Tag Archives: leadership

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Jesus Said, “Follow Me!”

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For the past 9+ years, I have been trying to run our family’s business as a platform for ministry. I jumped when I heard Jesus say,”Follow me!” To be honest, it has been much more difficult than I thought it would be. In fact, there have been times I have seriously questioned Him about the difficulties.

follow me

Path Is Not Easy

If you have ever tried to do work for Jesus – whether in the church, in the community, in the business world, or in the foreign mission field – you have met challenges and difficulties. This path is not an easy one and in many ways, we understand that going in.

At the same time, I often find myself questioning this path. While I know there will be trouble, I still have this picture of what I think the results will look like. I still have a sort of “end of the rainbow” mentality that says if I will just persevere, all will end up like a fairy tale!

Worth It?

What I often allow to drive me is the belief that all the trouble is worth it as long as I end up at the picture I have imagined is the end of the path. Does this ever happen to you? Do you ever have these feelings?

One problem with this line of thinking is that the picture I have imagined is hardly ever the picture that God has in mind. I think the results will look one way and He has something totally different in mind. My frustration begins when the path I am on begins to veer away from the path I had pictured.

“Wait God! Aren’t we supposed to be heading that way over there?” I imagine He smiles and then continues leading me away from my picture and toward His. When I am close to Him in relationship, I can handle this. When I have strayed a little, this part is really tough.

Tougher Problem!

However, I will tell you that I have a much easier time in handling a different picture than I do with another problem that crops up. This other problem is all about timing.

See, in this other situation, the path does not necessarily head off in a different direction than I had originally imagined. The problem instead is that it appears to go nowhere at all! That is because, with this problem, it appears that I am supposed to wait on Him.

I cannot tell if I am on the path headed to where I imagined or somewhere else that He has in mind. I cannot tell because I AM NOT MOVING! I feel like I am smack in the middle of Groundhog Day, the movie, and every day is the same as the one before.

Stuck?

I feel like I am stuck and cannot seem to catch a break to move forward at all. This problem seems to plague me more than any other. Maybe it is because I am impatient. Maybe it is a control thing. Maybe it is a combination of these and other issues God is trying to force me to deal with.

Whatever it is, I really have a hard time with this one.

I like progress. I like to be moving forward and seeing forward motion. I do not like to be stuck, sitting still, apparently going nowhere. I KNOW the Scripture that I SHOULD be reciting, but it is still difficult for me to handle. I know that God’s timing is not mine, but I still struggle!

I Finally Broke!

I recently had an “episode” or “tantrum” when I was away at a meeting. I was surrounded by a huge group of like-minded businessmen that were doing incredible things with their businesses to impact people for eternity. I am not talking about 5 or 10 people. I am not talking about just in their community.

No, these Christian business leaders are having an impact on thousands all over the globe – the very things that I have imagined God would be using ME to do as well! [Note: I recognize some of this IS happening in our business, but you have to bear with me…I am having an immature moment here! Likely, you’ve never done this!]

I listened and listened, but I finally broke. I finally got off by myself and questioned God directly. I asked why things were so hard in our business. I asked why we were not seeing the progress we wanted to see. I wanted to know why these other businesses were put in a position to impact so many and we were stuck. I asked over and over, “WHY?”

No answer. Nothing.

At least not right then.

As is common with Him, He just listened.

And waited.

He Finally Answered!

It was not until almost a week later when I was sitting in church that He gave me the answer to my questions. When He gave it to me, it was one of those moments that sticks with you. It was one of those moments that you just cannot get out of your mind.

I will not go into the detail of the whole message, but I will describe the setting of the Scripture He used to get my attention.

Follow Me!

Jesus has just asked Peter three times if he loved Him. Each time, Peter tells Jesus that he loves Him! Each time, Jesus then says for Peter to feed his sheep. Then Jesus foretells the manner in which Peter will die. He ends by telling Peter, “Follow Me!”

Jesus has basically given Peter his marching orders and Peter is trying to understand exactly what it means. Maybe he is even asking himself what it will cost him. I don’t know.

