Leadership & Market Place Ministry

Friday, May 6, 2016

12 Things You Need To Know About Finding A Great Leader

A great leader is hard to find. This is why they are so valuable. It is simply supply and demand. Great leaders are in high demand but there is a lack of leadership inventory. So how do you find one?
This was the subject of a Tuesday, April 26th conversation between the brilliant former Baltimore Colts and New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi and Colin Cowherd on his FS1 telecast.
Accorsi was involved in one of the most famous NFL Draft day trades. Recognizing a leader who could transform the fortunes of the Giants, Accorsi did what was necessary to move up to the draft’s top position to select two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Eli Manning.
Whether you lead a church, business, non-profit or sports organization, the following are 12 Things You Need To Know About Finding A Great Leader. All quotes are from Accorsi.

A Great Leader Is Worth A High Price. So Pay It. – “There are no sure things but if you feel a conviction this is a quarterback who will win championships for you, then I don’t worry about the price.”
A Great Leader Is Rare. So Do Everything To Get And Keep One. – “They’re (great quarterbacks) rare and they’re hard to find and when you’re that high, like we were at #4 (in the draft), you hope you’re never up there again. And if you’re not in striking distance you’re not going to be able to move up.” He later said, “If you can win championships with this guy, you better do it because they’re hard to find.”
You Hire A Leader Slowly. So Evaluate Everything. – “Unless you study them you don’t know. You have to see them close up and evaluate everything about them.”
Great Leaders Are Not Always Available. So Do Not Try To Create One. – “If you want to trade up and get a quarterback, it doesn’t happen every year. It has to be a quarterback year. There are many years that prospect’s not there. You can’t create that prospect. You can’t draft by the curve. You have to be there at the lucky time.”
You Will Never Be Successful Without Great Leaders. So Do Not Be Confused. – “I did a study, in the 66 years since the T-formation was in global the league, after the war everyone went to the T-formation, 55 of those quarterbacks (who won a championship) are Hall of Famers or almost Hall of Famers like Phil Sims.”
A Great Leader Practically Ensures Predictable Success. So Support Them. – “If you want to be good every year and be competitive every year you better get the quarterback.”
A Great Leaders Owns The Result. So Reward Them. – “Accuracy is vital. The ability to handle the rush is vital. The ability to read the defense is vital. But the one thing a scout name Milt Davis told me, ‘Never forget this, that you evaluate ultimately a quarterback on his ability to take the team down the field on his back in the final minutes of a championship game and into the end zone.”‘
A Great Leader Is Always Prepared. So Trust Them. – “Bill Belichick’s always prepared.”
A Great Leader Cannot Be Replaced. So Do Not Be Foolish. – “You don’t replace Tom Brady.” ***Note*** Graveyards are filled with leaders who felt they were unreplacable. You can fill their role. But your future will not look the same. Maybe it will be better but most likely it will be worse.
One Great Leader Is Better Than Multiple Average Leaders. So Get The One. – “I wasn’t into giving up a draft position to accumulate more picks in the back because my feeling was this I want star players. I don’t numbers. And I didn’t want to give up a possible Pro Bowl player picking around 6, 7, or 8th in a (first) round to get out of there and pick 25th to pick up two 5ths.”
Great Organizations Have A Nucleus Of Great Leaders. So Hire A Leadership Culture. – “I never cared that much about numbers. I cared about my nucleus having top players.”
If You Have A Chance To Acquire A Great Leader There Should Not Even Be A Debate. So Go Get Them!!! – “We never had debates in the draft room unless it was later in the draft.”

Are you ready to do what is necessary to get a great leader?

Click HERE or on the image to the left and as a free gift for subscribing to this site, you can receive my new Ebook 1869 Leadership Quotes: Timeless Truths From 2015 Global Leadership Summit, That Church, REACT and Catalyst Conferences. If applied, these insights will make you an exponentially better leader. Enjoy!!!

5 Dumb Leadership Assumptions You Never Learned in Seminary

by Charles Stone

After two seminary degrees and 35 years in ministry, I’ve gleaned a few insights I wish I’d learned long ago. Although my seminary profs never directly taught me to question the dumb leadership assumptions I’ve listed below, even if they had I wonder if in my youthful enthusiasm I would have listened. Unfortunately it often takes the hard knocks in ministry to teach us what we must know.

Don't assume text concept write on notebook with pen

As you read each assumption below, ask yourself if you agree. I’ll comment on each of them after the list.

