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.
But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. - Luke 12:48
How can we leverage corporate social responsibility for the Highest good? How do we extend our philanthropic initiatives from merely building up a company to building up the Kingdom of God? How do we pursue Kingdom philanthropy?
This Week’s Devotional PROMISE:When you worship God and follow in the footsteps of His Son, you have every reason to be hopeful about your life and your eternal future.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go pray to Me, and I will listen to you” Jeremiah 29:11-12
Look around you, read the newspaper, watch the current political arena and it’s very easy to lose hope. But God provides an antidote to despair. One of the rewards of spending time before the face of God is the gift of divine hope. Have you ever felt your hope for the future and your dreams slipping away? If so, study God’s Word, seek His will, and spend time in prayer. When you do, you’ll discover the hope that is in the possession of those who place their trust and faith in Him.
This world can be a place of trials and tribulations, but as believers in Christ we are secure in knowing that God has promised us peace, joy, and eternal life. So, let us face each day with hope in our hearts and trust in our God since He keeps His promises, always.
This Week’s Devotional PROMISE: “When you are a faithful steward of the gifts God has given you, He will entrust you with more” “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things, enter into the joy of your lord” Matthew 25:21
Do you seek to be a righteous follower of Christ? Do you trust God’s promises? If so, then you will be a faithful steward of the gifts He has given you. As Christians, we are called to walk with God and to obey His commandments. Oswald Sanders advised, “Never support an experience which does not have God as its source, and faith in God as its result”
A PRAYER FOR TODAY Dear Lord, make me a faithful steward of my possessions, my talents, my time, and my testimony. In every aspect of my life, Father, let me be Your humble and obedient servant.
Have a blessed day!
Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all. - 2 Thessalonians 3:16 (ESV)
How do you meet the needs of your market? What are the internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats impacting your business?
These questions are generally addressed in the section of your business plan called the situation analysis. This section is also sometimes referred to as the situation assessment, market analysis, competitive analysis, or industry outlook. It is the part of your business plan that includes your qualitative and quantitative research.
This Week’s Devotional PROMISE: If You Want Wisdom, God is Always Ready to Give it – All You Must Do is Ask “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously, and it will be given to him” James 1:5
God does not intend for you to be a stagnant believer. Far from it! God wants you to continue growing as a person and as a Christian every day that you live. You can do so through prayer, worship, an openness to God’s Holy Spirit, and studying His Word.
When you study God’s Word and live by His commandments, you will become wise and serve as a shining example to your family and friends.
God has important lessons to teach you. Your responsibility is to be open to His instructions.
