Truth: Love Works Wednesday Link Up Week 6 – Truthful

Today is Day 3 of Truth Week here on The Stretched Blog, and we continue the Wednesday series based on Love Works by Joel Manby.  In today’s post, Bill Grandi (The Cycleguy) and I are discussing the seventh chapter (Truthful:  Define Reality Corporately And Individually).  Check out Bill’s take by clicking here.

As a reminder, Manby’s premise is that leadership is best when it comes from a position of agape love based on I Corinthians 13 (“…[love] rejoices with the truth”).  Since I already read the book, I thought it would be interesting to highlight some of the sentences I underlined when I read the book initially:

• “If we love our team, it is critical that their talented voices are heard and their opinions considered.” (p. 118)
• “Most people don’t leave because of poor performance; they leave because they don’t feel valued.” (p. 118)
• “Leading with love also means doing the best thing for the organization to protect or add as many jobs as possible for those we care about.”  (p. 118)
• “A healthy organization does the most good for the greatest number of people.”  (p. 118)
• “[People] need truthful, direct feedback and follow-up to help them refine their performance and attitude to become fantastic – not just good – leaders.”  (p. 121)
• “Leading with love means caring enough about an individual or a team to give and solicit truthful feedback.  When leaders provide their teams with the truth about their performance as well as the tools to be successful, regardless of personal feelings, this is a sure sign of leading with love.”  (p. 122)
• “There is almost no greater gift in life than honest friends, and all leaders need to hear the truth about who they are and the nature of their strengths and weaknesses.”  (p. 130) [Great follow-up to yesterday’s post – Truth:  Truth Or Dare.]
• “Leading with love begins with an honest assessment of yourself, and self is the one person you can never be absolutely honest with.”  (p. 130) [Ties into Monday’s post – Truth:  You Can’t Handle The Truth.]

Getting truthful feedback and giving truthful feedback is essential to leading well.

Leaders who hole themselves up in their “ivory” offices or cubicles without mingling with their team will soon lose touch with the truth they need to hear, and they’ll fail to get their messages of truth across with any kind of effectiveness.

Honestly, I have felt this way at times in my own leadership in the corporate world.  Policies and procedures easily become the focal point instead of people.  Our leadership loses its way when policies push aside people.  This is the same for companies, schools, churches, and government.

When it comes down to it, leaders must open their ears to hear what their employees have to say.  They must open their mouths to extend truthful feedback to their team members.  And they must take action in a way that demonstrates they have listened and in a way that models desired behavior.

Here are five simple suggestions for encouraging truth in your organization:

1. Provide a platform for team members to voice their ideas, concerns, and questions.  This could be an employee survey, a department meeting, a suggestion box, or a one-on-one meeting.  As Manby shares in this chapter, this step is absolutely critical so our team members know that they are valued.
2. Be truthful with your team members.  On a broader level, share details that impact the whole team.  This could be done at a Town Hall meeting, a department meeting, or through an e-mail.  On an individual level, meet with team members on a regular basis. Use this time to provide updates on performance progress and to address any specific corrections.  Don’t shy away from these opportunities as they provide an opportunity to help team members grow and develop.
3. Take action and draw team members into the solution.  When ideas or problems come up that require action, get your team involved to brainstorm ideas and to implement steps for correction or improvement.  This will show the team that you care and it will help team members to embrace the solution.
4. Don’t rest on your laurels.  Just because something worked at one time doesn’t mean it will continue to work without attention.  Being true to our organizations, team members, and to ourselves requires continuous monitoring and continuous improvement.
5. Document.  Document.  Document.  It’s so important to document feedback to and from team members.  This is one method for holding each other accountable to actions required of the truths uncovered along the way.  Following up with e-mailed meeting minutes is a great way to capture truth and to make sure everyone is in agreement.

Part of leading with love involves leading with truthfulness.  As leaders, we have a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to make sure truth prevails in our organizations.

Over the next three weeks, Bill and I will continue to explore love based leadership.  I hope you’ll read along, jump into the comments, and maybe even change the way you lead.  Until then, consider getting a copy of Love Works for yourself, and see how this book might change you and your leadership.

What is one thing you can do differently this week to become a more truthful leader?  How have you been led with truthful, love-based leadership?

