Monthly Archives: June 2013

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How To Establish Credibility As A Leader

There’s nothing more valuable when you’re leading than establishing credibility. Credibility is establishing trust and being believable. Can you see why a leader needs to establish credibility to lead well?

There was once a time when a man’s handshake was his contract. It seems those days are long gone.

Yet you can help bring back those days. You can be a man, or woman, who has credibility.

Credibility is vital in leadership. It’s hard to gain and easy to lose. This is why great leaders are constantly building their credibility.

How are they doing this, you ask? They take the hard road and credible leaders make sure they’re upholding their own standards.

Here’s what else you can do to establish credibility:

Follow through with your promises: Great leaders build their credibility by keeping their word. When they say they’re going to do it, they do it. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Their word is their bond.  Read more...

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6 Ways Leaders Leave An Impression On Their Followers

Quick note: I’ll most likely be away from the computer today dealing with personal issues. In my absense, Dan Black will be responding to comments until I return.

Every interaction a leader has with their followers leaves an impression. This may be good or bad. Great leaders leave more positive impressions than negative impressions.

We should be striving to lead greatly.

Image by Kevlyn Skee

Image by Kelvyn Skee

So, in what ways can leaders leave an impression on their followers?

There’s many ways great leaders can leave an impression on their followers. Different followers will respond differently and you may not see the results right away, if at all. It’s wise to evaluate your followers and see how they respond to certain stimuli.

As you’re implementing these strategies to impact your followers keep in mind they may not respond how you want them to. That’s okay. Take the feedback given and change the way you’re influencing them.  Read more...

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Stop Looking For Luck

So many leaders are looking for luck these days. They may not say it in those specific words but they are.

Image by Dawn Ellner

Image by Dawn Ellner

There are leaders who are looking for the superstar salesman who will increase sales ten-fold. Then there’s the manager who will increase productivity, if only they could find them. Or you’re looking for the next big thing, wanting to catch it at the very beginning.

All of these actions are a form of looking for luck. They’re relying on an outside factor to increase sales, to increase productivity, or to bring the next big program. And we’re doing it all wrong.

When we’re waiting on luck, we’ll be waiting a long time. I know plenty of “lucky” lotto players who will win the Mega Millions on the next draw.

You know what? The odds of that are not in your favor. So stop looking for luck.  Read more...

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How The Next Gen Resembles The Last Gen And Breaking The Unchurched Pattern

One of the websites that I read frequently for information on church trends and people is The Barna Group. They conduct research on the intersection of faith and culture. I would say they’re on the cusp, providing good information for keeping abreast with a changing world.

Image by Cynthia Koch

Image by Cynthia Koch

I’ve read many times about younger people – how they’re different from previous generations. It reminds me of my generation and what the older folks thought then. Sort of the same thing. My thought process from there drifts into our communities and how we tend to continually focus on the next generation as the one we can help shape, with the thought this will change the world and break the pattern when we see difficulties and struggles in our world today. So I have been trying to come up with some ideas on how we could lead with the desired impact. Let me share with you an example of what I’m referring to, and how we may be more effective in leadership.  Read more...

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How To Create Leadership Objectives

Have you ever followed a leader who had no clear vision? The plans they laid had no objectives and you couldn’t tell if you hit them or not? This is one of the consequences of not creating clear leadership objectives.

Whether in a positional leadership role, a family leadership role, or personal leadership role, creating leadership objectives is crucial to your success. Why? It defines what needs to be accomplished. This allows you to see whether or not you’re making progress.

When we begin to lay out a foundation for our leadership objectives, a map begins to form. We’re able to see the next step we need to take to advance forward. We’re also able to choose which leadership objective we’ll attempt next.

Think of leadership objectives as the big X on a treasure map. They’re where we want to go!  Read more...