The Serving Leader Knows His/Her Purpose

The person who leads by serving others has a grip on purpose that is different in dimension and depth because this kind of commitment to others demands of the leader some powerful introspection.

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

Intuition of the Serving-leader

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,

Initiative of the Serving-leader

Proverb

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

Humility in the Little Things

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

Servant-leadership in the Me Generation

You might want to check out my thoughts on servant-leadership at my business blog.

Life Purpose and 9/11 – a Pilot’s Perspective

In the last post, I wrote about response to circumstances shaping our character – not the circumstance.

This man’s character was shaped many years ago when he wrote his “purpose” statement.

A Pilot’s Perspective of Sept. 10th and 11th.

 

 

Events Don’t Shape Leaders: Response to Events Shape Leaders

Words are wonderful – they can inspire, encourage and motivate.  It is behavior, however, that counts in the end. What one does is more important than what one says.

Leadership often emerges when a crisis occurs because those who lead behave differently than others – their reaction to crisis stands apart.

That leadership takes on many forms.  Sometimes it is leading by not reacting – I’m reminded of President George W. Bush when Andy Carr, his chief of staff, told him about the second plane hitting the Towers. The President, realizing that an elementary classroom was not the place to show anger, fear, urgent action, calmly finished what he needed to do with the children, not wanting to create stress where none was needed. That was leadership sensitive to context. Sometimes leadership begins by following.

My last post reported the story of King David of ancient Israel, who in a big crisis, followed first by finding strength in the Lord.  The Lord responded with a successful campaign against those who had destroyed the town and kidnapped all the residents.

When leaders ask for God’s strength, is God obligated to provide the same happy result.  I posit that the answer is NO. David had a connection with his Creator for at least three reasons worth consideration:

1. Confession modeled – his character was shaped by repentance. He made mistakes (he sinned) but was not weighed down by his own hubris; he sought forgiveness when confronted with his sin.
2. Courage managed – in any circumstance, he first sought to please God, not man.  He was driven by a Worldview that recognized the reason for his existence. To quote the Westminster Catechism, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” David did both.  His enjoyment of God is preserved for us in his poetry. Remember the Goliath story:  for David is was about an enemy of God and the strength of God to fight that enemy. His five stones showed planning:  one for Goliath; the other four for his brothers.
3. Character molding – he was a “man after God’s own heart.”  His character was continually shaped by his leadership responses to life circumstances that were not always easy.  When difficult or easy, he sought the Lord, first. He used what God had given to him (his wiring) in a way to give it back to God. He was fixed on growing his supernatural relationship which replaced his natural response. That’s a process, not an event.

Is your response to a crisis visceral (what comes naturally in the flesh) or vital (what comes supernaturally by constant growth of the spirit)?

 

Strength To Lead – Especially in Crisis.

You are a leader. 600 people follow you. You have taken them on assignment to a foreign country. The leader there, due to immense political pressure, fires you after several successful years, sending you and your team back home. It’s a long, 3-day journey. You get to your hometown (where everybody lives) and it has been devastated. Nothing standing. Women, children, grandparents – gone. Nothing is left.

You are without means of income, sufficient food and water. All you have has been wiped out. Your team blames you for the contract failure and for the disaster at home.  The angriest want to kill you. They plot to do so.

And you have to lead. What would you do? (Pure fiction, you say:  not so – read I Sam 29-30.)

Here’s what David did:  “But David found strength in the LORD his God.” (I Sam 30:6b NIV)

And then he inspired the 600 to follow him to chase those who had devastated the town.  Shared vision. Clear mission.  Motivation working to achieve a goal – in spite of hardship, inconvenience and anger. That is crisis management at its best. The 600 rallied and followed David until they ran into a river in a deep gorge. The river and the uphill climb for 200 was more than they could handle:  “Enough of this!” they said.

400 crossed the river, up the gorge and, in a surprise attack, recovered everything and everyone taken.

Sometimes, it’s like that. Some followers fall along the way side.

If you are a follower – which group are you in:  The 200 or the 400?

If you are a leader – where do you find strength?

International Failure in Leadership

I was going to write about Rupert Murdock’s failure to lead when I ran across TJ’s blog post. He could not have said it better so I pass it along for your edification.

Jihad and Jesus: What They Might Have In Common

A Proverb

“There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” (1)

A Thought

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” (2)

To Ponder

The July 19, 2011 Wall Street Journal included an interesting article by Stephanie Simon about a Jihadist who wants to be known as that. His lawyers do not. They want him labeled “mentally ill.”

And then I thought of Keith Olbermann’s derisive comments about Michele Bachman’s faith; Bill Maher’s scurrilous attacks on Sarah Palin and Michele Bachman; and Jon Stewart’s unrelenting attack on people of faith. I mused about the “Hip-hop” culture, many (if not most) using lyrics that demean women, disdain authority and demonstrate a total disregard for civility.

I see something in common.