Leader Fluent with Stephen Blandino

In today’s episode of the Leader Fluent Podcast, I’m talking about “Leading When You Feel Like a Failure.”The last two years have been the most difficult years to lead through for millions of leaders, and if we’re honest, we’ve all had moments in this season where we’ve felt like a failure. The question is, how do we lead in those moments. That’s what we’re dealing with in today’s episode. 

Plus, if you haven’t picked up my new book, Stop Chasing Easy, I’d like to encourage you to get your copy today. It’s available in print and ebook formats, and when you purchase a copy, you’ll also gain access to several FREE BONUS RESOURCES including the “Stop Chasing Easy Masterclass for Leaders.” 

If you’re not already a subscriber, I’d love for you to subscribe to Leader Fluent today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora, or your favorite podcasting platform. And as always, your RATINGS and REVIEWS are deeply appreciated. 

Every leader has moments and seasons when they feel like a failure. It might be after an event that didn’t go as planned. It might be after a speech that fell flat. It might be during an extended season of decline, or maybe after a major rift in your organization. 

Regardless of the area, I’m guessing at some point in recent weeks, months, or years, you’ve experienced “down and to the left” instead of “up and to the right.” So, what do you do in these moments? When you feel like a failure—even if only for a moment—how do you lead? Consider these five keys. 

It’s very easy—especially in leadership—to attach our identity to our performance and to our growth. The problem is, if we’re not careful, we’ll assume that God uses that same standard—that same measure—to evaluate us. 

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been studying God’s love in Scripture, which has been a pretty amazing journey. The most common description of God’s love in the Bible is the phrase, “unfailing love.” For example, Psalm 36:7 says, “How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.” And Psalm 52:8 says, “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.” 

Here’s the good news: God’s love does not fail, even when we do. His love doesn’t fall short, break, or run dry. It is an everlasting love that stretches from generation to generation. And, as difficult as it is to believe, our performance has nothing to do with how much God loves us. 

In fact, consider Jesus, for example. Luke 3:21-22 says, “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Notice, the Father declared His love for the Son before Jesus every performed a single miracle. In other words, the Father’s love wasn’t based on Jesus’ performance. His love wasn’t dependent on whether or not Jesus had a big crowd or a fruitful day of ministry. The Father loved Jesus, and was pleased with Jesus, before his ministry ever began. The same is true for you and for me. Our identity must be firmly rooted in the unwavering love of God. So, remember, even when you feel like a failure, your failure doesn’t define you. Jesus’ love does. 

Dr. Bobby Clinton has observed that the difference between followers and leaders is perspective. And the difference between leaders and better leaders is greater perspective. In other words, how we see life will determine how we respond to life. And how we see our leadership challenges will determine how we respond to those leadership challenges. 

Elisabeth Elliot once said, “If you believe in a God who controls the big things, you have to believe in a God who controls the little things. It is we, of course, to whom things look ‘little’ or ‘big’.” So, when we face “big” or “small”, or “easy” or “hard,” we have to reframe those things with a perspective that nothing is too difficult for God. Only then will we respond properly to our hardships and our failures. 

When drastic changes occur in our environment, it often requires us to redefine success. I think we’ve all had to come to grips with this during COVID. COVID thrust us into an unpredictable environment that turned many of our measures upside down.

So, how do we redefine measures of success? One way is to start tracking “lead measures” not just “lag measures.” 

The Franklin Covey organization observes that when it comes to lag measures, “They are called lags because by the time you see them, the performance that drove them has already passed. You can’t do anything to fix them; they are history.” But Lead measures, on the other hand, “track the critical activities that drive or lead to the lag measure.” 

So, for example, if you have a goal to lose 20 pounds, when you stand on the scale, you’ll see your lag measure. No matter what that measure says when you stand on the scale, there’s nothing in that moment you can do to change that measure. It’s history. 

But what you can do is control the lead measures. For example, you can start counting calories. You can start working out several days a week. Those are activities you can control which will eventually LEAD to a different LAG measure. 

Sometimes we can feel like a failure because something we tried actually failed. Those moments—as hard as they can be—are actually opportunities to reflect on what has happened and then make a conscious decision to learn from it. In fact, one of the biggest keys for a leader’s long-term growth is to embrace a willingness to learn, unlearn, and relearn. 

Learning gets you started in life. It helps you become successful. But somewhere along the way, the things you’ve learned can actually get in the way. In other words, they can become your ceiling. In those moments, you might have to unlearn a strategy or method that once worked but has now become a barrier to growth and progress. 

When you feel like a failure, take an hour or two to pull back, reflect on your situation, and determine if there’s something you need to unlearn and then relearn. That’s when you’ll discover the gold hidden in your failure. 

One of the concerns I have is that after more than two years of being in a pandemic, so many leaders have stopped dreaming. Their imagination has been so clouded by what has been, that they’ve haven’t reimagined what could be. 

What was doesn’t have to define what will be. In other words, yesterday’s failure doesn’t have to dictate the future. So, if that’s where you find yourself today, let me give you an exercise that might help you. 