Whatever the case, Peter’s next question resembles the questions I was asking God earlier. He points to John and asks Jesus, “What about him?” Essentially, He basically wanted to know what Jesus was going to have John doing while all of this was happening to Peter.

My Answer

It was Jesus’ response to Peter that made my hair stand on end. It caught in my throat and took my breath. As I heard the pastor read it and followed along with him, I instantly knew God was using this passage to answer my earlier questions.

“If I want him to remain until I come,” Jesus answered, “what is that to you? As for you, follow Me.”

To Be Continued…

When Jesus said, “Follow Me!” to you, what did you think it would look like?

Has His call to “Follow Me!” turned out the way you expected?

How do you react when His “Follow Me!” takes you where you do not want to be?

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My Life Purpose Is Multiplying Silhouettes!

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Add Silhouettes

What is your life purpose? What actually motivates you to fulfill that life purpose? When the going gets really tough and you are tempted to give in, what thought do you cling to for the strength to keep pressing forward? While you think about the answers to those questions, I am going to share my answers to those same questions. Maybe my answers will help you think through yours!

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Andy Stanley Book Give Away

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[title color=”orange-vibrant” align=”scmgccenter” font=”georgia” style=”normal” size=”scmgc-7em”]Free Book Give Away!!![/title]

Andy Stanley

Another Free Book Give Away?

You read that right! I am offering a free copy of Andy Stanley’s book, When Work and Family Collide: Keeping Your Job from Cheating Your Family!

How Do You Win?

If you scroll down just a bit you will see the Rafflecopter entry form which outlines a bunch of ways to enter the When Work and Family Collide giveaway. Just complete as many as you would like to be entered to win!

Why Am I Doing This?

I started this blog in an effort to spread the message of integrating the Christian faith into our businesses. I want to see more Christian business owners and leaders begin looking at their businesses from an eternal perspective and running them as platforms for Christian ministry.

While I know my posts are written toward this effort, I thought I would try to step it up a notch for 2013. My plan is to give away one book a month for the entire year! All I am asking from you is to follow the Rafflecopter instructions below. As you enter, you will be helping me to spread the word about this blog at the same time. We both win!

This Month’s Book: Andy Stanley’s When Work & Family Collide

Is Your Occupation Also Your Preoccupation?

Let’s face it. With all the demands of the workplace and all the details of a family it’s only a matter of time before one bumps into the other. And many of us end up cheating our families when the commitments of both collide. In this practical book, Andy Stanley will help you…

  • establish priorities and boundaries to protect what you value most.
  • learn the difference between saying your family is your priority and actually making them your priority.
  • discover tested strategies for easing tensions at home and at work.

Enter The Give Away

Follow the instructions below to enter the When Work & Family Collide contest and then spread the word to others! The contest ends at midnight on Friday, May 31st and the winner will be announced on Saturday, June 1st.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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How To Be An Outrageous Leader

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[box]This is a guest post by Dwayne Morris. Dwayne is an author, speaker, husband and father. He recently released a book called The OUTRAGEOUS Life. You can read more about Dwayne on his blog and follow him on Twitter. Read more about his book here![/box]

outrageous leader

Outrageous Leader?

What adjective would people use in front of the word, “leader” to describe you? Are you a visionary leader? A predictable leader? A boring leader?

How about an OUTRAGEOUS leader?

My glance across the leadership front often leaves me slightly perplexed. I find myself straddling the models of old-school leadership and new-school leadership. My disarray is due in part to the intersection of my leadership experiences and a shift to a very different model.

New-School Leadership

The new model of leadership asks, “How can I help you succeed in your task?” That’s a little different than, “I hired you to do a job.” The best people on your team aren’t looking for a J-O-B. They are looking to make a difference; to do something bigger than themselves; to do something outrageous.

What it Takes to be OUTRAGEOUS

Leading your team members to use their God-created gifts to accomplish things they never thought possible requires an OUTRAGEOUS leader. This breed of leader understands a few key principles that help them standout and get noticed. All four of these come from the life of Gideon (Judges 6):

    My Contribution is Critical
    When God challenged Gideon to go save the Israelites from the oppression of the Midiantes and surrounding nations, all Gideon saw was what he could NOT do before ever considering what he COULD do.

