Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.(1)

Thoughts

Speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so he is. (2)

Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. (3)

To Ponder

This political season, we have seen the impact of words, especially in our “politically correct” culture.  The core of truth behind that facade of “correctness” is that our words, written or spoken, have power. More power than we often realize.

I am moving through a personal journey where the parsing of words has created unanticipated consequences.  It is not a pleasant experience. My take-away is that beyond the obvious meaning of choosing words that feed and nurture a person, as opposed to words that destroy a person, there is a subtly to communication that is sometimes missed.

Applied to leadership, I’m reminded that the leader who is full of jest, quick wit, “in-your-face” retorts must develop the discipline to know when that kind of confident, carefree speech is appropriate. Especially in this day of 140 character “speech” on social networking sites, something written with jest — not because one has something to say, but because one can say something — can easily be misunderstood because of the law of unintended consequences.

Developing the proficiency to speak in such a way that one limits the unintended consequences is a skill leaders must continually develop.  I know how easy it is to quickly say what I’m thinking, instead of thinking before I say.

For the Christian leader, your words have eternal consequences:  “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” – Jesus Christ

Remember, the words we say will teach – if we practice what we preach.

What do you “preach” with your words?

(1)    Proverbs 18:21 (MSG); (2) Publius Syrus; (3) Plato; (4) Matthew 12:36-38

Copyright ©2012 by P. Griffith Lindell

Once I asked “what are some primary skills a leader must have to develop not only followers, but also other leaders.”  One approach I used was to develop my Servant-Leadership Model (Knowing Yourself – Controlling Yourself and Giving Yourself).

Another approach, builds thoughts around the antithesis of ego (the “I” focus) by focusing on “I” words – words that describe what drives effective, transformational leadership.

I’ve introduced three “I’s” thus far:

INITIATIVE of the Serving-leader:   It is that initiative of one individual that provides inspiration for all the individuals on the team. It is that one individual who often sees more clearly “the way ahead.” Are you building a team or just yourself?

INTUITION of the Serving-leader:  What you may know, but don’t know that you know it, may affect you more than you will ever know.   Who shapes your intuition?

INTROSPECTION – The Power of Self-awareness:  There is often a gap between our good intentions and our actual behavior.  Introspection is a tool to assess our behavior in light of what we intended. It is congruent intention and behavior that yields a positive impact.  In this fast-moving, always connected world, do you take the time?

 I have seven more “I’s” to consider that I think define leaders – especially transformational leaders – and , I believe, the most powerful of that category of leader is the serving-leader.

 So, what are your “I’s”  you think will help define leadership?

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My other seven:

1. INSIGHT – developing awareness of what is happening around you – awake to the environment and responsive to it
2. INVOLVEMENT of the leader in listening and understanding the situation from the perspective of his followers
3. IMPERFECTIONS tolerated – the leader realizes no one is perfect and practices acceptance of honest effort and empathy toward those striving
4. INTEGRATING meaning with communication – words spoken well have power to motivate
5. IMAGINING – the ability see attributes in people they don’t see and to see patterns that help the leader gain a sense for the “unknowable” and to foresee courses of action.
6. INTEGRITY – the art of making whole – bring healing to a team or an organization – developing a community (family) approach
7. INFLUENCE – the ability to motivate by serving, not being served

 These are my 10 – what are your thoughts?

Copyright ©2012 by P. Griffith Lindell

“Test yourselves and find out if you really are true to your faith…” (1)

 A Collection of Thoughts on Introspection

“The business person who takes no inventory soon becomes bankrupt” (2)

“Many people suffer from the fear of finding oneself alone, and so they don’t find themselves at all.” (3)

The philosophy of the wisest man that ever existed, is mainly derived from the act of introspection. (4)

“To thine own self be true…” (5)

“The terrible fluidity of self-revelation.” (6)

To Ponder

There is often a gap between our good intentions and our actual behavior.  Introspection is a tool to assess our behavior in light of what we intended. It is congruent intention and behavior that yields a positive impact.

