ClickCease
Greg Leith
Writing to You from South Korea
Writing to You from South Korea
Business, Communication, Culture, Leadership
Dee Ann Turner
Above All Else: Guard Your Culture

“Organizations with strong cultures win. They out sell, out serve and out perform their competition.” Dee Ann Turner, Dee Ann Turner & Associates, LLC, former VP of Talent, and VP of Sustainability for Chick-fil-A, Inc.

Leading a successful culture takes intentionality each day. Dee Ann helped architect Chick-fil-A, Inc.’s well-known culture and talent systems and shares her wisdom around building, protecting, and guarding your company’s culture. Are you able to recognize the signs of a slowly eroding culture and what steps you can take to course correct?

Above All Else: Guard Your Culture
Brett and Mary Elaine Baker
Military Spouse Deployment Care Plan: A ...
Military Spouse Deployment Care Plan: A Comprehensive Guide for Employers
David Collum 
The Power of Belief
The Power of Belief
Leadership
Gary Khan
Leading Through Difficult Times

Leadership demands resilience. Stepping into this role means facing criticism, often when you're striving hardest to achieve something meaningful. In this blog from our friend Gary Khano, we explore the inevitable challenges leaders encounter, drawing wisdom from Nehemiah's experience in rebuilding Jerusalem's walls. You'll uncover the enemy's tactics—ridicule and criticism—and learn how to counteract these with faith and perseverance. Whether you're a seasoned leader or just beginning, this piece will equip you with the insights needed to stay the course and fulfill your God-given mission. Read on to fortify your leadership journey with timeless, biblical wisdom.

Leading Through Difficult Times

potential

4 Reasons Why it is Important to Grow as a Leader

How many of you were enthralled by watching the Summer Olympics in 2012? I know I am. It was thrilling to watch the Fab Five win the gold in gymnastics, Michael Phelps winning gold and then losing gold by centiseconds in two of his individual events, and who didn’t fall in love with Missy Franklin, the swimming sensation and sweetheart from Colorado? Despite all of their natural ability they worked hard to hone their craft. I wonder what kind of leaders we would be, if we devoted as much time and energy to grow as these Olympians did?

As I prepared to attend a recent leadership summit, I thought about why I carve out time to hone my craft. Growing as a leader does the following:

  1. It raises my game. There is nothing like the stress of working hard to break through a plateau and reaching a higher level of performance. Several years ago I could barely bike 20 miles at any one time. Today I’ve completed several century rides and think nothing of going out for a 50-mile bike ride. Certainly part of this improvement was achieved by practicing, but I also needed to learn more about pedal stroke efficiency, interval training, heart rate training and the things I needed to do off the bike to become a stronger and better rider.   The same is true of leadership – we practice every day, but what are we doing to improve our game? 

  1. It motivates others to follow me. People are not interested in following leaders who are stagnant. They are much more interested in following leaders who are energized and have great ideas and vision that expands over time. Certainly character and competence are prerequisites if we expect others to follow us, but if we’re not growing, the people we lead will soon become disinterested in following.

  1. It helps me identify my blind spots. We all have blind spots. The other day I was talking to my coach about an area of improvement I saw in someone else. As we processed the issue, it became clear that I had a blind spot that was preventing me from addressing the issue in a timely manner. It reminded me again that leadership is not a solo sport; we need other people to help us identify what we can’t see in ourselves. Input from others helps me see things from a different perspective.

  1. It helps me reach my God-given potential. Don’t we all long to be all that God created us to be? Part of this includes being intentional about our growth and seek opportunities for growth. There is a 2012 60-Minutes interview with Michael Phelps. After the 2008 Olympics, he spent little time in the pool. He didn’t practice to to point where his coach didn’t know if he was going to make it to the Olympics despite his natural talent. Michael’s challenge was to learn to grow beyond the accolades and medals he previously won.

Being a great leader takes discipline and diligence, even in the face of success. You can be good at what you do, but you can never be all that God intended until you cooperate with His purposes and are intentional about your growth and development.

Share Your Thoughts: What types of things do you do to develop your leadership and your character?