Leading With Attitude

Ever since I picked up a little book back in 1986 called, Your Attitude: Key to Success (bonus points to anyone who knows the new name of that book), more and more, I've become a firm believer in its simple premise that "your attitude determines your altitude."

Leading with a bad attitude is destructive to everyone around us, but it's most destructive to US. We simply cannot afford to lead with a bad attitude!

Ask yourself these questions:
1. Do I enjoy being around grumpy people?
2. Am I motivated by negativism?
3. Am I drawn to grumblers?

Any serious leader would answer "NO" to all of those questions.

Now, turn the tables and answer these questions:
1. Do I enjoy being around cheerful people?
2. Am I motivated by optimism?
3. Am I drawn to positive people?


Hopefully you answered "YES" to these three questions.

So, if YOU are drawn to these "good attitude qualities", don't you think that others are, too? Therefore, as leaders, it becomes critical for us to live out "good attitude qualities."

Of course, we really can't fake a good attitude with any long-term success, so instead, we have to go to the root of attitude issues, which are our minds and emotions.

Whenever I feel a bad attitude trying to encroach on my day, my agenda needs to change immediately.

There are a variety of things that I'll do to attempt to reverse an attitude plunge. Here are a few:
- go for a drive (but not in heavy traffic)
- pray for an hour
- laugh at myself
- have sushi with my wife
- go to the gym and work out
- find someone who is worse off than me and be generous to them
- listen to some uplifting music
- read the Bible
- spend some time outdoors
- plan a family outing

Doing these things make me smile, as it allows me to shift my mind and emotions away from the stress that's building up.

Regardless of what happens in our lives, we simply can't allow our minds and emotions to make us feel that we are victims of some sort. So, don't take yourself quite so seriously, lighten up a bit, and laugh a little. The people you're leading will thank you for it! :)

Tips on Leadership Meetings

Recently, I brought a teaching to the Drive Academy students regarding some random tips on how to conduct leadership meetings, and I decided to pass along some of the notes in this post.

Anyone who leads others, knows that meetings are a huge part of the job. Some Mondays, for me, I literally spend every minute, from 9:00AM to 10:00PM in meetings ... and I'm in charge of them all.

For leaders, meetings simply come with the territory. So, here is my short list of tips for leadership meetings:

1. Stay on task.
Know what your purpose is and remain focused on it. If you zig and zag on and off topic, you may likely get to the end of a very long meeting, and still not have the task wrapped up.

2. Establish the ending time.
If for nothing else, do this in respect of the people who will be participating in your meeting. By doing so, you are communicating that you respect their time, and will help you to "stay on task."

3. Laugh.

Have fun! Who ever said that meetings are supposed to be boring and stiff? Lighten up. Laugh a little. Poke fun at yourself.

4. Provide snacks.
If the meeting is over a meal time or if it is more than one hour, provide something to munch on! A good rule for meetings is, "if we don't eat, we don't meet."

5. Agenda light to heavy.

Old business to new business is the classical approach, but unless you are bound by Roberts Rules, agenda light to heavy. Hit some lighter topics up front, saving the bigger stuff for the latter part of the meeting. Reason being is that heavy topics can be mentally or emotionally exhausting. If you place these items at the beginning, the atmosphere can be stifled and bogged down, often assuring that you will never complete your agenda.

6. Prepare well.
Be sure you have a written agenda for your meeting. Sloppy preparation makes for sloppy meetings.

7. Start on time.
When you begin the meeting late, you are wasting everyone's time, especially those who cared enough to be there on time! Respect for the entire group is displayed by starting on time.

8. NEVER have meetings to have meetings.
Unless you are firmly bound by some type of bylaw, don't hold the meeting if there is not a reason for the agenda. For example, if you have a meeting every Tuesday at 3:00PM, but there are no significant agenda items, CANCEL THE MEETING! Speaking of bylaws, if a bylaw demands more meetings than necessary, change the bylaw. Why treat bylaws like the Bible, as if they can't be changed?

9. Be decisive.
When it's time to make a decision, make it! For me, if I feel about 80% sure I'm making the right decision, I do so and move on.

10. Manage the atmosphere, don’t control it.

This one speaks for itself. No one likes a control freak, so allow people to give feedback, responses, ideas, etc. Also, let others give input into the agenda by encouraging them to contact you in advance of the meeting to add agenda items. This also helps to minimize surprises for all involved, for no one wants to be put on the spot. Flexibility is part of the art of managing the atmosphere, so bend a little and enjoy the stretching exercise!

Meetings are a fact of life, so use these simple tips to make them better for all involved.

Exile Island

Television's hit reality show, Survivor, has an element called, Exile Island. It's an island the is separate from the camp, where one contestant is required to spend 24 hours, or so, experiencing a variety of uncomfortable circumstances.

Exile Island includes elements such as excessive snakes, pesky animals, lack of shelter, famine, loneliness, etc. You get the picture, it's tough, and they are far from home.

1 Peter tells us in three separate passages (1:1, 17; 2:11) that we live on an "exile island" of sorts. This earth is not our home, and often, it can get quite uncomfortable on "exile island." On "exile island", we all deal with temptation, annoying situations, harsh elements, lack, and loneliness.

But, just like no contestant on Survivor will give up just because they are on Exile Island, neither should we give up on our "exile island".

In fact, we have a mandate to make our "exile island" shine!!

God’s plan is for us to see that the city we live in prospers!