In the rush to “get stuff done,” effective leaders prioritize their time to find themselves  – to examine themselves  – learning about what in them  helped shape the results they produced.

I have found that this examination is often not wonderful, but it is always worthwhile. The time spent in meditation, thinking about what I was thinking about when I did this or that, or said this or that, and then thinking about the response given that did not in any way match my intention, produces an inventory of my actions and attitudes that often need adjustment – the kind of change that offers hope to those I’m leading that I’m learning.

It was the poet Robert Burns who noted this difficulty of self-awareness while driving the point that we must learn to “see ourselves as others see us.“

Here are just a few of the questions I have found useful in that exercise:

• Why was I created?  What is my purpose? (One must always start at the start!)
• Did this situation (I’m thinking about) help develop or destroy my purpose? What needs to change?
• Who was hurt, who was helped by what I did? What do I need to do to heal the hurt?
• Is my tone and expression supporting my words? Or is it at odds with my words?  What needs to change in me for congruence between thinking and talking?

Leaders, especially those claiming to be serving leaders must develop the ability to withdraw – to see the important distinguished from the urgent and to ask, “How can I better serve those following?”

We all change. We grow when we learn from the results we produce. That’s why this introspection if vital – there is fluidity to life and we must know the direction and speed at which we are moving.

 In this fast-moving, always connected world, do you take the time “away” to disconnect from others and reconnect with yourself?

Copyright ©2012 by P. Griffith Lindell

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NOTE:  This is third in a series – There May Be No “I” in Team, But There Is In Leadership™ – The first “I” is Initiative; the second, Intuition.

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(1) II Cor. 13:5; (2) Anonymous;  (3) Rollo May, Man’s Search For Himself; (4) William Godwin;  (5) Shakespeare’s words for Polonius given to his son, Laertes, before he traveled away from home;  (6)    Henry James

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds (1)

Photography by Elizabeth McCord - Thought by Emme McCord

A Thought

Life is what happens:  so let each day have joy.
~Emme McCord, 8 yrs. old.

“Out of the mouth of babes…” so the saying goes. What insight for a leader from my granddaughter, Emme:  choose joy.

I’m not certain that Emme knows the proverb or even understands the context — written during a time when being labeled a Christian would often mean torture and death. But she understands the power of making a choice to be part of what brings joy.

Motivational speakers/writers from all walks of life – from Tony Robbins to Joel Osteen – believe one thing in common: they recognize the power of the mind to choose – how one thinks about life; how one responds to life.  Our family now clearly understands what happens when the mind is robbed of the ability to willingly choose – it does the choosing for you based on sights and sounds (PTSD).  We are also learning that retraining the mind for “joy-choosing” is vital for health.

In your work-life, when meetings go long and without seeming purpose; when they pile up one on another with little time to process; when the office beckons with thirty phone calls to return;  when budgets must be completed,  and when,  finally at your space,  someone bursts in complaining about something – choose joy!  If the circumstances of the day are not joyful, it is a leader’s responsibility to model behavior – by choosing joy.  Not fake happiness. Joy – an attitude that does not place judgment on results (success or failure); but rather, believes that results produce an opportunity to learn what needs to change to produce better results. Joy – an attitude that believes God is in charge and looks for the good  (God showing up) in any circumstance;  a faith that wants to be a  part of working for “the good.”

I understand so very well that it is easier said than done. I write out of a deep sense that I often make judgments and don’t practice learning from results. Thank you, Emme, for reminding me to choose joy when looking at life because if Christ’s death and resurrection has any meaning for the Believer’s daily walk, it is made real in how we chose to respond.

Are you waiting around for joy to come to you? Or are you the source of joy?

(1) James 1:2

Copyright ©2012 by P. Griffith Lindell

A Proverb

Trust in God with all your heart; don’t rely on your own understanding. (1)

A Thought

Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.

~Aldous Huxley

To Ponder

As I was reading Jonah Lehrer’s article in the WSJ this morning (Saturday, the 21^st  of January), I was struck with the implications for the modern leader, who like the captain of the Costa Concordia, may too often rely (as apparently did the captain) on all the technology now included with the vessel of their business.

