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As a leader, your tendency to motivate or de-motivate is your choice.

How do you motivate your people?  Everyone desires to serve a leader who motivates them to do their best.  There are many things leaders need to remember about motivating and de-motivating people.   

What motivates people  (given from John Maxwell's Developing the Leader Witihin Workbook):

Significant contributions- People want to belong to a group or pursue a cause that will have lasting impact.

Goal participation - People support what they create.  Allow people to have input toward change.

Positive dissatisfaction - Dissatisfaction can inspire change or create a critical spirit.  They key to direct dissatisfaction toward positive, effective change.

What de-motivates people:

Criticism- Public criticism hurts! Stay alert and be sensitive to the feelings of others.

Manipulation - Manipulation tears down te walls of trust in a relationship.  Honesty and transparency yield better results than crafty maneuvering tactics.

Iinsensitivity - Make people a priority.  Leann to listen without being preoccupied and in a hurry.  Let others know that you care.

Discouraging personal growth - Encourage your team to stretch and grow.  Give people opportunities to succeed.  Don't discourage growth because you may feel threatened by the success of others. 

Leadership Oxygen

  

George M. Adams said, "Encouragement is oxygen to the soul."  How true. Encouragement isn't automatic, therefore, we must be very intentional about giving it.  If you're a leader, then it becomes crucial to your effectiveness.

How to become an encourager (given by John Maxwell):

1. Appreciate the power of encouragement.

2. Build Relationships - The closer you are to people, the more your encouragement counts.

3. Believe in People - If you don't believe in people, they won't believe in you.

4. Walk Your Talk - Model first what you would encourage others to do.

5. Show People You Think They're Important - Remember names, and ask them for help.

6. Hold More Celebrations - Acknowledging wins motivates people to keep trying.

7. Raise the Bar - Many people will stretch to success if challenged.

8. Give People a Reputation to Uphold - People rise to the level of expectation.

Is good enough good enough?

I read an article that said, "Be teachable, mediocrity begins with me."  Then I thought yo myself, "How teachable am I?"  Are you teachable?  In my leadership journey I am attempting to posture myself as a person who can learn from anyone and anything.  I think I am doing a decent job, however, there is always room for improvement. 

It has been said that, "Leaders face the danger of contentment with the status quo."  Therefore, I think it's essential for leaders to prioritize their personal growth, and learn to stretch themselves even when those around them seem content with the status quo.  Mediocrity has a way of metastasizing throughout the body. When leaders remain open and teachable, growth is the end result. So the leaders job is to cultivate a teachable attitude in his or her journey.

Why should we keep growing (taken from 21 Qualities, John Maxwell):

1. Trade in your pride. Admit you don't know everything.

2. Don't believe your own press.  The greatest enemy of tomorrow's success is today's.  Don't get distracted by your achievements.

3. Try something new. Whenwas the last time your did something for the first time? Challenges change us for the better (hopefully).

4. Grow in the area of your strength. Read books on leadership and in your area of giftedness.  Keep stretching.

Reality Check for Church Leaders.

I've read some great books over the last few years dealing with the leader's responsibility to define reality (Good to Great; Leadership Gold-chapter 6),and or the need to confront the brutal facts in the organization. 

Humorist Garrison Keillor wrote, "Sometimes you have to look reality in the eye and deny it."  Unfortunately many leaders have a tendency to do just that and it ends up hurting the team and the organization.

In the book, Jack: Straight from the Gut by Jack Welch, he gives six rules for successful leadership:

1. Control your destiny, or someone else will.
2. Face reality as is, not as it was or as you wish it were.
3. Be Candid with everyone.
4. Don't manage, lead.
5. Change before you have to.
6. If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete.

In Managing in Turbulent Times, Peter Drucker writes, "A time of turbulence is a dangerous time, but its greatest danger is a temptation to deny reality."  And Bill Easum also says, "Realistic leaders are objective enough to minimize illusions.  They understand that self-deception can cost them their vision."

The question all leaders must ask themselves is:

• What is our reality? 
• What is the reality of our situation? 
• Are we confronting the brutal facts in theorganization? 
• Or are we living in LA-LA LAND?

To see how a leader is doing, look at the people

In his book, Leadership Gold, John Maxwell gives four revealing questions for leaders to answer if you really want to know how you're doing in your leadership organiztion:

1. Are the people following your direction.  (Are you going somewhere?  Are people following?)
2. Are the people changing? Leaders create environments to help foster change.
3. Are the people growing? The growth and development of people is the highest calling of a leader.
4. Are the people succeeding? 

