• Teeth cleaning today.  Really, I love it!
• An inbox full of banter between our India team who are preparing to leave Wednesday.  Say some prayers for us!
• World Book Night!  Okay, pause here for a moment because this is super cool.  I read about it on Margaret‘s blog yesterday.

“World Book Night is an annual celebration designed to spread a love of reading and books. To be held in the U.S. as well as the U.K. and Ireland on April 23, 2012. It will see tens of thousands of people go out into their communities to spread the joy and love of reading by giving out free World Book Night paperbacks.”  You can apply here to be one of the thousands who give out free books!  Margaret made the great suggestion of adding a few Bibles to the stack and giving those away too.

• I just learned about a new FREE online event for preachers and communicators – “Preach Better Sermons” is March 15th.  You and your team should check it out!
• Lively discussion at churchleaders.com over my article “The Church’s Next Great Crisis”.  I stirred it up a bit – yikes!
• Favorite new-to-me show this week: Parenthood
• Favorite treat this week: Keebler Frosted Animal Cookies (love them but they are so bad!)
• Favorite meeting this week: Our Franklin Campus launch meeting
• Favorite scripture this week: Philippians 1:6 & 9

“There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.  So this is my prayer; that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well.”

What has been one of your favorite things this week?

There is an art to communication.

Great communicators inspire us to be better, motivate us to act and encourage us to dream.

In all of my efforts through the years to grow as a leader, I under-valued the importance of growing as a communicator until recently.  Because my job doesn’t require speaking to masses of people each week, I simply underestimated the importance.

The truth is that great leaders need to be great communicators.  Whether speaking to a team of three or an arena of 10,000, good communication skills are necessary for leading people well.

I recently got a copy of Tim Elmore’s new book Habitudes for Communicators and I love it!

Communication is a lost art and we need to resurrect it.

Look around you. In our culture, we often fail at the fundamentals. Having a conversation without an electronic device involved. Writing a thank-you letter. Listening in earnest to a friend in need. Our human exchanges lead us to learn, transform, revolutionize, innovate, connect and love.

Like the other Habitudes books, this book is filled with images that represent timeless principles, to be read, discussed and applied on a team. The images in this book revolve around engaging and communicating with the next generation. You’ll learn how to communicate effectively through images like Windows and Mirrors, #3 Pencil, House of Fire, the Faded Flag, School Yearbook and more.

I encourage you to get a few copies and study this together with your team!

Get all the details here!

Remember the good ole days of adolescents when if you felt like you just couldn’t face the world you declared a “sick day”?  Maybe it was the test you failed to prepare for or the ex you just couldn’t bear to face… whatever the issue you, suckered your parents into believing your weren’t well and sufficiently enjoyed a day of relaxation and reprieve from the ordinary.

Ok yeah, you know me well enough to know that there is no way my neurotic achievement issues would have allowed me to avoid responsibility like that!  But man, I wish I had taken advantage of that opportunity back then.

Leaders don’t get to take a “sick day”.

You can’t just call it quits when you’re facing things you don’t like.  You can’t choose to not lead just because you don’t feel like it.

So how do you deal with the days when you want to go hide in a corner rather than answer another question? 

How do you keep from throwing a tantrum when someone expects you to solve another problem?

While you can’t just call it quits for an entire day, I do think you can take a time out.

When you feel yourself pushed to the edge and unable to handle the daily pressures of leadership, it’s ok to revisit your schedule and create a time out.

• Perhaps you need to squeeze in a little more time for prayer and reflection
• Maybe you need to carve out 30 minutes to read or go for a good walk
• Maybe you can post-pone a meeting that isn’t urgent or you’re not completely ready for

The biggest difference between sick days and time outs is that sick days are a “throw in the towel mindset”.  You’re giving up and behaving as if you’re defeated.  Time outs are a healthy recognition that you’re running on fumes and need a strategic break.  Time outs are a way of reclaiming control and being responsible for your part.

Do you need a time out today?  If so, create it.   Don’t succumb to the sick day!

By title I am the rule maker and the rule keeper.  It’s kind of a given as the Executive Director of an organization.

But guess what?

I hate rules, policies & most procedures. 

Most of the time they are a necessary evil.  On a few occasions they are necessary.  On most occasions they’re evil.

Why do I hate them? 

Rules, policies & most procedures are the easy way out.  They’re a scapegoat for true leadership.

