Ep 080: Your Leadership Pace, Michael Todd & Jason Jaggard

SUMMARY:

How fast is your leadership pace these days? Are you running so fast that you don’t have any time for friends, family, reflection and growth? Are you sensing a lack of peace? Or are you in a slower season where it might be time to step back into a challenging vision again? Pastor Michael Todd discovered a surprising truth about the pace of leadership when he made the choice to stride instead of strive. By choosing a slower and more intentional pace, he not only found more peace in his life, but amazing things started to happen. In this episode of the GLS Podcast, elite executive coach Jason Jaggard interviews Pastor Mike about how to find your optimal leadership pace.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Stride means to walk in long decisive steps in an intentional direction.
• Strive means to use all your effort and energy to try to make something happen.
• When you are in “Stride,” you enjoy life. You have margin. You can rest. And your organization can function without you.
• Pace affects peace–and peace is true prosperity.
• The need for financial success, notoriety and fame often comes from a deep place of insecurity.
• All you have is all you need.
• If you steward the season you are in–and find fulfilment and contentment in that season–the next season will automatically come.
• In Michael Todd’s life, doing less allowed him to have increased impact.
• To find your best leadership pace:
  • Slow down.
  • Ask yourself if what you are doing aligns with your passion.
  • If you are complacent, you may need to step up your pace in order to grow.
• Deciding to create a new pace for yourself is a choice.
• Envision your life at a new pace.
• Sight is what you see with your eyes open. Vision is what you see with your eyes closed.
• The vision isn’t valid until it’s visual. Write it down. Every time you write down a vision, things start to happen.
• Talk about your vision. Be verbal. Tell your spouse, your friends, your staff. Ask for accountability.
• If you decide to operate at a slower pace, you can bring more people with you.
• Most leaders don’t operate at a pace that will help them to personally grow.
• Some pace experiments:
  • Give staff an extra ½ day off
  • Fun month: at 4:00 we do fun things
  • 2 times per year, we cancel Sunday Services so that people can rest and be with their families.
  • 35-day Sabbatical
• When I take that moment to pause, whatever comes next is more potent.
• I’m fighting for that sweet spot between hard work and wholeness. I’m working to find the tension between giving everything I’ve got and not worrying too much about it.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Pastor Michael Todd’s key insight came when he began to understand the difference between STRIDE and STRIVE. Reflect on your life over the past two days. Identify the actions you took in stride vs. those when you were in strive.

• Actions I took in STRIDE: To walk in long decisive steps in an intentional direction.

• Actions I Took in STRIVE: To use all your effort and energy to try and make something happen.

2. What patterns do you see in your life? In what situations are you more likely to STRIVE? In what situations are you more likely to STRIDE?

3. What do you think is driving your need to STRIVE? What would it take for you to shift to a new pace?

4. Michael identified several things you could do to begin to move into the STRIDE life. Take a look at the list below and place a checkmark by the next step you could take in your life this week.

_________ Slow down and ask yourself if what you are doing aligns with your passion.

_________ Reflect on whether you have allowed yourself to get comfortable or complacent.

_________ Envision yourself at a new pace.

_________ Write your vision down on paper.

_________ Share your vision with your spouse, your friends and your staff.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

American Dream 

Blues Clues 

Andy Stanley 

P.K. (Preachers Kid) 

Relationship Goals Series 

Max DuPree 

RELATED LINKS:

Pastor Michael Todd 

The Pace of Leadership GLS Talk 

Relationship Goals 

Jason Jaggard 

Novus Global 

Paula Faris 

Journeys of Faith with Paula Faris 

The Global Leadership Summit