Month: April 2019

How to Discover Your Personal Vision

Posted on April 8, 2019 by - Articles, Calling, Leading Yourself

Businesswoman holding her hand bag standing still on a busy street with people walking past her using mobile phones. (Woman standing amidst a busy office going crowd hooked

The best leaders are not born with superior leadership skills.

What sets them apart is a highly-developed personal vision, that compels them to maximize their leadership abilities in order to see that vision fulfilled.

If you want to jump-start your personal leadership, clarify your personal vision.

A personal vision is that innate, unshakable understanding of the role you have been uniquely designed to fulfill. It’s not a job description, it’s not a personality type, and it’s not a fleeting emotional response to particular needs you happen to notice.

A personal vision runs much deeper than that. It’s a profound definition of “who you are” and of “what makes you tick,” that ultimately prompts you to want to lead at the highest level possible.

A personal vision runs much deeper than that. It’s a profound definition of “who you are” and of “what makes you tick,” that ultimately prompts you to want to lead at the highest level possible.

One of the clearest examples of this is found in the life of Moses; a leader whose story is found in the first five books of the Bible.

From his earliest days, Moses’ life was defined by his hatred of oppression in any form. Whenever Moses witnessed oppression, something deep within him was stirred and he felt compelled to act.

In one such instance, Moses witnessed an Egyptian task-master abusing a Hebrew slave. Moses couldn’t stand it. At the sight of this oppression, something inside Moses snapped, and he ended up killing the Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-12).

Later, Moses witnessed a group of shepherds harassing seven sisters who were attempting to draw water from a well. Once again, Moses’ deeply-held desire to free the oppressed boiled over, and he came to the rescue of the women. (Exodus 2:15-17)

Most of us know the story of Moses as the great leader who led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. But the key leadership question to be asked is, “What made Moses such an ideal candidate to lead this mission?”

The answer is clear: Moses led out of a personal vision to free the oppressed. And it was that clarity of vision that compelled him to become the leader he would need to be to accomplish the task. Moses’ personal vision to free the oppressed uniquely qualified him to lead the Israelites to freedom.

Each of us as leaders must similarly bring clarity to our own personal vision. Like Moses, we need to be able to know exactly what it is that drives us forward; we must be able to articulate that deep inner purpose that fuels our leadership.

Because the clearer your personal vision, the more compelling your personal leadership will be.

How can you discover your personal vision? Start the journey by asking yourself these five questions:

1. What seems to be the “common denominator” in the causes to which you’re drawn?

2. When you look at great leaders whom you most admire, what are the common qualities you see?

3. In what arenas has your leadership tended to be the most effective?

4. How would others describe your areas of passion?

5. When you one day look back on your life, where would you like to have made the greatest impact?

To be clear, discovering your personal vision will not make you a great leader. But it will start you on a journey towards greater leadership effectiveness.

Because the clearer your personal vision, the more compelling your personal leadership will be.

How to Create a Culture of Full Engagement

Posted on April 4, 2019 by - Articles, Culture, Leading Organizations, Servant Leadership, Supervising People

Cropped shot of a group of business colleagues meeting in the boardroom

Win the Heart: How to Create a Culture of Full Engagement is the latest in Mark Miller’s book series outlining key practices for High-Performance Organizations. In this new book, Miller digs deep into the topic of employee engagement and describes how leaders, not employees, are responsible for building a highly-motivated workforce.

Global Leadership Network (GLN): This is the fourth book in your book series on high-performance organizations. Tell us about the series and where this book fits into your overall vision for organizational leadership?

Mark Miller: Several years ago, we were trying to help leaders build their capacity at Chick-fil-A, and at that time, we were focused on building great leadership teams. This was a huge step forward. But the truth is, a leadership team harnesses the passion, talent, energy and creativity of 5 or 6 people. So, the big question is, what do you do with the 90-95% people who don’t sit around the leadership table?

It became clear that the next step was to create a High-Performance Organization (HPO). So, I assembled a team of really smart people and we worked for several years learning about building HPOs. And that became the first book in the series, Chess Not Checkers. Each subsequent book in the series has focused on one of the key elements of HPOs. This fourth book is about engagement.

GLN: So, let’s talk about employee engagement. Why do you see engagement as critical?