What worked before should work again.
Church people will always respect a pastor’s position.
When leaders stay silent, they are agreeing with you.
Reason always prevails.
Everybody perceives the same reality.

It’s taken a few years for me to realize it, but each of these has proved grossly false.
What worked before should work again.

It just doesn’t. Culture changes. Technology changes. Expectations from church people changes. If we as leaders and churches don’t consider how we can do ministry better, this proverbial definition of insanity proves true: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Church people will always respect a pastor’s position.

I recall one preacher who quoted Psalm 105.15 (KJV) Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm. He used it in the context of elevating the pastor’s role to an esteemed position. It may be nice if people do that, but some people won’t respect just because you are a pastor. Sometimes the contrary proves true. Your role actually may elicit disrespect from some.

When leaders stay silent, they are agreeing with you.

I’ve tripped on this one a lot. Too often when I’m jazzed about an idea and share it with key leaders or staff, I’ve gotten blank stares or simple nods when I first shared it. I’ve interpreted those nods and stares as resounding support from them. After all, if they objected, they should have said so right then. In retrospect, however, often they were simply being polite. Although I had spent sufficient time to process my idea, they hadn’t. By not asking questions or providing them more soak time before implementing the idea, I’ve often found later that they never really liked it. The result? At best reluctant acquiescence and at worst, active resistance. But, when I’ve provided sufficient soak time, the idea often evolved into an even better one that the leaders really embraced.

Reason always prevails.

Unfortunately, emotion often trumps reason, even among mature leaders. I’m learning more about how neuroscience affects church leadership, especially when hormones hijack clear thinking. Check out this post to find out if your emotional brain has hijacked your leadership.

Everybody perceives the same reality.

In court, lawyers often use conflicting testimony to their advantage. The same holds true in churches. People simply perceive reality differently. Some may see the church as going great. Others may see the opposite. It can become frustrating at times for every leader. When those conflicts arise, seek wise counsel from someone outside of the conflict who can provide objectivity.

What assumptions have you found to be false in your ministry?
Related posts:

Pastor, Are You Leading From Your LIZARD Brain?

By Charles Stone The brain fascinates me, and what happens in it profoundly impacts life and leadership. I even wrote a book about it, Brain-Savvy Leaders: the Science of Significant Ministry, and earned an executive master’s degree in the neuroscience of leadership. In this post I briefly explain how God organized our brain and how leaders and pastors sometimes lead from their lizard brains.
Imagine a tootsie roll pop with two centers. Pretend the inner center is a sweet tart surrounded by the gooey tootsie roll, that in turn is surrounded by the hard outer candy. Our brains include three parts, like our imaginary tootsie roll pop.
The inner core, called the reptilian brain regulates such functions as circulation and respiration. It’s on automatic pilot. Let’s say you’re sensitive to criticism about your preaching, and in a conversation one of your leaders makes this comment: “I sure wish you’d go deeper with your Bible teaching. I’ve talked to a lot of people who are thinking about leaving because they aren’t getting fed.” I don’t think I’ve ever met a pastor who hasn’t heard a comment like that. If you’ve allowed chronic anxiety to build up inside, you might immediately react without thinking by sarcastically blurting, “I’m doing my best and if they want to leave, I’d be happy for them and me.” Such a comment threatens you, and you adapt to this threat from the automatic process of the reptilian part of your brain.
The second part of our brains (the gooey tootsie roll part), the mammalian brain, regulates other functions such as bonding, playing, nurturing and expressions like shock, sorrow and rejoicing. It also plays a role between pleasure and pain, flight and fight, and tension and relaxation. It serves as the seat of emotion. However, instead of maintaining balance between our reptilian brain and the third layer (the seat of rational thought), sometimes this part of the brain goes haywire. A pastor who enjoys preaching and has seen fruit from it, after enough critical comments, might face a depressive funk that his ministry is fruitless and that he should quit.
Both the reptilian and the mammalian parts of our brain compose about 15 percent, operate on automatic pilot and have many connecting brain cells called neurons. However, our cerebral cortex, the outer brain, encompasses 85 percent of our brain. At this level God has given us the ability to think, process, gain insight and choose. It is the seat of intentionality whereas the other two parts are the seats of instinct.
In summary, these three brain parts compose our brain.