Like that cruise ship, businesses today are filled with technology:  data bases with sophisticated data mining; easy to understand and use GUIs (graphical user interface) for financial software; collaborative technologies; on-line learning that makes access to organized information easy; and, business dash-board dials that provide indications of revenue streams, inventory flow, cash, etc. to name just few.  All good tools. Aspire to acquire them. Use them wisely and never in a vacuum of totally dependence.

Managing by walking around is also powerful. There is much the ear can hear and the eye can see that a silicon chip will never process. Leadership, like piloting a ship, is a human enterprise – not a technology experience. The instincts of a leader may be honed by the technology around, but God, who created us in His image, built into the human soul the ability to synthesize, analyze and coalesce information in a way that – ultimately – will either please Him or ourselves. (Consider:  The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. [2])

Forward-thinking leadership is driven by spirituality: humans either worship themselves (or something made my man), or they worship a Creator God. All supposed choices in between are vapor whose source is either end. What one believes about destiny shapes everything – morality; ethics; decision-making; motivation; and inspiration.

The question remains:  do we depend on the right thing?  Captain Schettino was wrong – he thought his route was safe, his technology sound. Apparently, he wasn’t paying attention – his mind elsewhere.

On what do you rely: The mind of God or the mind of humans?

Copyright ©2012 by P. Griffith Lindell

(1)    Proverbs 3:5 CSB

[2]    WESTMINSTER SHORTER CATECHISM http://www.reformed.org/documents/WSC.html

“Set your mind on things above”

A Thought

What you do speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you are saying.

To Ponder

This past weekend I finished a seminar series on Servant-leadership where the class and I explored the power of a servant-leadership model that consists of “Knowing Yourself,” Controlling Yourself,” and “Giving Yourself.”  To give this class, I was not able to watch all the football games Saturday, which reminds me of the current attention being given to NFL athlete who integrates his faith with his football.

Tim Tebow is not the first athlete to be an outspoken Christian and he is a great example of the serving-leader model I was teaching.

Tebow knows himself with a clarity that many find disturbing. He has decided that he was created for a purpose much higher than football and that he plays this game for an audience of one, the One. It’s not just about winning and losing – it is about how he plays the game. Tebow’s personal purpose, his practicing ethic and his penetrating worldview are in sync.

Tebow also controls himself by gathering around him men who will hold him accountable for what he says and what he does. Men who make certain he is filling his mind with things that glorify the One for whom he plays.  Tebow has spent his young life integrating his body, mind and spirit for the glory of His Creator, not himself. He has sought coaching to hone his skills and acquire new ones; he is aware of the impact his behavior has on not only his teammates, but also on the kids in the orphanage he funds in the Philippines.

Tebow has practiced giving himself not just to strengthening needed for a tier-one athlete, but also to serving those in need – especially children who are looking for hope, help and a home. He motivates, not from some personal charisma, but from the content of his character; he shares passion, not to boost his ego, but to inspire his team to give it their all; he practices humility, always deflecting personal praise to his “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” and then to his teammates.

I believe that Tebow is a visible national model of a serving-leader. I’m sorry his season is over; but it was nice, speaking as a fan, that the media spent time talking about someone who is making a positive difference in the lives of those he touches.

His life reminds me of the C. S. Lewis quote:  “No Christian and, indeed, no historian, could accept the epigram which defines religion as what a man does with his solitude.”

Are you just a covert Christian or is the charisma of your leadership an open example of Christ in you – the hope of glory?

Copyright © 2012 by P. Griffith Lindell

The fundamental question is: how can you lead anyone if you don’t really know where you are going?

2012 a NEW YEAR –  Consider some old questions as you wrestle with resolutions and raison d’etre:

• Do you know why you are here on earth?

• Is your life only an expression of random chance?

• Do you believe you were created for meaning and purpose?

• Where are you headed – ultimately?

• When you’re dead, you are just dead, right? Or do your choices in  this life have a meaning that has eternal implications?

• Does your life have significance that is not just self-centered? Is it all about you?