Love Works Wednesday Link Up Week 5 – Unselfish

Today, we continue the  Wednesday series based on Love Works by Joel Manby.  In today’s post, Bill Grandi (The Cycleguy) and I are discussing the six chapter (Unselfish:  Think Of Yourself Less).  Check out Bill’s take by clicking here.

As a reminder, Manby’s premise is that leadership is best when it comes from a position of agape love based on I Corinthians 13 (“…[love] is not self-seeking”).  Since I already read the book, I thought it would be interesting to highlight some of the sentences I underlined when I read the book initially:

• “Being unselfish doesn’t mean thinking less of yourself – it means thinking of yourself less.” (p. 88)
• “If we are unable to be selfless in our personal life, we are unlikely to be unselfish as a leader, and unselfishness is a key component of leading with love.” (p. 93)
• “The crazy thing about giving is this:  when we give, we never know what might happen.  Often giving provides the giver with unexpected blessings – as well as making the world a better place.”  (p. 95)
• “Being unselfish isn’t just for individuals – it’s for organizations too.  As leaders we’ve been blessed with resources, and part of our responsibility is to pass it on or “share it forward.”  The gift of leadership brings with it the awesome responsibility of giving properly of our time and resources but also of being a steward of giving for the organization.”  (p. 98)
• “Giving time and talent to develop internal leaders is another important reflection of being unselfish in an organization.”  (p. 100)
• “If we become numb to the needs of our employees, their performance and ability to satisfy our customers will diminish over time, compromising the very “numbers” we were obsessed with.”  (p. 101)
• “’Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.'”  (p. 102)
• “Unselfishness sometimes means letting others lead.”  (p. 106)

This is a tough one.  I don’t know many people who aren’t at least a little self-centered.  We live in a “look at me” culture.  Most of us have tunnel vision on what is best for ourselves.

We don’t put others first.  It takes focus and discipline to look past our own desires to the needs of others.

And it doesn’t take long to see this in the world around us.  Sports stars on the field or on the court pound their chests after a play as if to say “Look at me; I’m the man.”  Most politicians are looking out for their own interests instead of finding ways to compromise for the betterment of society as a whole.  And in the business world, it’s a dog eat dog world where people climb over one another to get to the top even if it means stepping on someone or even ruining someone’s career.

I probably shouldn’t state this as a blanket statement as I have met tremendous people who clearly have the interest of others in mind, but this doesn’t seem to be the norm.

I’m guilty of being selfish, and I bet if you’re honest with yourself, you’re guilty of selfishness as well.  I don’t want to be this way.  I want to be known for thinking of others first.  I want to treat others the way I would want to be treated.  So how do we do this?  Instead of coming up with a seven step process for becoming unselfish, I think it really comes down to one thing:

Follow Jesus.

That’s it.  You see he was a servant.  He put others first.  He put the interests of others ahead of his interests.  He was unselfish.

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Philippians 2:1-11

And this is how we should lead and live our lives.  If we follow Jesus in selfless living, we will change our homes, our schools, our places of employment.  And we will change the world.

Over the next four weeks, Bill and I will continue to explore love based leadership.  I hope you’ll read along, jump into the comments, and maybe even change the way you lead.  Until then, consider getting a copy of Love Works for yourself, and see how this book might change you and your leadership.

What is one thing you can do differently this week to become a more unselfish leader?  How have you been led with selfless, love-based leadership?

Love Works Wednesday Link Up Week 4 – Trusting

Last week, I continued a Wednesday series based on Love Works by Joel Manby.  (Click here to read my first post in this series, click here to read the second week’s post based on Patient Leadership, and click here to read last week’s post which focuses on Kind Leadership).  A blogging friend of mine, Bill Grandi (The Cycleguy), recently challenged readers to consider linking up with him for several weeks with posts related to this excellent leadership book.  To read Bill’s introductory post for this series, click here. And to read his post from last two weeks, click here and here.

For today, Bill and I (and anyone else who’s linking up with us) will be posting about the fifth chapter (Trusting:  Place Confidence In Someone).  Check out Bill’s take by clicking here.

