Zondervan Inspire

Avoid Drawing Blood

From the Editor: Good advice for us all.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith

Author Catherine Johnson wrote a book fifteen years ago titled Lucky in Love. She's a PhD who was determined to figure out what deliriously happy married couples were so deliriously happy about. So she interviewed them — about a hundred couples in all. She found that at some point along the way, every happy couple had come to a critical point in their relationship where they would vociferously disagree but refuse to destroy each other in the process. "When we quarrel (and we will!), we're not going to do the kinds of things that will damage this relationship long-term," Johnson quoted these couples as saying. "When we disagree, we will not draw blood."

The moment I read that phrase, I decided to put it into practice in my work as well as in my marriage. Because I have deep feelings about so many kingdom issues, I have been known to express myself very passionately in meetings. And as you probably know, passion can beget passion. Effective leaders do not fear passion. They welcome it. But from time to time passionate discussions digress into personal attacks, and real people get really hurt. In my view, leaders must head that off before it happens.

From Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs

by Bill Hybels

Any comments or testimonies today?

A Clear Sense of True North

From the Editor: Today's excerpt from author Joe Hilley touches on an area that is sorely lacking in many of today's leaders whether they lead nations, states, cities, businesses, schools, churches, or families.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

As the twenty-first century unfolds, leaders who lead effectively will possess a clear sense of True North. While not necessarily Christian, they will have an acknowledged sense of purpose that is completely integrated with their life and their approach to leadership. A worldview that encompasses every aspect of their life. A clearly defined sense of right and wrong. And a driving imperative of personal responsibility. In a century in which meaning is more often derived from relationship rather than from acceptance of unquestioned absolutes, perhaps no other leadership quality will be more important.

From Sarah Palin: A New Kind of Leader

by Joe Hilley

Constantly Learning

From the Editor: Author Joe Hilley hits on an important truth in today's excerpt that I believe applies to most of us in this fast-changing world we find ourselves in.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

An approach of constantly learning is a style demanded by the age in which we live. With information growing at an incalculable rate, no one can hold command of every detail in every discipline. Leaders who are effective will develop familiarity with a wide range of subjects rather than a depth of detail in a few. By developing a working knowledge covering a wide range of subjects, leaders will be free to rise above individual issues to see the whole picture — the manner in which the issues are related, and the comparative value of each issue.

From Sarah Palin: A New Kind of Leader

by Joe Hilley

Values Matter

From the Editor: There are two things you’re never suppose to talk about at work: Religion and politics. Unapologetically, I talk about both.

No matter what side of what fence you find yourself on—or in what country for that matter—the question of values must be addressed when assessing potential leaders. This excerpt from the book Sarah Palin: A New Kind of Leader addresses well the importance of this.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

Everyone has a place in their character where values reside. Those values are formed from experiences that begin in childhood. As a person matures, those values coalesce around a central belief that sits at the heart of one's character. Whether religious or secular in nature, that central belief is the lens through which all other values are focused and by which all other values are colored. From those values, convictions arise — beliefs that form principles by which a person organizes one's life. Those convictions are the great organizing principles of effective political leaders.

At the end of the day, a leader's effect on the country will be a reflection of his or her basic values. History tells us of many who led by way of wrong values such as pride, hatred, greed, or a lust for power — all with devastating consequences for their country. It is impossible to overstate the importance of knowing what a leader really values.

From Sarah Palin: A New Kind of Leader

by Joe Hilley

Just Say It

Even if they have to interrupt the person midsentence, the best leaders I know refuse to tolerate mushy communication. Instead, they say, "Time is valuable and we all have lots to do today. It's obvious you have something on your mind, so I'd like to give you total freedom right now to come out and just say it. We are all big boys and girls who actually enjoy candor, but we can't make any progress on your proposal until you make it clear. So once again ... just say it!"

Thirty-three years into my ministry run, I still find myself having to speak those words. Which goes to show how much effort a leader must expend toward creating an environment where people feel safe enough to speak clearly and directly.

From Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs

by Bill Hybels

Any comments or testimonies today?

Upset the Apple Cart

If community involves things such as knowing and being known, serving and being served, loving and being loved, and celebrating and being celebrated, then most relationships, psychiatrist M. Scott Peck asserted, are constantly devolving into pseudo community. It's the great temptation for small groups of people to slide into a state where they're not quite telling each other the truth and they’re not quite celebrating each other. Instead, they tolerate each other, they accommodate each other, and they settle for sitting on the unspoken matters that separate them.

In order to move from pseudo community to genuine community, you have to endure a little chaos. To break free from falsehood, someone has to upset the applecart and say out loud, "As far as I can tell, we're not experiencing real community here. We're not where I want for us to be, anyway. Frankly, I’m holding back. I’m not giving you the final 2 percent of what I'm thinking. And I'm not really hearing what you have to say, either."

From Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs

by Bill Hybels

Any comments or testimonies today?

How Are You Doing ... Really?

In American culture, when you ask people how they’re doing, they’re nearly always "fine." So if you want to convey that you are actually interested in hearing the truth about what’s going on in that person's inner world, and if you want to give the other person permission to answer you honestly, then you have to pose the question just a bit differently: "How are you doing ... really?"

In Galatians 6:2, the apostle Paul says that we fulfill the law of Christ when we agree to "carry one another's burdens." The people you lead have to know they're part of a burden-carrying team. They have to know there's an avenue for them to convey whatever personal or professional calamity they face. They have to know they can trust their colleagues to hear them out. Simply put, your followers have to know it's legal to admit that while they may be sitting across the conference-room table wearing a smile and a trendy outfit, nothing is fine or fitting quite right on the inside.

From Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs

by Bill Hybels

Any comments or testimonies today?

Want to Be a Great Leader?

Great leaders take the time to explain to their team what they feel deeply about — what issues they would take a bullet for and why. Then great leaders show their staff members how to live out that DNA. They appeal to the employee's desire to be part of something very cool and then make a hero out of each one who rises to the occasion. Sure, the final decision rests in the hands of the employee — "Will I or won't I live out all that it means to be part of this organization?" — but effective leaders challenge and inspire their staff to become bona fide DNA carriers.

Not surprisingly, Jesus was the master when it came to this. He played out countless scenarios with his followers in order to reinforce the values he believed must characterize his kingdom movement. Through his actions, Jesus showed his followers that things such as courage and humility and perseverance would be rewarded. And that selfishness and pride and judgment would not.

From Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs

by Bill Hybels

Any comments or testimonies today?

Only God

It's the only phrase I intentionally overuse, but it's for good reason. When God accomplishes activity that no human being could possibly orchestrate, you have to respond somehow. And the simple phrase I've landed on in recent years is "Only God." It's more than an axiom. It is a theology that has been alive and well at Willow Creek Community Church since the beginning. We watch for our heavenly Father to move and stir and act and call. And when he does, we humbly thank him with the only two words that could even begin to give credit to the one to whom alone credit is due: "Only God."

From Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs

by Bill Hybels

Any comments or testimonies today?

It's Not By Accident

Anytime you see God-honoring values being lived out genuinely and consistently, it's fair to assume that a leader decided to identify a handful of values and put a Bunsen burner underneath them. Every time she or he taught about the value or publicly praised someone for living that value out, it was like raising the temperature of that burner. Perseverance. Compassion. Servanthood. Generosity. Whatever the value, if it's alive and well in a local church today, it's not by accident. It's only there because of intentional, committed, dedicated effort.

When you heat up a value, you help people change states. Want to jolt people out of business as usual? Heat up innovation. Want to untangle confusion? Heat up clarity. Want to eradicate miserliness? Heat up generosity! New "states" elicit new attitudes, new aptitudes, and new actions. It's not rocket science. It's just plain chemistry. Which is a lot about heat.

From Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs

by Bill Hybels

Any comments or testimonies today?