On Tuesday, October 23rd I will be speaking at the 521 Conference in the Boston area. I love the concept of this event. Jesus told the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. In this story, the master gives three servants 5 talents, 2 talents and 1 talent, respectively. He never tells them how to leverage what He gave them but still expected them to do something with it. We learn that what we have been given by God is less important to Him than what we do with it.
In my new book Timeless: 10 Enduring Practices Of Apex Leaders, I discuss 10 practices the best leaders, pastors, churches, businesses, coaches, and sports teams do which allowed them to reach the apex of their profession. These are leaders who were given 5, 2, or 1 talent and maximized the opportunities provided.
During my session, I will focus on two of the 10 practices – Continual Improvement and Delivering Results. The following are my teaching notes as I hope to add value to leaders and make them better:
1. Continual Improvement
- Continual Improvement is birthed out of humility and need. You know you have yet to arrive where God wants you to be. This is the Gift of the Gap.
- Hulk vs. Thanos. The Hulk eventually encountered someone bigger, faster and stronger than he was. So will you as a leader. And like the Hulk, unless you continually improve, when you meet that person you will lose.
- Mount Everest – More people die coming down Mount Everest than climbing it. Make sure as you are reaching the top of your profession you do not exhaust all your health, energy, tools, resources, and reputation. Make sure you finish well. Also, there are no condos on Mount Everest. After a leader climbs the mountain and puts their stake in the ground, they move onto the next mountain.
- Personal Growth Plan – When I coach leaders, I help them develop a growth plan in three areas – Character, Competence, and Creativity.
- Character – Start every day with God with a quiet time and Bible reading. If a leader does not focus on character, their talent will take them to a place their character cannot sustain them. This is the difference between leader development and leadership development.
- Competence – Develop a reading plan. Books are absolute the best value available for leaders. You can take someone’s lifetime of wisdom and experience and access it for pennies on the dollar via Amazon. Also, someone has already solved a problem you are currently facing. You can get the answers for minimal cost and effort by reading their book(s).
- Creativity – You cannot have creativity without creation. Your organizations most creative people are those who are the most productive. Yesterday’s solutions will not solve today’s problems. Your most productive people, regardless of age or wardrobe considerations, are the ones who have figured out how the meet the needs of others in today’s fast-changing, complex world.
2. Delivering Results
- Delivering results ultimately determines your level of influence. You casted a vision of a preferred future and asked people to join you in this journey to a brighter tomorrow. They responded by trusting you to make this future a reality. Subsequently, the vision either became reality or not. As a leader, you either delivered results or not. This will determine if people will continue to follow you.
- Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger – We know the man affectionally known as “Sully”, which Tom Hanks played in a movie, because on January 15, 2009 he landed the US Airways plane safely in the Hudson River. His efforts resulted in all 156 passengers to exit the aircraft alive. Sully was also the last man off the plane and onto the ferry. He then was the last man off the ferry onto land. Sully put the success of others ahead of himself.
- Tom Brady – I have endear myself to the local audience! On February 5, 2017, the New England Patriots trailed the Atlanta Falcons 28-3 in Super Bowl LI. Brady engineered a historic comeback winning the game 34-28 in overtime cementing his legacy as the greatest quarterback of all-time. This game taught us, both from the Atlanta and New England perspectives, there is a difference between sensing opportunity and seizing it.
- Jesus Christ – Simply the greatest leader ever! When He told a raging storm to cease, it did. When He told a leper to be healed, he was. When He told a blind man he could now see, he could. And when He told everyone He was going to be killed but in three days walk out of the tomb, He did. Jesus delivered results both then and now.
If you are in the Boston area on October 23rd, come by Grace Church in Avon, MA. I would be honored to meet you in person.
Once again, my book Timeless: 10 Enduring Practices Of Apex Leaders is available for purchase. If you have ever wanted to become the leader God created you to be, this book is for you! By combining leadership lessons from biblical heroes like Jesus, Daniel and Joseph, along with modern day leaders like Bill Gates, Nick Saban, Kobe Bryant and multiple pastors, Timeless will equip and inspire you. This book is not to be read alone. Discussion questions are included in each chapter allowing you to develop those in your circle of influence. Click HERE or on the image provided and order your copies TODAY.