Miller: As I read the leadership press, I believe interest in engagement is waning—which is a tragedy because it has not been solved. I believe most leaders have put engagement into the “too hard” category. According to Gallup, only 33% of people rate themselves as “engaged at work.” We’ve worked on this for 15 years and have only gotten to 33%. That’s hard.

I see engagement as the last hurdle. You can have great vision, people, process, systems—all these important elements—but if the people don’t care, you can’t execute at a world-class level. At the end of the day, greatness hinges on execution.

GLN: How can leaders diagnose an engagement problem?

Miller: I actually think the majority of leaders have allowed themselves to be deceived. They think their team members are engaged, but the data tells a different story. Here’s what disengagement looks like: half-hearted effort, lack of initiative, lack of contribution, people not showing up, people not staying late, etc. It has to get really dire for most leaders to recognize it.

So, my suggestion for every leader on the planet is—you need to measure engagement. There are countless tools, assessments and surveys. Pick one you like.

GLN: In the book, you say, “Engaging others is at the core of a leader’s responsibilities.” That seems counter-intuitive. Most leaders believe that motivation (or lack of motivation) is a sign of team member commitment and, therefore, their own responsibility. How have we been looking at this wrong?

Miller: I think engagement is 100% the leader’s responsibility. The leader has selected that person and creates the context in which the person operates. Either you have the wrong person, or you have the wrong culture, and you’ve been unwilling to deal with the consequences.

Engagement is 100% the leader’s responsibility.

Leaders are the architects of an organization’s culture. Is it a culture that’s life-giving? Do people thrive? Is it a culture where people can bring their full and best selves to work? Is it a culture where people feel valued and want to contribute? Where they’re empowered and encouraged? Make your list—leaders control all of that.

If you are seeing a lack of engagement, the first, second and third person you should look to is the leadership. The behaviors in your organization are a direct reflection of the leadership.

GLN: Tell us why you chose the words “win the heart” and why heart-commitment is essential to creating a culture of high engagement?

Miller: There is a lot of confusion around the word engagement. “Win the Heart” is more approachable language. Once we, as leaders understand that engagement is about winning the heart, we can we can devise strategies and tools to help them. Engagement is a condition of the heart and reflects how much someone cares about their work, their co-workers and the organization.

GLN: What do you see as the biggest barriers leaders face to “winning the hearts” of those on their teams?

Miller: The biggest barrier leader’s face is that they don’t see employee engagement as an area where they should focus or give priority. It goes back to the first deception. They think their people are fully engaged so they are working on other things. But if we want other people to help us accomplish our goals and execute our strategies, we actually need them to care. We need them to be engaged. Engagement is the energy for all that needs to be done.

But if we want other people to help us accomplish our goals and execute our strategies, we actually need them to care.

GLN: Can you leave us with one or two practices that, based on your experience, will really move the needle to “win the hearts” of employees?

Miller: Here are two practices that we have seen actually move the needle to win people’s heart and increase engagement.

1) Give your team members genuine, heartfelt and authentic affirmation. When is the last time that your employees have heard you say Thank You? We need to thank people regularly for their work, contribution and ideas. People have a deep need for genuine, authentic affirmation. Find something you can affirm in your team members and affirm them.

2) Give your team members real responsibility. Think about how you feel when a leader gives you real responsibility. You care more, right? Give employees real responsibility, not just tasks, but real responsibility for decisions or outcomes. Most leaders will be shocked by how much more employees will care if they are given real responsibility.

GLN: Thanks, Mark. We loved the book and really appreciate your insights.

To learn more about Mark Miller’s model for improving employee engagement, check out his excellent book, Win the Heart.

Climb Every Mountain (Or Just the One Right in Front of You)

Posted on April 3, 2019 by - Because of the GLS, Business, Decision-Making, Leading Organizations, North America, Stories, The Global Leadership Summit, Vision

Mountain climbing

Lessons learned from a front row seat at The Global Leadership Summit

Todd Elliott at the Summit

For years I had a front row seat at The Global Leadership Summit. Literally. The front row. I served as Technical Arts Director at Willow Creek Community Church, and part of my job was to work with the Global Leadership Network and each Summit speaker to help make them comfortable with being in front of 100,000+ leaders.