    OUTRAGEOUS leaders don’t hide behind limitations. They know how God has gifted them and how He hasn’t. They delegate their weaknesses and play to their strengths.

    Obstacles are Opportunities
    When given the challenge to deliver his nation, Gideon went straight to making excuses. This is a natural response when we are pushed outside of our Comfort Zone.

    OUTRAGEOUS leaders know the area outside their Comfort Zone is called the Growth Zone. They embrace challenge as an opportunity to grow their faith and for God to do something outrageous Himself.

    Fear is the Signature of Success
    Any time you consider attempting the OUTRAGEOUS, fear will always show up with a Sharpie, ready to autograph your task. Gideon was covered in fear. So much so that he tested God with a magic show of sorts and a fleece.

    Fear is the natural by-product of any faith-driven task. The OUTRAGEOUS leader embraces fear as part of the formula for success.

    Small Plans Can Limit Big Possibilities
    Gideon obeyed the Lord’s command and rallied his army, but he had 32,000 too many. God wanted to do something outrageous and knew He had to stack the cards against Gideon. He told Gideon to send them all home but 300.

    The same is true for OUTRAGEOUS leaders. They realize the potential for God to do something beyond their limited ability and vision and allow Him to show off in their lives.

What About You?

Are you a candidate for an OUTRAGEOUS leader? Are you in a place where the Lord feels confident that you will allow Him to challenge you to do something beyond your ability? It’s a great experience to be a part of something bigger than we can imagine and to see God do something outrageous!

Which of these four components do you need to work on first?

What success have you had with one of these components?

Do you see your potential to be an OUTRAGEOUS leader?

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Wisdom Is Not To Be Ignored!

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Personal responsibility is an idea that seems to have been forgotten in our society today. If you listen carefully, you will quite often hear people offer excuses or point fingers at others when something goes wrong in their lives. Even when it is clear to everyone else around them, they cannot seem to make the connection between their decisions and their circumstances. Worse than this, in my opinion, is the way in which many leaders handle wisdom when it is offered to them.

wisdom

Wisdom Ignored

In my last couple of posts, I have been discussing the problems that surface when someone seeks wisdom from godly counselors and then ignores or dismisses the wisdom they are given. We have all seen this happen and have likely been guilty of it ourselves at one point or another in our lives.

For various reasons, we seek out wisdom from godly advisors, but we do not take it and apply it as they prescribe. Maybe we were actually seeking someone to agree with us or to confirm our own wisdom. Maybe the wisdom offered requires more work or discomfort than we are willing to experience. There are many more reasons this could happen.

Various Problems

Regardless of the reasons, ignoring wisdom causes problems. In my first post on this subject, I showed how ignoring wisdom can lead to serious trouble for the one doing the ignoring. The next post described how godly advisors can (and should) stop offering advice to someone who repeatedly ignores it. In today’s post, we will look at how this issue affects those who are following the repeat offender.

Higher Standards

First, lets remind ourselves that as Christian business owners and leaders, we are held to a higher standard. The Bible is clear about this and we have spent a lot of time in this blog discussing this fact. We cannot allow ourselves to forget that we are not only responsible for ourselves. We are not the only ones facing the consequences of our decisions.

We are also responsible for those who work for us and with us. We are responsible for their families as well. We have responsibility for our vendors as well as our customers. Everyone with whom we come into contact is relying on us to make wise decisions in one way or another. Whether we like this or not, this is the path we have chosen.

As a result, when we run into a situation that requires us to seek wisdom from godly advisors, it is likely a decision that carries significant consequences. It is likely a decision that will affect all of those we mentioned above. If we decide to ignore the wisdom we receive for whatever reasons, then we are sentencing others to our same consequences. We are taking them with us!

What Does Scripture Say?

