The inner work of a leader is often elusive. The inner work includes patterns that will feed and fuel the leader’s soul. Learning to be disciplined in reflective prayer, learning to sit with scripture; not to produce a lesson, but to invite the Lord to shape the heart and soul are essential. Years seeded with hours upon hours of alone prayer and reflective reading catalyzes a… Read more »
The inner work is often elusive. Our tendency is to live “externally,” thinking that our challenges and obstacles are “out there” among others, hence our lack of resources, our setting, etc. Human nature is to look outside of our hearts, as opposed to in our hearts and souls for the key breakthroughs. The inner work, for some leaders, remains elusive their whole life! The only… Read more »
The inner work of the leader is the most challenging work. It is also the work that will eventually produce fruit. As we do the inner work, the Lord will trust us with opportunities of greater impact (he who is faithful in little…). The inner work is difficult as it puts our hearts and minds under the spotlight. The inner work uses life setting, people,… Read more »
The inner work is the most significant work of any leader. Learning to lead ourselves is a precursor to leading others. Learning to discern what is going on in our own souls is essential to understanding the hearts of others. This inner work may be described in a few sentences, but it will take a lifetime of focus. This inner work will include… Read more »
Here’s a vital point: Leaders will often find themselves in moments and even seasons of conflict. How we lead through the conflict can accelerate our leadership or limit our future! On a scale of 1-10 how effective are you at leading through conflict? What are some skills you use to navigate hot moments? When you think of conflict, what are… Read more »
Cultures (and generations) collide, as we know so well. Perhaps the clearest evidence of this in the church is in the arena of music. Music is, at the heart, an expression of culture. That could give us insight into why when the music is changed or rejected, people experience loss and even feel criticized. Cultures collide, but they also connect,… Read more »
Jackie went to Bible College full of dreams like every other young leader. No different than high school, some students were the cream of the crop and others, well, you know. Jackie had fire for the Lord, but was not voted most likely to succeed. That distinction was reserved for a few others, those favored by the masses and the profs. A few… Read more »
Leaders often find themselves in a critical directional decision making matrix. Making the right decision for the organization is only half of the moment. When leaders make the “right” decision for their organization but scar the process, the ethics of the process (how people were treated, what they experienced, etc.), often convolute the “rightness” of the decision. If you are leading and finding yourself in… Read more »
Do you want to talk or do you want to be heard? Those are different! When our hearts are full of fuel (anger, anxiety, etc), we often want to “get it off of our chest,” which means express it with the full fuel we are feeling. The problem with that is that the fuel (emotion) is so overwhelming that the… Read more »
No one could figure that this promotion would change the heart of this leader… but it did. Power and prestige do strange things to the human soul. What they really do is reveal what is not settled with the Lord! Perhaps our inner world of confidence, significance, etc. appears resolved, but when we come into power, it is as if… Read more »