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Over the years, I’ve discovered habits that help me stay focused on my family while I’m on vacation.  Have a look at this video, and then comment below.  I’d love to hear what you think of my approach, and how you manage to take time away.

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How you approach problems as a leader has a huge impact on how your staff develops.  If you take the second approach – you’re implementing a servant-empowered leadership model.  You’re engaging your staff in conversations where they have the chance to analyze the problem, and then figure out the best solution.  And if your people self-identify the solution, they will own it.  People always push harder and sacrifice more for their own ideas.  You will cultivate innovation, creativity and sacrifice in your staff.

If you go with the first approach – you tell your staff what’s wrong and how you’d like them to fix it – you’re implementing a hierarchical model of leadership.  Your people will learn to do what you say.  They’ll wait and take their cues from you.  When a problem comes up, they’ll expect you to fix it.

Which kind of staff do you want?  That’s not a rhetorical question.  It’s not always an obvious choice.  There are definite disadvantages to being an empowering leader.  Solving a problem takes more time, for one.  You have to step back and let a team take a stab at something you could probably figure out within minutes.  You may also feel a lot less valued.  After all, the skill of standing back and letting a creative team of people innovate isn’t one that tends to be highlighted.  You don’t get to be the one with the answers.

So you need to think about it: 

Do you want people who will do what you say?  Or do you want people who will solve problems?

And is your approach to problem-solving developing people in the right direction?

1.   Does this person demonstrate character?  “Talk about your love for Jesus,” is how I start many of my interviews with Christian ministry candidates.  Sometimes I can see their eyes light up.  Without that spark there, I hesitate to hire them.  Add to that consistent integrity and high moral stands.  You can be confident that this person will choose to do the right thing, even when it hurts, and even when no one is looking.  Bottom line – this is someone you can trust.

2.   Does this person live with vision?  People with vision think big.  They’re able to look beyond what is and imagine what could be.  They also have the ability to communicate that vision, and tackle the process of how to get there.  In my role as a ministry leader, I watch for signs of redemptive vision: someone who finds their deepest fulfillment in helping God redeem our broken world

3.   Does this person have guts?  Call it courage, or will.  Someone with guts isn’t afraid to take risks or commit to a course of action.  This kind of person is willing to let go of the familiar and step out into new territory, doing what others are afraid to do

4.   Does this person enjoy favour?  In other words, does God answer their prayers and do people follow them when they call?  Is God using this person to make an impact? Is this someone I would enjoy having around?  Will they inspire, build up, empower and mobilize the team?  Are they appreciated by everyone from their director to their colleagues to their kids?

What about you?  What do you look for in a Christian leader?

*Adapted from Tim Elmore, Authentic Influence – Leading Without Titles, Nashvile: Lifeway Press, 2000, pp. 23-32.

Of course, there are several ways you could interpret that.  A bulldozer is an incredibly powerful piece of machinery.   It has the capacity to shift a huge load from point A to point B.  If something is in its way, a bulldozer will simply move it.  When I say, “be a bulldozer,” I don’t mean you should flatten whoever or whatever is in your path to get the job done.

Have you ever seen a bulldozer in operation?  A bulldozer works at peak efficiency when its load is overflowing.  Watch and you’ll see how it’s always losing a little off the sides.  The bulldozer operator doesn’t bother to stop and try to scoop up the overflow.  That would be an enormous waste of time.

When I say, “be a bulldozer,” I mean you shouldn’t worry about being a little overloaded.  Think of it as an excellent way to make sure that you’re spending your time and energy on the most important things. When a bulldozer isn’t overflowing, it’s actually underutilizing its power.  It’s the same with people.  If you keep your load too light, you’re probably not using your gifts and abilities to their highest capacity.

So if your load feels a little too heavy, try to see it as a good thing – as an opportunity to maximize your potential.  Focus in on your highest priorities.  Yes, some tasks and projects will fall to the side.  But if you’re prioritizing right, what gets dropped won’t be anything critical.  If it is really important, you can always get it moving again on the next load.  You may even realize that what gets dropped is a task you shouldn’t be doing anyway.

Keep in mind that even a bulldozer needs to stop and refuel, so make sure you have margins in your life for rest.  And if the load is really unmanageable, you may need to ask for help.  Two bulldozers are often better than one.

“Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that he may dwell with Me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve Me” Psalm 101:6, KJV

My mind immediately turns to the faithful minister of the gospel, the Sunday school teacher, the Christian worker as I read this verse of Scripture with its glorious promise.

Christian leaders are, indeed, included in this conditional promise. But many others may have a part as well. When that construction worker, a believer, who hears blasphemy on the job dares to speak up for his Lord, his act shall not go unnoticed and unrewarded.

That man who is scrupulously honest in his business, in the face of countless opportunities to be otherwise and in the face of competition and opposition that would seek to wipe him out, likewise shall have his reward.

That homemaker who cuts no corners, but completes the drudgery of housework, with love and joy and peace, shall rejoice too in that day when the faithful are rewarded.That young person who dares swim upstream against the tide of humanism, the drug culture, the careless, the indifferent, also shall be rewarded.

It is remarkable, too, that God rewards His children for good works which He makes possible by giving the grace and ability to perform them! He gives us grace, then smiles on us because we exercise the very grace that is a gift from Him.

Bible Reading: Psalm 101:1-5

Today’s Action Point: I will do what is right, regardless, and be faithful in every task I am called upon to do.

Without vision, an organization suffers.  I’ve discovered it’s the same for a marriage.  A healthy marriage needs a strong vision.  So I ask myself, “What do I imagine our marriage looking like at the end of our life?”  I see Debbie and me having nice meals, travelling, enjoying life together, being with our kids.  I see us close, communicating – because Debbie is a deep thinker, and we love to discuss and debate life’s issues.   That’s what I picture for us when I retire.  This is one of my deepest desires.

That vision for our future sets my priorities for my marriage today.  When there’s the temptation to get angry and pick a fight, I realize I can’t, because I’m trying to reach that destination.  The frustrating moment might seem so big, but from the right angle of view, it’s actually very small.  One little incident in my day shouldn’t trigger a hostile engagement that might threaten the vision we have for our marriage.  Focusing on that vision keeps things in perspective.  It protects me, and us, in a huge way.

What about you?  If you’re married, what’s your vision for your future?  What do you need to change today to make sure you reach that vision together?

Sometimes being right is wrong. This is a lesson I’ve learned as a leader. I can come up with an amazing idea, a great system, a brilliant solution to a problem. I can figure out the most efficient, productive way to handle a project. I can see all the flaws in how other people are coming at an issue. I can be absolutely, one hundred percent right. And still completely wrong.

Say you’ve expressed your opinion. You’re convinced it’s the right call. But the people around you aren’t so sure. They see things differently. They’d rather do it their way. You can stick to your guns, and insist that everyone adopt your proposal. You can throw logic and arguments at them until they recognize they’re mistaken.  This is one time when you might be right.  But you’ve alienated everyone around you.  You’re on your own.  You’re right, but you’re also wrong.