Imagine that you never worked where you work right now—whether it’s a church, business, or organization. Then, imagine that same church, business, or organization interviews you for a job, and then offers you the job. Now, imagine your excitement. You go home and tell your spouse, or your friends, or your neighbor and you can’t wait until you start. 

Between the day you were offered the job and your first day on the job, what are you doing? You’re dreaming about everything you’re going to do at that job. You’re dreaming about the difference you’re going to make in that organization. Why? Because you have no past in that job to hold you back. You have a clean slate. You have a fresh start. In other words, you have a dreamer’s mindset. 

Here’s my point: You might need to mentally resign from your job, then rehire yourself, and then walk into the office Monday morning with a dreamer’s mindset. That might sound strange, but think about it like this. 

During the great resignation, millions of people have left their jobs for a wide variety of reasons. But some people who had been in the organization for several years left because what they lost made it too painful to stay. In other words, almost overnight, they watched years and years of progress evaporate, and the thought of spending years to rebuild just to get back to where they were was simply too painful. Instead, they went somewhere else where they had no history to remind them of what they lost. As a result, they were able to start with a clean slate and dream again.

So, here’s my challenge to you: If you feel like you’re failing, don’t quit. Instead, rehire yourself, and start Monday morning with a dreamer’s mindset. In fact, you might need to start your first day on the job with a personal retreat where you reimagine what could be. It’s time to dream again. It’s time to reimagine the future. 

You’re not a failure, even when your feelings tell you otherwise. Instead, you are loved, and God will give you the strength and grace to lead through difficult seasons.

Check out my new book, Stop Chasing Easy, and access the FREE bonus content. You can learn more about the book, purchase a copy, and then claim the bonus content HERE. 

If you haven’t subscribed to the Leader Fluent Podcast, you can do so today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora or your favorite podcast platform. Plus, a RATING or REVIEW will help us spread the word to other leaders. Thanks for your help. 

In today’s episode of the Leader Fluent Podcast, I’m talking about “Five Parts of an Effective Team Meeting.” No matter where you are in the organization, you likely lead meetings with staff members or volunteers. In this episode, you’ll learn how to lead effective meetings by incorporating five practical parts. 

Plus, if you haven’t picked up my new book, Stop Chasing Easy, I’d like to encourage you to get your copy today. When you do, you’ll also gain access to several FREE BONUS RESOURCES including the “Stop Chasing Easy Masterclass for Leaders.” 

If you’re not already a subscriber, I’d love for you to subscribe to Leader Fluent today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora, or your favorite podcasting platform. And as always, your RATINGS and REVIEWS are deeply appreciated. 

The longer you lead, the more you’ll find yourself in meetings. They might be staff meetings, departmental meetings, board meetings, one-on-one meetings, or meetings with your volunteers, but there is never a shortage of meetings for leaders to attend. 

At the same time, we’ve all found ourselves in meetings that were poorly led and a total waste of our time. And if we’re honest, we’ve probably led a few of those meetings as well. I know I certainly have. So, what does an effective team meeting look like? I believe it includes five parts. 

The first part of the meeting is focused on celebrating wins. Celebrating wins will remind your team of the value and meaning of their work. Think about wins in four categories: 

These four areas—stories, stats, steps, and success—provide a framework to help your team think more wholistically about wins in your organization. In general, this part of the meeting usually lasts 5-10 minutes…maybe longer if you’re coming off a really big church-wide or organization-wide win. 

There are usually a few housekeeping items that need to be communicated during a team meeting. For example, you might do a quick review of the calendar, or you might provide a few quick details on an upcoming event that are relevant to the entire team. 

The communication part of the meeting is usually no more than 10 minutes, but it can eliminate confusion and keep everyone on the same page. The key to remember about communication is that it’s not a discussion. Instead, it’s providing simple bullet-point updates. 

Collaboration is the part of the meeting where you dig into items that require concentrated discussion. For example, you might collaborate on an upcoming event, discuss a staff-wide goal, or brainstorm a new initiative. In general, the collaboration part of the meeting is roughly 20-40 minutes long. If it’s going to take longer than that, I’ll usually schedule a separate meeting for it. 

We have a high value for personal growth, and so we’ll often include coaching in our team meetings. By coaching, I’m referring to any kind of training or reading that’s focused on staff development. For example, we might read a book together as a staff, and then discuss a couple of chapters each week during our meeting. Or we might watch a leadership video from a great speaker and then discuss it as a team. Or I might do a leadership teaching with our staff on a topic that would be helpful. The coaching part of the meeting is usually 20-40 minutes, depending on what approach we’re taking to staff development. 

This part of the meeting can play out in two ways—spiritual connection and relational connection. Spiritual connection is where we take time to pray as a team. Relational connection is where you take a few minutes to add a fun or relationally focused discussion to the meeting. You might even do a team lunch following the meeting to facilitate greater connection. 

Celebration, communication, collaboration, coaching, and connection are key parts to an effective team. If you are meeting weekly, you may choose not to include all five elements, but in general, these keys keep the meeting productive and fruitful. 

