LeadershipConneXtions

Is Your Work Killing You?

Growing Stress in the Workplace

David Posen is an M.D. who writes about stress. See his great little book on relieving stress for lots of insights and best practices.

In his latest book, he talks about our growing STRESS in the workplace.

Here are five problems contributing to burnout, low productivity, dissatisfaction and turnover.

1.  The volume of work is increasing. So much for the silly people who thought we would one day have an eight hour workweek! Talk about COMPLETELY missing the mark! Instead, due to downsizing and fewer personnel, those who are left have MORE TO DO.

2.  The velocity of work. In other words, the speed at which things need to be done is faster than before. Plus, change is accelerating. We are constantly facing a learning curve with new procedures, new products, new technology . . . and this is NOT going away.

3.  Growing rudeness. We are becoming an "un-civil" people. We see this everywhere in our culture. It is in the workplace as well. Check out Os Guinness for a deep consideration of this problem in the North American culture.

4.  Multi-tasking. Which is really not what is going on. Instead, we are switch-tasking all the time in the workplace. Switch-tasking is tiring to the brain. See The Shallows for much more on this. While there are many reasons for this - the internet based way of work is a main one.

5.  Multiple and Confusing Priorities. With more to do... and with fewer people to do it... and with a growing complexity in the workplace... there is a growig problem with "what should I do first?"

These are five of the problems creating growing stress in the workplace. 

Which ones do you experience?

How are you coping (or not) with them?

What other problems create stress for you?
 

Brian K. Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International
BrianRice@lcileaders.org 

The Redeeming of Leadership

 

We have all been hurt by bad leaders. Chances are most of us have hurt others with our bad leadership. We all need forgiveness for our leadership failures.

But even more, our way of leadership needs redeemed, restored, renewed.

The good news of the Bible is this: God is actively working to redeem the world in all ways. God intends to use leaders as a central part of this redeeming activity. Therefore, God must FIRST, redeem this very thing called leadership.
 

I can't begin to give you even an overview of this. This what we spent most of our time studying, reflecting, praying, imagining, and desiring.

Here I just want to point out a few "sweeping" thoughts on God's work of redeeming what is broken and corrupt in our leadership. All of this is one section of Exercises in Volume Five: They Had Been With Jesus. Here is the overview.

 

ONE:
Deuteronomy 17:14-20 where God sets forth a counter-cultural NORM for what the future kings of Israel must be like. (Check it out.)

 
TWO:
King David who had a heart after God's heart (Psalm 78:70-72). In this short Psalm we see David described as shepherd, servant and steward... the model for good leadership. (The image below is one of my favorites of King David - the Psalmist-King of Israel.)
 

THREE:
The servant of the Lord passages in Isaiah. Most of the kings of Israel utterly failed and so there is a future servant of the Lord who will be the kind of leader God intended. Who is this future servant of the Lord? This servant (suffering servant) will be Jesus Christ.

FOUR:
We then spend the rest of the time looking at ten different passages (and there are many others we must skip over) where Christ models the truly counter-cultural way of leadership that God intended.

Jesus surrenders his will to the will of God. Jesus becomes shepherd, servant and steward. More than that, Jesus so gives up his rights for the sake of others that he uses the word "slave." And more than that! A slave who suffers and finally sacrifices himself for the sake of others! Unbelievable! Preposterous! Outrageous! Beautifully scandalous!

Each passage we look at seems more radical, more beautiful and more impossible than the previous ones! Together, they provide an overwhelming image of the kind of leader God wants to raise up.
 

We work through these themes in a reflective, conversational manner, creating space for God to speak to us, to meet with us, to begin his redeeming work. So much of it begins with the reforming of our desires.

The questions come down to this:

(1)  Do I desire to be the kind of leader God wants me to be?

(2)  If I don't desire that - am I willing to begin to desire that?

(3)  If I don't desire this and I am not willing to desire this - what are the implications of my refusal to become the kind of leader God desires?  

 

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

 

Courage (From the Great Things That Matter Most to You)

Courage is "the judgment that something else is more important than fear." (Ambrose Redmoon)

We all need courage, for life is hard, problems are daunting, challenges are painful, opposition is fierce and failure is real.

Redmoon shows us the way forward into these realities.

Courage comes about when you decide there are some things that are more important (far so) than what it is you fear. 

What you value is more important than what you fear.

Therefore, it is imperative that I have crystal clarity about what I value.

I need unshakeable conviction and belief about the great things that matter most.

Cherished convictions, compelling beliefs, chosen values . . .

And I think of these things often. I recall them to mind. I reflect and chew on them. I pray about them. I pull deep into me, their reality, so they become part of who I am and who I am is now shaped by what they are.

This does not eliminate any of the hardness, problems, challenges, opposition and failure that life WILL bring my way.

But it does provide perspective (judgment, assessment, conclusions) that something else is more important.

And so I choose to live according to what is more important.

One of the most helpful things you can do is pull out your journal or get a piece of paper and take some time. Reflect and write down - what are the great things that are most important to you. For your imbibing and living of these things is the way of finding courage to lead.

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership  ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

Your Idea Network

There are some people who do their most brilliant thinking, isolated, alone and in solitude. Some of the world's greatest thinkers have done their conceptualizing and envisioning in the privacy of their inner world. I am one of those people who do some of my best thinking alone (with authors) and lots of quiet time for reflection.

Most of us are not like that!

