Is joy an underrated asset in your leadership? In our latest article, Matt Rusten explores why joy, much like humor, plays a vital role in building a thriving company culture. From increasing team engagement to fostering resilience, joy can transform workplace dynamics and inspire purpose-driven work. Discover three key ways to cultivate joy in your organization and why it’s essential for leaders who seek both results and fulfillment.
‘Do not worry.’ We’ve read Matthew 6:25-34 in the Sermon on the Mount, but what does that look like on a day-to-day, minute-by-minute basis? God knows our every worry, fear, and concern – and He can handle it. Many thanks to Darrell Passwater, Convene Forum Team leader, for his encouragement to think about how our lives might be different by truly living out this scriptural principle.
Got a quick minute to chat? I’ve been wanting to share something with you as you lead in the midst of the election cycle in the USA or when your political election takes place in your country. When the dust settles on the election and the new country leader is declared, one thing will still be as true as it is right now. You’ll still be the one leading your firm the day after the election. Your team members will still come to work the day after the winner is declared. They’ll still be looking to you for leadership, for a paycheck, for a sense of community at their workplace.
What do they want most that only you can deliver? It’s meaning. That meaning they’re looking for begins with you and your leadership. To be sure, what Washington DC does actually can impact your business significantly, however, the president of the United States or the leader of any country does not lead your firm. You do. It’s an enterprise entrusted to you to lead as a steward. It’s a place where people look to you for answers, where people want to be part of a team that cares about them and where people want to be valued, appreciated, and loved. The next president of the country will not show up this week at your office to encourage your team, fix a broken piece of equipment, hire the next team member, sell a big account, or cast a bold vision about how your team will reach your goals and impact the culture.
As we find ourselves mid-October and a blink away from a new calendar year, it is an opportunity to prepare for how we view transitions. Transitions allow for reflection and renewal, for letting go and beginning anew, and for learning from the past and creating the future. Instead of laying out trends for the next year, I would like to comment on a fundamental enabler of any transition: hope. Leaders who want to improve, CEO’s who work toward excellence, HR professionals who aspire to deliver more value, and employees who seek well-being all achieve their transitions by realizing hope.
Hope integrates many of the positive traits that shape transitions for others and matter to me personally: learning, patience, service, faith, humility, optimism, gratitude, and so forth. I send hundreds of formal and informal e-mails every month to invite people to programs, to thank people for attending programs, to check in on those I mentor, and to stay connected to those I care about. I begin almost every one of these notes with “Hope you are well.” Hope is one of my personal desires, tag lines, and biases and an enabler of any transition.
If I could implant one trait in my family, friends, and colleagues who are undergoing continual transition, it would be hope.
Devotion: “God’s truth can liberate your spirit and transform your life” John 8:32 “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”
Would you like a rock-solid time-tested formula for success? Here it is: seek God’s truth, and live by it. Of course, this strategy may sound too simple, especially if you’re a
This Week’s PROMISE: “God intends for you to experience His joy now and forever”” John 17:13 “Now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have My joy completed in them”
Have you made the choice to rejoice? Hopefully so. After all, if you’re a believer you have plenty of reasons to be joyful. Yet sometimes, amid the inevitable hustle and bustle of life here on earth, you may lose sight of your blessings as you wrestle with the challenges of everyday life.
Psalm 100 reminds us of that, as believers we have every reason to celebrate: “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness”
If you find yourself feeling discouraged or worse, it’s time to slow down and have a quiet conversation with your Creator. Christ offers you His peace and His joy. Accept it and share it freely!
Psalm 30:5 “Weeping may spend the night, but there is joy in the morning."
This Week’s Devotional PROMISE: Whenever we refuse to forgive others, we invite God’s displeasure Mark 11:25 “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your wrongdoing”
Are you currently carrying a grudge against someone? If so, you know sometimes it’s very tough to forgive the people who have hurt you or someone very close to you. That’s too bad because life would be so much simpler if we could forgive people once and for all so we are done with it. However, forgiveness is seldom that easy. It’s a journey that requires effort, time, perseverance, and prayer. It’s not easy, but it is always the right thing to do.
When we forgive those who have hurt us, we honor God by obeying His commandments, but when we harbor resentment and bitterness against others, we disobey God with predictably unhappy results. If you have a person whom you haven’t forgiven, follow God’s commandment and His will for your life by forgiving that person today. Remember that bitterness, anger, and resentment are not part of God’s plan for your life. Forgiveness is.
This Week’s Devotional PROMISE: “God offers you the gift of eternal life through His Son” John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”
God’s grace is not earned, thank goodness! To earn God’s love and His gift of eternal life would be far beyond the abilities of even the most righteous man or woman. Thankfully, grace is not an earthly reward for righteous behavior it is a blessed spiritual gift which can be accepted by believers who dedicate themselves to God through Christ. We are saved not because of our good deeds but our faith in Christ.
Have you thanked God today for blessings that are too numerous to count?
This Week’s Devotional PROMISE: Whenever we refuse to forgive others, we invite God’s displeasure Mark 11:25 “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your wrongdoing”
Are you currently carrying a grudge against someone? If so, you know sometimes it’s very tough to forgive the people who have hurt you or someone very close to you. That’s too bad because life would be so much simpler if we could forgive people once and for all so we are done with it. However, forgiveness is seldom that easy. It’s a journey that requires effort, time, perseverance, and prayer. It’s not easy, but it is always the right thing to do.
When we forgive those who have hurt us, we honor God by obeying His commandments, but when we harbor resentment and bitterness against others, we disobey God with predictably unhappy results. If you have a person whom you haven’t forgiven, follow God’s commandment and His will for your life by forgiving that person today. Remember that bitterness, anger, and resentment are not part of God’s plan for your life. Forgiveness is.
