Pastor Albert Tate addresses why you need diversity.
Diverse Relationships are a Really Big Deal
Month: November 2019
Confidence vs. Ego
Todd Henry lays out the ways you can differentiate between confidence vs. ego in your leadership.
The GLS Encouraged Me Not to Quit and Rescued My Church
I have served in the ministry for the last 32-years. In that time, my wife and I have helped pioneer six churches including the current one we’re pastoring now which began in 2002. In 2010, we reached the peak of our ministry. We increased in number and influence in the city and a lot of leaders opted to be mentored by us and join our church. It was smooth sailing for the first few years. But as we grew in number, so did the challenges in ministry and in leadership.
In 2015, we went to The Global Leadership Summit for the first time. It was unforgettable. It was a game changer that prepared us for what was coming. It was soon followed by a year of testing. Issues in our leadership team started to occur. They began to subtly sow seeds of doubts, confusion and division with our members, which resulted in a tense leadership crisis that eventually divided the church. As a result, I spent many hours and sleepless nights trying to contain the crisis and do damage control. I found myself emotionally drained, betrayed, frustrated and left to the point of breaking and wanting to give up—It was just too much for me to handle.
I found encouragement through the Summit.
It was during these dark days that I found encouragement from the Summit’s resources and the wealth of insight, fresh paradigms on leadership and spiritual revelations on perseverance and passion. These tools helped me get back to a more objective attention to my calling that recalibrate my focus.
It was perhaps the greatest battle I faced in ministry. To survive, the price we had to pay was high—We lost a lot of good leaders, people and resources in the process. Though the loss was great, the wealth of lessons and values learned were even more significant. It took some time to recover from the trauma of that storm, but we are back on our feet now. New leadership potential rose from the remnants of our new community.
We have a promising ministry ahead.
Today, we have a more promising ministry ahead. Humbled by the storm, we’ve learned our lessons well—we take every opportunity to celebrate our calling and our community, believing we are better and stronger together.
For me, in the end; the leader’s true value is realized by this nugget of truth: Going home each day knowing someone’s life or the world is a little bit better because he is around, is the greatest highlight of one’s leadership.
There is truth to the axiom “everything rises and falls on leadership” and “everyone wins when the leader gets better.” The Summit was not only a life saver but a ministry rescuer too. With that said, we are forever grateful to The Global Leadership Summit.
Communicating to an Audience
Pastor Albert Tate describes a difficult challenge when communicating.
5 Principles to Become a Generational Leader
Growing up in a multi-generational home in Southern India, I watched my parents and grandparents plan and act with generational continuity in mind. They worked and saved for future generations. They intentionally imparted family values and faith into the next generation. They planned actively for subsequent generations to step into leadership roles. In fact, I had no idea there was any other way to think and act, but generationally. I now know that this is not how most of the world operates.
As leaders, we know the importance of long-term, strategic planning. But with pressure to produce immediate results, it is easy to stay within the comfort of a three-year plan and annual Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
Only leaders of great courage and vision will intentionally consider the next 100 years and beyond.
Here are 5 principles that will help you become an effective generational leader.
1. Ask yourself, “How many generations will be able to build on my current vision and foundation?”
My family’s home in Southern India was built by my Grandfather and has been used by four generations. The original home where Grandfather grew up has been in our extended family since the early 1600s. In both homes, each generation has added and changed things, but it has always been done on the original foundation.
Building for the future requires a focus on the big-picture needs and principles rather than on the detailed process. The “how” will change from one generation to the next, but a generational leader will build a foundation on a clear, strong “why,” with values that can be sustained.
Only leaders of great courage and vision will intentionally consider the next 100 years and beyond.
2. Make intentional decisions, knowing that you may not reap the benefits from them!
As Warren Buffet summarized, “’Someone’ is sitting in the shade today because ‘someone’ planted a tree a long time ago.” Generational leaders choose to act in the present for a win they may never even see. We must think and act beyond the selfie world and immediate gains and force ourselves to think about the gains and benefits for multiple generations from now.