Manby’s premise is that leadership is best when it comes from a position of agape love based on I Corinthians 13.  Since I already read the book, I thought it would be interesting to highlight some of the sentences I underlined when I read the book initially:

• “When you don’t listen to others, it sends them a very negative and unflattering message.” (p. 72)
• “Interrupting is a sign of distrust.” (p. 73)
• “1. Don’t say, ‘I understand how you feel, but …’  2. Instead summarize what you heard.  3. If you go in a different direction, articulate why.”  (p. 73-74).
• “Listening well is critical because it demonstrates trust and builds a team’s sense of camaraderie and cohesion.”  (p. 74)
• “One of the best ways a leader can demonstrate trust and respect is to listen to and involve team members in the decisions that affect them.”  (p. 76)
• “If we want our organizations to display trust and respect, we need to make sure everyone is involved in the decisions that affect them.  The best decisions are always made with, not for, and showing that kind of trust is a true attribute of leading with love.”  (p. 78)
• “Let others make the decisions for which they are responsible.”  (p. 84)
• “Avoid overruling decisions that have been made.”  (p. 85)

Trusting our teams and listening to our teams can be a real challenge.  I experience that as a leader at my job and as a leader in my home.  It’s easy to fall into the trap of doing things myself, because I know it will be done right.  It’s also easy to fall into the mode of a benevolent dictator – “I’ll make the decisions.  You’ll listen and follow.  End of discussion.”  This is completely contrary to what Manby suggests in today’s reading, and it doesn’t show team members that we are confident in them.

A trusting leader must learn to involve others in decisions and must listen to team members.  When I say listen, I don’t mean just let them speak.  I mean really listen and digest what them.  How will team members know that you’re listening?  They’ll know by our actions.  Here are seven ways to improve your listening skills:

1. Get rid of distractions.  At home, turn off the television and the music.  At the office, get away from the computer, and go into a closed office if necessary.
2. Shut your mouth and open your ears.  You can’t listen when your mouth is moving.  In the first chapter of James, it says to “be quick to listen, slow to speak….”
3. Take notes.  Taking notes helps you remember what is shared in the conversation.
4. Restate what was shared to check for understanding.  “This is what I heard you say….  Do I understand you correctly?”
5. Follow through with action.  Assuming the idea or comment is valid, take action to address what was shared.
6. Follow-up with your team member.  After taking action, follow-up with your team member to make sure they know their concern has been addressed and to make sure it has been addressed appropriately.
7. Repeat.  This is not a one time event.  It must happen over and over and over again.  Trust will develop over time if our team members know we are really listening.

I don’t know about you, but I know this is something I need to work on with my team.  I want my team to know that they are trusted, and I want them to know that I’m confident in their ability to do their jobs.  This starts with listening well.

Over the next five weeks, Bill and I will continue to explore love based leadership.  I hope you’ll read along, jump into the comments, and maybe even change the way you lead.  Until then, consider getting a copy of Love Works for yourself, and see how this book might change you and your leadership.

What is one thing you can do differently this week to become a more trusting leader?  How have you been led with trust and love-based leadership?  What other suggestions do you have for improving your listening skills?

Love Works Wednesday Link Up Week 3 – Kind

Last week, I continued a Wednesday series based on Love Works by Joel Manby.  (Click here to read my first post in this series, and click here to read last week’s post based on Patient Leadership).  A blogging friend of mine, Bill Grandi (The Cycleguy), recently challenged readers to consider linking up with him for several weeks with posts related to this excellent leadership book.  To read Bill’s introductory post for this series, click here. And to read his post from last week, click here.

For today, Bill and I (and anyone else who’s linking up with us) will be posting about the fourth chapter (Kind:  Show Encouragement and Enthusiasm).  Check out Bill’s take by clicking here.

