on life and leadership
When I think of some of the greatest communicators, I’d never leave out Jesus. He was so captivating he could get crowds of 5,000 plus (no social media!).
I guess the miracles also helped but that wasn’t the sum of why people desired to be in His audience. It’s every communicator’s dream to have a captive audience. When I observe how He communicated there are some communication ‘must dos’.
Continue reading “Learning Effective Communication From Jesus”
It is generally accepted wisdom not to rush into anything. It is also important take time to understand the options and implications before committing to any course of action. I actually encourage people not to rush into anything because it seems a great idea at first glance. Then there are the instances where the longer you take to act, the more you lose or the worse things get.
illustration - kkalyan, flickr (cc)
Once you’ve established that there is a niche, or great opportunity, the longer you can the more it gets out of reach. Innovation and ideas have a life span. The longer you take to ‘attack’ an available share of the market, the harder it will be to fight competition later. If you’ve assessed and realized the opportunity, act now!
In relationships, it is the longer you take to apologize and own up for your part in a stalemate, the harder it will get. In fact, this perpetuates more conflict and complications. Things tend to escalate and you knock heads. You deal with things but fail to get to the bottom of them all because you took too long to address the initial seed. The longer you take, to address issues the unhealthier the relationship will be. The longer you take, the more vulnerable your relationship will be and the more toxic the smallest of issues can be. Act now.
The longer you take to address the slack employee or teammate, the longer the vision suffers. The more the people you ought to be serving suffer. Leaving the slackers to be may be the sure guarantee of the death of your purpose. Leader, there will be a time you will have to guard your vision from your team. When the team threatens the vision by being slack or otherwise do not wait any longer.
The longer the leader takes to address his own slackness and complacency, the longer the organization or team will faces its demise. The longer you maintain the status quo the higher the chances are you will be irrelevant very soon. Constant innovation and challenging yourself as an individual and team is a must if you are to stay relevant. Maintaining where you are is not progress and may be the start of your demise.
The longer it takes you to start on the new project while you’re still motivated, the harder it will be for you to build momentum later…
There are instances it is prudent to tread carefully. Then there are instances you have to act swiftly. Consider some of the things highlighted… Don’t live in ‘I will do’ but ‘I am doing!’
I’d love you hear your thoughts!
A leader often has to deal with many dynamics in managing her team. It could be apathy. (Which I have written about in the past here.) Another challenge a leader may have to deal with is a frustrated team.
Leadership can be the cause of frustration for their team, hence the importance of identifying possible reasons why your team is frustrated with your leadership. Here are more than five reasons your team is frustrated with your leadership:
Continue reading “More Than Five Reasons Your Team Is Frustrated With Your Leadership”
I read Fellowship One‘s ‘slogan’ a couple of weeks ago. I speaks into this theme of “People Not Programs”. I couldn’t agree more. This got me thinking about some of the things that get in the way the Church reaches and serves people.
On Friday I ‘pressed pause’ on my way home from the office – I sat with a cappuccino and a book in a little “dessert restaurant” (I don’t know what to call it but it’s a place you go when you want to eat donuts, waffles, with millions of ice cream flavors etc – you get the picture)
Anyways, for a moment it was just thoughts of Ingrid (my wife, missing her because she was away) interjected by a good blend of cappuccino and potent insights of the book in my hand.
After while, I was reminded of where I was by the squeals of a little girl. Her mother was treating her to one ‘mean’ sundae. The girl wanted all the syrups that were laid out on their table. I couldn’t help but laugh…
Seated at a table next to mine was a couple that was clearly enjoying their time together, and their waffles. Laughs characterized their interaction in the moment…
Then, a waiter started pulling and joining a couple of the small tables to make one long table to accommodate a family of eight that had just walked in. The little lifeless restaurant was roaring to life… There was a buzz now charging the atmosphere.
The grandmother in the family of eight made fun of one of her grandsons as they all ordered their desserts… laughter filled the atmosphere… the little girl called out to her mother with a volume that attracted the attention of a quarter of the restaurant…
The couple exchanged tastes of the desserts they had ordered… my heart filled with warmth as I watched the joy and excitement of total strangers enjoy their moments.
All of a sudden a very bright light that I couldn’t look at filled the room… That bright light was… No, no, no, I just messing with you, there was no light… :)
Oh! Then I though, “we often encounter the richness of life in such moments.” I guarantee you the couple I saw don’t have it perfect, nor the family of eight.
But for a moment nothing mattered but being in the moment. Am sure the girl will remember for a while the moment she spent with her mom, eating her favorite ice cream. Being with the ones you love, living in the moment with them is always something to savor.
The richness of life is in the moments we stop to count our blessings and find something to celebrate in the midst of the unpleasant [Click to Tweet]
The significance of a day can be in a moment. Am sure you’ve had the experience where nothing seems to be as it should or you’d like it to be then something small, a joke, a song, seeing someone briefly, can just be what “makes your day”…
An idea, can exist in a moment and spark monumental change. Some of those moments we create the space for and others (like mine) might just happen…
However they come by, take them, pause, forget everything not going how you want it to be… Use the space to be grateful for the moment to be reminded that there is always something to relish in a moment that helps us celebrate life. Don’t just rush through life…
Grab a cappuccino and a great book, get comfortable, look around you and allow yourself to be reminded that life is greater than the one thing or two, maybe even three things that aren’t quite where you want them to be. Create the moment to remind yourself.
Life in a moment…
Now back to that bright light…
Slowing Down and Appreciating The Spectacular
Making Peace With What You’re Not | Comparison [Part 1]
[Photo Credit: gfpeck]