Lizard brain (reptilian): on automatic pilot that acts without thinking. Lizards eat their young, and some churches eat their pastors.
‘Puppy’ brain (mammilian): the seat of emotions, also somewhat on automatic pilot.
Main brain (neocortex): the place where we think, analyze, choose, create, symbolize and observe.

God gave us our entire brain, including the two lower brain levels. Those parts aren’t inferior, but limited. The neocortex can’t ignore them or else life would be rather dull. However, the neocortex allows us to “reflect on what is happening (insight) and plan for what might happen (foresight).”[1]
When anxiety overwhelms us (we lead from our lizard brains), we often react and these processes take over.

Impulse overwhelms intention.
Instinct sweeps aside imagination.
Reflexive behavior closes off reflective thought.
Defensive postures block out defined positions.
Emotional reactivity limits clearly determined direction.[2]

Here’s a personal example of when I led from my lizard brain.
Several years ago in an elder’s meeting at a former church, one of the elders made a statement that implied I lacked a certain competency in my role, indicated by something he said I did. I don’t even remember the specific issue, but I clearly remember my reaction. When he made that statement, I impulsively blurted, “I do not do that (whatever it was)!” He retorted, “You do it all the time.” I immediately jumped out of my chair, stomped over to the sink area behind me, and in anger said, “I never can please you. Everything I do is just not enough for you, is it?”
For the next 10 minutes we went back and forth with great emotion and it took the finesse of another elder to cool us down.
What happened? I had experienced chronic anxiety toward this elder for some time. And, our elder meetings had not gone that well. When I felt attacked, my lizard brain often took over. My emotional reactivity came out as impulsive defensiveness. It happened without me even thinking.
In retrospect, I should have paused and allowed the thinking side of my brain to rule instead of my emotional side. My emotions acted faster than my thinking and I didn’t handle my feelings responsibly. I lost objectivity and civility. My unhealthy drivenness to please this leader caused an unnecessary conflict. In reality, his comment probably carried at least a grain of truth in it. Had I been more thoughtful, self-aware and less anxiety filled that I had disappointed this leader, the conversation could have turned in a constructive direction. Fortunately, we both cooled down later and I apologized for my reacting.
When you are under stress, how does your lizard brain show up?

Why Generous Leaders Always Have An Advantage

Today, athletic apparel company Under Armour signed Bryce Harper to what is believed to be a 10-year contract extension making it the richest endorsement deal in baseball history. What I find fascinating is the company’s aggressiveness in acquiring the best player(s) in each sport. Check out their client list. Each are great leaders and provided are articles demonstrating their leadership skills:

Golf’s Jordan Spieth – 7 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Jordan Spieth
Basketball’s Steph Curry – 16 Quotes On Faith And Leadership By Steph Curry
Football’s Tom Brady and Cam Newton – 60 Leadership Quotes From Tom Brady And Peyton Manning and 10 Leadership Quotes And Practices Of Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton
And also baseball’s best pitcher Clayton Kershaw – 25 Lessons On The Best Team Money Can Buy

Under Armour pays premium prices for these talented individuals. As a company, they are extraordinarily generous.
But is it worth it? What is the ROI for this aggressive company when they invest in top talent? The answer – They project $5 billion in revenue this year. Bottom line – Great leaders produce incredible results and more than pay for themselves.
Tight-fisted organizations will NEVER achieve the results they could have if they would just generously invested in top talent. Generous organizations will always have an advantage. This is because when having many options, top talent will always choose generous organizations.
So what makes Harper so desirable? For answers, I went to a October 5th, 2015 Sports Illustrated article written by the great Tom Verducci. The following are 3 Leadership Lessons We Learn From Bryce Harper I gleaned from Verducci’s profile of this iconic athlete:

Harper Follows A Routine With Great Discipline – Great leaders have a system they follow religiously. He said, “I…stick with my routine. That way I can just worry about getting through the baseball and not worry about where it’s going.”
Harper Keeps Things Very Simple – Since entering the MoneyBall era, teams THOROUGHLY pour over video and statistical data. While aware of analytics, Harper asks Washington’s hitting coach Rick Schu just one question, “Does he (the opposing pitcher) have good control or bad control?”
Harper Was Productive Early In His Career – The best leaders produce the greatest results. This is why they are worth the price. General manager Mike Rizzo noted, “He was a historic player at (age) 19. He was a historic player at 20, 21 – and he was never healthy in any of those seasons. He his 22 home runs when he was 19 – and if that’s not a terrific start to a career. I don’t know what is.”