If you recall from last week, Manby’s premise is that leadership is best when it comes from a position of agape love based on I Corinthians 13.  Since I already read the book, I thought it would be interesting to highlight some of the sentences I underlined when I read the book initially:

• “Kindness doesn’t mean being nice all the time; leaders must hold people accountable.  However, kindness does mean that encouraging and leading are two sides of the same coin and that words of affirmation and support can be infectiously effective.”  (p. 52)
• “Making someone’s day better is contagious and increases the energy, effectiveness, and productivity in any organization.  Even when leaders feel concern for what lies ahead, we must give off positive impressions and encouragement if we want our teams to thrive.”  (p. 55)
• “’Loyalty today is no longer a function of rote or duty, but rather passion.  You must do things so astonishingly well that customers become not merely loyalists, but rather outright apostles.'” Skip LeFauve – CEO of Saturn (p. 58)
• “’Treat the customer as if it was your own mother buying'” Skip LeFauve (p. 58)
• “Make their day better – not because you have a mushy need to be liked or to be softhearted, but because it works!” (p. 59)
• “The enthusiasm of the guest experience can never rise any higher than the enthusiasm of your own employees.” (p. 60)
• “Kindness is about intentionally creating and maintaining the right environment in your organization so that frontline employees can deliver an enthusiastic guest experience.  Management is kind to employees, employees are kind to customers, and customers are loyal and enthusiastic.”  (p. 60)
• “Kindness isn’t an add-on – it’s a critical component of any well-run organization.”  (p. 61)
• “Money can never buy contentment at home; nor can it buy passion at your job.  Working with an enthusiastic team and being supported by kind, loving coworkers is priceless.”  (p. 64)
• “Spend part of ever day actively encouraging behavior you want to reinforce!”  (p. 66)
• “Kindness in the context of leading with love begins with you – encouragement and enthusiasm start at the top whether you run the local PTA or a Fortune 500 company.”  (p. 67)
• “Being kind starts with you and is a key attribute of leading with love.”  (p. 67)

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to be treated with kindness.  Yet, there are so many unkind words and actions exchanged by leaders, co-workers, colleagues, and even customers.  Wouldn’t it be much better if we all practiced the golden rule?  Treating other people the way we would like to be treated is such a simple idea, but it often seems to be forgotten.  Maybe it’s the hustle and bustle of the busy schedules we all keep.  Maybe it’s the scars left by wounds of the past.  Maybe it’s a complete numbness to the reality around us.

Whatever the reason, kindness isn’t put into practice as often as it should.  We run over each other on the way to the next meeting or on our way to the next rung of the corporate ladder.  When will it stop?

Here’s an idea:  It can start TODAY with you and me.  That’s right, whether you hold a leader position or not, you can decide today to be kind to those around you – in your workplace, in your church, or in your home.  Don’t wait for others to be kind first.  It may never happen.  Instead, take a step of kindness today, and watch what happens.  Kindness is contagious. Be the start of something amazing!

Over the next six weeks, Bill and I will continue to explore love based leadership.  I hope you’ll read along, jump into the comments, and maybe even change the way you lead.  Until then, consider getting a copy of Love Works for yourself, and see how this book might change you and your leadership.

What is one thing you can do differently this week to lead people with more kindness and love than before?  How have you been led with kindness and love-based leadership?

Love Works Wednesday Link Up Week 2 – Patient

Last week, I kicked off a series of posts based on Love Works by Joel Manby.  (Click here to read my first post in this series).  A blogging friend of mine, Bill Grandi (The Cycleguy), recently challenged readers to consider linking up with him for several weeks with posts related to this excellent leadership book.  To read Bill’s introductory post for this series, click here.

For today, Bill and I (and anyone else who’s linking up with us) will be posting about the third chapters (Patient:  Have Self-Control In Difficult Situations).  Check out Bill’s take by clicking here.

If you recall from last week, Manby’s premise is that leadership is best when it comes from a position of agape love.  As the book unfolds, he uses I Corinthians 13 as the springboard to talk about love-based leadership.

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Since I already read the book, I thought it would be interesting to highlight some of the sentences I underlined when I read the book initially:

• “Embracing patience is not about ignoring poor performance.”  (p. 36)

• “The principle of patience means behaving with self-control in difficult situations.” (p. 36)

• “I determined never to publicly admonish people in a way that would diminish their dignity.”  (p. 39)

• “Whenever possible a reprimand should be given in private, and it should be given in a way that maintains a person’s dignity.  When we admonish our employees in private and in a patient, respectful manner, we go a long way toward ensuring our employees remain motivated and continue to grow.”  (p. 39)

• “We must always admonish with patience and respect.  Our goal isn’t simply performance; it’s to protect the dignity of the people on our team.  Whether we correct and train our employees in public or in private, our goal is always to do so with respect and love.  After all, that’s exactly how we want to be treated.” (p. 41)