And, when it comes to leadership, some of the very best leaders are action oriented, people oriented and those leaders will have their best ideas, not in quiet solitude, but in the engagement of life that involve people. I am also fortunate to have a wonderful network of really smart people... creatives... dreamers... visionaries... and our conversations are stimulating.

So, here are a few guidelines for you to do a simple, but useful, exercise. Get a pen and paper (or your journal is even better). You are going to map out your "Idea Network." You are going to identify the conversation partners and learning catalysts that are in your life. These are the people who are a part of the seeding and incubating process of new ideas.

You have complete freedom to map this out in whatever way you like. 
Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

1.  Put yourself in the center of the page and you will build a map that will indicate the closeness and the priority of these "idea people" to you.

2.  Start thinking of who the idea stimulating people are in your orbit. Don't think just of relationships in general, but think in terms of - who is around me that really stimulate me with ideas? Who are the people I like to talk to about ideas: both my own ideas and to find out their ideas?

3.  Begin writing names and locating them on your map around you.

4.  As you think, you should add books, blogs, conferences/seminary, team members . . .

5.  Think internally (those people who are a part of your organization) and externally (those peole who are outside your organizatin).

6.  Begin to identify on your map, if there are other avenues or sources of idea inspiration. Things like being in nature, music, experiences, certain times when you are in the "muse zone."

7.  Cluster people and items together if you can. Look to see if there are relationship there.

8.  If you can, find ways to indicate the strength of the influence and the number of ideas.

9.  Jot down a few Key Words to indicate particular breakthrough ideas or vital lessons that are associated with people and items on your Map.

10.  Pay attention to what sociologists call "weak ties." These weak ties are definitely outside your internal organization and closer connections. They are most likely along the periphery and they are responsible for many of our best ideas. The reason for this is that within organizations, you will often find "ingrained, in-grown" thinking.
 

FINALLY . . .

11. As you are creating and refining your Idea Network Map, start to look for bigger picture meaning. Jump up to a 25,000 or even 50,000 foot altitude.

What do you see?
What is significant?
What is strong?
What is lacking?
Where needs added?
What is God saying to you?

And what are you going to do next . . . ?!?!

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typeapd.com 

The great image to the right is found here.

You can find several of these great idea network images here.

A Few Questions to Think About What You Do

In the end of June I read a delightful, fun and motivating book,  The Idea Hunter: How to Find the Best Ideas and Make them Happen by Boynton and Fischer. A number of upcoming posts are my reflections on life and leadership out of their book. I commend the book to you. (See my left column note on the book).

***************

Michael Himes, a professor of theology at  Boston College gives three simple questions that are to help us do deep considering of what we are doing, our calling, vocation and personal mission in life. I spend time reflecting on each one. Here they are with a little bit of rewording.

1.  In this a source of joy (or) do you get a kick out of doing it?

2.  Is this something that taps into your talents and gifts, that engages all your abilities and strengths, using them in the fullest way possible (or) are you really good at what you are doing?

3.  Is this a genuine service to the people around you and to society at large (or) does anyone want/need you to do what you are doing and are they grateful you are doing what you are doing?

Life is way too vital and full of eternity for us to neglect these questions.

Here is a prayer/benediction from:   Psalm 90:12 17.

Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us --
yes, establish the work of our hands. 

 

You can find three podcasts by Himes on these questions here. 

Brian K. Rice  
Evangelicals on the Ignatian Road  
Leadership ConneXtions Intl.  
www.lci.typepad.com

What Do You Fear?

I know, it is a pretty pointed question. This is a short post with a few questions that deserve some lingering reflection.
 

*  What do you fear?

*  Of what are you afraid?

*  And why . . . why do you fear that thing?

*  And what do you do when it is present with you, when "fear happens"?

*  How do you find courage?

*  Where do you find courage?

Remember, courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is resisting fear and not allowing fear to have the determining word.

Nor is courage foolhardiness... as the penguin seems to understand it.
 

I know this. If you are a leader, God will call you and take you to some places and times where you will be afraid and where you will need courage.

And if you lead others, at times, they too will be afraid (or anxious, worried, nervous, upset - all, perhaps, milder versions of fear).

It is worth your while thinking about fear and courage.

Brian K. Rice 
Leadership ConneXtions International 
www.lci.typepad.com

 

Self-control in an Out of Control Culture

 Here are three short biblical texts to launch this post.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour.  1 Peter 5:8

But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . self-control.  Galatians 5:23

I think I've gotten better at this as the years have gone by.

There are many facets to self-control/discipline, but in part it means that you are not reactive and certainly not over-reactive to the things that are happening around you.

Calm, measured, careful, deliberate . . .

If you are feeling worried, anxious, stressed, fearful, insecure, or aggressive . . . then above all, now is the time for self-control.

If you think you are being threatened or challenged . . . self-control and not hasty response will be your best approach.

If you are in a crisis . . . self-control is necessary so you can really understand what is truly going on and what is needed.

If you have anger issues . . . then you are already familiar with what happens when you lose control due to anger.

This does not mean a leader is slow when the need is there for decisive and necessary action. Some mistakes are made because a leader is too slow to act. Many others are made because we react too quickly. 

Nor does self-control mean independence from God, like you are "willing" yourself for control and mastery of your self. Quite the contrary, daily prayer, steady practicing of the spiritual disciplines of surrender and trust, a reflective, contemplative bent that leads to great self-awareness AND God-focus are vital for self-control.

So . . . how are you doing on this area?
And . . . are there any particulars where you know you have room for growth? 

Tomorrow's Post:  what we all want to be . . .