I asked the question in the recent article 12 Things You Need To Know About Finding A Great Leader, are you willing to do what is necessary to acquire great leadership? If so, your organization could achieve the results you always dreamed of.

32 Leadership Lessons From The Best Small Church Pastor Video I’ve Ever Seen

If you are a small or rural church pastor, this post is written to encourage you.
Andy Stanley is an outlier. Perry Noble is an outlier. Bill Hybels is an outlier. Rick Warren is an outlier. Most of the world’s pastors are like Southern Seminary alumnus and First Baptist Church of Hamlin (TX) pastor John Powell.
If you have not heard of Hamlin, TX you are not alone. It is a small, rural town which is shrinking. There are few jobs. People are moving away. But the Gospel still needs to be preached there. And Pastor Powell has been called to Hamlin to minister to and reach its people.
His amazing story is shown in the video above. It is the finest video I have ever seen on small and rural church leadership. Take 9 minutes and show this video to your entire staff. It will challenge your ministry paradigms and definitions of success.
As I watched this incredible story, I gleaned 32 Leadership Lessons From The Best Small Church Pastor Video I’ve Ever Seen. All the quotes below are from Pastor Powell.

Small Church Pastors Work Long, Hard, Thankless Hours – “Hard work. Long hours. Thankless work sometimes. Most people don’t know what goes into the life of a pastor.”
Small Church Pastors Are Very Intelligent – “I have theological knowledge. I wield the Sword of God very well.”
Small Church Pastors Are Shepherds – “There’s a reason God didn’t call us ‘cowboys’ and called us ‘shepherds’.”
Small Church Pastors Are Leaders – “Shepherds don’t push from behind. They lead from the front.”
Small Church Pastors Must Have Tender Hearts – “There’s a tenderness to a shepherd that isn’t there in a cowboy.”
Small Church Pastors Must Train Their Congregations – “He trains them to hear and trust his voice.”
Small Church Pastors Are Seen Everyday – “And they see him everyday and become acquainted with him so that he can lead them into the fold.”
Small Church Pastors Must Be Gentle – “I need to foster tenderness and gentleness because cowboys in the ministry don’t shepherd people.”
Small Church Pastors See The Warts Of Their People More Than Many Large Church Pastors – “I see some of the warts of Hamlin but I love it more.”
Small Church Pastors Simply Know All Their People In A Deeper Way – “I know it in a deeper way. I know the people in a better way.”
Small Church Pastors Become Part Of Their City – “It’s becoming part of me.”
Small Church Pastors Have A Ministry Of Presence – “Little church ministry is a ministry of presence. There’s no way to sequester myself away in my office for 40 hours a week and be an effective church minister in a rural town.”
Small Church Pastors Must Be Wherever The People Are – “Being an effective rural church minister means being present wherever the people are. And oftentimes that’s on the steps of a tractor or in a hardware store or in a cattle pen.”
Many Small Church Pastors Go To Small Cities Intentionally – “Coming to a small town for me was intentional.”
Small Church Pastors Have Great Opportunity – “There’s a great opportunity for the Gospel to be proclaimed through just the simple everyday life of a man’s life in a small town.”
Small Church Pastors Are Known By Everybody – “I can’t go to the grocery store without someone knowing that that’s the preacher of the First Baptist Church.”
Small Church Pastors Must Always Be On Their Game – “A small town pastor lives his life in public so I’ve always got to be on my game.”
Small Church Pastors Are Often In Shrinking Towns – “The town I’m in is shrinking. No one is moving to Hamlin to find a job.”
Small Church Pastors Understand Reality – “80-85% of the United States lives in an urban area. I understand we want more resources where there is more prospect for investment and return.”
Small Church Pastors Are Raising Up Missionaries To Go To Larger Churches – “Those cities are gaining people everyday. Where are they coming from? They’re coming from places like Hamlin.”
Small Church Pastors Affect Change – “If we can affect a Gospel change here, they will carry that wherever they go.”
Small Church Pastors Are Desperately Needed In Forgotten Places – “There’s a need for the Gospel to go everywhere and let’s make sure we’re not forgetting anywhere.”
Small Church Pastors Face Similar Struggles As Large Church Pastors – “I thought I was doing everything right and I wasn’t seeing fruit.”
Small Church Pastors Often Want To Quit – “Maybe I should not be a pastor. Maybe I should just be a really good Christian layman.”
Small Church Pastors Need Encouragment – “These friends of mine that I made from Southern Seminary, they gathered around me and for several hours last year asked me tough questions and they prayed with me and they encouraged me.”
Small Church Pastors Have A Different Definition Of Success – “Success was not more people. It may be less people. Success is faithfulness ever when it’s hard, even when you want to give up.”
Small Church Pastors Desperately Need Godly Wives – “I would have burned out in ministry in two years if I would not have had these friends of mine I made from Southern Seminary that recognized my need in a Godly way and a Godly wife my need and came and pointed me to Christ in a desperate hour.”
“Ministry has a way of humbling you.”
Small Church Pastors Make Up The Large Majority Of American Churches – “America is dotted with small towns with little-bitty churches like mine.”
Small Church Pastors Will Be Honored For Their Faithfulness – “There’s a Kingdom coming where He will reveal a sort of faithfulness that drives you day-in and day-out, the stuff that no one sees. God sees and He will make known.”
Small Church Pastors Must Serve To Honor Jesus – “You’re not doing this for the acclaim of people. You’re doing this for the honor of the One who saved you and called you for His purposes.”
Small Church Pastors Should Take Heart And Run Hard – “So continue on. Take heart and run hard. Cause He’s worth it.”

