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March 3 - April 25, 2021
everybody is accountable to somebody.
When you find people who can get things done in an organization conspiring against them, you’ve found leaders.
Great leaders leverage influence and relationships over title and position.
Leaders don’t sit back and point fingers. Leaders lead with the authority of leadership . . . or without it. The authority is largely irrelevant—if you are a leader, you will lead when you are needed.
Influence has always been, and will always be, the currency of leadership.
“Take responsibility to make great what you can make great. And let others do it in the areas that they can make great.
One thing I can tell you is that no matter how loud God’s voice is right now, you probably need to turn it up higher.
“When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The LORD is with you, mighty warrior’ ” (Judg. 6:12).
Mighty warrior? Was the angel confused? Did the angel mess up the game of telephone? Or was God calling Gideon to believe something about himself that he didn’t currently believe? God was speaking truth into Gideon’s identity, asking him to believe something that would change the way he led.
If you fail to believe what God says about your identity, you will fail to reach the potential he’s put in you as a leader. Your ability to be a fearless leader is squarely rooted in your identity.
Mark: Was that a trick? Lancelot: No. That’s the way I fight. Mark: Could I do it? Tell me. I can learn. Lancelot: You have to study your opponent, so you know what he’ll do before he does it. Mark: I can do that. Lancelot: You have to know that one moment in every fight when you win or lose. And you have to wait for it. Mark: I can do that. Lancelot: And you have to not care whether you live or die.
Every time we respond in fear, we miss an opportunity to lead, and this failure of leadership is an issue of identity.
You don’t have to allow thoughts of fear, inadequacy, and insecurity to take up residence in your mind.
He wants us to responsibly engage, doing the work he has given us wherever we are, with whatever title or role he has currently assigned to us.
Great leaders, young and old, understand that God is the one who gives authority and that having influence is the path toward authority, not the other way around. As we learn to trust that God is the one to establish authority, we find ourselves becoming the kabash leaders God intended us to be.
A kabash leader doesn’t need authority, but he or she cultivates influence through relationships.
A kabash leader longs to organize and create for the betterment of all—for the good of others and not just the good of the leader. A kabash leader uses his or her influence to help others get ahead and not to get ahead of others. A kabash leader pours out, trusting that God’s new mercies each day will be enough to fill them up.
Before others can lead you, you must learn to lead yourself. You need to own your desires and ambitions; no one can lead you any further than you’re leading yourself.
Monitoring your behavior must be both horizontal (with others) and vertical (with God).
If money were no issue, what would I choose to do with my time? • What really bothers me? What breaks my heart? • What makes me pound the table in frustration or passion? • What gives me life or makes me come alive?
Have you attached unreasonable expectations to the relationship? Are you asking for something that just isn’t going to happen? Are you expecting to be led by someone who is incapable of providing that kind of leadership?
Choosing to believe that your boss owes you nothing might just change everything.
Commitment in relationships goes both ways.
Where would we be if Daniel had said, “I just can’t learn under Nebuchadnezzar.
Don’t we all learn more from times of struggle than we do from times of ease?
It’s seeing your organization’s big picture and how you can contribute. You’ll need to fight to see things from this perspective, and you must constantly work to broaden your view. As you seek this wide-lens perspective, you may be able to better see and feel how your role is connected to what the organization is ultimately trying to do.
Your church or organization has a mission. And your church or organization probably has a unique vision. Even if your boss (or bosses) hasn’t made them clear, they’re there. You don’t have to wait until someone makes them clear for you to make them clear for yourself.
And once you’ve found that “why we exist” piece, smack-dab at the top of your job responsibilities should be connecting your specific role to that overall mission and vision. This isn’t a onetime thing. It’s part of your everyday duties as you serve the organization and follow whomever God has placed in leadership over you.
Leaders who feel a strong sense of ownership are leaders who connect their job to the results of the organization.
Paul is in chains, imprisoned without good reason. Yet he maintains a deep belief that God is going to deliver him one way or another. Paul’s remarkable trust in God’s provision informed his view.
Trust-fueled, hope-filled, forward-thinking people can push through anything that gets in the way because their eyes are fixed on more than what’s directly in front of them.
Leaders who bring a trust-fueled, hope-filled, forward-thinking attitude every day can change any team dynamic.
If someone is in charge, God has a reason.
God has a purpose for the structures of power that exist in this world, and though they will not last forever, we can trust God is at work through them and in them.
There is someone else behind every story—the one who actually has the most influence on the situation. The one who is the hero behind the star. Our Creator and heavenly Father plays that role. He’s the one who puts people on stages, turns the spotlight on, and gives them the microphone. He’s the one who hands the gavel to the judge,
We need to keep our heads down and work
Keep in mind that you and I are the same people who burn our mouths on Hot Pockets. Maybe we’re not the best judges of our “due times.”
You can take all the energy you’re using to be mad or frustrated and use it to improve.
Every good leader is also a critical thinker. Leaders intuitively know how to make something better.
Owners pick up the trash because it’s their reputation on the line.
And when I feel out of the loop, without any control over the plan, I tend to feel disconnected from the outcome.
“Leaders must challenge the process precisely because any system will unconsciously conspire to maintain the status quo and prevent change.”
“There are two things I hate: Change and the way things are.”
You don’t need authority, but you will need influence.
Philippians 2:3–4 reads like this: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” In other words, put yourself to the side.
Challenge privately. Champion publicly. Do not confuse these two!
Markus Buckingham’s chapter from The One Thing You Need To Know: . . . About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success is a must-read.
Simply saying out loud that you do not have all of the information will directly affect how you carry yourself when you approach a challenging conversation.
Ashley Montagu, a British-American anthropologist, said, “Humans are the only creatures who are able to behave irrationally in the name of reason.”3
Start asking yourself what type of leader you want to be tomorrow. And start becoming that type of leader today. Your reputation matters.