Brian K. Rice 
Leadership ConneXtions Internatinal 
www.lci.typepad.com

 

Are You Successful?

Every leader (every person for that matter) has to define what success looks like (as well as the WAY to that success).

If you are to finish well, you need to have a standard of evaluation that is meaningful.

The North American standard of success is loaded with numeric qualifiers.

Success, for most  Christian leaders, looks like MORE . . .

income (offerings),

people,

results, 

conversions,
disciples,

trained leaders,

ministries,

programs,

etc.

This kind of more is often translated into BIGGER. Bigger ministries, bigger audience, bigger building, bigger budgets...

We would like the more to be in terms of BETTER, but that is a more nuanced, harder to measure standard. Yet, some things cannot easily be measured by BIGGER. BETTER is the way to go.

BETTER…

character,

spiritual life,

emotional intelligence,

prayer life,

relationships,

intimacy with God,

and so on.

It is pretty hard for me to qualify most of the things listed in the BETTER column. But this is the most important one for me. I certainly want to see success as it is described in the MORE group, but I MUST have success as it is defined in the BETTER list.

So . . . how do you define success?

And . . . are you becoming successful?
Do you know the way forward in to the success that you believe is good?
 

Or . . . do you think this is not even a worthwhile way to think about life?

Hmmmm…..

If Jesus is going to say "well done good and faithful servant" what criteria do you think he will use to assess your life.  As you think about this one, don't go generic. Don't just say - "fruitfulness" or "faithfulness." Give some specifics so you know what it means to be fruitful or faithful.

Brian K. Rice 
Leadership ConneXtions International 
www.lci.typepad.com

Warren Bennis and John Calvin on Self-Awareness

Warren Bennis, one of the great researches and teachers of leadership, almost one of the founding fathers of this discipline in the last century believed that self-awareness was a NECESSITY for leaders.

He referred to it as "the management of attention" and said it is the first leadership competency needed. My management of attention, he meant, the leader knows her or his values, their core beliefs, their passions… and leads out of that.

Bennis believed that leaders needed to be more than merely familiar with who they were. They needed a deep intimacy about their inner realities.

I am going to quote another theme from a leader who talks about self-awareness, although this one is from the Reformation - John Calvin.

Nearly all wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. But, while joined together by many bonds, which one precedes and brings forth the other is not easy to discern... without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God... without knowledge of God there is no knowledge of self...
 

Regular readers of this blogsite know this is a favorite theme… and so today, may one of the fathers of modern leadership be a reminder - spend a little time knowing God, knowing your "self" and leading out of that knowledge that is truly called WISDOM.

Thanks to Terry Pearce and his book, Leading Out Loud, for the reminder about Warren Bennis. 

Brian K. Rice 
Leadership ConneXtions International 
www.lci.typepad.com

Self-Care (Your Physical Health)

How you are doing emotionally, spiritually and relationally is certainly tied to how physically healthy you are?

Physical Health has (at least) the following aspects.

Strength training.

The fact is muscle diminishes as you get older. You get weaker unless you work to keep your strength. 

Cardiovascular training.

Getting the heart rate up, giving the heart and lungs a workout.  There are many ways to do this. Even vigorous walking is a great way to do this.  Do a minimum of 30 minutes a day.  Run, swim, "dance," bike… lots of options.

Flexibility.

You should stretch every day. Flexibility will reduce the number of aches and pains, it will also reduce the number of accidents due to injury.  You can do a good stretching routine in ten minutes. Yoga is a great way to do this and have fun. Yoga not only improves flexibility, but it also improves balance and coordination.

Rest and Recovery.

Your body needs time to recuperate and repair itself after exercise. The idea of rhythm is what is in play here. You can overdo exercise. It is hard to give a rule for this since every one is different. You will find your rhythm as you begin to do it more frequently.

Nutrition.

This one is THE MOST IMPORTANT and is the fuel for all the others. And this is the hardest one for me. Give your body the right energy source and everything else mentioned above will be enhanced. Mess up with your diet and nutrition, and everything else gets harder.

I'll use the Four Mindsets on this.

Self-Awareness means you know your "body" and its needs, limits, and preferences when it comes to physical health.

Intentionality means you are committed to doing it and you are committed to keep doing it.

Strategic means you know what works for you and you have achieved a good balance of all that I mentioned above. 

Surrendered means you make the hard choices when you want to "regress," "give up," and "backslide."

If you are out of shape, it is going to take a long time to get in to good shape. I spent ten years getting out of shape. I have been spending about a year, working pretty hard at getting back in shape. I am not there yet. I think I have another six months to get to where I want to be. Then I can figure out how to move in to a maintenance mode.

You will get discouraged on this and give up… unless you have a plan. 

Your plan may mean you need a trainer, you need to join a gym, go to Weight-Watchers, you need to have a workout partner for accountability, you need to find ways for it to be "fun" (to a degree).  It may mean many of these things, none of the, some of them, and others.

Your health is too important to neglect this.

Brian K. Rice 
Leadership ConneXtions International 
www.lci.typepad.com

Self-Care

Are you taking good care of yourself?

The older you get, the harder it is to do good Self-Care and the more important it is to do it consistently.

How is your health?

How much do you weigh?

I recently heard a statistic that said, 2/3rds of Americans are overweight

How often do you exercise?

Only a small percentage of the American population exercises! 

How are your stress levels?

How often do you have meaningful R & R?

Are you spending frequent time with family and friends?

What do you do to unplug and to re-energize your depleted batteries?

