I have a pretty high tolerance for clutter.
Until I don’t.
Can you relate?
If you can, you’re probably what the Myers-Briggs people call Perceiving. If you can’t, and the very idea of leaving stuff out in case you need it a month from now is deeply disturbing, you’re Judging (not judgmental – that’s a different animal).
The problem with being a clutterbug “P” like me is that the items on my schedule or the stuff on my desk start to accumulate until productivity-wise, it feels as though I’m in quicksand. And then I just want it all gone.
Not organized. Not streamlined. Not prioritized. O.U.T.
What’s true in life is true also in leadership. If you could imagine the whole sphere of your leadership activity – relationships, meetings, communication, conflict resolution, vision, more meetings, planning, etc. – as items on a desktop, what would your “desk” look like? And if you could compare your “desk” with the “desks” of others in your team or organization, how full is theirs? And not to stretch the metaphor too much, let me add that wishing for a bigger “desk” is probably not going to solve the problem.
In leadership as in life, things have a way of accumulating. But you don’t have to surrender to clutter creep. Here are seven ways to redirect your leadership T.R.A.F.F.I.C. and in the process free up more time to focus on those areas where you are indispensable: [click to continue…]
Quick question: What do Tiger Woods, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and Rafael Nadal all have in common?
Quick answer: Other than being in the top tier of their games, they all have a coach. Back in the day, it was often said, “Even Michael Jordan has a coach.”
How about you? Do you need a coach? Do you have one?
The short answers are yes, and yes. Everybody needs coaches and you have them, whether you realize it or not. You may not be utilizing your coaches to their maximum potential, but you’re most likely following somebody’s guidance. And in just a minute I’ll show you how to recognize who you turn to for coaching, at least on an informal level.
But first, a word from the Lone Ranger… [click to continue…]
All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord,
When they hear the words of Your mouth.
Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
For great is the glory of the Lord.
Though the Lord is on high,
Yet He regards the lowly;
But the proud He knows from afar (Psalm 138:4-6, NKJ).
- If you’re feeling far from God, pride may be the issue.
This is a true story. The names are changed.
Will was an insecure, painfully shy 11-year-old boy who came from a very poor family. But his sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Goodwin, saw something special in him – not just in the student he was at the time, but as the adult he could become. And through that year, she began to give Will a gift that no one to that point had ever dared offer – the gift of confidence.
She told him he was the smartest student she ever had. She said it to him personally and to the class.
She told him how much potential he had.
She took him to her home.
She even took him to the junior high school he would attend the next year to introduce Will to his teachers and tell them what a great student he was.
She told him that the only other student who showed his potential became the vice president of a well-known university.
True to Mrs. Goodwin’s prediction, Will became the first person in his family to go to college. Buoyed by her care and concern he went on to a successful academic career… as a… (you guessed it) vice president of a major university.
Mrs. Goodwin was more than a teacher. She was a leader. She saw in an awkward kid a destiny that nobody else saw. Put in leadership terms, she had a vision. Then she set about investing the time and service necessary to put Will on a path toward that vision.
And the tool she used: Influence. [click to continue…]
I’d rather write about just about anything than this. But Jesus said a few things about little ones and offenses and millstones, and I believe Him.
So can we talk about the secrets we keep? And the ones we shouldn’t?
Last week a group of Evangelical leaders joined together to release a statement in conjunction with the American Association of Christian Counselors and an organization called GRACE, which stands for “Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment.”
Boz Tchividjian, the executive director of GRACE, said of the statement, “To my knowledge, this is the first major public statement by the evangelical world regarding the horrors of sexual abuse within the church and the dire need to begin addressing this in a manner that loves and serves those who have been so hurt. This is a historic moment in the life of the Church.”
My God, what took us so long? And I do mean “us.” [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on July 17, 2013
in Ability, Allocating Your Resources, Five LV Laws, Hoarders, Leadership, Life Currency, LV Alter-egos, LV Cycle, Pleasers, Principle of Abundance, Principle of Freedom
Ever see something funny that wasn’t intended to be? When language could be interpreted a bit differently than its original meaning?
Example: One day when the kids were still at home we were on the way to school and passed a local hotel. In their attempt to be friendly to an industry meeting there, they posted this message on the marquee: Welcome Pest Control.
Yeah, that’s probably not what you want to see when you’re checking in.
More to-date, once a year I teach a strategic planning class for Crown College – a fine Christian school in Minnesota. Like most schools, Crown has an online system for maintaining accounts, library access, classes and the like. In their case, it’s called “my.crown.”
A few months ago, Jeff, the IT guru there, sent notice that the system was having some technical problems. The message: My.Crown is Down.
Go ahead, call me weird. But put in a different context, I just thought that was sorta funny, in a Dr. Seuss kind of way. [click to continue…]
I’m a huge believer that the quality of your life and leadership is the direct result of the quality of the questions you ask. Ask good questions, you get good answers and good direction. Ask lame questions, you get lame directions. Ask no questions at all, and you’ll soon be the blind bleeding the blind.
Here are seven daily questions any leader, parent, or achiever can ask quickly to zero in on the most effective use of your time and life. Answering any three daily can quickly shape your day and your influence. Aligning the answers to all seven daily can revolutionize it.
This little collection uses the classic “five W’s and an H – who what, when where, why and how – with an added little bonus – an “if” question. [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on July 3, 2013
in Ability, Consumers, Esteem, Five LV Laws, Insight, Leadership, Life Currency, Love, LV Alter-egos, Money, Photos, Pleasers, Principle of Freedom, Time, Words
Of all the nations who have drawn some borders and set up shop, perhaps none has a shorter and more mixed (some would say mixed up) pedigree than the United States. If the planet was populated by nothing but dogs, we’d be the mixed breeds – the hardy, loveable mutts who may not be able to point to a long pedigree, but will probably live the longest, love the hardest, and fight the fiercest of anybody in the pound.
To be an American is to be a delightful, maddening mix of contributions and contradictions, possibilities and problems. We’re a living demonstration of what can happen when you let “the help” run the kingdom.
To be an American is to believe in the power of the people. Your people, that is. It is to believe that authority resides in the will of the majority, even though at any given time the Commander-in-Chief was elected by less than 21% of the population. Or if that doesn’t work, maybe power can reside in the rulings of some Federal judge who can see things your way until the majority gets with the program. [click to continue…]
Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret (John 18:20).
Want to lead like Jesus?
Stop hiding your agenda. [click to continue…]
Interesting question came up yesterday. If leaders are people who are influencing others to go somewhere or move in a certain direction, where should we be leading them to go?
Paul had a simple answer to that: “Follow me as I follow Christ,” he said (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Okay, so, my answer wasn’t so spiritual. But I think it works, both for presidents and pastors, middle managers and mentors.
Where should we be leading people?
To space.
Hey, it works for Richard Branson.
Actually I use S.P.A.C.E. as an acronym for five directions we should all be pursuing. Tell me what you think: [click to continue…]
I have a pretty high tolerance for clutter.