Check out my new book, Stop Chasing Easy, and access the FREE bonus content. You can learn more about the book, purchase a copy, and then claim the bonus content HERE. 

If you haven’t subscribed to the Leader Fluent Podcast, you can do so today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora or your favorite podcast platform. Plus, a RATING or REVIEW will help us spread the word to other leaders. Thanks for your help. 

I’m so excited to announce that my new book, Stop Chasing Easy officially releases today. To celebrate the launch, I’m flipping the mic on the Leader Fluent Podcast as my good friend and business leader, Derek Moffatt, interviews me about the book. We talk about several great insights including:

If you’re not already a subscriber to Leader Fluent, I’d love for you to subscribe to the podcast today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora, or your favorite podcasting platform. And as always, your RATINGS and REVIEWS are deeply appreciated. 

 When you buy Stop Chasing Easy, you’ll have immediate access to some great BONUS CONTENT including:

When you buy Stop Chasing Easy, you’ll receive 3 great bonus resources including:

All of this is FREE when you purchase a copy of Stop Chasing Easy (a $117.92 value). But there’s also additional bonus content when you buy the book in Bulk or Case quantities. If you order 10+ COPIES of Stop Chasing Easy, you’ll also receive:

That’s 10 books plus all the resources above for only $144.00 + S/H (that’s a $329.40 value). Check it out HERE. 

Finally, if you buy a CASE OF 36+ BOOKS, you’ll receive all of the bonus content above as well as a ONE-ON-ONE PERSONAL LEADERSHIP COACHING CALL WITH ME. We can talk about organizational health, team development, life purpose, or whatever leadership challenges you’re facing right now. That’s only $360 + S/H (total value of $996.10) for:

You can order Stop Chasing Easy and check out all of the bonus resources HERE. I know you’ll be challenged, encouraged, and equipped. I hope you’ll check it out today. 

In today’s episode of the Leader Fluent Podcast, I’m sharing a lesson that comes straight from my new book, Stop Chasing Easy. In today’s episode I’ll talk about “Developing an Opportunity Mindset. Plus, in this episode I’ll share how you can get a copy of Stop Chasing Easy, along with several FREE BONUS RESOURCES including the “Stop Chasing Easy Masterclass for Leaders.” 

If you’re not already a subscriber, I’d love for you to subscribe to Leader Fluent today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora, or your favorite podcasting platform. And as always, your RATINGS and REVIEWS are deeply appreciated. 

Samuel Truett Cathy is remembered as the successful entrepreneur and founder of Chick-fil-A. Cathy died in 2014, but his quick-service restaurants continue to thrive today. In fact, each Chick-fil-A makes more money per store than McDonalds, Starbucks, and Subway combined. While the success of Chick-fil-A is obvious, what you may not know about is the struggle that Truett Cathy experienced along the way. 

While we admire his success, the hardships made Truett Cathy. He later said:

“The history of Chick-fil-A, in fact, is a series of unexpected opportunities. When we responded to them, we often found ourselves richly blessed. The Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich itself was born in the wake of an unexpected opportunity. When one of my first two restaurants burned to the ground, I found myself with time on my hands and the availability to develop a new recipe.”

Cathy could have wallowed in defeat—most people would if they watched so many hours of hard work burn up in flames. Instead, Truett discovered a billion-dollar idea in the ashes. What enabled Truett Cathy to successfully navigate his setbacks? The right perspective. He exchanged pessimism for possibility. He looked for the right opportunities in the uncomfortable and the unexpected. Truett once said, “We change the world, and ourselves, by our response to unexpected opportunities.” 

So, how do you develop an opportunity mindset in the face of problems and hardship? It begins by taking four steps.

Problems can be difficult, discouraging, and even downright painful. That’s why we like to ignore them. In fact, our tendency is to only address problems in two situations—when they’re easy to solve or when they’ve become a crisis too big to ignore. It’s in the messy middle that we pretend problems don’t exist. But here’s the problem in ignoring your problems. When you ignore your problems, you simultaneously ignore the opportunities buried within them. 

To discover possibilities in your problems, you have to diagnose the problem. Embracing the problem forces you to deal with the problem, but examining the problem gets to the root cause. Sakichi Toyoda, founder of Toyota, developed a diagnostic approach which became popular in the 1970s, and is still used by Toyota today. The strategy is simply this—define a problem and then ask “Why?” five times until you get to the root cause of the issue.

Once you’ve uncovered the root cause of your problem, start exploring the possible solution (or opportunity) hidden within your problem. That’s exactly what Truett Cathy did. After his restaurant burned to the ground (which I think we would all agree was certainly a problem), Truett didn’t just focus on reopening the store. That would have been the most obvious solution. Instead, Truett rummaged through the ashes of his problem and found a BETTER solution. In fact, not just a better solution, but a GREATER POSSIBILITY. 

