to do. Along the way he taught parables, eased Martha to the better choice, confronted demons, expressed woes to the pharisees, healed people, dined with his disciples, and prayed all night before being arrested…right on time.
Granted, the things we do day-to-day don’t have eternal consequences for all of humanity, but why do we seem to always miss deadlines, cram all night to study or finish a project, or flat out miss deadlines? We’ve lost the art of backward planning.
Backward planning is the process of determining the right time to start something by subtracting from the finish point the time required to complete it .
Here’s a simple example: It takes 2 hours to drive to your mothers and you need to be there by 7:00pm. Subtract 2 hours from 7pm and you need to leave at five. WAIT, WAIT…don’t stop reading, it gets better.
What we fail to do is apply this simple concept to more complex projects like the yearly report, your masters degree thesis, or even family panning. Here’s some simple steps to backward plan your next project.
- Determine the finish point
- List all tasks that must be done in order
- Estimate the length of each task
- Subtract each length from the finish point
Making a Change at Church: Eight (not so) Simple Steps
In a previous post I quoted John Maxell who observed that older and “insecure leaders view change as a threat rather than an opportunity. ” But what if you have to change.
Many small churches are facing declining membership because their traditions have not changed in decades. The prevailing belief is worship traditions are Biblical and any deviation must certainly be a sin. Even though largely attracted to the spiritual (review the popular movies today) , younger generations are increasingly turned off by what they see as rigid and irrelevant. Read more →
Management Since 1800
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 notice a couple of interesting things about these trends:
- Leadership subjects did not appear until the mid 1800s (perhaps as a result of the American Civil War)
- Management subjects decreased during the America’s Great Depression
- Management subjects skyrocketed during 1970-1990 (the rise in the economies of industrialized countries)
- All of the keywords dropped in usage after 2001 (Influenced by the attacks on September 11?)
Greenleaf on Servant Leadership
The great leader is seen as the servant first. – Robert K. Greenleaf
Leadership Lessons From A Janitor
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 Digest James E. Moschgat (at the time a Colonel in Command of the 12th Operations Group, 12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas) writes about the squadron janitor at the Air Force Academy who was discovered to be a Congressional Medal of Honor winner. The janitor was William John Crawford who earned a Medal of Honor while serving in Italy with the 36th Infantry Division but went on to become a leadership inspiration to Colonel Moschgat. Read more →
Leader Poet
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 implemented a top down dictatorship style influencing from their position as a leader instead of inspiration.
2. Chief Executive Officer. CEOs lead through vision, goals and objectives passed to subordinates to follow. This is a top down leadership style which depends more on execution of a strict plan than
3. Coaches. Recently, leaders have viewed themselves as coaches of a team striving together for a win. In a sports obsessed society this works well because it focuses on the teams strengths and weaknesses forms
4. Poets. Currently more leaders are realizing the power of words and the inspirational value of empowering subordinates. A leader poet knows with a properly formed message subordinates will be empowered to creatively achieve the organizations goals. See also: Motivation 3.0
…all the people hung on [Jesus'] words (Luke 19:48 NIV
The Path of the Warrior
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. Impeccability – faultless character
3. Outrageous – excessively bold
4. Personal Power – ability to act
The leader shows that style is not more important than substance, and that creating an impression is not more potent than acting from one’s center – Lao Tzu (500BC)
Truthfulness
Arrogant [Eloquent] lips are unsuited to a fool
how much worse lying lips to a ruler! Proverbs 17:5-7 (NIV)
Truthfulness is an elusive habit for leaders. We are assaulted daily by situations that beg for lies, half-truths, misinformation, deception, and withholding. These situations arise at work from difficult communication, positions of disadvantage to us, and fear of retribution. Within our families they arise from personal pride toward spouses, fear of children’s actions, and discomfort with admitting to wrong actions.
The mad boss asks, “Who made this decision?”
The Christian brother states, “I’m only flirting with her, I can control it.”
The inefficient employee asks, “Am I doing ok working for you?”
The spouse demands, “Where did all of our money go?”
Your child asks, “Where do babies come from?”
A Christian Leader’s response:
1. Just tell it. The benefits of truthfulness outweigh the costs in the long run as your boss learns to appreciates your trust and candor, your spouse loves the open communication, and your children model. Warning, blunt truthfulness will mark you as a jerk and harm your ability to influence. Use gentleness and patience to form your communication in a way that creates an environment of appreciation.
2. Demand it in return. My initial briefing to new employees has always included the requirement of truth. My nature I am a trusting person, tell me something and I take it to the bank until that something is proven false. Once you lose my trust it’s hard to get it back. My daughters were raised with the same requirement. I marvel at parents who severely discipline children based on honest disclosure. Since birth we have demanded truth and lessened discipline with it. The result, open communication… something seemingly rare in today’s youth.
To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful. Edward R. Murrow