Senior Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church is one of the great leaders, pastors, and statesman of our generation. Recently, he was interviewed by CBS This Morning. You view the interview by clicking the link above.
The following are just some of the leadership quotes and lessons that can be gleaned from this short feature.
- Great Leaders’ Have Great Minds – Pastor Rick stated he was awake at 3:00 AM having thoughts. It has been my experience that a great leader’s mind never stops. This can be both a blessing and a curse. Fortunately, this is a blessing for Pastor Rick in which we have all been recipients.
- Great Leaders Embrace Social Media – In addition to casting vision, Pastor Rick utilizes Twitter as a tool for capturing his ideas. Unrelated to this interview but a fact you should know – The Obama campaign out-tweeted the Romney campaign 8-1. I’m just saying.
- Great Leaders Are Great Bridge Builders – Pastor Rick has an innate ability to accept people without approving of their behavior. He also has one of my favorite quotes – “You can’t win your enemies to Christ. You can only win your friends.” That one statement has completely changed the way I view people with a different worldview than mine.
- Great Leaders Possess Strong Set Of Core Values – Pastor Rick says, “I can only approve of what God approves of.”
- Great Leaders Have Great People Skills But Do Not Compromise Their Personal Beliefs – What has always amazed me about Pastor Rick is his ability to disagree with people, to speak out against sin and injustice, but do so in a way that does not break the relationship. “Tolerance is a two-way street.” We need more people in this world who can disagree without being disagreeable.
- Great Leaders Are Reasonable – They have a sound mind. Pastor Rick presents his point of view in the most logical manner possible. So much so that you cannot argue against it. Its truths are self-evident.
- Great Leaders Show Great Respect To Others – As Pastor Rick acknowledged, “We live in America where everybody has the right to be who they want to be.”
- Great Leaders Make And Are Defined By Great Decisions – As Pastor Rick reminds us, “A leader’s worldview is important. A worldview determines how they will make decisions.” Leaders, what makes up your worldview?
Pastor Rick is simply one of the world’s great leaders. He just also happens to be a pastor. What is one thing you learned from this interview that you can do today to become a better leader?
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