You see, when God's people were planted in an exile place (Babylon), they were commanded to make it a better place. God told his people, "seek the peace and prosperity of the city… because if it prospers, you too will prosper." (Jeremiah 29:4, 7 NIV).

Yes, God has planted us in an “exile” place. Our home is heaven. Earth, and the city you live in your rather imperfect and insufficient "exile island".

But, while we are here, we are to impact, and not run from the problems in our neighborhoods, cities, states, etc. Instead, we should run TO the problems and bring a little bit of heaven to earth.

Government can’t adequately fix the ills and imperfections of our cities, neither can our school systems fix the breakdowns (as wonderful as these elements might even be)!

Ultimately, WE, believers in the life, love and power of Jesus, are called, appointed, and anointed to bring change to earth.

How? Of course, through established programs and structures in our society, but also, through the ministries of our churches, and most certainly through our individual acts of justice, whether small or large.

Long gone are the days when we just look at problems in our cities, shake our heads in disgust, complain, and bury our heads in the sand while struggling to maintain our faith. That's simply not the Christianity I see described in the Bible.

So, let's make our "exile island" a better place, until we move on home to that perfect place, for if we do, God says that it will make our lives so much better and worthwhile.

Leaders Lift

Yesterday, I held my quarterly Leadership Meeting at Riverside Church. I always enjoy these times, in that these people are the arms, legs, hands, feet and brains behind so much of what makes Riverside Church function.

My theme this quarter was, "lift".

The dictionary says the following about "lift":
lift (v) : to raise from a lower to higher position.
lift (v) : to take up.
lift (v) : to move from one place to another.
lift (v) : ascend or rise.
lift (n) : an elevating influence.

When I read those definitions, I can't help but think a LOT about what leaders do!

Below are the main points I shared with the Riverside Church leaders based upon these definitions and how the principle of "lift" works within the local church:

Leaders lift downcast hearts.

Leaders lift the load and divide it up.

Leaders lift others on their shoulders.

Leaders lift the weakest among us.

Leaders lift up the name of Jesus.

Leaders lift up their eyes to see the big picture.

Leaders lift other’s spirits.

The Need for Fresh Leadership

New, fresh leaders always bring a healthy discussion to the table along with their fresh ideas and perspectives. Fresh leadership helps to prevent the natural atrophy that any movement, organization, business or church naturally experiences over time.

Last week, as I was driving home from Indianapolis, I was listening to several of my favorite podcasts. About fifteen minutes into Mark Driscoll's August 5th message from Mars Hill Church in Seattle, I was rivited!

Every leader who wants to better understand the importance of intentionally continually bringing in new, young, fresh leadership MUST listen to this message. It's entitled, Bricks and Movements, and it's part of his series from Nehemiah.

Click Here for the Audio MP3 of this message.

Video:

"You Know What Would Be Cool?"

Those words fly off my lips so quickly when brainstorming and creating ideas, that it has become a joke of sorts around the offices at Riverside Church.

When I make that statement with staff members, it gets a humorously sarcastic response of, "oh great." Reason being, it typically ends up creating more work for the staff, yet more fun at the same time.

I just love to dream about new frontiers and experiment with fresh concepts. The creative juices begin to flow and the next thing I know, we've launched a really cool, effective project or have overhauled something that had peaked in its effectiveness.

Now, I have to admit that most of the crazy ideas that pop into my mind are never verbalized, because they're just ... well ... crazy. When I do speak up though, the team around me is always willing to let me share my thoughts, but then I open it up for discussion. They're really good at identifying pitfalls and suggesting solutions or new approaches to the idea. Sometimes, though, they just look at my like I'm insane, and I know that the "cool idea" is not so cool anymore. :)

Seriously, though, fresh ideas keeps all of us thinking outside the box, and they help to drive away the natural atrophy of staleness and purposeless tradition. These are two of the greatest dangers in the church, and they will destroy us if we're not saying, "you know what would be cool?"

How do we keep fresh ideas coming?
1) We have an atmosphere where ideas can be openly expressed.
Team members know that unless the idea directly violates our values, we consider it as a possibility. It's better to have some bad ideas than no ideas at all.

2) We allow time for comments and discussion to tweak ideas for effectiveness.
Seldom, if ever, are ideas perfect from the beginning. They need to be hammered out by a team who can look at the idea from a variety of different perspectives.

3) Weigh the positives against the positives.
Most people weigh the positives against the negatives. We don't. New "negatives" create far too much fear, and can paralyze the process. Instead, we focus on the contrast of the sum total of our current positives and negatives versus the sum total of our future positives and negatives, if we implement the idea. This way, negatives cannot overpower the process.

4) We all own the idea.
No matter who dreamed it up, we all own it, because we all contribute to the sculpting process of the idea before its implementation.

5) We quickly kill the bad ideas.
When an idea is not flying with the group, we drop it and won't resurrect it again.

6) We seldom rush quickly into implementation.
Patience with a thorough process is critical. Ideas need to be covered in prayer and our genuine desire must be to release the life, love and power of God through its implementation.

7) Once we go public, there should be little if any tweaking.
We can easily destroy the original intent of the idea and "dumb it down" to nothing if we keep making changes based upon initial reactions from critical people. "Joy suckers" will always be around, but don't let them destroy the idea because they are grouches. Only tweak the oversights.

8) Publicly present the new idea with confidence and enthusiasm.
If you're not excited about it, no one will be. :)

So, get that idea out and say, "you know what would be cool?"

Talk about it.

Do it!