Let’s look at what the Bible has to say about this…

The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.
– Proverbs 13:14

He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
– Proverbs 10:17

Leading Others Astray

Here you see that when we ignore the teaching of the wise, not only are we headed toward the snares of death, but we are also leading others to that fate as well. These are people that have trusted us to lead them. When we ignore the wisdom in front of us and choose our own path, we take them with us to face the consequences!

Even if we are okay with our own personal consequences of ignoring wisdom, we cannot allow others to be led astray as a result. Either we need to step down from our position of leadership or we need to step up to the responsibilities that come with it!

Pray For Clarity

I would encourage you to pray (as I will) that God would reveal to you situations where you ignored wisdom offered. Pray that He will make those situations clear to you and show you how to avoid them in the future. Pray for Him to give you wisdom, along with discernment to see it in others. Pray for the humility necessary to accept wisdom from others the next time you ask for it.

Have you witnessed disastrous results for those following one ignoring wisdom?

Do you accept the responsibility for leading others according to godly wisdom?

How do you maintain the humility needed to remain open to wisdom offered?

17 Biblical Principles

What Would You Invest to Have 50 Biblical Mentors?

Imagine what it would cost to sit down to lunch with more than 50 different leaders to glean their wisdom for life.

  • What would it cost you to travel to more than 50 locations?
  • How much would you pay for hotels and food?
  • What scheduling headaches would you encounter trying to make it happen?

Your costs would easily run into the thousands of dollars if you could pull it off at all. But 17BPS has done it for you.

Now you can have all this wisdom delivered when it is convenient for you for only a fraction of the cost.

Click HERE to learn more!

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Wisdom: Handle With Care!

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In my last post, I described the dangers we will face as Christian business leaders when we seek wisdom, but do not heed it or apply it. Scripture is clear that we are headed for destruction if we ignore wisdom, but there is another problem that we need to address as well.

wisdom

Wisdom Not Common

I don’t know about you, but I do not see an oversupply of wise counselors hanging from trees. Maybe the world’s wisdom is plentiful, but finding a mentor or someone that has godly wisdom to offer us in times of struggle is difficult. In fact, that is one of the reasons I have enjoyed C12 as much as I have…for the multiple sources of godly business owners and leaders that are willing to share without hesitation!

The problem that is often overlooked when we choose to ignore the wisdom offered to us is that we may soon find the well dry when we really need it. If we keep coming and asking for advice without truly intending to accept and apply it, then we are likely to find it is not readily available when we decide we are ready to listen.

Various Reasons

Think about it. The people that are offering us their God-given wisdom are doing so for a couple of reasons. First, it is likely that someone else gave them godly wisdom when they needed it most. They give now because someone gave it to them.

Maybe they are motivated by Scripture that says “with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. (Luke 6:38)” They realize that giving wisdom out when asked will result in them gaining even more wisdom!

Frustration Comes

Regardless of the motivation of the giver, eventually they will tire of giving advice to someone who clearly does not intend to follow it. At some point, they will quit dispensing wisdom to this person and move on to more productive uses of their time. They will finally give in to the frustration. Frankly, we really cannot blame them, can we? (One exception to this rule may be parents of teenagers! We can’t quit!)

So, what are we to do?

My Advice

If you are one that is seeking wisdom and advice, but not listening to it for one reason or another…take this as a warning! Pray for God to reveal to you your motivations and the intent of your heart. Pray for Him to show you where you are closed-minded and to help you open your ears to hear. Do this with a sincere heart!

If, on the other hand, you are in a position of offering wisdom to someone that refuses to listen, I think you need to have a heart-to-heart with this person. Share with them what you are seeing and ask them to consider whether your perspective is accurate.

Do not make this a confrontation. There is no need to let it get ugly. Simply state your position and ask for their consideration. Once you have done this, expect the best. Plan for a new relationship and an open mind on their part.

Advice From Scripture

If you get a stone wall, then don’t fret. Simply walk away knowing you have done your part. Take a look at the following verses and see if maybe they speak to this situation:

If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feetwhen you leave that house or town.
– Matthew 10:14

Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them with their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.
– Matthew 7:6

Do you fall into either group?