3. Invest proactively into the next generation.
My son and I have always arm wrestled, usually in competitive fun! It was a great opportunity to share fun times as well as to train him in fairness, strength and opportunity. I realized a few years ago, as the fun became more serious, that my days of winning were numbered. This is the reality of life: someone stronger and smarter will emerge sooner or later. Understanding our own mortality and limits, generational leaders will proactively invest vision and values into others and, subsequently, their impact will continue long after they are gone.
Generational leaders will proactively invest vision and values into others and, subsequently, their impact will continue long after they are gone.
4. Lead the next generation more like a parent than a boss.
To be an effective generational leader, you need to think like a father or mother.
The focus of a good parent is not on where the child is right now, but on who you believe they could become: seeing potential before they see it themselves, calling it out, encouraging, nurturing and giving opportunities for them to experiment, fail and thrive. In the same way, an effective generational leader will lead in the present, thinking about the future.
5. Be intentional about your legacy.
Like it or not, you won’t be here forever. Once you are gone, how will future generations remember you?
Your legacy begins with your leadership right now. Success will result from what you do yourself, but your legacy will be the compounded success of those you influence and invest in. As my friend, the late Bob Buford, repeatedly said, “My fruit is on other trees.” Like Bob, true generational leaders work for fruit that grows on other trees, in other orchards, that may not even be planted yet.
The Bible is full of examples of the impact of each generation upon the next. Our God is a God of generations—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Although we may have lost sight of it in many parts of the world, generational leadership is not a new concept.
Generational leadership isn’t a popular discussion within leadership circles.
It requires selfless courage to know our own mortality, to invest into others, to dream beyond the current reality and to work for a harvest we may never see.
But, if you are willing to be selfless and courageous, as a generational leader, you may leave a legacy that goes beyond your wildest dreams or imagination!
Questions for Reflection:
- What changes are required in your organization or leadership to become truly generational?
- List the names of those in the next two generations you are intentionally investing into?
- What is stopping you from giving at least 10% of your time investing in the next generation?
- If nothing changes, what will be your legacy 100 years from now?
How to Increase Creativity
Pastor Albert Tate explains surprising ways to increase creativity.
Episode 062: Aja Brown and Jason Jaggard on Cities, Collaboration and Criticism
Get free, instant access to GLS Podcast Episode Show Notes. Leverage episode summaries, key takeaways, reflection questions, resources mentioned, related links and applicable downloads.
SUMMARY:
Mayor Aja Brown made history at 31, becoming the youngest mayor ever elected in the City of Compton, California. Under her leadership and focusing on community partnerships, the city is thriving with a 50% decrease in homicides and a 50% reduction in unemployment. In this episode of the GLS Podcast, Mayor Brown sits down with Jason Jaggard to discuss the way she approaches collaborative problem-solving and the importance of faith-based communities in city transformation. In addition, she describes the self-leadership practices that propelled her into leadership at such a young age.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- I never thought I would become mayor. I was doing ministry in the city and the problems started to pull on my heart.
- I went to other people and offered to be their strategist if they would run. But they said, “You should do it.”
- When I accepted the assignment, I started with a visioning session. I was intentional about bringing different stakeholders together to discuss problems and opportunities. That’s what I ran on: A Vision for Compton.
- When I encountered a spike in crime, I didn’t have the money to hire additional police officers. We had to work with what we had. I looked at our community as a system and started a task force, bringing key stakeholders together to talk about how we could have a safer city. We gathered 80 people in the Community Center.
- We talked about our vision for Compton as a safe community.
- We talked about the obstacles and barriers.
- I committed to them, “If I work on those barriers, would you work on what is in your power?”
- As a result, gang violence is down and we have attracted companies and job opportunities to the city.
- City officials would be wise to work with faith-based communities to solve the problems together.
- To church leaders: If every church loves on two square blocks around their church, our neighborhoods will be transformed. We are all inter-connected.
