11 Observations Pastors, Coaches And Business Leaders Need To Be Aware Of

The following are 11 Leadership Observations You Need To Be Aware Of:

1. A major problem facing pastors of growing churches that no one is talking about is the relationship between vision and financial resources.  Their vision is outpacing their church’s financial capacity and ability to fund it.  Their vision is bigger than their provision.  Vision in growing churches doesn’t slow down.  It is white-hot.  Pastors keep pouring gas on the vision but cold water on the provision.
2. How much is getting the right leader worth?  My thoughts are you should do everything possible, or pay whatever price is needed, to get the right person in your leadership positions.  To prove my point, look at the four remaining quarterbacks in the NFL playoffs.  These four men –Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, and Matt Ryan – were the four best quarterbacks in the league this year.  What would it be worth for you favorite team to have one of these quarterbacks?  How many draft picks would you be willing to trade?  Everything truly does rise and fall on leadership.
3. More people die coming down from Mount Everest than climbing it.  There is a great lesson here for leaders.  Do not exhaust all of your time, effort and resources getting to the top than you have nothing left to sustain you for what is next.
4. You never have to recover from a good start.  January is the first month for all businesses, churches and non-profits who operate on the calendar year.  Having a great January means you do not have to spend some portion or all of the year digging out of a hole.
5. Leaders need to think differently. Former San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh once said, “If we’re all thinking alike, no one is thinking.”
6. The intelligence community uses a process for developing assets and mutually beneficial relationships – M.I.C.E.  First you try to persuade with Money. Then try to appeal to their Ideology.  If that does not work, use Coercion.  And when all else fails, appeal to their Ego.  Pride gets them every time.  Thank you to the CBS show Madam Secretary for the insights.
7. In two years, China will be the largest Christian country in the world.  In case you were wondering, God is still at work and bringing people to Himself.
8. Sometimes working harder is working smarter.  Too many people are expending too much energy and wasting too much time trying to figure out how to get out of things.  We are in danger of institutionalizing laziness in the name of creativity.
9. Never attend a meeting without taking notes.  If you are not writing anything down (or taking notes on your computer) you are not learning.  Meetings should be a time to solve problems, learn, and get better.  You should not miss the learnings from this type of environment.  If you are not solving problems, learning, or getting better, do not have the meeting.  Send an email instead.
10. Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney told his players prior to winning the national championship, “Make sure the light inside you is a lot brighter than the light on you.”  No matter what I accomplish as a leader, if my life does not reflect the character of Jesus, it has no eternal value.
11. Great leaders are obsessed with fundamentals.  Great leaders place a major emphasis on little things.  I am watching the NFL Timeline profile on Peyton Manning’s summer training program.  His focus on basics like footwork, how to take a snap, his throwing motion, handoffs, route concepts, and film study are obsessive.  But that is why he is one of the greatest players in NFL history.
12. ***Bonus*** As John Maxwell teaches, those closest to the leader determine the success of the leader.  The movie Monster Trucks is 2017’s first box office bomb.  Citing a Wall Street Journal report, USA Today reported in its January 12th edition the film was based on an idea from the 4-year-old son of then-Paramount president Adam Goldman.  Now I am sure Goldman’s son is quite bright.  However, I just wonder about investing the $125 million it cost to produce the film on an idea from any pre-schooler.  I’m just saying.

What leadership principles are you currently learning?

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