Policies are usually a reactionary fix to an issue you’d rather avoid.  Oftentimes we create a policy when we want to avoid a tough conversation.  Rather than address the specific person and the issue, we create a policy to hide behind.

However there are occasions where some parameters need to be established.  I like to call these filters.

Here’s how I define the difference:

Policies are blankets. They don’t account for nuances or growth.  They leave little room for conversation or flexibility.

Filters are “if this, than that” parameters that lead to sound decision making based upon values or agreed upon standards.  Filters also increase accountability because they force discussion.

At Cross Point we’ve created filters for things like:

• Continued education and development.  Staff are encouraged to find ways to continue their personal development via books, conferences, etc.  They are given a few guidelines and budgets, but each staff person and their manager determine the best course of learning for them each year.
• Sunday staff schedules.  Based upon their role and responsibility we determine their work schedule for Sunday.  Some staff have greater responsibilities than others for Sunday services and we adjust their work week to make the best use of their time and contribution.

Before you implement policies, consider:

• Is this a black and white issue that will not require any exceptions?
• Is this policy likely to be broken often because, while it controls a bad thing, it inhibits another good thing?
• Am I creating a policy because it will keep me from having tough conversations?

When policies are necessary:

• When the policy is necessary to be compliant with a power higher than you, i.e. the law.  Implement policy when it’s necessary to make sure your team understands and is compliant with the law.  For example we have policies for expense report filing, “duty to report” circumstances and safety.
• When you face a repeated issue that doesn’t have many variables.   We have a vacation policy so that we are consistent with each staff member and accountable to those who fund our salaries through their giving.

How are you managing the tension of policies vs. filters?  It’s another tedious grey leadership issue!

What a great week.

• I’m so proud of the Leading and Loving It team.  Nearly 2700 women participate in the JustONE Conf this week.  Amazing!  If you’re a pastor’s wife or women in ministry, you need to jump in and join us Monday.  Get all the details here.
• Several conversations this week helped me move the ball down the field on a couple of key projects.  That always feels good.
• My team on the Cultivate Her site are writing some really good posts right now.  Hop over and check out “How To Empower the Women in Your Church” by Sharon Hodde Miller and “The Glass Walls” by Shannon Miles.
• I love to make banana bread and my dog loves to lick the beaters.  We make a good team.
• Our Exec staff is reading Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All by Jim Collins.  Your team really needs to read this!  Does your team know what your ’20 Mile March’ is?  They should.
• I went to see the movie The Iron Lady last night.  Such a pitiful depiction of such an influential leader.  No matter your political bent, any leader with that much gumption should be honored better than that.
• Shopping for my India trip must happen this weekend.  Pretty much that means lots of snacks so I can survive all the curry.
• I’m getting increasingly more excited and less fearful of all that 2012 holds!

Have a great weekend!

I’ve developed a new fascination…

Rare books, preferably first editions of some of my favorites like Anne of Green Gables.

(Btw, I can’t actually afford these books… I just like to search for them and imagine a library in my home full of them.)

Reading didn’t come easily for me as a child.  My memories of 1st grade reading class are painful, but I was so hungry to learn that I worked and worked until I finally figured out how it all fit together.  Once I tackled it, I wouldn’t put a book down.  (I still get in trouble from time to time for having my nose in a book rather than my heart in a conversation.)

I think part of my stubbornness to learn to read was rooted in my independent nature.  I didn’t want anyone else to tell me what I needed to learn.  I wanted to read it and learn it for myself.

While that attitude has served me well in some ways, it’s also hindered me in others.

You see, we need to learn from others.

One of the most valuable things I’m learning in this season of life is to constantly surround myself with people who are smarter than I am.  And yes, that’s a little scary at times.  The willingness to acknowledge that you don’t know it all or can’t figure it all out on your own is a big sucker punch to your pride.  Pride challenges you to cover up your ignorance.  It teaches you to bluff your way through things you know nothing about.

But when you give into pride, you allow yourself to live in ignorance.  Pride holds you back and inhibits you from vulnerably acknowledging you don’t know something.

Surround yourself with people smarter than you.

When you are facing a project or challenge that is new or unknown, find others who are more experienced to coach you through it.

Don’t be afraid of acknowledging that you don’t know.  In doing so, you actually prove that you know more than you think.

I cringe when I see things that are labeled “Christian”.