When was the last time you did this?

How fresh is your connection with Christ?

Leaders, here is the brute fact.

No one is going to do  Self-Care for you.

People will rarely give you the space to do Self-Care.

You have to make hard choices to make the time for this.

I have spent long years not doing Self-Care, or doing it sporadically. In the last year I have finally become more aware of my poor health, more intentional about attending to it, learning how to be strategic (and comprehensive) about this, and surrendering (because it is hard, rarely fun and regression is easy and fast).

Don't blow through this post and on to your day.

Give it the time and energy it needs.

Brian K. Rice 
Leadership ConneXtions International 
www.lci.typepad.com

FAQs About Vision

This is a follow up post from yesterday's post on vision. If you missed it, go back and check it out first. There are quite a few Frequently Asked Questions that I hear about Vision. Here are six of those FAQs.
 

ONE:
I want to have a vision or find a vision or develop a vision - so how do I do that?
 

TWO:
Is a vision suppose to last for my entire life... or does vision ever change?
 

THREE:
How big is a vision suppose to be?  I've heard of BHAGS - Big Hairy Audacious Goals, but I don't think my vision is that big. Is that okay?
 

FOUR:
Can my vision be focused on my family?
 

FIVE:
I feel stuck in my job and that is where I spend most of my time. It pays the bills, it is actually a decent job, but it isn't at all what I am passionate about, what my vision is and what energizes me. So, what should I do? Quit my job and go looking for one that matches my vision and passion?
 

SIX:
Must my vision involved the church and doing something there? Or does it count as a "Christian vision" if I am doing something out in the world?

And what I do is answer each of those questions on the video below. They are short answers, so it won't take you long to watch it.

  

Like I mentioned in the video, I'll have the resources for finding and developing a vision available within a week.  It will be one or more PDFs you can download.
  

  

Brian K. Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

Strengths-Based and Emotionally Intelligent Leadership

Here are a few great suggestions from Jeffrey Krames, author of Inside Drucker's Brain, pp. 116).

Remember, long before Marcus Buckingham and the Gallup Group started teaching us about the important of working and leading out of our strengths, Drucker, like in so many other things, had paved the way years earlier with his prescient understanding of leadership strengths.

ONE: Ask for the most demanding assignments.

I love this. Wow. Great. Go for it. Don't be afraid of the new and the challenging. Don't take the easy, fluff stuff. Give your strengths and competencies a real workout. Do this reasonably and not naively. But on the other hand, do it courageously.

TWO:  Do not be afraid of strong colleagues and ambitious subordinates. 

A great team, a great organization, cannot be great based on just one great leader. Lots of greatness is needed. Lots of people with high competency. Lots of iron sharpening iron people. It's not about you... it's about the team... it's about the kingdom...

THREE:  Don't resent talent. (This is the corollary to the previous point) 

It isn't about you and your performance. it is about the success of your group. So welcome strength and celebrate the strong and competent in your midst. Don't be threatened by the strengths and accomplishments of others. Be motivated by them. Be grateful for them.

We can all shine in some areas and we should shine. We will all struggle in other areas. We need to create space where people can shine where we struggle. And we even need to create space where people can shine in the very areas where we excel.

Brian K. Rice 
 Leadership ConneXtions International 
 www.lci.typepad.com

Resistance and Questions for Self-Awareness About Our Resisance

One of the main ways I enter into the self-awareness process is by asking questions.

Good questions.

Hard even troubling questions.

Below the water line questions.

Ask these questions and then push, pursue to find answers. The first answers are not your destination. First answers are really the real answers. They are only the beginning.

Asking questions that take you below the water line is a little like a National Treasure movie, or the Da Vinci Code. One clue just leads you further along the path… to the next clue… and then the next one. There is treasure at the end, but it is a ways off. The clues/answers along the way are the guides/pointers to the answer you seek.

But it starts with good questions.

Here are questions that have to do with "resistance" on our part. Whenever I find myself resisting something, that is a sure sign that something is hiding and it needs exposed and explored.

I came across some of these good, "resistance processing" questions in Caring for Word in a Culture of Lies (page 60). I've added them to my long list of self-awareness questions. Here they are:

What am I avoiding knowing?  Why?

(I never thought of it that way, but it is a good way to think.)

What point of view am I protecting? Why?

(hmmm… getting at my biases and assumptions that I take for granted… what is that la about, what purpose does that point of view serve?)

How have I arrived at my assumptions about what sources of information I will rely on?

(I can hardly tell you how important this question is and it is one I almost never ask. But it is important. We all have sources that inform us. Why those sources and what do we believe about those sources, vs. other sources?)

How much evidence do I need to be convinced?

(Another great question - wow? It reminded me of Jesus' challenge/accusation against the Pharisees of his day.)

Leaders, not only are these questions you can use for your own journey, but when you are working with other leaders and you discern resistance from them, use these questions in mentoring sessions to help them move into new levels of awareness.

Brian K. Rice Leadership ConneXtions International www.lci.typepad.com

Passion Makes a Lot of Difference

When I have to speak on a topic, if I am passionate about it, it flows, it fits, it may even soar (if the muses are with me) and when I am done, it feels good. But if I am speaking on something that I am not passionate about, I have to work a lot harder for it to be a good event.

It is the same way about work. When I can work in the realm of my passion, time flies by, results flow, and when I am done, I am ready to do it again.

I am one of the fortunate and blessed people, I get to spend a lot of time in doing what I am passionate about and speaking what I am passionate about. Therefore, much of the time, work doesn't feel like work. It isn't work.