If you’ve attended the GLS at the South Barrington Campus over the years, you’ve probably seen me running all over the place. On stage. Off Stage. Trying to stay calm while making sure it all happened.

During my time at Willow Creek, I had the privilege of working with some pretty amazing leaders. Nothing brought me closer to the speakers than telling them that the eyes of 100,000+ people were on them and reminding them to make eye contact through the lens of the cameras.

Typically, I met with each speaker on stage before their session to walk through some of the details about what they could expect, and if they were ever wondering what was happening next, to look for me. I knew what was ahead and they could trust me to get them there.

On deck and ready

Part of my role included getting speakers “on-deck,” (in the wings), ready to deliver their message. In 2008, one of those presenters was Chuck Colson. While he was being introduced, he leaned over and asked me to repeat what was being said on stage. It can be difficult to hear. Nothing earth shattering. Momma Maggie asked me to hold her hand. Patrick Lencioni asked if I would pray for him. I was just doing my job.

…past experience had taught me God could be trusted

For me, the GLS was a series of encounters like this one. Very rarely did I get to sit still long enough to listen to the actual talks. My goal was to make each presenter as comfortable as possible when speaking to such a massive group, and make sure the production aspects of the event were as transparent as possible so all attendees could be exposed to great leadership teaching without distractions.

Everything changed in 2014

Fast forward to the year 2014. The GLS faculty included Tyler Perry, actor and filmmaker; Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett Packard and presidential candidate; and Jeffrey Immelt, former CEO of GE. It was pretty much business as usual, but for me, there was a big difference. This was going to be my last GLS in the role I had been playing for nearly 7 years…

A few months earlier, I had sensed that God was asking me to let go of my role at Willow Creek and move into something else. What the something else was, I had no idea. But past experience had taught me God could be trusted, so the fact that I didn’t know what to do next didn’t bother me.

Yet.

With the unknown looming, I tried to soak up every moment of the event–with the speakers, with my team. All of it.

Climbing the Matterhorn

Louie Giglio at GLS 2014

The final speaker at the 2014 GLS was Louie Giglio, lead pastor of Passion City Church and leader of the Passion Movement. I went through my normal speaker routine with him before his session, and once Louie was in place, I gave him a countdown to the end of a video and then he started.

I sat in the front row. Right in front of him. And I listened. His may have been the first GLS message I listened to in real time. Ever.

Like any good tech person, once the message started, my mind began to wander. With this year’s GLS coming to a close, I found myself wondering what I was going to do with my life after this!. Yikes!

One thing kept coming to the surface. In my years of leading teams of technical artists in the local church, I was always on the lookout for a community of people that understood the challenges I was facing. Back in my earlier days, that meant looking churches up in the Yellow Pages! This eventually led to organizing gatherings bringing together this particular tribe. Starting in 2002, The Tech Forum, then the Willow Creek Arts Conference, then Gurus of Tech.

I figured stepping away from my role at Willow Creek meant being a part of these gatherings was also coming to an end. I still had a passion for it, but I didn’t know how to get it done in my new reality.

I may not know how to get to the top of the mountain, but there are steps right in front of me that I could take.

Back to the GLS session I was sitting in, I eventually started to engage with what Louie was saying. He told his story of climbing the Matterhorn, one of the tallest mountains in the Alps. He had never done any mountain climbing before and so the idea of reaching the top of one of the most difficult peaks seemed like an impossibility. However, he had someone with him who knew the way up, and Louie took each step as it presented itself.

Take the small steps

His analogy of climbing a mountain changed my perspective. “I may not know how to get to the top of the mountain, but there are steps right in front of me that I could take. God knows the way to top, and I needed to trust him by taking the steps I know how to take.”

Sitting on the front row of that Summit, I thought about the steps I knew I could take toward starting a new event for technical artists in the local church. I had no idea where the finish line was, how it would be funded, or even what the event would be called, but I knew that I had to move in the direction of the steps I did know how to take.

Five years later

Todd Elliott with Tech crew

From that moment, I began moving toward what is now the FILO Conference (First In Last Out), a gathering of technical artists in the local church. Five years later, the FILO Conference brings together close to 1500 technical artists–worshipping together, learning together and building community. As they get better and stronger and more inspired in their roles, their church becomes better at sharing the message of Christ.

