One of the author’s I follow is Jon Gordon, who helps corporations and athletic teams develop positive cultures. This week Jon posted 21 Tips for a Positive New Year. I liked it and wanted to share it here. You’ll notice that his list primarily focuses on repositioning old habits and tendencies that turn negatives into…
Category: Leadership
Why People Resist Change
I’m currently reading Tempered Resilience, by Tod Bolsinger, which includes this fabulous quote from the work of Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky: “People do not resist change, per se. People resist loss. You appear dangerous to people when you question their values, beliefs, or habits of a lifetime. You place yourself on the line when…
Canoeing the Mountains
The year following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, President Thomas Jefferson commissioned Captain Meriwether Lewis to find the most direct and practical water route across the continent from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean for the purposes of commerce. For over 300 years explorers from at least four sovereign nations had been looking for…
11 Traits of the Best of the Best
Today I finished an exceptional book by Jon Gordon titled, “Training Camp.” Its a leadership fable, written in the fashion of Ken Blanchard and Patrick Lencioni. The impact is tremendous. The fable that Gordon offers is built around 11 principles that help us move from good to great. Here’s the list: 1. The best know…
Liberated Leadership
“In his Pulitzer Prize winning book on leadership, James McGregor Burns offers advice to those faced with this dilemma: “No matter how strong the yearning for unanimity…(leaders) must settle for far less than universal affection… They must accept conflict. They must be willing an able to be unloved. The recognition that they will not be…
Approval Versus Acceptance
I am a part of a congregational church. With the exception of one Elder led congregation, I have always been a part of a congregational church. A congregational church government means that the membership sits atop the organizational chart, providing the final thumbs up or thumbs down to initiatives from subsets of the church. A…
On Bullying
There seems to be a lot of talk about “bullying” in the news lately. Parents frequently claim that their child has been bullied at school, and are frustrated that teachers and building administrators are not doing anything to prevent these abusive acts. I recognize that our first response to this conversation could be to brush…
Why We Resist Change, part 2
You’ve done the research. You’ve considered the options. You’ve communicated clearly and have covered all the bases. You’ve presented the benefits and the opportunities that the new change will provide and have given reasonable expectations for outcomes you hope the change will produce. It seems like a no brainer. So why is the recommendation met…
Ministry Decision Filters
Every church and its leadership is faced with choices. There are multiple decisions that are made every year that impact the future direction of the congregation. This weekend in worship I shared three questions that should serve as filters for every decision we face. Filter #1: Are we being faithful to Christ and His Word?…
5 Characteristics of Weak Leaders
Here’s a great blog post from Michael Hyatt on 5 Characteristics of Weak Leaders. It’s worth 5 minutes of your time.
