Today I had the privilege of interviewing a CFO and Senior Executive Vice President of one of America’s largest wealth management companies for a 10 Indispensable Practices Of The 2-Minute Leader class I am leading. He made an interesting observation about the subject of change. As Christians, we should always embrace change because God is always making “making things new” in our lives.
What a brilliant insight. This was one of many new things I have recently learned about leadership. The following are some of the items I am now attempting to apply:
Inc Magazine, April 2016 – Columnist Dan Scalco observed 4 Ways To Learn More – And Faster:
- Different Locations – Scalco recommended switching locations often where you work and learn. Work at coffee shops, your office, home or another offsite location. For instance, my church is kind enough to allow me to use one of our many classrooms when I have a lot of writing to do.
- Memory Palace – To help remember important information, associate an idea with a location. Therefore, when you think of the location, you will also remember the idea.
- Frequent Breaks – I found this idea interesting and counter-intuitive. Scalco recommends taking a break every 30-to-60 minutes. Honestly, I can’t imagine these breaks being very long.
- Limit Tabs On Your Web Browser – More and more studies are showing multi-tasking is a myth. Scalco makes the argument multiple open tabs on your browser cause you to lose focus on the task at hand. I will experiment with this idea as I typically keep six tabs open simultaneously.
In Inc’s March 2016 edition, Jeff Haden identifies 4 Habits Of Truly Resilient People:
- Resilient People Don’t Complain – This negative energy needs to be leveraged into something positive.
- Celebrate The Success Of Others – Christian leaders often do a good job of weeping with those who weep. We could do a much better job of rejoicing with those who rejoice.
- Focus On Long-Term Goals – Remembering the big picture helps leaders get through the day-to-day grind.
- Develop An Attitude Of Thankfulness – Being grateful always keep you in a positive state of mind during difficult times.
Here is another leadership thought from the Christian leader I interviewed earlier today. When reading the book Five Frogs On A Log, he recounted a question which was asked. Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decide to leap off. How many are left on the log? The answer is five. Just because they made a decision to leap did not mean they executed. Wow! Makes me want to buy the book.
Also, the following is a quote from my pastor Crawford Loritts today, “Joy and fulfillment are products of release and surrender.” His words reminded of a word picture from Mark 4:35-41 in the Maxwell Leadership Bible.
When Christian leaders attempt to maintain control of circumstances and outcomes, Jesus rests. When we let Jesus have control of our circumstances and outcomes, we can rest.
So I am learning leadership principles from leadership classes, the Bible, and the business community. Let me also add something I am learning from the world of sports.
On Thursday, April 14th the Los Angeles Rams traded five picks to the Tennessee Titans allowing them to move up from the 15th spot in the first round of April’s NFL Draft to the top overall selection. This trade was made in order draft either Carson Wentz or Jared Goff, the top two quarterbacks available.
In the NFL you can longer win a Super Bowl without a superstar quarterback. In fact, the Rams could not even compete with divisional rivals Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks because of their respective quarterbacks, Carson Palmer and Russell Wilson.
Here is the leadership principle – When you have a chance to add a superstar talent to your team, do whatever it takes to acquire that individual. They will more than pay for themselves and will give you the opportunity to be an industry leader.
What leadership principles are you currently learning?
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