• Are you just a mass of chemicals that evolution somehow connected that give birth to your body, mind and spirit?

• What is your understanding about God?
  • Do you believe that God created humans in His image and made humans “living spirits” – beings that are eternal?
  •  Is He the great “watch-maker” who wound it all up and has just “walked away” and let the watch run its course?
  • Do you think that evolution really did happen but God interrupted it (in some mysterious way) to make humans special?

• Is God’s revelation accurate – does He exercise sovereign control over his revelation to humans (the Holy Bible) or is he playing with us, fooling us, and ultimately deceiving us?

• Did the Creator God make us in his image, came to us as human, die for our sin, then conquer death for us so that we can be born one more time – this time in righteousness allowing us to live in the presence of a perfect God?

• Is your chief purpose to glorify God and enjoy Him forever?

How you answer these questions lays the foundation for your leadership style.

Do not be sucked in by the Zen approach to purpose:  “sure, humans can conquer fears, find meaning, even in suffering, and choose to be positive in the face of ugly circumstances. Good stuff – all of it.”  The question still remains, “so what?”

What does it all matter if you gain the whole world – conquer fear, display sadness, give yourself to the poor and needy, serve others by leading – but lose your soul?

Does your purpose have eternity in mind?

Copyright © 2012  by P. Griffith Lindell

Proverb

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all who follow his precepts have good understanding. (1)

A Collection of Thoughts on Intuition

“Faith is a passionate intuition.” William Wordsworth

“The only real valuable thing is intuition.”  Albert Einstein

“All human knowledge thus begins with intuitions, proceeds thence to concepts, and ends with ideas.” – Immanuel Kant

“The power of intuitive understanding will protect you from harm until the end of your days.” – Lao Tzu

To Ponder

What you may know, but don’t know that you know it, may affect you more than you will ever know.

The unconscious mind probably plays a greater role in the discussions we have, the decisions we make and the directions we choose to take; therefore, it is important for the serving-leader to become more aware of what s/he puts into their mind – what they read; what they see; what they experience.

An effective serving-leader has both the ability to fill  the “lack of enough information” gap and the intuition to point in the right direction. This attribute of leadership is an awesome responsibility.

What is this thing called intuition?  I turned to two dictionaries to get some ideas:

 in·tu·i·tion [in-too-ish-uhn,] noun 1.  direct perception of truth, fact, etc., independent of any reasoning process; immediate apprehension;  2. a fact, truth, etc., perceived in this way; 3. a keen and quick insight; 4. the quality or ability of having such direct perception or quick insight.(2)

INTUI’TION, n. [L. intuitus, intueor; in and tueor.]  A looking on; a sight or view; but restricted to mental view or perception. Particularly and appropriately, the act by which the mind perceives the agreement or disagreement of two ideas, or the truth of things, immediately, or the moment they are presented, without the intervention of other ideas, or without reasoning and deduction. (3)

Perhaps, what Warren Bennis has said crystallizes the meaning.  He posits that intuition is the “inner voice” and one of the most critical elements of leadership. The “inner voice” that points the direction the leader should go – going “where the puck will be” (with apologies to Gretzky); to sense that something is happening before there is concrete evidence that it is happening; to read people – to sense what is left unsaid – to read “body language.”;  and, chart a path, not based only on what is seen, but what is unseen (sounds a bit like faith!).

You’ll note that truth has a role in both definitions. Truth is a tough subject on its own. Truth and wisdom are intertwined and both are woven into the meaning and the application of intuition.  The mystery of intuition – where facts, knowledge, instinct and wisdom all play a role – is a mystery that manifests itself as we become more and more self-aware without become self-absorbed.  This is a process:  not an event.  It is fraught with perils.  When I Goggled the “perils of intuition” just to see if my thinking was on a “right track,” I discovered that author David Myers has explored the two-edged sword of intuition in his book Intuition: Its Powers and Perils (4).

I just realized that my writing what I did, and then searching for the phrase as I did is intuition in action. I ” intuited” that something this mysterious had both a good and bad, a yin and yang aspect to it and discovered that, what to me was intuitive, was also more fully developed by others.  My intuition apparently was “right.” This is how one builds confidence in that inner voice.

