A few words from the prophet Azariah motivated King Asa of Judah to up his leadership performance. The same exhortation can motivate anyone in leadership today too.

The prophet simply told the king to look beyond the vision he had for his kingdom. Beyond the history of accomplishments, current circumstances, and the daily grind.

He said, “Be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded” (2 Chron. 15:7).

In so many words, Azariah told the king to look forward to the divine reward that would follow a life of perseverance.

The promise of future rewards motivates many leaders. It does me. When we pour into people’s lives, drip our sweat and blood into a business, sacrifice financially to start a church, or give time and treasure to causes that matter to us, it’s incredibly encouraging to know God’s watching and will reward us.  Read more...

Everyone brings their inner children to work with them. Some unhealed parts of us left unattended, however, bleed into our emotions and can affect our behavior.

We see the consequences of unhealed parts of us acting out all the time.

• A colleague stops talking to you for no known reason.
• A boss, who has no sense of core values, frantically attempts to make his employees happy and tanks the organization.

Photo by Siavash Ghanbari

As an educator for 30 years, I would be triggered by one or two students in a school year who inadvertently informed me that I had more healing to do.

One year an obese kindergartener, Bella, entered my classroom. She had little academic skills. She did not know any letters of the alphabet or numbers. She had little language development. On top of that, she was very uninterested in learning and would cry when you insisted she finish her assignments.  Read more...

Good leaders ask, “How do I tell better stories?” Great leaders ask, “What stories do I need to tell?”

Does that mean how you tell a leadership story doesn’t matter? Of course not. But if you tell an irrelevant or unimportant or self-serving story, it doesn’t matter how well you tell it. The story is more important than the delivery.

And while great leaders need hundreds of stories, not all stories are equally important. I’ve interviewed over 300 CEOs, leaders, and executives in 25 countries around the world about their use of storytelling in business. Here’s my conclusion about the most important ten stories any leader needs to be able to tell at a moment’s notice:  Read more...