On Leading Well

Category: Leadership

  • No One Wants You To Excel

    People expect you to be above average.

    But very few people want you to excel.

    Friends may cheer you on if you’re willing to carry an extra load. Your family may support you through a season of overtime at work. Your team may applaud your extra effort on a special project.

    If you’re going to excel, to shine, to rise above, to stand out, to really be among the best in your field, don’t expect everyone to rally behind you.

    Why? Because excellence costs.

    Your pursuit of excellence will cost you time. It will cost you money. It will cost you the shame of many failures en route to success. Those close to you will share those costs. In today’s distracted culture, excellence requires a high level of focus and tough choices. These choices will naturally disappoint some of the people closest to you. Everyone who has pursued excellence – writers, musicians, pastors, artists, parents, plumbers, athletes, teachers – understands this. It seems counterintuitive, but your commitment to persevere in your calling over many years may actually be threatening to those who don’t share your level of zeal or discipline. They may ask you to dial it back or to be a little more balanced.

    If you excel, people may think you are odd. That’s ok. You are.

    God created each of us to be excellent at something. Don’t be afraid to discover what that is and go for it.

    We need you to lead us to new frontiers. Go ahead. We want you to excel.

  • What’s On Your Crazy List?

    “You’re becoming a complete grouch,” Ann told me.

    This was not the sugar-coated pickup line I expected while on a date night with Ann a few years ago. She had my attention now. As the evening unfolded I discovered a blind spot that I had not been aware of. That’s the nature of blind spots.

    In brief, I was bringing too many of my work challenges and people problems home with me. Ann, my trusted partner, lovingly listened and offered counsel. But apparently the volume of my complaints and frustrations had morphed into a unceasing river of cynicism. Our marriage was becoming the toxic waste dump of the ministry. Sludge oozed onto the dinner table in front of the kids. I was also setting a very poor model as a leader. Why wouldn’t others around me feel free to cast verbal rocks at our organization?

    Something had to change.

    The next morning I repented of my sin, opened my journal, and wrote out a long list of all the issues, challenges, missed opportunities, jobs that aren’t being done right (IMHO), and people problems that plagued me. I committed to bring them to the Lord in prayer before talking to other people about them. I titled the page “My Organizational Crazy List.”

    Years later I still practice this simple habit. There are many benefits to keeping a Crazy List.

    • It helps me honestly pour out my heart to the Lord
    • It prevents me from spewing cynicism onto others
    • It keeps the natural byproducts of leadership from becoming toxic waste in my marriage
    • It allows me to focus on what I am called to do and not try to do everyone else’s job
    • It serves as a written record of God’s grace as he deals with the crazy-makers

    Want some stats? My latest Crazy List accumulated 23 items over several months. I just checked it today. Sixteen of those issues have been resolved or disappeared. I did not exert noticeable effort making any of them go away. God did it. Seven remain.

    Thanks, Ann. You had me at “grouch.”

    What’s on your Crazy List?

  • Done Is Better Than Perfect

    Whatever you’re working on, unless you’re a brain surgeon, chances are it doesn’t need to be perfect. But it does need to get done.

    I’m working under deadline to finish the final draft of my first e-book. It has eight chapters. I’m happy with half of them. Two others need a few tweaks. Two need complete rewrites.

    Or do they?

    In my mind, they’re not yet perfect. But, for my intended audience of global leaders who are new to their role, the ideas are fresh, clear, and fairly well-formed.

    My audience will be better served by something they need now, rather than waiting until I feel like I have achieved editorial perfection.

    I need to get it done.

    What are you working on that needs to be done rather than perfect?