Hang a Lantern on Your Weakness
I want to describe to you a practice that is essential to great leadership in any arena. It is hard for most leaders to do, frankly, but it can alter your impact on others and it has the added benefit of being good for the soul. This practice is captured in this phrase: “Hang a lantern on your weaknesses.” Obviously, this phrase comes down to us from generations ago when you walked from the farmhouse to the barn, for example, and you hung your lantern on a peg so you could milk the cow or saddle the horse. To “hang[read more]
Over-Communicate
It was during a crisis involving spy planes and the Soviet Union that President John F. Kennedy once said, “There is always some S.O.B who doesn’t get the word.” JFK had seen war up close and was then leading our nation through the Cold War. He knew that often the greatest threat is not the enemy but the guy out there somewhere who doesn’t get the information he needs. The course of nations turns on such matters. JFK’s sentence helps us. Here’s why. It is your job as a leader to make sure everyone gets the word. Disaster can result[read more]
Lead, Follow, or …
I’m going to risk being rude in this Leading Thoughts. Forgive me and prepare yourself. Here it comes. Years ago, I saw a bumper sticker. It read, “Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way.” Now, I was young when I first saw this and it was probably the first time I had ever seen a cuss word printed for all the world to see. That was pretty much all the bumper sticker meant to me then. Years later—and having seen the words repeatedly and having led a lot of folks—I realized the help these words could be[read more]
Make the Dang Cake
I want to talk to you about chocolate cake. I have strong opinions about chocolate cake. I think they may relate to your leadership. Lean in here. I love chocolate cake and I love the kind our grandmas used to make. You remember them. The cake part was a light, fluffy, chocolaty cake that was moist and airy. It was the perfect delivery system for icing. Grandma’s icing was rich and sweet and fudgy and tasted great on a wooden spoon when she let you lick the last bit of icing from it. Now, this cake always had a wide[read more]
When Leaders are Bored
I want to ask a question that is at the heart of most crises in leadership. If you will tell yourself the truth once I flesh this question out for you, it may make all the difference right now in your life and leadership. Here it is: Are you bored? When leaders are bored, it means they have lost vision for what they do. When leaders are bored, they can no longer connect their heart to their work. When leaders are bored, they’ve become convinced their work makes little difference in the world. When leaders are bored, they have often[read more]
Destiny – Pillar of Leadership
"There has to be a purpose to it all. I believe that I was chosen for a purpose far beyond our simple reasoning." In earlier, more Christian eras, men believed they were moved by a force which today—in our world of evolution and random chance—is taken for arrogance and license. It was the power of predestination, of God's choosing and ordaining every life for a purpose. Found first in Scripture, it was expanded by Augustine, revived by the Reformers, and has since inspired generations to bold faith and action. Untold numbers have been moved to attempt what in their own[read more]
Self-Improvement – Pillar of Leadership
"We are all worms, but I intend to be a glowworm." The pages of history are filled with people who achieved greatness by prevailing over disadvantage and deformity. In the now familiar stories, stutterers became great orators, cripples became mighty athletes, men born to squalor ascended to great wealth, and women without education served mankind with genius. Touching and inspiring, these legends are retold whenever the fires of determination require stoking. In each of these stories, though, a critical decision had to be made: men can change their circumstances. Biology and sociology need not be destiny. Through will, concentration, sacrifice,[read more]
Criticism – Pillar of Leadership
"In one respect a cavalry charge is very like ordinary life. So long as you are all right, firmly in your saddle, your horse in hand, and well armed, lots of enemies will give you wide berth. But as soon as you have lost a stirrup, have a rein cut, have dropped your weapon, are wounded, or your horse is wounded, then is the moment when from all quarters enemies rush upon you." One of the deciding marks of a great leader is the way he handles criticism. Leadership is, after all, a matter of things like standing for principle,[read more]
Courage – Pillar of Leadership
"Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities . . . because it is the quality which guarantees all others." Courage is a quality that few can define but most recognize when they see it. It is unquestionably a kind of strength that allows men to perform extraordinary feats in the face of overwhelming opposition. It cannot be taught, though it can be inspired, and it normally springs from something like faith or resolve, a commitment to something larger than oneself. It can burst forth instantly, as though awakened by a sudden jolt, but more often it waits in[read more]
Perpetual Dissatisfaction Syndrome
Allow me to go off for a few paragraphs. I’ve been doing some consulting, and I’ve run into a kind of thinking that sends me into orbit. With the permission of my clients, I want to rage against a mentality that is killing a lot of people I care about. My children and I often talk about a thing called “PDS.” We made this up. It stands for “Perpetual Dissatisfaction Syndrome.” We use these initials to describe a condition we see all around us. It is when people are constantly dissatisfied, are constantly complaining, and, frankly, seem to enjoy it.[read more]