• “For praise to be effective, it needs to be delivered by a leader who is patient enough to observe what his or her team has actually been doing and waits for the right moment to deliver that assessment.”  (p. 42)

• “It takes patience to praise with specifics, and praise without specifics can be worse than no praise at all.”  (p. 43)

• “To be truly effective, praise must be legitimate and pointed.”  (p. 46)

• “Admonish in private whenever possible; be stern but avoid malice; be specific; get people “back on the horse” with pointed praise; move on without a grudge.”  (p. 49)

Bill’s post focuses on utilizing self-control/patience when reprimanding someone.  This chapter in Love Works clearly gives some great insight and advice for addressing poor performance.  Another side of the patience spectrum mentioned in this chapter is how we choose to praise someone for a job well done.  Have you ever received a compliment that seemed vague and unspecific?  It kind of seems like you’re being coddled – that someone is just trying to suck up to you.  Manby reminds us that we need to be thoughtful and specific in complimenting someone.  This takes self-control and patience to deliver a message that is meaningful and deserved.

I have been learning how to apply this type of praise as I’ve joined and participated in Matt McWilliams‘ Thank You Thursday Revolution.  In Matt’s initial post about the revolution, he encourages leaders to write handwritten Thank You Notes to deserving team members.  He charges readers and Thank You Thursday Revolutionaries to be specific in reasons for providing appreciation.  As leaders, we obviously need to reprimand, but we must not forget to praise our team members.  There’s amazing power in simple and specific gratitude and it starts with us!

As we continue with Love Works Wednesday, I want to challenge you to think about your leadership from a whole new perspective.  Whether you lead in the business world, the church world, or in another pocket of the world, try leading with love.  Not love the feeling, but with love the action.  Lead in a way that puts other first.  Lead in a way that represents how you’d honestly like to be treated by others.  Lead in a way that preserves the dignity of others.  Over the next seven weeks, Bill and I will continue to explore love based leadership.  I hope you’ll read along, jump into the comments, and maybe even change the way you lead.  Until then, consider getting a copy of Love Works for yourself, and see how this book might change you and your leadership.

What is one thing you can do differently this week to lead people with more patience and love than before?  How have you been led with patient and love-based leadership?

Love Works Wednesday Link Up Week 1

“Love isn’t a feeling but an action, an action by which leaders and entire organizations can experience almost unimaginable success and personal fulfillment.” 

Joel Manby – Love Works

A couple of months ago, I read and reviewed Love Works by Joel Manby.  (Click here to read my overall review).  A blogging friend of mine, Bill Grandi (The Cycleguy), recently challenged readers to consider linking up with him for several weeks with posts related to this excellent leadership book.  I thought I would give it a try.  To read Bill’s introductory post regarding this series, click here.

For today, Bill and I (and anyone else who’s linking up with us) will be posting about the first two chapters (A Hard Day’s Night and The Jedi Masters).  Check out Bill’s take by clicking here.

Since I already read the book, I thought it would be interesting to highlight some of the sentences I underlined when I read the book initially:

• “I wanted, in short, to be the same person all the time:  at work, with my family, at my church, and when I was alone.” (p. 21)
• “Love isn’t a feeling, but an action, an action by which leaders and entire organizations can experience almost unimaginable success and personal fulfillment.” (p.22)
• “Profits are a product of doing the right thing – over and over again.” (p. 22)
• “Leadership is about the bottom line AND…and loving the people you work with.  and making your community a better place.  and feeling a sense of satisfaction at the end of every day. and leading employees who can’t imagine working anywhere else….  The bottom line is best served when leaders lead with love.” (p. 23,24)
• “It’s not okay to achieve profit growth and destroy our culture as a ‘great place to work for great people.’  It is also not okay to focus on being a ‘great place to work’ without achieving our financial objectives.”  (p. 29)
• “For the culture to survive, it must be defined AND adhered to or the organization could lose its way.”  (p. 29)
• “Treating someone with love regardless of how you feel about that person is a very powerful principle.”  (p. 31)
• “Agape love is the foundation for the best and noblest relationships that humans are capable of.  It is deliberate and unconditional love that is the result of choices and behaviors rather than feelings and emotions.”  (p. 32)

I am a leader.  I’m definitely in a leadership position in my company as an operations manager.  My team members include project managers, engineers, technicians, union pipe fitters, and miscellaneous support staff.  I’m in various leadership roles in my church.  I’m a youth leader, I co-lead a small group with my wife, and I lead a Foundations class once or twice a year.  I’m in a leadership position at home.  As a parent, my wife and I have the responsibility to lead our children.