When your passion doesn't match or significantly dovetail with your work or current vocation, then you need to find ways to bring your passion into work (where possible) or to find other outlets for you to engage in your passion.

The source of the image. 

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com

Churchill on Leadership: A Final Thought

I hadn't noticed this before, but looking back over the posts on Churchill's leadership, suddenly it hit me!

Do you see it also?

As you have been reading these Five Leadership Lessons from Churchill, as interpreted by Paul Johnson, did you notice anything about those five lessons.

Here is what I saw. They all have to do with the inner life of the leader. They are character issues. They are the stuff of emotional intelligence!

Fascinating!!!

Churchill was enormously gifted as a leader. He developed immense leadership skills as the years went by. He had few peers when it came to visionary thinking, strategic implementation of the vision he saw, motivational oratory and more. 

Yet . . . none of this made the top Five Leadership Lessons.

Instead . . . it is the stuff of character.

Hmm . . . is this saying anything to you?

You may want to do a little biblical reflection on the following passages and then do some self-assessment as well.

2 Peter 5:5-9        Galatians 5:22-25        Romans 12:9-21

• Make a list of character qualities out of these three passages. 
• Then, give yourself an evaluation of some sort (a scale of your own choosing). 
• What are your weak areas of character? 
• How are they affecting you negatively?  And what are your character strengths? 
• How are you leading and making a difference out of those strengths?  
• What is Jesus saying to you.

And may God transform our inner world so that our leadership imprint is a legacy worth leaving.

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com

Gail Sheehy on Growth

Dr. Mardy Grothe, in a weekly email, recently provided some GREAT thoughts from Gail Sheehy on the subject of personal growth. 

Gail Sheehy is the author of Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life, which was on the New York Times best seller list for three years! The Library of Congress said this is one of the ten most important books in modern times! 

Here are some of her thoughts. Every one is inspiring and instructive. I would suggest some reflection on each one.
 

We are not unlike a particularly hardy crustacean...
With each passage from one stage of human growth to the next
we too, must shed a protective structure.
We are left exposed and vulnerable - but also yeasty and embryonic again,
capable of stretching in ways we hadn't known before.

The delights of self-discovery are always available.

Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties.

To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist.

Every day is an awakening, you will never grow old. You will just keep growing.

It is a paradox that as we reach our prime, we also see there is a place where it is finished.

No sooner do we think we have assembled a comfortable life than we find a piece of ourselves that has no place to fit in.

The source of continuing aliveness was to find your passion and pursue it, with whole heart and single mind.

If we don't change, we don't grow.
If we don't grow, we aren't really living.
Growth demands a temporary surrender of security.
It may mean a giving up of familiar but limited patterns,
safe, but unrewarding work, values no longer believed in,
relationships that have lost their meaning.

Every one of these thoughts is moving and stirring of thoughts and affections within me. They spur me on to growth, to never ceasing to live and to enjoy every drop of glory God has downloaded in to our wonderful world.

My prayer for you is that the New Year is bursting with growth and life. 

My prayer for you is that you will not fear the change, the challenge, the testing, the risks needed for this kind of growth.

My prayer for you is that in 2010 you will more clearly discern your passion, God's calling and then pureue it with great energy.

My prayer is for awakening, expanding, deepening, ripening for our lives.

Brian K. Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com

I'm Sorry, I was Wrong, Please Forgive Me (and such excellent leadership language)

I'll show my age.

Do you remember the old sitcom - Happy Days which starred the Fonz?

One of my favorite episodes was when the Fonz was wrong and Potsie was right and the Fonz had to apologize. If you know anything about the Fonz, the Fonz is never wrong, the  Fonz doesn't ever say, "I was wrong" or "I'm sorry." And so this episode was funny watching the Fonz try to even say those things to the worst person imaginable - Potsie! He literally could not get the words out. He couldn't form them.

A lot of us have a little bit of the Fonz inside us. It can be so hard to say, "I was wrong," "I'm sorry," or "Please forgive me."

These are all good phrases to practice and be ready to speak as soon as they are needed. 

Our ignorance (or lack of self-awareness) gets in the way of knowing when we are in the wrong.

Then, our pride gets in the way of offering sincere apologies when we know we are wrong.

This is just BAD leadership... and BAD human being...

When you are wrong, admit it... quickly.
When you are wrong, apologize... sincerely.
When you have hurt someone, own up to it and rectify it... immediately and sincerely.

This is just emotionally healthy, spiritually healthy leadership.

Here is an interesting issue to ponder. Do a searching (and fearless) moral inventory, looking to remember the people you have hurt and to whom you never apologized, said, "I"m sorry," "please forgive me." Make your list and get about offering some sincere apologies. On the other hand, don't re-open old wounds if in doing so, you damage the other person more than help them with your apology.

It's a leadership skill we need to have and use a lot.

By the way, when was the last time you told someone you were wrong, said you were sorry or had to ask for forgiveness. I hope it was this week.

Brian K. Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com

What Makes Criticism, Good Criticism?

I bet we all have had some very similar experiences.
We've all been criticized - unfairly.
We've all been critical of others - unjustly.
We've all been hurt by criticism from others.
We've all had less than self-less motives when we have criticized others.
We've all regretted critical remarks we've made.
We've all been wrong about our criticisms.

Here is a short check list to see if your criticism is good, healthy criticism, or not.
 

1.  Have you checked the facts and is your criticism based on clearly understood facts, not just feelings, impressions, intuition?