The Best Kind of Environment

Poor leaders have a tendency to limit their people's chance for success.  A good leader's responsibility is to work hard at giving their people a chance to expereince success.  All of us desire some level of success, don't we? 

Here's the challenge:  a great leaders will give their people a head-start over those who work under an average leader.  A good leader empowers, listens, equips, and connects with their people.  They understand and feel the desires in the heart of their people (they know how to help them experience success).  An average leader, who rarely experience success can be a very difficult thing for those who follow. 

I read in a recent leadership journal that a great leader's responsibility is to provide assistance for those who work with them by giving them:

• An excellent amostphere to work in. It should be positive, warm, open, creative, and encouraging.
• The right tools to work with. Do not hire excellent people to do excellent work with average tools.
• A continual training program to work under.  Growing employees make growing companies.
• Excellent people to work for.  Develop a team.  Coming together is the beginning.  Working together is success.
• A compelling vision to work toward.  Allow your people to work for something larger them themselves.

Extraordinaire

When I was a kid (in the 80's) I had the privilege of watching one of the most dominating football teams in NFL history.  TheJoe Montana led San Franciso 49er's was that team.  Bill Walsh took over as head coach in the late 70's.  Coach Walsh turned this doormat team into the a dynasty team of 80's decade. The 49'ers under Bill Walsh won3 Superbowl championships.

What successful leadership principles can we learn from Coach Bill Walsh? (Adapted from Teamwork Makes the Dream Work, JohnMaxwell')

1. Resist the urge to clean house. Give yourself time to evaluate talent, and give the team time to learn what you're looking for.  Those who can supply it will be worth your patience.  Those who can't will move on. 

2.  Seize control from the start.  A committee can't save a sinking ship.  Make sure all major decisions go through you.

3.  Take inventory of assests and obstacles. You need to know what hand you've got before you can play.  List the team's pluses and minuses, including personnel, attitudes, administration, and perceptions.

4.  Find the hidden gems.  Look for raw talent, not just a solid track record.  Quarterback Joe Montanaa was a third-round draft pick, small and inconsistent.  Walsh saw Montana's potential when he rallied Notre Dame to win the 1979 Cotton Bowl.  Walsh's theory: One miracle can become a life skill with training, support, and practice.

Reasons to follow you?

Self-leadership is one thing, and is no easy task.  However, leading a team is no less challenging, and much more difficult.

If you are the top leader in your organization, remember that the people in your organization (or team) will always need these 5 things from you:

1. Be Authentic: Be real, transparent, and honest, this enables solid connection with your team.  Many top leaders struggle to be really transparent and honest with their teams. 

2. Be Confident:  Being confident inspires and empowers them to go the extra mile.

3. Be Aware: Learn to have the awareness and then the ability to meet your people's needs.  There are many top leaders who pay little to no attention to what the people on their team really needs. 

4. Be Strategic: Cast vision well, and then lead with strategic direction.  Your team needs you to connect the dots of the vision...over communicate the vision! 

5. Have moments of victory during the journey.  Leaders who can never produce a real "win" can de-motivate a team/organization in no-time!  

Question:  Why do people follow you?

11 Great Questions for Leaders!

I have talked about organizational change quite frequently on this blog (I think it's because I have experienced being in organizations and churches that refused to change).  Anyhow, thank you for letting me vent to you.  Therefore, I would like to give you some questions that I ran across that might help you in your leadership as you attempt to bring changes within your church or organization.

1. Will this change benefits the followers?
2. Is this change compatible with the purpose of the organization?
3. Is this change specific and clear?
4. Are the top 20% (the influecers) in favor of this change?
5. is it possible to test this change before making a total commitment to it?
6. Are physical, financial, and human resources available to make this change?
7. Is this change reversible?
8. Is this change the next obvious step?
9. Does this change have both short - and long - range benefits?
10. Is the leadership capable of bring about this change?
11. Is the timing right?

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

Nina Simone is one of the great Neo Soul artists. This song is entitled, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood.  After watching the video and listening to the words of the song, it reminded me of how many great leaders have been misunderstood throughout history. And because of this misunderstanding, leaders usually end up paying a huge price because of it.

Think about it for a moment, leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Ghandi, Harriet Tubman, Cesar Chavez, and countless Native-American leaders were all misunderstood because of what they believed in and what they stood for in that respected period of history (standing for things like justice, equality, reconciliation, peace, and love).

With great misunderstanding comes great sacrifice from the leader.  Jesus is the best example of a leader who wasn't afraid to be greatly misunderstood for what he believed, and he paid the ultimate sacrifice because of it. Leadership says, "Leaders give up, to go up."