Do you think my advice in your case is worth following?

What would you add to this discussion?

17 Biblical Principles

What Would You Invest to Have 50 Biblical Mentors?

Imagine what it would cost to sit down to lunch with more than 50 different leaders to glean their wisdom for life.

  • What would it cost you to travel to more than 50 locations?
  • How much would you pay for hotels and food?
  • What scheduling headaches would you encounter trying to make it happen?

Your costs would easily run into the thousands of dollars if you could pull it off at all. But 17BPS has done it for you.

Now you can have all this wisdom delivered when it is convenient for you for only a fraction of the cost.

Click HERE to learn more!

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3 Problems With Ignoring Wisdom

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Have you ever been with someone that needed your advice and even asked for it, but was not willing to listen to it? Do you have one of those friends that seeks your wisdom, but quickly makes it quite obvious that they are not really interested in applying it to their situation? If not, is it possible that you are that person?

wisdom

Not Serious About Wisdom?

I have experienced this very situation on multiple occasions. In each case, the friend asked for advice for a specific problem. In some cases, there were several of us present offering wisdom. Unfortunately, the seekers made it pretty clear that they were not really listening. In a couple of cases, they did not even allow some of the advisers to complete a sentence before interrupting with reasons why the solutions offered would not work!

As I watched this happen, I was frustrated. I was frustrated for them because it was clear they were not hearing what they wanted to hear. I was frustrated for the people offering the advice because they could tell they were wasting time. I was also frustrated for the people following these wisdom-seeking leaders. Overall, these are painful experiences!

What Can We Learn?

After reading through Proverbs and considering what I could learn from these types of situations, I determined there are (at least) three problems that come from ignoring wisdom. I will address each of these three problems in separate posts. In today’s post, we will look at the first problem.

The first problem with ignoring wisdom is described in the following verses from Proverbs:

If you stop listening to correction, my son,
you will stray from the words of knowledge.
– Proverbs 19:27

The one who gives an answer before he listens—
this is foolishness and disgrace for him.
– Proverbs 18:13

The wise store up knowledge,
but the mouth of the fool hastens destruction.
– Proverbs 10:14

Apply Wisdom Or Else!

From these three simple verses, we can see that failing to heed wisdom leads to some serious trouble. When we are guilty of ignoring wisdom, we can expect to face disgrace and even destruction. I don’t know about you, but that is not something I want to experience if I can avoid it!

Examples of this in our lives as Christian business owners and leaders can vary from small, seemingly insignificant issues to those that may even include life and death scenarios. While this may be true, most are going to fall somewhere in between.

Examples

Consider the business owner that is advised against investing too heavily in a risky new product without the appropriate cash reserves to handle its failure. What are the potential consequences for his decision to move forward against the advice he received?

What about the manager that is told she would be foolish to show favoritism to the attractive salesperson on her team? Do you see the path that this decision could take?

Trouble Looms

Regardless of the situation, I think it is clear that we all face serious consequences when we do not listen to those offering godly wisdom. I am not sure of the various reasons one might have for ignoring wisdom they sought out, but it is clear from Scripture that doing so is asking for trouble.

In my next two posts, I will describe the other two problems we encounter when we do not heed the wisdom offered to us.

Have you acted like this when seeking wisdom?

Have you witnessed it from the position of offering the wisdom?

What do you do to make sure this does not happen?

17 Biblical Principles

What Would You Invest to Have 50 Biblical Mentors?

Imagine what it would cost to sit down to lunch with more than 50 different leaders to glean their wisdom for life.

  • What would it cost you to travel to more than 50 locations?
  • How much would you pay for hotels and food?
  • What scheduling headaches would you encounter trying to make it happen?

Your costs would easily run into the thousands of dollars if you could pull it off at all. But 17BPS has done it for you.

Now you can have all this wisdom delivered when it is convenient for you for only a fraction of the cost.

Click HERE to learn more!

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Tim Tebow: Through My Eyes – Free Give Away!

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[title color=”orange-vibrant” align=”scmgccenter” font=”georgia” style=”normal” size=”scmgc-7em”]Free Book Give Away!!![/title]

Tim Tebow

Another Free Book Give Away?