I hope this encourages you. Once again, this is the best leadership video I have ever seen about small church pastoral leadership. BTW – these leadership lessons apply to medium and large church pastors as well.

6 Keys to Mastering Change in the Church

by Charles Stone

Leading change is difficult in churches. I’m always looking for fresh insight on how to effect change. I’ve found great insight from this author. Kevin Cashman wrote the book Leadership from the Inside Out: Becoming a Leader for Life which I highly recommend. In one chapter he writes about mastering change in an organization. His insight applies to churches as well. I’ve adapted his suggestions below. As you read each contrast, ask yourself which one you tend to default to.

Hand writing Make a Change with red marker on transparent wipe board.

The 6 Keys to Mastering Change:

Focus on Opportunities vs. Problems
Focus on Long Term vs. Short Term (don’t lost sight of your long-term vision in the midst of change)
Focus on Purpose vs. Circumstance (keep focused on your church’s purpose and values, and your own as well, to avoid getting mired in difficult circumstances)
Focus on Adaptability vs. Control (control will only yield a certain degree of results; good leaders must remain agile, flexible, and innovative to sustain results over the long haul)
Focus on Service vs. Self (serve your leaders during the stress of change)
Focus on Listening vs. Expertise (effective leaders stay open and practice authentic listening to stay connected to others and to remain open to other innovative solutions)

What has helped you navigate change well?
Other related posts:

36 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Captain America: Civil War

Tonight, I had the privilege of seeing Captain America: Civil War. Not only is it the best comic book movie I’ve ever seen beating The Avengers, Captain America: Winter Soldier, and The Dark Knight, it has passed Terminator 2 as the best action movie I have ever seen.
This is what blockbuster summer movies should be – huge action, larger than life characters and moments, some humor, and just plain fun. If you can get a ticket, make sure you block out a few hours this weekend to see this amazing movie.
I enjoyed this movie so much, it is now included in my The Top 20 Leadership Movies Of The Last 20 Years. The following are 36 Leadership Quotes and Principles from the incredible Captain America: Civil War:

Smart Leaders Are Good Stewards And Eliminate Waste – Before I begin reviewing everything right with the movie, allow me to address something which completely disappointed me. There were two GDs. Why? Completely unnecessary.
Loyalty Does Not Make You A Leader But Disloyalty Disqualifies You As One – This movie is largely about Steve Rogers’s loyalty to his childhood friend Bucky Barnes.
Great Leaders Create Platforms For Others – What Marvel does so well is no matter how many characters are in a film, they give every character their moment to shine.
Team Cap vs. Team Iron Man – Marvel has done an incredible job making you feel you invested in these characters. For the record, those in the theater I attended were almost 100% Team Cap.
New Creates Momentum – The movie introduced two new characters, Spider Man and Black Panther, with excellence.
Give Your Core Insider Information – Insider information honors your leaders and true fans of your product. Conversely, if you have not seen the previous Marvel films, you will be lost.
Intuitive Leaders Balance Conflict, Drama And Action With Humor – Humor lightens the load and makes a leader attractive and approachable. This is one of the main differences between Marvel and the less popular DC films.
You Never Have To Recover From A Good Start – The movie starts with a great action scene involving Crossbones. This sets the stage for the remainder of the film.
Successful Leaders Focus On Preparation – During the opening action scene Rogers coaches Wanda Romanoff by stating, “(Do this) Just like we practiced.”
Conflict Always Accompanies Good Leadership – Barnes said, “It always ends in a fight.”
Leadership Requires Perseverance – Rogers said, “If someone dies on your watch you don’t give up.”
Good Leaders Bring Consistency To Their Organization – Rogers points out, “Agendas change.”
The Power Of Sarcasm – Howard Stark tells his wife about the young Tony, “Sarcasm is a metric for potential.” It could also be a tremendous limiting factor as well.
Smart Leaders Can Face Great Challenges With Limited Resources – Tony tells a group of MIT students, “The challenges facing you are the greatest ever faced. And you’re still broke.”
Generosity Covereth A Multitude Of Sins – A mother of a young man killed in Slokovia tells Stark, “There is a correlation between generosity and guilt. But when you’ve got the money break as many eggs as you’d like.”
Leaders Want Options – Stark says, “I saw how dangerous my weapons were in the wrong hands, so I took control.” To which Rogers replies, “You chose to do that. If we sign these accords, it takes away our right to choose.”
Some Prices Are Not Worth Paying – The King of Wakanda said, “Victory at the expense of the innocent is no victory at all.”
The People Who Follow A Blessed Leader Are Blessed. Those Who Follow Evil Leaders Fall Under Judgement. – Sam Wilson told Rogers, “I just want to be sure you’ve considered all our options. Because people who shoot at you, usually wind up shooting at me too.”
Leaders Have A Bias Towards Action – Rogers said, “I’m sorry, Tony. If I see a situation pointed south, I can’t ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could.”
Leaders Embrace Being Under Authority As Much As Exercising Authority – Vision with great wisdom said, “Our very strength incites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict breeds catastrophe. Supervision is not something to be dismissed out-of-hand.”
Experienced Leaders Do For One What They Wish They Could For Many – Rogers said, “You try to save as many people as you can. Sometimes you can’t save everybody.”
Successful Leaders Build Bridges – General Ross said, “Compromise. Reassurance. That’s how the world works.”
Successful Leaders Also Stand Alone – It was written that Peggy Carter said, “Compromise where you can. If you can’t, don’t.”
Successful Leaders Have Experience And Patience – Zemo said, “I have experience and patience. A man can do anything if he has those.”
The Power Of Partnership – T’Challa said, “Two people alone can get more done than 100.”
Smart Leaders Know Focus On What They Can Control And Not What They Can’t – Vision says to Maximoff, “If you do this, they will never stop being afraid of you.” To which she replies, “I can’t control their fear, only my own.”
Leaders Do Not Have Time For Immaturity – Clint Barton told Maximoff, “If you want to mope you can go back to high school.”
The Best Way To Engage A Leader Is Simply To Ask Them – Scott Lang says, “I want to say I know you know a lot of super people, so thinks for thanking of me…Thinks for thanking of me!”
Friendship Has Its Limits – Romanoff asks Barton, “Are we still friends?” To which he responds, “That depends on how hard you hit me.”
A Leader Must Be Guided By His/Her Conscience – Lang to Stark after damaging the Iron Man suit, “Oh, you’re going to have to take this to the shop!” Stark asks, “Who’s speaking?” To which Lang replies, “It’s your conscience. We don’t talk a lot these days.”
Facts Are A Leader’s Friend – Peter Parker says, “When you’re wrong and you think you’re right, you’re dangerous.”
Self-Leadership Is The Most Important Leadership Of All. A Leader Who Cannot Lead Himself/Herself Cannot Lead Others. – Zemo says, “An empire that crumbles can rise again. But one that crumbles from within cannot rise again.”
Lasting Leaders Do Not Quit. They Always Find A Way. – During the final fight scene with Iron Man, Rogers said, “I can do this all day.”
Trust Is Earned Over A Lifetime But Can Be Lost At A Moment In Time – Lang says, “Hank Pym did say to never trust a Stark.”
Leaders Pay A Price Others Are Not Willing To Pay – Rhodes acknowledges, “138 combat missions. Every one could have been my last. But I flew them because a fight had to be won.”
Always Leave The Audience Wanting More – In true Marvel fashion, they setup a minimum of four more movies with this one.

Once again, the best superhero movie I have ever seen!