The GREATEST opportunities are often hijacked by the most OBVIOUS opportunities. For Truett, the obvious opportunity was to rebuild the restaurant and go back to business as usual. But the obvious opportunity wasn’t the greatest opportunity. The greatest opportunity was to create a new recipe that paved the way for Chick-fil-A to be born. To discover the greatest opportunities, take three steps: 

It’s not enough to discover the possibility; you must act on it. That’s when opportunity comes to life. In his book, Great by Choice, Jim Collins describes the best way to pursue opportunities when he talks about firing bullets vs. cannonballs. Jim Collins writes:

Picture yourself at sea, a hostile ship bearing down on you. You have a limited amount of gunpowder. You take all your gunpowder and use it to fire a big cannonball. The cannonball flies out over the ocean…and misses the target, off by 40 degrees. You turn to your stockpile and discover that you’re out of gunpowder. You die. 

But suppose instead that when you see the ship bearing down, you take a little bit of gunpowder and fire a bullet. It misses by 40 degrees. You make another bullet and fire. It misses by 30 degrees. You make a third bullet and fire, missing by only 10 degrees. The next bullet hits—ping!—the hull of the oncoming ship. Now, you take all the remaining gunpowder and fire a big cannonball along the same line of sight, which sinks the enemy ship. You live. 

So, how does Jim Collins’ “bullets vs. cannonball” analogy apply to opportunities for your organization? Collins describes it like this:

First, you fire bullets (low-cost, low-risk, low-distraction experiments) to figure out what will work—calibrating your line of sight by taking small shots. Then, once you have empirical validation, you fire a cannonball (concentrating resources into a big bet) on the calibrated line of sight. Calibrated cannonballs correlate with outsized results; uncalibrated cannonballs correlate with disaster. The ability to turn small proven ideas (bullets) into huge hits (cannonballs) counts more than the sheer amount of pure innovation. 

This is how you engage possibility and act on opportunity. You fire bullets then cannonballs. Again, you take low-cost, low-risk, low-distraction experiments to figure out what will work. And then, once you’ve calibrated your line of sight, you fire the cannonball so you can see the greatest results. 

Check out my new book, Stop Chasing Easy, and access the FREE bonus content. You can learn more about the book, purchase a copy, and then claim the bonus content HERE. 

If you haven’t subscribed to the Leader Fluent Podcast, you can do so today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora or your favorite podcast platform. Plus, a RATING or REVIEW will help us spread the word to other leaders. Thanks for your help. 

In today’s episode of the Leader Fluent Podcast, I’m talking about, “Questions to Start the New Year.” As we launch into a new year, I’ve found some great questions to help me reflect on where I’ve been and prepare for where I want to go. Today, I’ll share these questions with you, and I have a very special announcement to share with you at the end of the episode. If you’re not already a subscriber, I’d love for you to subscribe to Leader Fluent today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora, or your favorite podcasting platform. And as always, your RATINGS and REVIEWS are deeply appreciated. 

It’s the start of a new year and that means many of us are setting goals and planning our path for what we’d like to do accomplish in the days ahead. To help you maximize where you want to go, I’d like share two types of questions that I ask myself each year at this time: REFLECTION QUESTIONS and REFOCUSING QUESTIONS. The reflection questions deal with the past 12 months, and the refocusing questions deal with the next 12 months. Under each category I have five questions. 

When you start the reflection process by asking, “What am I thankful for,” you’re able to reframe the year from a positive perspective. 

This question is important because it forces me to reflect on the lessons I’ve learned over the last 12 months (in any area of life). This can happen by reflecting on my personal growth plan, life lessons in general, and the books that I’ve read. 

This question is really important because our legacy in life is often tied to the people we invested in the most. These people may be family, friends, colleagues, clients, or a host of other people. When you reflect on your list of people, you’ll quickly discover where you saw the greatest return on your investment of time and effort. 

John Maxwell says that your success is determined by your daily agenda. Therefore, each year I’ll take my calendar from the past 12 months and reflect on how I used my time each day. When I do this, I’m looking for the three P’s: 

When I go through my calendar, I’ll take notes on these three things—priorities, people, and patterns. Then, I’ll make appropriate adjustments for the new year. 

Several years ago I created a life mission statement and a handful of core values. At the close of each year, I’ll reflect on my mission and values to determine how well I’m living them out each day. 

Each year I create a personal growth plan at the start of the year—I often refer to it as a personal growth TRAC…T-R-A-C. The word TRAC stands for Target, Roadmap, Accountability, and Check-Up. In other words, I identify the target areas I want to grow in, then I create a roadmap to grow, then I invite someone to hold me accountable for my growth, and finally I’ll do check-ups throughout the year to monitor progress. You can access my free ebook, How to Create a Plan for Personal Growth (which unpacks the Growth TRAC model) HERE.

While a growth TRAC focuses on my personal growth, ministry goals focus on the health and growth of the church I lead. So, how do you know which ministry goals you should pursue? Consider a few thoughts such as: 

This question is an easy one to overlook, but it’s really powerful. You want to start the year be determining who the people are where your investment of time and energy will make the greatest impact. Obviously, some of these relationships will be family and friends, but also think about it in terms of key leaders, staff, or volunteers in your organization. 

