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What Are Your Values?

Megachurch pastor has had an affair and his marriage is in shambles. Multi-billion dollar corporation has filed for bankruptcy, corrupt accounting practices to blame. Employees go on strike after 5th employee injured on the job.

We’ve all seen headlines like this. They’re heartbreaking. They’re terrible. And they’re mostly preventable.

boy standing on a ladder reaching for the clouds

Photo by Samuel Zeller

How can I say this? Because, when you live a life of values you know where you stand. You know where the line is. You know where to stop.

Our world has lost sight of values. They believe they’re buzzwords or hyperbole. Values don’t matter, so they say.

But values DO matter. Values tell you who you are, what you’re willing to do, and what you’re not going to do. When you have values clearly defined in your life, you can withstand the storms coming your way.  Read more...

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Quotes And Leadership Lessons From The New Mutants

A Reel Leadership Article

The long-delayed X-Men spin-off movie, New Mutants saw it’s release on the weekend of August 28th, 2020. This is almost 3 years after it was originally scheduled to premiere.

The thirteenth and final film in the X-Men movies series, The New Mutants introduces some of the scarier side of mutants. Even though 20th Century Fox was bought out by The Walt Disney Company, The New Mutants was still released under that banner.

Cast of the New Mutants movie

The New Mutants sees the following mutants get some big screen time:

  • Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane (Maisie Williams)
  • Illyana Rasputin/Magik (Anya Taylor-Joy)
  • Sam Guthrie/Cannonball (Charlie Heaton)
  • Danielle Moonstar/Psyche/Mirage (Blu Hunt)
  • Roberto da Costa/Sunspot (Henry Zaga)

These mutants are quite a bit different than the X-Men you know and love. They’re disrespectful, arrogant, and scary.  Read more...

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Why Leaders Need To Show Up Consistently

I volunteer part of my time serving at our church’s youth group. I recently had an extremely sad conversation with one of our youth students.

Before our youth group started, I opened my Instagram app on my Samsung Galaxy S9. I saw one of the students had just started an Instagram Live session. I clicked and listened to her talk for a few minutes.

African American man standing with his arms folded, looking confident

Photo by Etty Fidele

Then I did the youth leader thing. I asked her if she was coming to youth group tonight.

Her answer saddened me. She told me she didn’t like coming to youth group. There were no people her age that attended.

I protested. I told her there was. Her reply was heartbreaking.

I heard her say “Yes, Kelly and Bonnie (not their real names) go there. But they don’t show up regularly. If they’re not there, I am alone.”  Read more...

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Be A Good Example

Do you ever look at your team and wonder “How can I encourage these people to be better team members? What will make them work harder, smarter, better? Why can’t I have great people on my team?”

Of course not. I never say that. Neither do you…

Man carrying a brown briefcase

Photo by Marten Bjork

If we’re lying to ourselves.

It is easy to slip into the thoughts in the first paragraph of this article. We can easily look at those we lead and wonder why they’re not producing the results we (and they) desire.

The truth is that you, the leader, are not providing the example your team needs. I know, it may sound harsh for me to say this but it is something we all need to hear.

As a leader, you set the example. Your team is looking at you. What they’re seeing is what they’re emulating. They’re looking for a leader. Someone to show them the way.  Read more...

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Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Ip Man 4: The Finale

A Reel Leadership Article

I’ve seen lots of talk about the Ip Man movies. People tend to rave about them. I didn’t know what the raving was all about. Now I do.

I recently had the pleasure of watching Ip Man 4: The Finale. Ip (Pronounced like the IP in chip, not like I.P.) Man 4 tells the finale story of Wing Chung master Ip Man (Donnie Yen).

Donnie Yen as Ip Man in Ip Man 4: The Finale. Pointing finger.

The story is interesting. After the loss of his wife, Ip Man learns he has cancer. He travels to San Francisco to get a recommendation for his son to attend school there.

While trying to get the recommendation, he visits his star pupil, Bruce Lee (Danny Kwok-Kwan Chan). Yes, THE Bruce Lee. He helps to calm the tensions between Bruce Lee and the local martial arts community. Why? Because Bruce Lee is teaching non-Chinese Wing Chung.  Read more...