You read that right! I am offering a free copy of Tim Tebow’s book, Through My Eyes!

How Do You Win?

If you scroll down just a bit you will see the Rafflecopter entry form which outlines a bunch of ways to enter the Tim Tebow: Through My Eyes giveaway. Just complete as many as you would like to be entered to win!

Why Am I Doing This?

I started this blog in an effort to spread the message of integrating the Christian faith into our businesses. I want to see more Christian business owners and leaders begin looking at their businesses from an eternal perspective and running them as platforms for Christian ministry.

While I know my posts are written toward this effort, I thought I would try to step it up a notch for 2013. My plan is to give away one book a month for the entire year! All I am asking from you is to follow the Rafflecopter instructions below. As you enter, you will be helping me to spread the word about this blog at the same time. We both win!

This Month’s Book- Tim Tebow: Through My Eyes

Former University of Florida star quarterback, 2010 first-round draft pick for the Denver Broncos, and devout Christian Tim Tebow tells the story of his faith, his life, and his career in football in Through My Eyes. Written with Nathan Whitaker, the New York Times bestselling coauthor of Quiet Strength, with Tony Dungy, Through My Eyes gives fans a first look into the heart of an athlete whose talent and devotion have made him one of the most provocative figures in football.

Enter The Give Away

Follow the instructions below to enter the Tim Tebow: Through My Eyes contest and then spread the word to others! The contest ends at midnight on Tuesday, April 30th and the winner will be announced on Wednesday, May 1st.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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The Number One Problem With Accountability!

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“If you really loved me, you would already know what I expect!” Have you ever heard that? I am assuming there are a few men out there chuckling right now. If you are a woman, I am sorry, but we DON’T know what you expect! We do love you, but we need your expectations spelled out clearly if you want there to be any accountability.

accountability

Same With Employees

Hopefully, you can handle this example without getting offended by thinking I am really talking about marriage relationships. While this is certainly a well-known example of what most men think is unfair, we can be guilty of doing the very same thing to our employees on a regular basis! In fact, this issue can be the number one problem with accountability.

Think I am wrong? Then answer this question.

Have you communicated clear, written expectations for each of your employees and the jobs they perform?

Guilty!

If your answer is “No” or “Somewhat” or “I am not sure” and yet you are still attempting to hold them accountable to doing a good job, then you are guilty. You are just as guilty as the example above in wanting accountability without communicating clear expectations.

It is impossible to have true accountability without first communicating clear expectations. Accountability is not possible because neither party is clear on what was expected in the first place. Without the communication of clear expectations, chaos ensues!

Jesus’ Expectations

Before I discuss a recent example of a renewed accountability in our company, let’s look at what Jesus did with the 12 disciples. If you will read Matthew 10:5-15, you will see that Jesus has gathered his disciples and is sending them out to do ministry.

Notice the detail He uses when telling the disciples what He wanted them to do. Jesus did not send them out without telling them exactly what He expected.

He told them exactly where to go and where not to go. He told them who to talk to and what they were to say. He was clear about what they were to do and what they were supposed to take with them on the journey.

Accountability with Jesus

In Luke’s account, we see that the disciples returned to Jesus after their journey and reported to Him all they had done. Here is the accountability. We have to assume Jesus coached them on what went well and what did not, but we already know his expectations were clear.

Confession

Before you think I have this issue completely under control myself, I will confess. In our business, there are quite a few numbers, ratios, and formulas for measuring success in all job levels. We are not short on metrics.

Unfortunately, we ARE short on accountability. We are just not very good at this part of the job and we pay a price for this every day. Fortunately, we have finally had enough and we are determined to correct the problem.

Correcting The Problem

Just the other day, the managers from one segment of our operations met together and worked through all of the most important metrics for a specific job position. While they started out with 15+ important metrics, they were able to boil them all down to the Top Five.

With five primary metrics that encompass roughly 75-80% of the activities of this specific job, we can now start to build in some accountability. Because these five measurements are clear and straightforward, each employee in this job will be able to know at any given time whether they are doing a good job or not.

