5 for Leadership

This is your fresh 5 for the last week in May.

Leadership’s Greatest Value  Here is another post from the Leadership Freak, Dan Rockwell.  Dan talks about the tendency for problems and problem solving to take leaders away from striving towards the future.  He provides 10 great future oriented questions to help you get refocused.

5 Reasons Why Emotional Intelligence is Critical for Leaders  Sara Fletcher writes this post for the Lead Change Group blog.  There has been much talk about emotional intelligence towards leadership.  Sara hones down the thinking to five aspects that will allow the emotionally intelligent leader to stand apart.

Here Is Your Leadership Litmus Test  This is from Lisa Haneburg and she makes the case for intentionality in the realm of leadership.  No doubt, execution according to your stated purposes is critical.  Lisa offers some solid insights on this necessary topic.

Don’t Neglect These Three Core Leadership Skills  Here is a really simple, yet profound post found on ChurchLeaders.com.  Alan Danielson, a pastor in Norman Oklahoma, argues for the irreducible complexity of leadership.  I like his focus.  Take a look.

5 Dangerous Leadership Assumptions  I will end with one more from ChurchLeaders.com.  This comes from Mac Lake who is the pastor of leadership development at Seacoast Church in California.  Mac highlights five assumptions that every leader must challenge continuously.  I really like his insights-it points to something I believe is core-that the first job of every leader is to raise up more leaders.

Have a great weekend and lead well.

5 for Leadership

I have a fresh 5 for you on this last day in April!

6 Things I Have Learned About Failure    This comes from Steve Morgan.  Steve is a friend of mine who serves with Cru in Mexico in leading leaders.  He has some great insights and offers up some great principles in this post.  Take a look!

Now Is The Time For Gen Y Leaders  This post is from Scott Eblin who is an executive coach, speaker and author.  Scott downplays some of the negativity surrounding Millennial leaders and makes a good case for why we need them.

6 Secrets of Inspirational Leadership  I have been reading Dan Rockwell for some time.  Dan is creative, succinct and very practical.  His insights on leadership have helped me and spurred a lot of good thinking.  Be sure to check out some of his other posts while on his site.

Lessons in Leadership:  How Lincoln Became America’s Greatest President  This post comes from Hitendra Wadhwa,who is a professor at Columbia Business School.  Wadhwa highlights how President Lincoln mastered self discipline into character growth to become a great leader.  This is a really interesting read!

Seven Reasons Leaders Fail  This final post comes from Thom Ranier and I found it on churchleaders.com.  Thom does some research on leadership failure in history and discovers some common characteristics.  All of us who lead need to learn from these lessons.  This is an opportunity to look into the mirror.

There are the five for this week.  I hope you will be nurtured, warned, blessed, and informed.  Lead well!

5 for Leadership

Here is this week’s 5! This week I have linked something old and something new. I love going back to trusted thought leaders, but also like finding fresh perspective. Hope you find something that challenges or refreshes you.

7 Most Powerful Lessons From Life & Leadership I saw the link for this post on Twitter and really liked the brief, yet significant lessons, that Chery Gegelman portrayed on the Lead Change Group blog. What are you learning so far in your life and leadership?

6 Habits of True Strategic Thinkers This is an article out of Inc Magazine and written by Paul Shoemaker. Paul makes the statement, ” . . . adaptive strategic leaders . . . do six things well.” That should lure you into his insights. I really like the clarity and conciseness of this article-take a look.

5 Steps To Becoming More Interesting-and A Better Leader This is from Mike Myatt. I have referenced Mike a few times before and I always gain from his perspective. In this post, Mike offers up solid principles to being a leader who truly attracts followers.

Work Life Lead: Cross Generational Respect More and more I am working with leaders that are younger than me. Obviously, one reason is that I am getting older-but another reason is that more and more Millennials are taking on leadership roles. This is a good post on engaging in cross generational leadership. This comes from Dr. Ed Brenegar and I found it on the Weekly Leader.

10 Good Reasons to Get A Mentor This post is from Rajesh Setty-who is new to me. I like the practicality of this list. It makes sense and is motivating towards seeking out someone a step or two ahead on the journey. See what you think of his list.

Is Jesus Enough Here is is bonus from Tim Stevens on his blog Leading Smart. This is a very brief, but compelling post. Leaders often get caught up in finding other centers for the core of their identity. Tim highlights some thoughts from Brian Bloye on whether Jesus is enough-regardless of what happens in your leadership life. This is worth some reflection.

There are the five for this week. Thanks for taking a look.

5 for Leadership

Here are a fresh five:

What Is The Conversation You Need To Have?  This is a post from Mary Jo Asmus on her blog Leadership Solutions.  The foundation of her post is that relationships matter and therefore difficult conversations are essential.  Mary Jo offers three constructive steps to being intentional about those uncomfortable conversations.

Wondering ‘Am I A Good Leader?’  Take The Sheryl Sandberg Test  Sheryl Sandberg is the COO of Facebook.  Scott Eblin writes this post and offers three simple questions based on his studied profile of Sandberg and what makes her a good leader.  Read and see how you stack up.  Be sure to read about how Sandberg has modeled the answers to these same three questions.

Entitlement: The Gimme Generation  This comes from David Murray on his blog Head, Heart, Hand.  This is a fascinating post (both a podcast and a written piece) about the current generation of college students and their sense of entitlement and the implications.  This is a must read for anyone working with Mosaics.

Dangers Leaders Face  This is a very insightful post from Dave Kraft on the Resurgence blog.  Dave offers up two very practical issues that can hit leaders squarely between the eyes and put their leadership in danger.  This is worth your time and contemplation.

The Difference Between Capacity and Calling  This final offering is a five minute video of Pastor Wayne Cordeiro in conversation with Mark Driscoll and James MacDonald over the issue of spiritual leaders and burnout.  There are some helpful insights here about living out and fulfilling what God has truly called us to do.

There are the five for this week-lead well!

Augustine’s Job Description for a Pastor

Augustine once described some of his daily challenges as bishop of Hippo.  The following quote struck me as an apt description of the role of pastor-see what you think.

“The turbulent have to be corrected, the faint hearted cheered up, the weary supported; the gospel’s opponents need to be refuted, its insidious enemies guarded against; the unlearned need to be taught, the indolent need to be stirred up, the argumentative checked; the proud must be put in their place, the desperate set on their feet, those engaged in quarrels reconciled; the needy have to be helped, the oppressed to be liberated, the good to be given your backing, the bad to be tolerated; all must be loved.”

This job description cries out for the grace of the gospel in the heart of a servant leader-and a little Advil.  Lead well!