2.  Are you personally "okay" with the person you are criticizing, or do you have an agenda? If you harbor ill will toward the person you are criticizing, then your criticism will be skewed.
 

 

3.  You speak in qualified terms. Avoid absolutes when possible, for the absolutes are rarely (if ever) true. How is that for an absolute. In a similar vein, avoid exaggeration to make your case.

4.  You criticize observable outcomes and results. You are not criticizing motives or any other underlying factor that involves a subjective judgment on your part.

5.  You are not in a "you win, they lose" situation. If so, your criticism will not be concerned for finding a "best solution" but in getting a win. This leads to blinders on the critic.

6.  You have a better solution/answer/avenue to take. Don't be a critic who only criticizes, but a contributor who converses to find the best way forward.

 We are going to make mistakes when it comes to criticism.  The point is to keep on getting healthier and smarter and better for those times when we must be the critic.

Oh yes, if you need to - just declare moratorium on criticism for a month and see what happens as a result.

Brian "A reforming critic" Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com

p.s.  I hope you enjoyed the pictures of one of my favorite critics from Ratatouille

 

How Am I Using My Time? (Roger Oliver)

Roger Oliver (in the yellow shirt) is a friend, a leader and a trainer of leaders I met when John Hilliard and I first went to Puebla Biblical Seminary to teach on leadership. I won't go into all the background that would give you the context to know Roger a bit more, but he is a highly intentional follower of Jesus, he loves the church and mission, and he is passionate about raising up a new generation of leaders for Latin America. One of his many roles is the current president of Puebla Biblical Seminary.

Plus, Roger reads and thinks a lot. Here are some insights he has gained into his own Life, Priority and Time management. I think you'll appreciate both the model and how Roger illustrates it with his own situation.

And as a bonus, I added a video of Puebla Biblical Seminary at the end that will give you a flavor of the place where Roger works and the people he empowers. 

Thanks Roger for blogging for us some of your insights and experiences. And Feliz Navidad to you and the family and community at Puebla.  -bkr-

***********************************************

 How Am I Using my Time

David Allan teaches a great exercise in Getting Things Done to help focus your efforts. Using the metaphor of altitude when flying, it helps us see what it is we are doing. The idea is to review what you are doing to see if it is coherent with what you say are your projects, responsibilities, long and short term goals as well as your lifetime calling.

• 50,000 ft, your calling or mission in life
• 40,000 ft, where you want to be in 3 to 5 years
• 30,000 ft, what you hope to accomplish in the next 1 to 3 years
• 20,000 ft, areas of focus and responsibility
• 10,000 ft, projects on the burner
• Landing, what you have in front of you to do day-to-day

 You start at the bottom because if you don’t get your day-to-day under control you will tend to be too distracted to think about the higher levels. I use the Getting Things Done (GTD) system to get a handle on all of my tasks and projects. The key idea is to get everything out of your head into a system that you trust. That way you can focus on one thing at a time, the key to relaxed productivity.

In the GTD system tasks are very discrete steps called next actions like call Fred and ask for an insurance quote. Anything that requires more than one step is a project. It is really hard to do a project in one step so it is really hard to get started on a project that you have mistakenly called a task or next action. They key to success with a project is to define the outcome and one next action you can take to move the project forward.

It is a whole-life system. Everything goes into the system from buying eggs and milk on the way home to reviewing the masters program at the seminary. The key to trusting the system is the weekly review. You have to review the system regularly to remind yourself what is on your plate and what you need to do to move things forward.

 Once you have the minutia of actions and projects under control you can confidently stop thinking about them long enough to consider the higher levels of your life.

The hardest level for me is 20,000 ft. I have identified the following areas of focus with a list of attendant responsibilities for each, not in order of priority necessarily.

• The seminary
• My personal (non-professional) life (family, me and God, friends, personal development)
• The mission (CAM International)
• The church (Familia de Paz, the new church plant)

For each of these areas of responsibility I have identified key responsibilities. I use an outlining program to write down what I think belongs at each level. For example, I defined my responsibilities in the seminary as follows:

• Spiritual life of the seminary family
• Peacemaking/reconciliation
• Promotion
• Fund raising
• Student Recruiting
• Board development
• Personnel Mgt/staff development
• Financial management
• Administration oversight
• Academic programs oversight
• Planning/organizational development
• Counseling
• Serve the churches
• Conferences and preaching
• Short Term Mission support
• Write for ObreroFiel and other publications

 I have a task in Outlook to review the 20,000 foot level every 3 months. I take a look at my landing level (next actions) and 10,000 feet (projects) and try to evaluate whether or not the next actions and projects are contributing to my 20,000 foot areas of focus and responsibilities. Often they are not. It is OK as long as it was a conscious decision based on what God has placed in front of me to do. I also check to see if my activities are in balance. Am I spending too much time at the seminary and not enough with my family?

I try to set aside a day or so every year to review all the levels, landing to 50,000 feet. Are my activities coherent with what I say are my areas of focus and responsibility? Are they moving me towards my 30,000 foot 1 to 3 year goals? Are the moving me towards where I think I should be in 3 to 5 years? Are my activities, areas of focus and responsibility, 30,000 foot goals and 40,000 foot dreams in alignment with what I believe God has called me to do with my life? If they are not, time to review and make changes.

 Recently I thought through my 20,000 foot level areas of focus and responsibilities and discovered some disconnects. There is too much there to do. They are each too discrete and separate. There is not enough of me to keep up with all of that. Something has to change. I am not God.