After you’ve done a day-by-day reflection on how you spent your time in the previous year, you should be equipped to answer this question. Why? Because you’ll be aware of the priorities, people, and patterns that emerged in how you’ve been using your time. With that information, you should be able to pinpoint pretty quickly what you need to stop, what you need to start, and what you need to delegate to someone else. For example: 

This last question helps me determine what changes I need to make in the new year to make sure my life is further aligned with my mission and my values. Living out your life purpose is a matter of wise stewardship, so you’ll want to drill down on what changes you need to make to better steward your life and time toward the mission God has entrusted to you. 

One final observation: I want you to notice something about both sets of questions. None of them are “yes” or “no” questions. They all require an explanation. This forces you to provide enough detail to adequately reflect and appropriately refocus. 

I’m excited to announce the launch of my new book, Stop Chasing Easy: Pursuing a Life that Counts Today…and For Eternity. You can learn more HERE along with the great BONUS CONTENT available when you purchase your copy.

Are you tired of the empty promises of ease, comfort, and security? Are you ready to make your life truly count…now and forever?

In Stop Chasing Easy, Stephen Blandino inspires us with a bigger vision beyond the edges of ease. He unpacks the apostle Paul’s wisdom in the book of Philippians and shares four powerful trade-offs that will help you make your life count.

No matter where you find yourself, Stop Chasing Easy will inspire you to think differently, grow to your full potential, and pursue a mission worth your life. Rather than chasing easy, you’ll learn how to make your life count today…and for eternity.

If you haven’t subscribed to the Leader Fluent Podcast, you can do so today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora or your favorite podcast platform. Plus, a RATING or REVIEW will help us spread the word to other leaders. Thanks for your help. 

In today’s episode of the Leader Fluent Podcast, I’m talking about, “Jesus on Habit Formation.” As we prepare for a new year, many of us are thinking about new habits and new resolutions, so in this episode I’ll share four keys to habit formation from the life of Jesus.

If you’re not already a subscriber, I’d love for you to subscribe to Leader Fluent today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora, or your favorite podcasting platform. And as always, your RATINGS and REVIEWS are deeply appreciated. 

John Maxwell often says, “Most people have uphill hopes, but downhill habits.” In other words, lots of people have uphill dreams and goals—things they want to accomplish or become—but the problem is their habits don’t match their hopes. There’s a lot of great research on what the formation of habits looks likes, but I want to share four observations on habit formation that I see in the life of Jesus. As you read the Gospels, you discover that one of the habits Jesus modeled most frequently was prayer. Not only does Jesus’ prayer life give us a great example of prayer, but it gives us a great example of how to form a habit. 

When you look at Jesus’ habit of prayer, he prayed at various times, but Scripture makes a specific reference to mornings. 

Mark 1:35 (NLT) – Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.

Luke 4:42a (NLT) – Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place… 

For a habit to form, you need a set time and a right time that works for you. When habits aren’t directed by a time, they become dictated by your feelings. And let’s be honest, we never feel our way into a habit. 

There are 525,600 minutes in a year. You’ll spend approximately 175,200 of those minutes asleep (if you get eight hours a night). That means you’ll have 350,400 minutes during your waking hours. And if you have a job and work eight hours per day, five days per week for fifty weeks a year, you’ll have 230,400 minutes remaining.

So, the question is, how many of those minutes will you give to form the habits that will make you healthy. And if you think you don’t have enough time, consider one more number: 51,830. That’s how many minutes the average person spends on social media each year. It’s 142 minutes per day…863 hours per year…22% of your minutes outside of work and sleep. 

Each time Jesus prayed, Scripture refers to the place he prayed. The place wasn’t always the same, but the place was always secluded. 

Luke 4:42a (NLT) – Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place… 

Mark 1:35 (NLT) – Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.

Luke 5:16 (NLT) – But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

Luke 6:12 (NLT) – One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night.

Mark 6:46 (NLT) – After telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray.

What do all of these passages have in common? They reveal a secluded place where Jesus prayed. Simply put, every habit needs a home. That home is the place where the habit can take root and the habit can produce fruit. 

This seems obvious because habits imply frequency and regularity. But I believe it’s worth pointing out when it comes to Jesus’ habit of prayer. 

Luke 5:16 (NLT) – But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

We know Jesus’ prayed often because of all the passages of scripture I’ve shared already. Why is this important to point out? Because frequency is what gives a habit its power. In fact, without frequency, a habit isn’t a habit; it’s a hobby. As you’re developing your habits, ask yourself this question from Dan Sullivan: “IS THIS WHERE I STOP?” Each time you answer no, you’re building frequency into your habit. 

Typically Jesus prayed alone, but there are references of other people being with him or near him when he prayed. 

Luke 9:18a (NLT) – One day Jesus left the crowds to pray alone. Only his disciples were with him…

For many of the habits we develop, they will happen alone. But when habits are forming—especially in the early stages—we often need a partner. Generally there are two types of partners: ACTIVITY PARTNERS and ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNERS. 