In 2014, I could not have imagined how I would get here. Taking small steps toward the calling that God put on my life has led to this spot. If I had not been obedient to taking all those small steps along the way, I would have missed out on what God had in mind, not just for me, but for the thousands of technical artists who have with God in a new way at FILO.

I’m pretty sure we aren’t yet at the top of the mountain, but I do know FILO was my Matterhorn–the mountain that I didn’t know how to climb when I started out.

 

Watch Louie’s talk from the 2014 GLS called “Take the Step.”

Straight into Compton

Posted on April 2, 2019 by - Articles, Change Management, Conflict Management, Leading Organizations

is a 2019 Global Leadership Summit Speaker.

This article is a part of the GLS19 Faculty Spotlight series where we feature fresh, actionable and inspiring leadership content from this year’s Summit speakers.

 

In 2013, Mayor Aja Brown stepped up to the leadership challenge in Compton, California—one of the most economically depressed and gang-infested cities in the U.S. Her initiatives have resulted in significant change and a turnaround in that community. We are thrilled to welcome Mayor Brown to the 2019 GLS faculty to share her learnings around leading change.

Watch the video below for a sneak peek into the remarkable story of how this visionary mayor is truly transforming lives.

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Click this button and register for the summit today!

 

 

Join 405,000+ of your peers for two days of fresh, actionable and inspiring leadership training from a world-class faculty at a location near you.

Upcoming GLS Events & Prayer Requests

Posted on April 2, 2019 by - Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe, Latin America, News & Updates, The Global Leadership Summit, Western Europe

Attendee in Suriname

Every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 8:30 am CST, our staff gathers together to pray for our partners across the globe.

Please join us in prayer as we lift up the international Summit events happening this weekend. Pray for God’s anointing on every detail and that those who attend would leave feeling equipped, inspired and encouraged to lead the change they long for in their communities.

And if you have a prayer request, please share it with us in the comments. We would be honored to pray with you!

April 4

Campinas, Brazil

April 5

Uppsala, Sweden

April 15

Paramaribo, Suriname

April 16

Gaborone, Botswana

April 19

Timisoura, Romania

April 25

Bangui, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ep 044: Danielle Strickland with Jeff Lockyer

Posted on April 1, 2019 by - Change Management, Leading Organizations, Podcasts

The Global Leadership Summit Podcast

Get free, instant access to GLS Podcast Episode Show Notes. Leverage episode summaries, key takeaways, reflection questions, resources mentioned, related links and applicable downloads, including Show Notes PDF and Episode Audio File (MP3).

 

DOWNLOADS:

Download Show Notes (PDF)

Download Audio (MP3)

 

SUMMARY:

We live in times of unprecedented change. As leaders, we often feel the tension of chaos and confusion. In this episode, pastor, author and justice advocate, Danielle Strickland, suggests that leaders need to change the way we look at chaos. She sits down with Jeff Lockyer to discuss a new way for leaders to view chaos—through the unlikely lens of the biblical account of Creation. Instead of seeing chaos as a threat, chaos can actually become opportunity for creativity, revelation and new growth.

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • We are living in a time of massive shift.
  • Times of change and chaos actually create an opening for incredible advances.
  • When I was growing up, I had this idea that order was king, and chaos was the enemy. However, I have learned that by leaning into chaos, beautiful things can happen.
  • In the Beginning: Chaos
    • Creative leaders change the framework and look at chaos as an opportunity, rather than a threat.
  • Day 1: Light
    • Creative leaders lean into chaos resulting in the ability to see new possibilities.
  • Day 2 Expanse
    • Creative leaders see their contribution to the world as part of a bigger conversation in culture.
  • Day 3: Foundation
    • Creative leaders’ lives are built on a growing internal foundation.
  • Day 4: Seasons
    • Creative leaders think about life as seasonal and look for the lessons in each season.
  • Day 5: Animals: Fish and Birds
    • Creative leaders recognize that simplicity and complexity exist at the same time.
  • Day 6: Humanity
    • Creative leaders value human dignity and equality, and reject hierarchy.
  • Day 7: Rest
    • Creative leaders make time for rest in defiance of slavery.