Leadership is an interesting thing.  It takes energy, thought, and action.  When you hear the word leadership, what comes to your mind?  Power?  Fame?  Notoriety?  Influence?  Wisdom?  Many words probably come to mind, but love is not the word we usually think of when we hear the word leadership.  However, when you see how Joel Manby frames love and leadership in the first two chapters and in the quotes above, you get the sense that love is essential in order for leadership to be truly successful.

As we kick-off Love Works Wednesday, I want to challenge you to think about your leadership from a whole new perspective.  Whether you lead in the business world, the church world, or in another pocket of the world, try leading with love.  Not love the feeling, but with love the action.  Lead in a way that puts other first.  Lead in a way that represents how you’d honestly like to be treated by others.  Over the next eight weeks, Bill and I will continue to explore love based leadership.  I hope you’ll read along, jump into the comments, and maybe even change the way you lead.  Until then, consider getting a copy of Love Works for yourself, and see how this book might change you and your leadership.

What is one thing you can do differently this week to lead people with more love than before?  How you have you been led with leadership by others?

Book Review: Love Works by Joel Manby

“Love isn’t a feeling but an action, an action by which leaders and entire organizations can experience almost unimaginable success and personal fulfillment.” 

Joel Manby – Love Works

Love Works by Joel Manby is a must read for leaders.

In Love Works, Manby offers “seven timeless principles for effective leaders.”  These tips are primarily based on I Corinthians 13 and are the same principles Manby uses to lead Herschend Family Entertainment (HFE) where he is the President and CEO.  Last year, Joel and HFE were featured on Undercover Boss.  That week, it was the second most watched show in America (led only by American Idol), and the response was amazing.  Americans wanted to be a part of a company with the type of culture and leadership that was represented at HFE – a culture and leadership based on love.  Based on the response of the show, Manby decided to write Love Works as a way to get these principles in the hands of leaders around the country.

In Love Works, Manby explains that agape love is the key to leading effectively.  Throughout the book, he interweaves in stories from his own experience at HFE, at Saab, at Saturn, and at home with seven lessons designed to help leaders.  Each story builds on one another to give the reader a picture of a leadership based on love – a leadership that is patient, kind, trusting, unselfish, truthful, forgiving, and dedicated.

I found myself underlining words, phrases, and sentences on most pages as I digested what Manby shared.  I will keep a copy of Love Works on my desk as a reference and reminder, and I will definitely recommend Love Works to aspiring leaders.  If you are a leader at work, in church, at home or in other arenas of life, consider picking up a copy of Love Works for yourself!

How have you experienced love at work?  How would things be different for you if your leadership was based on love or if you were led out of love?

Foundations Class Week 2: Growth

Yesterday morning, I led week two of a Foundations Class at my church. If you remember from my post last week, we talked about grace during the first class.  This week, we continued along with the five Gs outlined in Fully Devoted, a study guide by John Ortberg, with the topic of growth.

Growth is an interesting topic.  When I think of growth these days, I think about growth in my running, in my writing, and in my engineering management career path.  In each of these areas, growth doesn’t just happens.  It takes work.  If I want to run a marathon, I have to go into strict training.  If I want to become a better writer and maybe someday write a book, I have to keep practicing and learning.  If I want to keep up with the ever-changing engineering and leadership fields, I have to stay in training so I can learn about new technologies and about new leadership techniques.

Spiritual growth is somewhat similar.  It doesn’t just happen.  It takes time, experience, and some effort on our parts if we’re serious about growing spiritually.  Sure, God could just zap us with spiritual maturity, but we would then miss out on all the experience and training.

So, what does this kind of training look like?

That’s a good question.