Activity partners are people that develop the habit with you…they’re in the game taking action right alongside of you? Accountability partners are people that hold you accountable to develop the habit. Partners provide the support and accountability to form patterns of frequency so the habit becomes embedded in our lives. 

Every habit needs a TIME, a PLACE, a FREQUENCY, and a PARTNER. When those four things are in place, the likelihood of success increases. Mark Batterson once said, “Show me your habits, and I’ll show you your future.” I hope that challenges you as you think about the habits you need to form in your own life. 

If you haven’t subscribed to the Leader Fluent Podcast, you can do so today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora or your favorite podcast platform. Plus, a RATING or REVIEW will help us spread the word to other leaders. Thanks for your help. 

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In today’s episode of the Leader Fluent Podcast, I’m talking about, “10 Signs of an Emerging Leader.” One responsibility of a leader is to develop young leaders, but first, you have to identify the potential leaders that are emerging around you. Today, I’ll share the ten signs to look for. If you’re not already a subscriber, I’d love for you to subscribe to Leader Fluent today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora, or your favorite podcasting platform. And as always, your RATINGS and REVIEWS are deeply appreciated. 

How do you know if somebody has leadership potential? Leaders have the responsibility for developing more leaders, but before you can develop more leaders, you have to know what to look for in a potential leader. I want to encourage you to pay attention to ten signs of an emerging leader. I’m not suggesting that an emerging leader has all ten of these qualities; I’m simply saying, these are the qualities to pay attention to when you’re trying to determine if somebody is a potential leader. 

This one’s fairly obvious, because at its core a leader is someone who has the ability to influence others. If you see somebody with the ability to gather followers, that’s a sign that they have leadership potential. 

When someone takes regular initiative to get things done without being asked or told, they likely demonstrate the ability to lead themselves. If somebody can lead themselves, then there’s a greater likelihood that they’ll be able to lead others. Ask yourself, “Who around me takes initiative?”

Forward thinking abilities reveals a person’s ability to envision the future. If they can envision better ways of doing things, they may be able to use their vision to inspire others to take action. 

Leadership is one of the spiritual gifts the apostle Paul describes in Romans 12. However, leadership isn’t the only spiritual gift that requires the ability to lead. For example, people who have the spiritual gift of pastor, or teacher, or apostle, or administration often find themselves in leadership roles as well. Consider administering a spiritual gifts assessment and look for those whose gifting indicates or assumes leadership. 

Leadership is all about leading people, and people like to follow people who make them feel valued. If somebody exhibits strong people skills, they likely have greater influence with people than those who exhibit poor people skills or low emotional intelligence. 

Anybody can see a need, but seeing a need doesn’t make you a leader. However, some people not only see a need, but they also take initiative to do something about the need. These people can lead themselves, and possibly others. But other people have the ability to not only see the need and do something about the need, but they also have the ability to motivate and mobilize others to do something about the need too. These people have an even higher level of leadership capacity. 

One of the quickest ways any leader can gain influence is to solve problems. Don’t pay attention to the people who whine about problems. Pay attention to the ones who can wrap their heads around a problem and work diligently to find the right solution to it. These are emerging leaders. 

Followers of Christ are committed to lifelong growth, and part of that growth is learning to serve. And here’s the trend that I’ve noticed…when a disciple of Jesus proves faithful in serving in the small things, God tends to elevate their responsibilities—often in areas of leadership. 

When someone is teachable, it reveals their attitude and it enables their ability. First, teachability reveals a person’s attitude about improving, growing, and having the humility to receive feedback. Second, teachability enables ability. In other words, when a person is teachable, they are able to actually improve their abilities and get better. Their teachability has allowed them to deliver excellence in whatever you entrust to their care. 

When you see someone who serves faithfully, pay attention. And when you see someone who faithfully stewards whatever responsibility has already been entrusted to them, pay attention. These people aren’t in it for the ego. They’ve put serving before leading, and they’ve put stewardship before ownership. 

I’m not suggesting that an emerging leader needs to have all ten of these qualities before you can identify them as a potential leader. I’m simply saying that these are the signs to pay attention to. When you see them…even just three or four of them, you might have an emerging leader on your hands.

If you haven’t subscribed to the Leader Fluent Podcast, you can do so today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora or your favorite podcast platform. Plus, a RATING or REVIEW will help us spread the word to other leaders. Thanks for your help. 

In today’s episode of the Leader Fluent Podcast, I’m talking about, “Five Signs of a Hard Worker.” Most people believe they work hard, but in this episode we’ll discover that working hard is more than working long hours…it’s how we work that makes the difference. 

If you’re not already a subscriber, I’d love for you to subscribe to Leader Fluent today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora, or your favorite podcasting platform. And as always, your RATINGS and REVIEWS are deeply appreciated. 

What are the signs of a truly hard worker? I believe there are five signs that separate hard workers from people who simply put in long hours. 

A hard worker is not focused solely on getting things done. Anybody can do that. Instead, a hard worker is somebody who gets the right things done. In other words, they understand their high-return priorities, and then they allocate the bulk of their time and energy to those priorities. 