Looking at these levels helps me to soberly consider my life and to do so regularly not just when a crisis forces me to. It is a very enlightening exercise very similar to an instrument check. I pick up warning signs that I am headed for a crash in time to change course and make appropriate adjustments.

Of course I am very, very human and often do not pay attention to the warning lights. God has a wonderful way of letting me trip over my shoelaces when I do. When you land flat on your back there is nowhere to look but up.

GTD has been a great help in redeeming the time because the days are evil. I recommend it. I’ll end with a humbling quote from David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done.

“You can’t manage time. Time just is. Time management is really managing what we do during time. But it’s easier to say that time is what needs to be managed rather than ourselves. It’s easier to make time the enemy and parade our worthiness (I have so many big, important things to get done) rather than say, ‘I don’t keep my agreements.’”

Roger Oliver
Puebla Biblical Seminary 
www.seminariobiblicodepuebla.org

What Do You Have Going for You?

It was a verrrrry long time ago, in a place far, far away when I first heard the story of Colonel Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (now KFC). 

Sanders was a retired postal worker, recently retired and already bored, wondering if there was more for the rest of his life than sitting on his front porch on the rocking chair. He decided to make a list of all that he had going for him. On that list was the fact that he was the only one who knew his mother's secret recipe for fried chicken. He decided to make some and see if people would be interested in buying it . . . and the rest is history.

I was fascinated at the time, and still am, by the fact that he sat down and did a personal inventory of his strengths, capacities, competencies, what he had going for him. Out of that, came inspired action.

Here is one of those exercises that beg for us to do some reflection and then implementation. Get out some paper, or your journal if you use one, and start making a comprehensive list of your assets. You may work on this for several days, or longer, if you like. Get input from those who know you. You should have a pretty substantial list.

This is the workmanship of your life, which God is building and will continue to build. And you are invited to cooperate with God in the working out what he has built into you.

Here are several pretty important questions. 

When you look at the total package of your assets - how much are you living and leading out of those assets? 

Do you have significant strengths that you are not using? 

What new avenues may give you the opportunity to begin using more of what you have to offer on behalf of others?

Here is an idea from a post a week or so ago. If you don't attend to this, there is NO ONE ELSE who is going to do it for you. This is surely what Paul had in mind when he wrote to  Timothy and told him "do not neglect the gift that is in you" (1 Timothy 4:14).

Have fun doing this. Be excited, be grateful, be expectant. And then find ways to use what you have to add value to those around you in the name of Jesus.

Brian Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

The Difference Makers: Incubate and Implement

Let me use HYPERBOLE to drive home my point.

There is nothing more important for you to do then incubate and implement. 

Here is what you do not lack. You do not lack good ideas. Good ideas are everywhere. Great information is all around you in endless supply. These days, it is only about three clicks away on your computer. 

Ideas do not change the world.
Ideas do not change you.
Ideas do not change your situation.

But . . . 

Ideas you understand and implement, well that is another matter altogether.

It was about 15 years ago, when I was trying to understand how transformation takes place, and why it seems so little transformation is taking place in the church (which is above all, about transformation), I discovered a few things.

(1)  Information by itself is not enough. The church (like many other organizations in our world) specializes in information distribution. We have tons of information. In the church we call it Bible teaching.

(2)  Information by itself does not lead to transformation. If it did, after every Sunday morning message, the following week would be full of transformation. And we all know that doesn't happen. In fact, not only is transformation not occurring, but the studies tell us that people don't even remember 95% what was talked about 24 hours later!

(3)  A middle step was missing. A core ingredient was missing. The process was lacking something. And then, I don't remember the circumstances, the word INCUBATION came to my mind... and suddenly, I knew I had found the word that described the missing piece in the process. Here is what I wrote down.

Information   ----   Incubation ----  Transformation

As time went on, I fleshed out this idea in much more detail. You can find a one page summary overveiw in chart form by downloading this PDF.

(4)  Ideas need to be incubated. An idea is the seed, but the seed is just a seed. There is the potential of great fruit in that seed, but the seed must be placed into a place, an environment, a process of germination or incubation. 

(5)  Incubation/germination simply means you have to spend time thinking about an idea. Seeing it, understanding it, "getting it," knowing it. You have to ponder, consider and reflect on that idea. Not just the idea in theory, but the idea as applied to your life. 

• What is the idea all about?
• What difference will this idea make in my life?
• How will I use this idea in my life?

(6)  As the incubation process goes on, you begin to work it out in life. Reflection leads to action which leads to more reflection which leads to adjustments and so on. This is the implementation step. All true incubation is loaded with activity. Reflecting and learning are not simply cerebral activities. They are holistic - involving mind, emotions, will, action. And this very process is the way to transformation.

(7)  Here is the bad news. 1000 really great ideas will mean nothing for your life if those ideas are not incubated and implemented. Most of us are going through our lives being exposed to great ideas after another. And we remain unchanged.

(8)  Here is the really good news. If you find five or a dozen of the most intriguing, really great ideas... and if you devote lots of time to reflecting and acting on your reflection, those ideas will become truly transformative. Most great lives are simply the end product of the person finding those few truly great ideas that resonate, and then spending the REST OF YOUR LIFE incubating, implementing, going deeper and going further.  I have about a dozen really great ideas that I just never stop working with and working out into my life.   

And a side note... this is how knowledge becomes wisdom. 

(9)  QUESTION:  Do you know your really great ideas? Have you identified them? Do you know what is calling to you and inviting you to spend a lifetime processing and implementing?  