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Danielle Strickland grew up with the idea that chaos order was king and chaos was the enemy. Do you relate to this sentiment? What is your typical reaction to chaos in your life and leadership?

2. Think about a situation in your life or leadership that is chaotic right now. In what ways could your chaos be an opportunity for a new possibility?

3. Looking at Danielle’s insights from the Creation narrative, what is one thing you could do in the next week to move forward in your chaotic situation?

 

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Hebrew Creation Narrative (Genesis 1:1 – 2:2)

Refugee Crisis

Downtown Eastside of Vancouver

Salvation Army: Anti-Trafficking and Modern Slavery

Foster Care System

Orange Curriculum: It’s Just a Phase

Danielle Strickland’s GLS18 talk, Better Together

Exodus 20:8-11

A Beautiful Mess by Danielle Strickland

 

RELATED LINKS:

Danielle Strickland

Danielle Strickland Website

Jeff Lockyer

The Global Leadership Summit

3 Ways to View Scarcity as an Asset

Posted on April 1, 2019 by - Articles, Leading Organizations, Resilience, Strategy, Vision

silhouette of business man take binocular telescope with sunset

Think about the times in your life when you have had the most vision and clarity on issues of importance. Likely, these haven’t come when you’ve been soaring high, soaking in an overflow of resources, everything at your fingertips.

No, most likely, if you are like me, you’ve noticed a trend that our clearest moments of thinking often come during times of less and loss—when we are running on empty and at the end of our resources.

One of the things I have experienced is that scarcity brings clarity. It’s during times of scarcity when I have also learned that I am the most effective leader. Scarcity forces us to consider options both in vision and strategy that we may not have necessarily seen before. We become more effective and efficient both in the short and the long term.

Scarcity forces clarity and from scarcity, we can actually retool an organization so that it is more effective and remains more focused in times of abundance. Prioritization is important at every moment, but prioritization is life-preserving in times of scarcity.

Prioritization is important at every moment, but prioritization is life-preserving in times of scarcity.

I remember when I came to the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College three years ago. At the time, to quote my boss, the Center was “on life support.” Instead of closing shop, we asked three key questions:

  • What could we best do?
  • What should we be doing?
  • What could only we do?

Our focus narrowed on a priority: gathering global leaders for greater gospel impact. Then we began to measure everything we did on the basis of our focus. In doing so, we became what Mr. Graham hoped we would become—a world hub of mission and evangelism.

Had it not been for that time of scarcity, we would not have been forced to assess clearly what we were working toward and discover how to best accomplish our goals.

Scarcity is rarely enjoyable to lead through. But when we understand these times as possible game-changers, we can actually discover that these are the times that change both us and our organizations.

Scarcity is rarely enjoyable to lead through. But when we understand these times as possible game-changers, we can actually discover that these are the times that change both us and our organizations.

Times of scarcity don’t always last, however, and they should lead to change and growth. To maximize our time as leaders during these scarcity moments, let me offer a few tips.

1. During times of scarcity, we must remember that we still have tools and resources to work with.

Look around and consider what you do have to work with. Who is there? What is your history? What tools do you have available? In these times, we must work exceptionally well with what we have. We must properly prioritize how we utilize our resources—whether those be money, people, time or property—for a more focused end goal.

 

2. Scarcity forces us to reevaluate where we are and where we are headed.

Perhaps our organization has tried to do too much. Perhaps we have lost focus of our end goal in an effort to grow and achieve great things. In times of plenty, it’s often difficult for organizations to see how off track they’ve gotten until it’s nearly too late to turn the ship around. This is why, for example, IBM doesn’t sell computers today. Once the leading provider of computers, IBM withered away because it was engaged in so many areas of work. Today, however, IBM is much more intentionally focused.

 

3. Scarcity causes us to look to other places for other resources.

We begin to see that it’s not all about us and we find creative ways to work together and to get what needs to be done accomplished. Too often, as organizations grow, they develop a mindset that begins to shut others out. Ever so slowly, silos develop, and the concept of shared resources and partnership are lost for the sake of greater growth. Scarcity allows us to look around and consider what others are doing and see potential for partnership that we otherwise would not have noticed.

 

If you are in a time of scarcity as an organization, don’t despair. Use this time as a transformation opportunity to take you and your team to the next level.