So, how do you establish the right priorities? Start by practicing the 80/20 Rule. The 80/20 Rule says that 80% of your outcomes are the result of 20% of your activity. Simply put, if you have ten priorities, the top two priorities will produce 80% of your results. You can identify the right priorities by asking yourself, “Which priorities will give me the highest return on my investment of time?” 

Personal initiatives show up when we practice the three P’s. First, be PROMPT. Arrive on time to work, to meetings, and to appointments. If you’re continually late, then you’re probably overscheduling, oversleeping, or underestimating how much time a task will take. 

Second, own PROBLEMS. Hard workers don’t point fingers, blame others, or say, “That’s not my job.” Instead, when problems arise, hard workers take initiative to resolve them quickly.

Third, be PROACTIVE. One of the hallmarks of a hard worker is that they don’t have to be told what to do. Instead, they’re self-motivated. They take initiative without waiting on someone else to light a fire under them. 

Years ago, Truett Cathy (the founder of Chick-Fil-A), told his vice presidents and marketing team, “Gentlemen, I am sick and tired of hearing you talk about us getting bigger. What we need to be talking about is getting better. If we get better, our customers will demand that we get bigger.” 

Truett’s words that day shifted the entire conversation, and by 2000, Chick-Fil-A hit a billion dollars in sales. If you’re going to get better and do quality work, it will require a growth mindset, regular evaluation, excellent execution. 

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Work smarter, not harder.” That’s what efficient delivery is all about. It’s choosing to wisely steward time, talent, and treasure to deliver outcomes in the most efficient way possible. 

One of the best ways to provide efficient delivery is create good systems. Think of the word SYSTEM as an acronym that stands for: Saves You Stress, Time, Energy, and Money. That’s what an efficient system does. 

Author and psychologist, Angela Lee Duckworth, has done extensive research on the subject of grit. This is what she observed about grit…she said: “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

Hard workers have the ability to stick with something even when that something is hard. They have the ability to persevere and persist. They have grit and they are resilient. So, if they have to put in more hours, they’ll put in more hours. If they have to do extra research to figure something out, they’ll do the extra research. They don’t quit. That’s part of what it means to be a hard worker. 

If you haven’t subscribed to the Leader Fluent Podcast, you can do so today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora or your favorite podcast platform. Plus, a RATING or REVIEW will help us spread the word to other leaders. Thanks for your help. 

In today’s episode of the Leader Fluent Podcast, I’m talking about, “Eight Ingredients of Good Decision-Making.” Leadership and decision-making go hand in hand, and in this episode, I’ll share eight keys to make better decisions. If you’re not already a subscriber, I’d love for you to subscribe to Leader Fluent today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora, or your favorite podcasting platform. And as always, your RATINGS and REVIEWS are deeply appreciated. 

Leaders make countless decisions in their organizations, and those decisions are on a wide spectrum…from easy to difficult, from small to big, from simple to complex. The real question is, how do leaders consistently make great decisions? Let me share eight ingredients to help you make better decisions, and a simple question to go with each one. 

One temptation in leadership is to restrict our decision-making inputs to the latest research, the newest books, our closest friends, and the most respected leaders in our field. There’s nothing wrong with any of these, and we’ll talk about them in a moment, but great decision-making starts with God. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” 

The most helpful prayer a leader can pray is, “God, fill me with the wisdom and knowledge of your perfect will, and give me the courage to pursue it.” So, when it comes to an important decision, invite the Holy Spirit to direct you and speak to you. 

Every church and every organization has a unique DNA. In general, an organization’s DNA is made up of four things:

For your DNA to positively impact your organization, you have to integrate it into your decision-making. If you don’t, you’ll start to experience sideways energy. 

In-depth decision-making requires some in-depth research. In fact, Jesus once said, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish’” (Luke 14:28-30). The lesson is clear—good decisions require proper planning and research. 

One of the greatest informers of future decisions is past experience. Job 12:12 says, “Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?” The longer you live, the more perspective you glean and the more insight you uncover. So, when you’re making decisions for your church or organization, pay attention to three types of experience:

The book of Proverbs has some of the most practical insight on the importance of advice. For example,Proverbs 13:20 says, “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” In other words, gleaning wise advice begins by carefully choosing to associate with wise people.

Then, Proverbs 12:15 says, “The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.” Your willingness to actively listen will determine how much wisdom you gain from others. Finally, Proverbs 13:10 says, “Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.” In other words, wisdom comes to those who are teachable. So, the key to good advice is the PERSON (in other words, who you listen to) and your POSTURE (in other words, your willingness to learn from them). 

Intuition is the most nuanced part of decision-making. John Maxwell makes a great observation when he says that we are most intuitive in the areas of our greatest giftedness. So, when it comes to decision-making, listen to your gut, especially in the areas where you have natural strength. Also, listen to the nudges from the Holy Spirit. Sometimes a nudge from the Spirit will feel like a red flag. Other times you’ll sense a nudge to take a step in a specific direction. Pay attention to your gut. 

