I celebrate a birthday in a few weeks, and I’m reminded once again that the calendar doesn’t turn back. In a culture that celebrates youth, it’s easy to believe the only key to impact is to be young. But is…
So you walk into a co-worker’s office to open up about something that’s bothering you. Two minutes into the conversation all you start hearing from your colleague are phrases like: It’s not that bad Why don’t you just try X?…
We leaders are dealers in hope. Not hype, which is completely different. But hope. One of our key tasks is to move people toward a promise that’s real. Toward a better day. Toward a future that is better. But how…
A friend of mine from seminary days told me that every leader has a number on his (or her) back. 50 100 200 1000 10,000 His theory? Basically everyone has a natural number that reflects the size of organization (or…
Why on earth would pastors and church leaders have a hard time attending church of all things? Kind of a strange thing to ask, isn’t it? After all, wouldn’t leaders who have led churches be the most anxious to attend them? Strangely, not always.…
If someone asked you how your heart is, what would you say? I know, it’s a weird question But what I told you that the answer to that question would determine: How long you’ll last in leadership. How effective you’ll…
Chances are a big chunk of what you’re going to do today in leadership is think. Really, thinking is a big slice of what a leader is paid to do. You try to solve problems, analyze opportunities, listen, facilitate and…
I don’t know why I wanted to write this today. But I did. Other than a brief time in law, pastoring a church is what I’ve been involved in for my adult life. I’ve probably had thousands of conversations with…
I am so not a rock star. And you may not be either. But as a leader I’m a communicator and that means that like you, I want to connect with the people I’m speaking to. On that note…ever feel…
One of the dreams of almost every leader is to see every person within an organization motivated by the same mission and vision. The reality is very few organizations—and very few churches—function that way. Most leaders have had an unsettling…
Chances are this week you’re going to write something you hope people will read. An email to your volunteers A blog post for your organization Social media updates A note to parents Teasers outlining your next message series or big…
Confession: I really like technology. As a child of the 70s who remembers having to get up off the couch to change TV channels, I am in favour of anything that makes life more productive, more rewarding or more fun.…