- To government officials: Churches are more than a podium for your message. Churches can be a conduit for you to connect with different constituencies and identify different needs.
- John Maxwell’s leadership laws have been extremely impactful on my leadership.
- As a new mom, I am listening to books rather than reading them.
- I’ve always been reflective, which has allowed me to push myself to get better.
- I can take criticism because the mission is bigger than myself. But sometimes I drive home with tears in my eyes.
- There’s usually a molecule of truth in every criticism. It’s my practice to create an action plan to solve those issues.
- My advice to leaders out there: “Know that you are enough.” Move forward. As you walk down the road to purpose, you will be equipped to do what God has in store for you.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
1. One of Mayor Brown’s accomplishments is bringing together diverse stakeholders to achieve a common mission. Think about your leadership. Identify a stubborn problem that will require collaboration between diverse stakeholders. Write it down.
2. Take action by scheduling a stakeholder meeting, applying Mayor Brown’s methodology to your problem.
- Identify all the stakeholders who will need to be on board to solve that problem.
- Invite them to meet together.
- Identify a common vision upon which you can all agree.
- Identify the barriers and obstacles that are keeping all of you from that vision.
- Make commitments. The leadership commits to _____. The stakeholders commit to _______.
3. How might a stakeholder meeting help move you toward solving your problem?
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
RELATED LINKS:
What I Didn’t Know About the GLS Brought Me to Tears
A week before I delivered my talk at The Global Leadership Summit in 2015, my world changed. I had to write the eulogy of my sweet sister who died suddenly.
A week later, I stood on the GLS stage with my heart broken in pieces. At that moment, the last thing I wanted to do was stand on the stage and fulfill this God assignment and give a talk at the GLS.
But I didn’t yet appreciate God’s timing.
There was a leader in Pakistan who God wanted to say something to. Little did I know He wanted to use the message I gave that day.
I’d like to share a letter this pastor sent:
“As a pastor, watching my church die was really painful. I recently had a stroke, and my family was suffering due to my health. I was at the edge of giving up on God. I even tried suicide. I have been praying for the last two years, expecting God would do something supernatural in return for my prayers, and revive me. But nothing happened. I was at the edge of giving up on God.
In that moment, God did something supernatural in me. I came back changed.
Then I was given a brochure about the GLS. My travel and lodgings were sponsored for me, and that was a great help in my decision to attend. During Albert Tates’s session, tears started rolling down my cheeks. I watched the entire session with blurred focus, because I was crying the whole time.
A pastor sitting beside me, who I didn’t know, held my hand to comfort me. In that moment, God did something supernatural in me. I came back changed.
I came back to my church, and preached again that Sunday. After the service, a Muslim lady who had recently moved next door to my church, asked me to pray for her. After two days, she came back to our service and asked for prayer again. She was healed.
Before she left, she gave me an envelope that had the exact amount of money needed to run the church and provide salary to the church staff for a whole year! Praise God! She is a regular visitor to our service now and we are praying for her salvation.
I look at myself and look at what God has done, and I can only say thanks to God for working in mysterious ways. And thank you to the GLS.”
I’ll be honest, as I read that letter for the first time, my first thought, as tears streamed down my face was, Wow, God is so amazing.
We have a good God who calls us to do hard things.
And then I laughed to myself and thought, After getting a letter like that, you’d think they’d invite me to speak again! Patrick Lencioni never saved anybody in Pakistan, and he’s here every year! What is up with that?!
But then I had a deeper, more spiritual, Godly thought.
We have a good God who calls us to do hard things. It’s humbling to know how God chooses to use talks given at the Summit to impact leaders around the world in ways we can never predict.
As we go forward, we are hopeful and prayerful of what God is doing and what God will do through the Summit.
Getting Grounded In Your Identity
Pastor Albert Tate lays out the importance of identity within your calling.
Growth Strategies for Healthy Teams
Jeff Henderson explains the ways he has grown an emotionally intelligent team.
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