There’s an old proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Well, in leadership, the key is to make sure your influencers—such as staff, board, and key leaders—are with you in the decision-making process. John Maxwell says it like this: “People buy-in to the leader before they buy-in to the vision.” You can have the greatest ideas in the world—even ideas God has birthed inside of you— but if your leaders aren’t on board, you’re going to have a hard time moving forward.

Timing is not one dimensional in its application. When you’re making a decision, you have to ask three timing questions: 

Those are the eight ingredients to help you make good decisions. Let me wrap up by pointing out what happens when one of these ingredients is missing. 

The decisions you make each day will ripple through your entire church or organization. And you, your teams, and your entire organization will pay the price (or reap the rewards) of every decision. 

If you haven’t subscribed to the Leader Fluent Podcast, you can do so today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora or your favorite podcast platform. Plus, a RATING or REVIEW will help us spread the word to other leaders. Thanks for your help. 

In today’s episode of the Leader Fluent Podcast, I’m talking about, “How to Discover Your Life Mission.” People of every age and every generation have wrestled with the question, “What was I made to do?” In this episode, I’ll share four steps you can take to get greater clarity about your unique mission in life. 

If you’re not already a subscriber, I’d love for you to subscribe to Leader Fluent today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora, or your favorite podcasting platform. And as always, your RATINGS and REVIEWS are deeply appreciated. 

“What was I made to do?” That question has haunted people of every age and every walk of life for thousands of years. And while there’s nothing wrong with that question, I actually believe there’s a second question—perhaps a better question—that will help you discover your life mission. That better question is, “How did God design me?” 

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Not only did God create us to do good works, but he prepared those good works before we were even born. And here’s the good news: when God created us, He designed us with those good works in mind. The more we understand how we’re designed, the more clues we’ll discover to the mission God created us to fulfill. 

Think about it like a puzzle. When you dump a puzzle on a table, what’s the first thing you do? You start turning over all the pieces of the puzzle. Why? Because you want to see the different shapes and colors so you can connect the pieces together. 

Your life mission is the same way. The more pieces of the puzzle you turn over, the more you begin to discover the common themes and patterns in how God designed you. You start to see how the pieces connect together to help you fulfill a specific mission in life. So, what kind of puzzle pieces do you need to turn over to help you clarify your life mission? Start with these four puzzle pieces. 

Our experience quickly reveals what we’re good at, and what we stink at. In other words, when you reflect on your past experience, you quickly discover where you’ve experienced success, and where you’ve experienced failure. This process helps you narrow the circle of your life mission. So, in what areas have you experienced the most success? Your answer to that question will give clues to how God wired you.

I learned the concept of destiny markers from my friend Steve Moore. A destiny marker is an event, experience, relationship, or circumstance that reminds you that God has a specific purpose for your life, or it provides clues to what that purpose might be. 

Destiny markers come in a variety of forms. For example, a destiny marker might be a formative relationship, a personal milestone, or a providential occurrence. Destiny markers reveal how God has been at work in your past. They reveal the seeds of destiny God has been sowing throughout your lifetime. 

In Exodus chapter 35 and 36, Moses mobilized a team of people to help construct the sanctuary. And in Exodus 35:31-35, Moses said, “The Lord has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft. And the Lord has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach their skills to others. The Lord has given them special skills as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet thread on fine linen cloth, and weavers. They excel as craftsmen and as designers.”

What is Moses doing in this passage? He’s describing in detail the giftedness of Bezalel and Oholiab. In the same way God gifted these two men, God has also given each one of us gifts, abilities, and skills. When you understand your gifting, you’ll be satisfied, God will be glorified, others will be edified, and your gifting will be verified by others. 

In the same passage from Exodus where God gave Moses instructions for the construction of the sanctuary, we read these words in Exodus 36:2: “And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work.”

That phrase, “whose heart stirred him up” is all about passion. Passions are like those deep interests or issues that drive you. In fact, when it comes to passion, it’s been said that a person will work 8 hours a day for a paycheck, 12 hours a day for a good boss, but 24 hours a day for a cause. Your passion is your cause.

So, let me ask you, what needs move you to action? What problems do you feel compelled to solve? What activities really engage your heart? Is there a group of people you feel called to serve? These kinds of question will help you pinpoint your greatest passions. Another way to discover your passions is to listen to yourself speak. When do you hear the most energy in your voice? Sometimes you don’t see your passion as much as you hear your passion. 

These four puzzle pieces—experience, destiny markers, giftedness, and passions—will give you clues to your life mission. Once you turn these puzzle pieces over, start looking for the common themes that emerge. Those common themes will give you clues to the mission God has called you to fulfill. 

If you’d like to dive deeper to discover your life mission, I’ve developed several helpful resources to help you gain greater clarity. 

If you haven’t subscribed to the Leader Fluent Podcast, you can do so today on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Android, Pandora or your favorite podcast platform. Plus, a RATING or REVIEW will help us spread the word to other leaders. Thanks for your help.