Every leader knows they need feedback. Every good leader wants people to help them see things they can’t see. As you move up in an organization it becomes harder to see reality because either you are too close to the operations or you are too removed to see what’s happening on the front lines.
The entire premise of the hit show Undercover Boss is based on the fact that leaders need to know if what’s on the board room wall is actually happening down the hall.
I haven’t met anyone who is thrilled about our choices for this presidential election. You might be the exception, but the passion just doesn’t seem to be there for either side.
What troubles me is that we are no longer just skeptical. We’ve become distrusting, fearful, and now cynical. And the cynicism is growing.
I bet you have a few epic scars on your body that tell an unforgettable story. I have one on my right elbow from a fishing accident years ago. (Who knew fishing could be so dangerous?)
I was trout fishing in a light rain with my soon-to-be and now father-in-law. The wet conditions, one miscalculated step, and one rotten tree branch created the perfect scenario where I found myself falling backwards off a small cliff.
Have you ever felt judged before? It’s the worst feeling in the world, especially when you feel like the crusader for morality doesn’t know the whole story.
My wife drives a suburban. It takes some backbone to admit that here in New York. I know some of you are already judging my family. 🙂 “How could you drive such an environmentally destructive vehicle? Don’t you care for God’s creation?”
Back in October we took a group of our staff and volunteer leaders to the Catalyst One Day conference in Pennsylvania. The last time this conference was in the area I took a smaller group and the entire time I kept kicking myself for not bringing more people. The content from Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel is that good!
Anyway…one of the sessions by Andy Stanley, was on how great leaders ask great questions. The big take away for me of that session was that stories and questions are the best way to reinforce values. So I started a list of questions that I gathered from that session and from others to get me thinking. I put them in the back of my journal and have been adding to them as more questions come to mind.
Do you have a big decision to make? If you don’t have one looming right now you will at some point in the future. How you make that decision will set you up for success or could blow up your life and set you back years.
The big decisions I’m talking about are ones like: whether you should move, whether you should marry a certain someone..should you stay at your current job or is it time to move on–big decisions that will greatly affect your future, your friendships, and your finances.
Who are you helping to get to the next level?
Because you are willing to take the time to read a blog like this I know you want to grow. You don’t want to stay the same. You want to be the best version of you. You want to realize all of your God-given potential…and I believe you can help others do the same thing.
Have you ever received an encouraging email, note, or text out of the blue?
I’m guessing it has probably happened to you. I’m also betting it happened on a day that you were really discouraged. Crazy right?!? How in the world did that person know to send you that text or FB message just then? How did they know you were down?
Do you love helping people out?
You have a friend going through a busy season so you bring them over dinner. You watch your friends’ kids so they can have a date night. You mow your friend’s lawn who has been traveling a lot with work. You do some pro bono work and you help a friend get a job. You serve every week at your church. You’ve even given money to friends to help them get through a rough patch.
This week I was able to spend a little time with my 82-year-old grandfather who lives in West Virginia. I can’t tell you what a joy it is that my children get to know their great-grandfather…a man who has shaped me in many ways including giving me a love for the outdoors. Fishing, hunting, honey bees, mushrooms…he instilled in me an appreciation about where our food comes from and how we get it.
During this last visit I hopped in his truck to go help him rob one of his bee hives. This career military veteran lacks the strength and stability of his younger years. It’s one of the most cruel ways time robs masculinity. Men relish being able to be the only one to open a jar of pickles.