I think it includes an attitude of learning – we need to learn God’s Word.  We need to develop a heart for prayer.  And we need to listen for God.  Listening to God can happen in a corporate setting of worship and small groups, but it also happens in solitude where the distractions of this world are put aside for a brief period of time. Honestly, this is the area where I struggle with now.  I feel so often that I’m running from one thing to the next.  I even wrote about this last week.  How can I hear God’s calling when I’m typically too busy even to hear myself think?

As we walked through our discussion, we talked about a few verses that encourage us to be intentional in our spiritual training.  I would encourage you to read these verses and see how they relate to the topic of growth and spiritual transformation.

I Corinthians 9:24-27, I Timothy 4:7-8, Galatians 5:22-23, Ephesians 4:22-24

It’s funny how God hits you on the head with a message when you’re in the spotlight leading.  This is a message that I need to hear over and over again.  It should be a fun week.  Leanne and I are leading a discussion on discipline at the week’s MOPS meeting at our church. Sounds like another blog post and some more challenging lessons.

What does your spiritual training look like right now? What steps do you need to take to grow spiritually?

3 Thumbs Up! May 12th, 2012

Time for this week’s 3 Thumbs Up! Stretched blog post. For the past several weeks I have used this post as an opportunity to highlight three things that get my thumbs up. This has become a highlight for me as it gives me a chance to support the work of others. So… here are three things that get my thumbs up this week.

Thumbs Up Number 1:  Josh Hamilton. I’m not a Texas Rangers fan despite the fact that my parents live in Dallas, TX. However, it’s hard not to appreciate the story of Josh Hamilton. He has weathered the ups and downs of drugs, alcohol, and celebrity. As recently as this past off-season, Hamilton has dealt with the demons of his past. This week, Hamilton hit four home runs in one game. I haven’t heard the interview yet, but I hear that he gave a pretty moving interview after this achievement in which he talked about his past and about his faith.  Hamilton’s story is inspiring.  He’s obviously not perfect, and I’m sure he will continue to struggle with life.  What inspires me about his story is that there is still hope and redemption and salvation.  This is a story we all need to cling to.

Thumbs Up Number 2:. Blogging Your Passion Podcast. I just stumbled across this podcast this week as I was loading new podcasts on my iPod in preparation for a long day on the road. So far, Blogging Your Passion has released two episodes in which the speakers share valuable tips on how to improve your blogging along with suggestions on how to increase traffic. I listened to both episodes on Tuesday, and I found them very informative. I’ll be back to listen to future episodes.

Thumbs Up Number 3:  Executive Pastor Online by Kevin Stone.  I’m not an executive and I’m not a pastor, but I find myself resonating and thinking through many of the things that Kevin throws up on his blog on a regular basis.  Kevin came out of the corporate world to take on the challenges of running the business side of a church (my church).  His thoughts on leadership and team development often fit in with what I’m wrestling with in my own job as an operations manager.  If you’re interested in some new leadership ideas or if you are interested in reading thoughts from a guy who wants to help other churches, I’d recommend you check out Executive Pastor Online.

And those are my three thumbs up for this week!

What have you come across this week that deserves a thumbs up?

Resource Review: This Is Your Life Podcast

I’m a big fan of podcasts.

I listen to them in the car.  I listen to them on the treadmill.  I listen to them when I’m taking a walk.  And I listen to them while I’m running.

Here are a few of the podcasts that I listen to on a regular basis:  The Dave Ramsey Show Podcast, EntreLeadership Podcast, Daily Audio Bible Podcast, FamilyLife Today Podcast, and The RELEVANT Podcast.  I enjoy each of these podcasts as they keep me entertained and informed.  Podcasts are a great way to keep your brain growing.

Podcasting is definitely an up and coming form of communication.  There are new podcasts popping up every day.

Recently, a blogging friend of mine started his own podcast, and I think it’s worth sharing here.  Last month, Michael Hyatt launched his own podcast called This Is Your Life.  In his podcast, Michael offers practical advice for blogging, leading, and living.  So far, he has released three “issues” of This Is Your Life, and I have listened to each of them a few times.  With each listen I’ve absorbed new ideas for my own blog, my own leadership, and my own life.

So if you’re looking for a great podcast or if you need something to listen to for your next 30 minute car ride, I’d definitely recommend downloading This Is Your Life.

What podcast do you recommend?