Common Sense?

As you read this, you may be thinking that common sense should tell you when you are doing a good job or not. It should be really clear to everyone without having to go to such lengths.

Well, maybe that is true for your job, but I have found otherwise in my experience. I have seen people react with shock when their performance was rated at below acceptable levels. I have seen people rationalize that consideration should be given to other activities (most of which fell outside of their job description) in order to raise their performance review scores.

Ask Around

We like to think that everyone knows exactly what they should be doing, but the truth is they often do not. In fact, if you compare your expectations with theirs, you may be surprised at just how far apart they are!

I encourage you to poll those people in your company or on your team and ask them if they are clear on your expectations. If you get anything other than what you think their answer should be, determine that you will correct it immediately. Don’t blame them. Accept the feedback as constructive and take the necessary actions to correct the problem!

How would you rate your communication of clear expectations?

Do you feel you have strong accountability with your team?

If not, where are you going to start?

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Do You Believe In The Mentor Process?

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I recently had the opportunity to participate in an interview process that was unrelated to our business. During the interview with a candidate, he mentioned one of the main desires he had for the job he was seeking. This main objective was to be mentored by his more experienced boss in a one-on-one setting. He felt this was the only way he would ever grow into the person he wanted to become.

How often do you hear that in an interview?

mentor

Still Learning!

I had another experience recently where I needed some advice from an older, more experienced friend in the business. As he responded to my questions, he included some ideas he had recently learned in a seminar he had attended.

Remember that I was seeking advice from him because he is older, wiser, and much more experienced in our industry. And yet he is still being intentional about his continued learning! I was impressed!

Not Impressed?

Maybe these examples are not that impressive to you. Maybe you already understand the importance of being mentored so that you are always learning. Maybe this idea is something you have experienced many times and you are looking for something new.

Well, I think I may have something for you.

What about BEING the mentor?

As Christian business owners and leaders, I think we can all agree that continuous learning is critical to our success. There are very few, if any, solid Christian leaders that would argue against continuous learning – whether by being mentored or self-taught.

Now A Mentor?

Unfortunately, you will likely get a very different answer if you ask those same Christian leaders if they are actively mentoring someone else! Of course, you will get many excuses and reasons for the lack of activity in this area. I can even come up with a few good ones myself!

Consult Scripture

The problem is that these excuses do not hold water when compared to Scripture. Just looking at one verse in Paul’s second letter to Timothy will shoot holes in these excuses:

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
2 Timothy 2:2

While that may be enough to convince you to intentionally become a mentor, let’s also take a look at the following verses:

One generation will declare Your works to the next and will proclaim Your mighty acts.
Psalm 145:4

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17

Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but freely, according to God’s will; not for the money but eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
1 Peter 5:2-3

I think you are getting the picture.

Learning Is Not Enough!

The point here is that it is NOT enough for us to be always looking for opportunities to learn more. While this is certainly something we should seek, there must be more. To follow Scripture, we must also be seeking out those who are eager to learn. We must be willing to mentor them, teaching them what we already know.

Paul taught Timothy and then told him to go teach others that would be qualified to do the same thing! We need to do this as well.

Different Formats

For some, this will mean a regular one-on-one meeting schedule with someone not as far along in their business or their walk. For others, this may mean leading a group study or teaching through a blog!

It really does not matter the format. What matters is that we are making the effort to pass on our knowledge and wisdom to those who can learn from it.

Nor does it matter if we can teach them everything they need to know! Most likely, we cannot. The good news is that we are not responsible for filling their tanks with knowledge. We are simply responsible for emptying ours!

Pray About Your Role!

I encourage you to pray this very day about who you need to mentor and how you should go about doing it. Do not put this off or it will never happen. This must be an intentional effort on your part.

If nothing else, at least begin praying that God would show you the path to being the mentor He wants you to be. I promise you He will answer if you are willing to be used!

Are you actively mentoring someone else right now?

If not, why not? What is holding you back?

Are you willing to pray about it?