Every day when we show up, we earn our right to lead others.  This is known as credibility.  We cannot buy or be given credibility, we have to earn it.  One of the most important qualities of a leader is their credibility.  It is something that leaders work hard to gain, that can erode over time and that can be lost in one mistake.  As you take the field today and line up against issues that you may feel beat you up, I want to encourage you to keep showing up and to give you 5 steps to earn credibility. 

Simple decisions can drive us crazy sometimes can't they?  Ever had an irrational reaction to a simple problem?  I have!  While I reflect on those moments as humorous, there are times when we face major decisions that actually carry weight in our lives.  Heavy decisions impact every area of our lives, especially as a leader.  Perhaps you are facing one right now.  When should I hire more staff?  When do we add another service or product?  Do I allow negativity to continue on my leadership team?  Is there a better way to engage volunteers in our church?  Should I fire the underperforming team member?  How do I admit to my own feelings of inadequacy in my role?  Whatever decision you are facing, I want to challenge you to engage in the process of making it.  Here are 6 reasons you need to make that difficult call.

Being transparent, I do not always respond to negative people by working to make things positive.  When I do I notice that people’s demeanor morphs by showing genuine interest in them.  Every day you come in contact with people.  Family members, co-workers, people at the gym or baristas at Starbucks.  Some are good interactions, others are challenging.  Every day you have the opportunity to bring out the best in another person.  If you are a leader, this is a crucial part of your job description.   Since we all have the chance to impact lives, I want give you 5 habits that give you a strong chance at winning with people no matter what the situation.  

Ever felt like you are stuck on some treadmill where you increase your energy, but never actually move forward?  What a miserable feeling!  No one enjoys the crushing feeling of being overwhelmed.  Worse yet is the stress that is partnered with feeling unproductive.  This struggle is not limited to our personal life.  If you are going to achieve in your career and in leadership, you have to get things done.  There has to be an ability to make actual progress.  Being busy is not sufficient.  Theory is good.  Philosophy is important.  Thought leaders are necessary.  But if you cannot execute well, your effectiveness is limited.  Gold medals are not won on treadmills.  So, how do you make sure that you are getting things accomplished, yet still have time to enjoy life?  Here are 6 ways I have found to be effective.

I will never forget my middle school P.E. teacher:  Coach Stansell.  What I remember about him most was his awkwardly loud voice.  This guy had zero concept of an inside voice.  He literally yelled everything.  No matter the setting, he yelled.  Is this common among P.E. teachers?  Is it a pre-requisite that one not be able to whisper at all to qualify for this profession?  Any time I ever tried to speak to him normally all I got in return was an off-putting feeling of being screamed at.  While they may not be loud-talkers, some people are just difficult to communicate with.  I want to focus on ensuring that you do not become one of them!  Here are 3 steps to take to ensure you can talk to anyone about anything, and almost always guarantee they will still love you. 

Recently a few of us pastors on staff at my church took an extended lunch to go see “Dumb and Dumber To.”  There we sat in the theater, three well respected and highly educated guys, laughing at things most people would call “immature."  Ironically, for someone who is secretly still a junior high kid inside, part of my job is to help other people grow and mature in their faith.  One question I consistently wrestle with is, "How do we move our congregation towards spiritual maturity?”  Ever wondered that?  While I am still figuring this out, I have discovered a few practical steps that incite growth in people's hearts. 

I have found that the fear of mistakes are what keep seasoned leaders from putting young leaders in positions of influence.  We fear their mishaps will cripple the organization.  In the process we lose relevance with an entire generation. Years ago my church got intentional about adding leaders in their 20’s and early 30’s to our elder board.  Was it risky?  Maybe.  Did it pay off?  Big time!  We started by only adding 1.  This year we added 4! Here are the top 5 reasons your church or organization should add younger voices to the decision making table. 

What if greatness had a formula?  Wouldn't that just make things easier?  If leadership were as simple as, "do these things" then I would be a rock star! While I cannot guarantee success or "magic" to anyone, I can give you some steps that will set you apart from other leaders in any room. Do these things and you will find yourself rising above others of equal age, experience and talent. Here are 3 ways to make yourself the best leader in the room.

You run pretty hard during the week.  Meetings, planning, counseling, emails, calls, conversations, building teams…you’re starting to feel busy just reading that aren’t you?  To maintain this pace you have to learn the value of pulling away from the routine. Long term ministry is not sustained from raw talent but from a full tank.  Learn now to recover & hear God's voice.  Learn to "press pause.” Unplugging is intentionally focusing on Christ & on yourself. Here are 4 ways to stay strong in the midst of the busyness of ministry.

Can you imagine a world without the magic that Walt Disney created? Imagination came to life through the work of Walt Disney.  We would have missed out on this if Walt had listened to the newspaper editor who fired him as a young man for “lacking imagination and having no creative ideas.”  As a young leader, Walt Disney failed.  Walt understood that failure has two certainties. It is inevitable and it is a chance to learn.  Failure is going to happen.  You have no choice in this matter.  If you want to achieve anything you are going to fail at something.  Learning from failure however, is not such a given.  In fact it is a choice.  Failure sends some people spiraling downward as it is charged with emotion and can attach itself to our self-worth.  Decide that failure will not be your master but rather your teacher. Here are 4 lessons failure can teach us.