Renew is step seven of the empower framework: leaders who renew recharge themselves and motivate teams to continually reflect on successes. Focus on team and personal renewal and reflection. Collects systemic feedback, refines project processes and most important, rewards excellence among employees and teams; works on compensating for weakness and limits; Maintains a conscious work/life balance.
Roadblock – Is closed to learning new personal, interpersonal, managerial and leadership skills, doesn’t share/celebrate successes with team members. Burns out teammates and self.
Start with Faith, Thanks or Alive, then see how it plays out across the Pearl Jam series.
“Ok. Now you know all of the people I know that can help us achieve what we need to do. And it is now up to you: to Keep them as your contacts, to grow them, renew them, and to understand how to leverage them appropriately.” It was a Simple statement that happened within the first 3 months of my professional career. Add Smiley and we have the KISS Goal that is now my brand… which renews me consistently…
One problem I have with Cleaning Up is there is always more to do. This week is no exception – I planned to “finish” U2 off with this week, and realized by Tuesday that I was going to need many more weeks to really do the band justice. It was renewing this week to let the music do the talking and less Cleaning Up my own stories. And it was very renewing to hear again these amazing songs and albums full of the barely hidden Gospel…
My early church experience includes another basic Belief that many find somewhat hard to believe: Fun. For example, on New Year Eve we would always have a party – at the Church. We would have dinner together late as Church family, watch a cheesy family movie (16 mm projected…), and then at Midnight, an old man would walk through the door one way, and another man+ would come back – dressed up as a baby 😉 A bad visual, but characteristic of that group of people that formed my Belief that Fun is needed to renew us…
Faith, fundamentally, is belief in something you can’t see, but you know is there. As the results of Project One spiraled out over the last year I was there, I knew that it was time to take a leap of faith into something that I had never really contemplated. The dream of owning my own business was never a thing, and yet, that was what was on the horizon. If I really believed in what I was seeing both as a need and my talent, I had to act. On Faith, or In Faith but either way, how?
A well-orchestrated job search, as 100’s of leaders I have worked with over many years say, ends with 2 outside offers, and one inside offer. It then takes Courage to choose between them, and also a lot of faith that you have done the best you can, and look forward with that same Courage. It all sounds very clean and tidy, which might lead you to wonder why I was in the building on a Saturday morning early, loading up most of my “stuff” with my wife … and slinking out of the garage…
“If your employees need their weekends to rest and renew, you might have a burnout culture.” I saw that headline … and the only edit I would suggest is to remove the word “might”. There are articles almost every day about it, and many leaders I work with are moving between roles to get away from it, believing that is caused by their situation. Sadly, it travels with them, and the dirty secret is the person who is most responsible for burnout is… you. I know – because it was (and is) me…
In the span of a little over 24 hours we were with friends who have celebrated over 50 years together, and then other friends that were celebrating the marriage of their daughter. The latter was filled with other young people who met at a Christian Camp set in the mountains of Virginia near Roanoke. The outdoor celebration was perfect for any occasion… but particularly perfect in this very strange year.
As I stepped into rediscovering Joy, it is not a surprise it is related to creating things. Raised in a family of tinkerers, I was always in the process of either building something or helping someone build something. The wonder of imagining something that hadn’t existed before was something that was second nature with my Dad, having built things even in his youth out of scraps around his house.
Easter ends 40 days of preparation this morning, and in many churches, it will begin with early Sunrise services, or as they are often titled, Son-Rise services. After Friday, and making it through the Day of Decision, we are now to the morning of what was predicted. What you had Faith in would be renewed: is it the world of men that had killed, dominated, and crushed a rebellion, leaving fear and trembling by all those who had seen it. Or could your Faith be in something else, something unseen, requiring deep belief in something that seems impossible…
One of the most difficult things to execute as a leader is called a “Declaration”. In the field of speech, that is defined as “a public communication that moves us toward a future possibility.” It must have Authority, a clear definition of the future state, inspire others to join in, be within their grasp… and slightly out of their reach. It is that last part – getting people to step up and join in the journey that is often complex… as without execution, it is just words. Faith is what causes you to actually move forward…
The wonder of Good Friday is back upon us. The Faithful focus on 3 major events in the year, and you can get a good argument going on which is the “most” important. It would mirror the conversation in the Upper Room last night – who is the most important Disciple? Who is the favorite, who has the most important role in the team? The bickering and fighting, jockeying for position…it is really a wonder that like many leaders, he would have thought twice about going through with the plan. After all, were they really worth the price that was to be paid?
Happy April Fools Day! If there was a holiday that I revere, it would be this one. As a natural cut-up and jokester, I often circle this day on the calendar for something fun. This year, it corresponds on the Faith calendar to a day called Maundy Thursday – one that I wasn’t really in tune with, the night of The Last Supper that you probably do know about. It is now observed as a fairly somber service where the church is stripped of all elements and hung with the darkness that would come with “Good” Friday…
March Madness is all around us again, and I am really happy to have it back. So many memories of my life are tied to these months, and the early decisions that were made then are still playing out. Yesterday we talked about the bumper sticker about Faith and I realize that some of you don’t like me bouncing around my timeline, but at least the U2 storyline will be consistent. For there is really no way to talk about them without weaving in one of the most important partners in the band… and therefore a bit about my own story that is very similar.
“Faith isn’t Faith until it is all you are holding onto”... read the bumper sticker that was on...