On Leading Well

Author: Ken

  • 2009 = Service and Innovation

    Here’s a prophetic word for 2009. Who will be the standout leaders in the coming year? Innovators who genuinely serve those entrusted to their care.

    Innovators who serve their clientele, their customers, their team, or their organizations will stand in stark contrast to the cancerous rash of self-serving kleptocracies we experienced in 2008. From Mugabe in Zimbabwe to the wizards of Wall Street, headlines have highlighted those who seek status and personal gain at the expense of those whom they lead.

    Air Canada Stands Out
    Last week I flew Air Canada from Orlando to Toronto to speak at a student conference. It’s a short flight, 2 hours and change. The equipment was a relatively small jet, definitely not one of the long-haul types I often fly. Here’s what stood out to me: each seat had its own USB charger and 120-volt AC outlet, along with a complimentary inflight entertainment suite.

    In a world where US-based airlines constantly teeter on the brink of bankruptcy, offer AC outlets only for their business passengers (United) and charge $2 – $6 for movies and TV shows (Delta), Air Canada is serving and innovating. Way to go, eh!

  • Too Busy to Lead?

    A seminary professor of mine regularly warned us about the “barrenness of busyness.” Now that 2008 is nearly wrapped up, I’m wondering how much of the bad news was related to the busyness of leaders.

    Good leaders always seem to have one eye on the vision and another eye below the waterline. They pay attention to small dings, nicks and holes that could grow large enough to one day sink the ship. This doesn’t mean they are micromanaging – they’re not. They are aware.

    Think about the headlines you read in 2008. Think about all the different issues leaders are supposed to be aware of, concerned about, dealing with, informed of, executing plans toward, hiring or firing the right people to rectify, etc. Darfur, alternative energy, US politics, mortgage-backed securities, “happy holidays” vs “Merry Christmas,” Orlando school busing schedules, church polity, Tony Romo’s playoff record, neighborhood homeowners paint color palette, Caylee Anthony, Obama cabinet members backgrounds….

    Can anyone really be expected, as a leader, to have fully informed convictions on each of these AND take good care of the handful of core issues that are most relevant to their job, family and personal life? I don’t think so.

    The result? Shallowness, barrenness, posturing, blameshifting, and loss of opportunity for real progress in a few, very important areas.

    May 2009 bring us more focus, less barrenness, and increasing fruitfulness.

  • 7-Year Old Ben Gets It

    Two weeks ago I had the privilege of speaking to over 4,000 Texas A&M Aggies at the Go! Missions Conference in College Station. I’m still amazed that roughly 10% of the student population would brave rainy weather to worship with Charlie Hall and be invited to join God’s great plan for every tribe, tongue, people and nation. 60 missions organizations showed up to recruit volunteers for service, lending credibility to the claim that this public university set in the Brazos valley is among the world’s greatest missions sending bases.

    While in town I got to spend an entire day with two old friends. Brian Fisher pastors one of the partner churches who sponsored the missions conference. Guff and his family currently serve as missionaries in Greece, following a decade of doing life together with our family in East Asia.

    As we shared enchiladas and stories around the Fisher’s dinner table, Brian asked his son Ben to explain leadership to us. Ben’s a strapping young buck who just turned seven. Without the slightest hesitation, Ben replied:

    “Leadership is like a conductor who waves his arms and keeps time for the symphony orchestra. This is different than bossing. Bossing is when he tells every musician ‘do this, play that, do it this way.’”

    Note to Ben: Call me in ten or twelve years. I’ll have a job waiting for you.