(10)  EXERCISE: Write them down. In a phrase or a sentence. No need to long explanations. Just make a list of the really great ideas that are changing your life because you are incubating and implementing them.

(11)  You don't know them? Well then, it is time to start finding some. 

(12)  You know them but you aren't doing much with them!  Well then, it is time to start working the process.
 

 

In the next few days, I am going to give you some ideas on this.

Tomorrow's Post:

So, What All Do You Have Going For You?  
Time for a Personal Inventory

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

Try Something New

Do you want to jump start your stalled engines of learning? If so - try something new. For example . . .

1.  Rearrange your office or your living room.

2.  Go to a new restaurant and order something really different.

3.  Pick up a magazine or journal at a newstand (Borders or Barnes and Nobles have large selections) that is really different from your normal interests and read it cover to cover.

4.  Read a book that is an entirely different genre than you usually read. Or if you don't read books, go get one and read it.

5.  Listen to music that is written outside your listening interest.

6.  Go to an event (a trade show, a community event, a seminar, a sports program...) that is not your usual fare.

7.  Hang out with some people who are really different than you and who think very differently.

The common thread is to break out of the routines we are trapped in, be exposed to different sources of stimulation and work hard to notice, pay attention and to understand.

If you do this on a weekly basis (a daily basis would be even better) you will see yoru persona growth and energy accelerate.

Have fun.
And tell me what you did that was different.

Brian K. Rice 
Leadership ConneXtions International 
www.lci.typepad.com

On Being Stuck

Is anyone feeling "stuck" these days?

• Stuck in a rut.
• Stuck in a hard place.
• Stuck in a holding pattern.
• Stuck in a dead end job.
• Stuck in a box, confined, limited.
• Stuck at a glass ceiling and unable to move up.
• Stuck in a bad relationship.
• Stuck with a debt you can't get out from under.
• Stuck with a bad deal you never should have made.
• Stuck in an old paradigm.

Stuck . . .
It is a very bad place to be.
(The poor fox has its head stuck in a tire...)

Stuck is demotivating. Stuck is depleting and draining. Stuck is discouraging and depressing. Stuck is monotonous and boring. 

Stuck is a very bad place to be.

For when we feel stuck, we become desperate.

When we feel stuck, we are prone to bad decisions. We act rashly and impulsively. We are more likely to do foolish things when we feel stuck.  You know that "mid-life" crisis thing you hear about? And how people (especially, but not only men) make really stupid decisions in a mid-life crisis time. Well, the mid-life crisis is, in part, about feeling stuck... trapped... same ole, same ole...

Stuck is not where you want to be.

We are stuck for many reasons. Some of them are external conditions and limitations. Some of the reasons are internal constraints we have that keep us where we are.

 

 

If you are stuck, you are most likely the only person who will take responsibility for getting you unstuck. It is unlikely that anyone, other than Christ, is going to to initiate you into a "getting unstuck" process. So, here are a few suggestions for getting unstuck. Get your pen and a piece of paper or journal and start working through them.  Do all of what follows in a spirit of prayer.

ONE:  Where are you stuck and how long have you been stuck. Describe exactly and fully your experience of being stuck.

TWO:  Why are you stuck? How did this happen? What are the external forces contributing to your being stuck (bad economy, bad boss, etc.) and what are the personal forces (fear, discouragement, not trained in a field, a particular character flaw, etc.). It is important that you have clarity about these external and internal forces in light of the next point.

THREE:  What can you do to get "unstuck?"  Part of this will be coming up with solutions to the causing factors you have just identified. At least on paper, you are going to trouble shoot, problem solve and do some creative envisioning.

FOUR:  After you have some decent ideas down on paper, process all this with a friend for their assessment and input.

FIVE:  Come up with an Action Plan that has the steps you are going to take to deal with constraints and to move forward.

SIX:  Implement this plan relentlessly.

And may Christ be powerfully at work in this "un-stucking process."

Brian K. Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

Initiate or Respond (and the Distortion Bias)

You would think that leaders spend most of their time initiating new ideas, plans and strategies, implementing the next phase or program or event that will lead to great results.

You would think that and you would be wrong.

And if you, the leader, think you spend most of your time initiating, you are wrong also.  This is a case where reality is far different than our perception of it.

We have a distortion factor (my language, I haven't found it said this way) that kicks in on this and which leads to flawed self-assessment. 

It is kind of like when people are surveyed as to how much TV they watch on a daily basis. Almost everyone "under-estimates" how much daily TV they view by one to two hours.
 

It is the same thing in action as when leaders are asked how much time they spend working. Almost everyone "over-estimates" how many hours they work per week, by 5-10 hours!
 

It is the same thing at work when "preachers" are asked to evaluate themselves as a preacher. Almost every preachers scores themselves as "above average" when it comes to preaching. You ask their congregation and their congregation gives them an "average" at best and often, a below average score.
 

There is a distortion bias that minimizes our weaknesses and (well let me say) quite generous, when it comes to assessing our strengths.

The same thing comes into play when leaders assess how much time they spend initiating and how much time reacting/responding.  The fact is, the vast majority of time for the vast majority of leaders is spent reacting to needs, problems, crises, urgencies, etc.

So, just take it as so that you spend much of your week in a response/react mode. One of the best things you will do for your family, your team, your organization, your personal ministry is to be highly intentional about initiating.

In the words of the Men's Fraternity core ideas:  reject passivity and in this case, the passivity of responding and not leading.

Brian K. Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com