My conclusion – for now – is that if the “youness” (on the inside) of you is not aligned with the One who not only created you, but also provided a way to have a personal relationship with Him, your intuition may be shaped by desires not altogether altruistic. Thinking about the needs of others before your own – a mark of the serving-leader – is a difficult task. “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (5)    “The heart is desperately wicked, who can know it way.” (6)   What you think about matters – it shapes that inner voice. Remember how this little essay started:  What you may know, but don’t know that you know it, may affect you more than you will ever know.

  Who shapes your intuition?

Copyright© 2011, by P. Griffith Lindell

(1) Psalm 111:110 (NIV); (2) “intuition Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 20 Dec. 2011.; (3) Noah Webster (1828) http://1828.mshaffer.com/d/search/word,intuition (4) http://www.davidmyers.org/Brix?pageID=19; (5)    Pr.23:7; (6)    Jer. 17:9

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. (1)

 A Thought

If you don’t do what you know is right, you have sinned. (2)

To Ponder

The common saying is that there is no “I” in TEAM:  and that is true; however, there is an “I” in leadership! I am suggesting that a primary attribute to consider is initiative.  The dictionary tells us this: in•i•ti•a•tive  [ih-nish-ee-uh-tiv] noun  1. an introductory act or step; 2.  readiness and ability in initiating action; enterprise: to lack initiative; 3.  one’s personal, responsible decision: to act on one’s own initiative. (3)

A team often cannot determine situation well because each individual is concentrating on what each must do to help move the team. It takes a COACH who is not intimately involved in the game to often see the bigger picture of situation. Not 10 coaches. A coach. A leader.

It is that initiative of one individual that provides inspiration for all the individuals on the team. It is that one individual who often sees more clearly “the way ahead.”

But a leader’s personal initiative is a double-edged sword:  seeing the way ahead does not include running over those in the way. As a leader takes initiative, s/he also takes personal responsibility for those following. Doing good. Doing what is right. Leading by serving.

Now the paradox:  leaders who have proven effective are also followers. They have learned leading by following well. Many have followed the principles that Jesus provided – our perfect example of leading. He led by serving his disciples. He taught them to be sensitive to the needs of followers.

Leaders who follow Jesus’ Biblical model understand that the initiative of each individual is really a very personal thing that is shaped the nourishment provided by a leader who models not only a personal commitment to doing their job well, but also providing the opportunity for others to do their jobs well.  That’s teamwork.

 Are you building a team or just yourself?

(1) Proverbs 3:27; (2) James 4:17;  (3) “initiative.” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 20 Dec. 2011. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/initiative>.

A Proverb

“Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips.”(1)

 A Thought

Tim Tebow’s humility or touchdown-dancing: which best shows leadership?

To Ponder

I’m reading Bill O’Reilly’s newest book Killing Lincoln and I’m reminded of the story told of General Robert E. Lee (not in Bill’s book) that when traveling on a train to Richmond, he was seated at the rear of the coach.

The car was also filled with officers and soldiers. At one of the stations, an elderly woman, poorly dressed boarded the coach. Having no seat offered her, she trudged her way down the aisle slowly to the back. Immediately, Lee stood up and gave her his seat. One man after the other then stood up to give the general his seat. “No, gentleman,” he firmly explained, “if there is none for this lady, there can be none for me!”

General Lee understood that the Biblical principle of humility demands consideration for people in all walks of life, not merely for those of high social status like himself. Likewise, when interviewed after a game Tebow first gives glory to God, and then immediately praises his teammates – not himself. He has said that it’s “….not Tebow time: it’s Broncos time!”

Humility in leader in often expressed in the little things s/he does: The gallantry of Lee and the humility of Tebow seems somehow lost in this age of “strutting.” Certainly, this verse seems out of sync with our culture as we are more and more inundated with self-exaltation.

Are you cultivating the ability use your position to serve the needs of those watching, following and emulating?

(1)       Proverbs 27:2 (NIV)