I’ll give you an example:

Over the Christmas holiday, my husband and I made the long drive back to Wisconsin to visit some of my family.  I usually busy myself with reading or writing while we’re driving but on this particular stretch of the trip I was just kicking back taking in the sites.  As I was reading billboards and studying vast stretches of farmland, I kept seeing signs for the “Christian Outlet Mall”.

Christian Outlet Mall?  What in the world is that?  I’m familiar with Christian bookstores full of Christian music, books and Precious Moments trinkets but how in the world is there enough product to fill an entire outlet mall?

I was so curious I actually wanted to stop and check this place out, but it was Christmas Day… no one is open on Christmas Day (I know because I ate popcorn and a V8 for lunch from the one gas station we could find open) and certainly not an entire mall that calls itself Christian.

For as much as I could deduce from the signs, I don’t think this Christian Outlet was full of Christian products.  I think it was just an outlet mall that was owned by Christians.

But here’s why that’s a pet peeve for me…

Why do we feel the need to proclaim we’re Christian through inanimate objects?

“Let your light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven.”  Matthew 5:16

I don’t want to have to say that I’m a Christian, I want it to be obvious.  The fruits of the spirit are compelling… they’re distinct… they get attention.  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are counter-cultural (Galatians 5:22-23).  If you are displaying those things people will want to be a part of what you are doing.  The evidence of fruit in your life will go much farther than putting a Christian bumper sticker on your car, the icthus on your advertising or the word Christian in your name.

Be the light and it will shine!

Ok, I’m off my soapbox now

We mimic.

We compare.

We try and fail.  We try again.

We have moments of success and moments of failure (perceived and sometimes real).

Our inconsistency in leading is nauseating for us and those we lead.

While some elements of leadership come naturally, I believe that most of leadership is learned over time and as we glean wisdom.  You can’t microwave the wisdom that comes from experience.

Here are three kinds of leaders I consistently see:

The Timid Leader – The timid leader has strong leadership potential but is so worried about making sure everyone likes their plan/vision/idea that they are wishy-washy with direction.  They react to the emotional responses of people therefore making them inconsistent and hard to follow.

The Dominant Leader – The dominant leader dictates everything & expects everyone to follow.  Their insecurity is masked by their need to prove they know it all.  The result is resentment from those they lead.

The Confident Leader – The confident leader leads with positivity & decisiveness.  They are confident in their calling but humble in their approach.  They are not afraid to do what’s right even when it’s not popular.  They don’t react to emotional responses from those they lead.  Instead, they lead people through them with grace and patience.

What kind of leader are you?

What other types of leaders have you observed?

• I’m totally sucked into Downton Abbey.  I really believe I should have been born in England.  The Brits get me every time!  We watched the entire first season in a week!
• Had the privilege of going to Elevation for a night of Code Orange Revival.  Grateful for our friends there.  Bonus was dinner with Lysa Terkeurst!
• Being an aunt is a blast.  My sister sent this picture to me this week.  Sweet little Charlotte had craft time at daycare and made this little penguin with her foot print.  Charlotte’s cute little chunky toes turned into a penguin’s hiney… brilliant! (as the Brits would say… see I told you I should have been British and I am drinking a cup of English Breakfast tea right now too) 

• The countdown for our trip to India is on!  Just got my visa back and realized I only have 2 1/2 weeks before we leave.
• The JustONE Conference starts Monday.  Are you planning to join us?
• Why do your biggest growth moments and your worst days have to be so closely linked to one another?  I had a few of those this week.
• I think I get to run with Ashley today!   Honored to steal some of Ash’s time since it’s sweet Audrey’s 2nd birthday!!

Ok, sorry today is just a bunch of rambling.  Have a great weekend everyone!

On the couple of trips I made to Honduras last year, one of the landmarks that got my attention was a wind farm just south of the great city of Tegucigalpa.  51 wind turbines tower above the hilly landscape providing a significant energy source for the country.

Juxtaposed against their primitive and poverty-stricken surroundings, the wind turbines give the feeling of strength, confidence, hope and progress.

Call me crazy for seeing that in inanimate objects but believe me, they really do!

And as if you weren’t waiting for my analogy … leaders are wind turbines too.

Leaders are energy creators.

We get out of our team the energy we give to them.  We have to create the energy that we want our team to exude.

We can’t react to the energy (or lack of it) from others.  We have to create the energy that we want our team to work from.

So how are you creating energy?  Are you creating it or reacting to it?