How well do you manage your shelf?

This past week I shared a significant chunk of learning content to a school’s leadership team that is on the cusp of diving into the ’24-’25 school year.

It was extremely well received, feedback was outstanding, and kudos to their engagement and level of presence!

But…can you imagine?

It was their first foray into the year’s school calendar – a literal transition point as they shift from their summer mindset and heart-set.

Kids will be roaming the halls in just a few days. The demands of staff, students, and parents are just around the corner. To-do lists and priorities are pounding on the door.

I guarantee you – every note they took and every insight they treasured from our time together – no matter how valuable – was immediately and unapologetically placed on the proverbial shelf.

No worries. We all get it. Learning opportunities like this, though valuable and necessary, impact our flow.

And when the tide is pushing hard, we absolutely must get back to the mission at hand and manage the floodgates well. 

The question for us as developing leaders is: How well do we manage our shelf?

Thursday and Friday of that same week I got to drink from the firehose at GLS2024 (The Global Leadership Summit).

Great speakers. Pages of notes. Fantastic insights. Books I can’t wait to read. An incredibly powerful resource overall.

And it will all go on the shelf for a time, because I’ve got two sermons to finalize, two Convene meetings to facilitate in the coming week, a guest speaker coming in later today…

Priorities.

Even though we may LOVE our work (which I do), “duty” calls, and that means I, like you, have to put a lot of things on the shelf.

For now.

Putting things on the shelf is not the problem. Leaving them on the shelf is the problem.

How well do you manage your shelf?

A client of mine stayed at his seat long after the others had left. I was tidying up the room and packing my things while he mulled over his notes and wrote in the margins.

I had to ask what that was all about.

He said, “When I walk out these doors, everything else in the world is going to hit me again. I know this about me, and I have learned that it is important for me to take a few minutes in the moment to process my notes before I leave the room. Managing them well on the front end helps me to access them more readily on the back end – when I need them.”

This leader – of multiple businesses and a development program of his own – understood how intentional we must be in managing our shelf.

How about you? Do you have a trusted process that helps you incorporate new learning into your life and leadership?

Here are two action items for you to consider as an intentionally developing purpose-driven leader:

1.     Don’t neglect the act of consistently “stocking” your shelf

2.    Develop a trusted process for managing your shelf that intentionally incorporates new learning into your leadership MO

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About the Author

Ken Stewart, CEO Advisory Board Chair

Ken Stewart is the principal and founder of The H3 Leader, an Executive Coach, Convene Chair for two Christian Executive Leader Peer2Peer Advisory Teams, and the Central IL Area Chair for the entire downstate region of IL. His breadth of experience spans the business, leadership, training, project management, and pastoral worlds and includes: 19 years of engagement across a variety of disciplines in the corporate environment; over a decade of supervisory and managerial experience; seven years as a corporate trainer; 8+ years in business ownership; 14+ years in pastoral ministry in both large and small churches; and 9+ years in the executive coaching realm.

His strength is in helping others—leading them through problem resolution and tension management; seeking efficient and effective solutions to challenges; offering opportunities for others to develop and master their professional contributions; and working with senior leadership to help them consistently meet or exceed the ever-changing needs of the communities they serve.

Born and raised in Central IL, he lives outside Peoria with his bride Beth (33+ years), dog “Pepé”, and cats “Ollie” & “Rusty”. Their daughter Anna recently graduated from his alma mater (Illinois State University) and is living in the Bloomington area.

Transforming Workplace Culture: The Vital Role of Chaplains in Supporting Employee Wellbeing

Compassion and perseverance are vital as we navigate today’s interpersonal interactions. It’s fair to say that everyone you encounter is facing a battle you may know nothing about. Whether you lead a team of four or 4,000 employees, their hidden hardships can shape your company’s culture and outcomes. 

Addressing sensitive subjects or unspoken needs with genuine support is something key leaders often want to provide but may be limited in undertaking due to capacity, personality, and even conflicts of interest. 

However, there is hope! Having a Chaplain in your workplace can be the help you need to extend compassion and healthy pathways for your employees.

When adversities go unspoken and unseen, employees may become irritable, overwhelmed, and even ineffective in their role.  As a company you may encourage transparency and a desire to support employees on a personal level, but sometimes the experience of shame or despair feels like too much to bring to your “open door.”  

Alternatively, with dedicated Chaplains, employees rest assured that the details of their struggles are held in confidence. A three-minute hallway interaction can result in an employee’s ability to focus the rest of the day. A private meeting scheduled with their Chaplain can give them a safe space to process their anxiety or anger or emotions, at a designated time away from work. There is peace of mind knowing their coworkers or supervisor won’t be watching them step aside to have a tear-filled or heated conversation.

While confidentiality is paramount, regular reporting of frequency and general themes of the care being provided can help management understand the common areas of concern in their workforce. If they learn that a particular stressor is a frequent source of overwhelm for employees, they now have an opportunity to brainstorm other ways the company can offer help.

Chaplains can also help employees gain insight into why sharing their hardships with trusted associates may better their workdays and experience of connection. Oftentimes some practice discussing one’s personal issues with a Chaplain helps the employee put words to what they need from their employer or partners to overcome the battles they’re facing.

There are so many resources surrounding employees today for wisdom and accountability with one’s health, finances, wellbeing, and spirituality. Yet most employees live lives of self-reliance and distraction, which results in low utilization of benefits and tools.  Alternatively, when Chaplains consistently pursue connection with a smiling face and 24/7 availability, relationships form that will transform lives. 

In some settings, an 8-minute exchange provides a timely voice of hope; and in others it takes eight years of patient pursuit to finally have the employee circle back for support in a time of grief and uncertainty.

Even a simple text with a trusted Chaplain can mean the world to someone in need.  Below are four illustrated stories of exceptional employee care that could happen in your company too.

Learn more with this FAQ page, or inquire here to see how you can invite Marketplace Chaplains into a partnership of caring for your employees.

Generous Rest and Play: 10 Ways to Engage Others in Your Generosity This Summer

The flexibility of the summer months provides us with much-needed moments to rest, relax, and have a bit more fun. It’s important to embrace these moments as participating in joyful activities can inspire confidence in God’s care and help us discover happiness in His company. These moments are the perfect opportunity to incorporate generosity into engaging activities you can enjoy with your family and friends. Below are a few ways you can enjoy generous rest and play this summer:

1. Generosity Caper—As a group, prayerfully pick someone from your church or community to bless with an unexpected gift. Maybe it’s a spa day or a meal. Maybe it’s paying off someone’s debt or funding a special program or project at a local ministry. Whatever you choose, keep it a secret. Giving the gift anonymously highlights God as the provider and greatest giver.

2. Day of Service—Coordinate with a local ministry or your church to give a day of your time. Then work to meet a need or complete a special project for the church or organization. Be creative! You may find yourself organizing a busy young mom’s home, cleaning a garden or courtyard space, making and delivering meals, or something different.

3. Discover Family Values—Invite your spouse to discuss values. Then do an exercise with the mindset of family values. Remember, there aren’t good values or bad values; values are guidelines for how you want to live. If you need a resource for this, contact info@womendoingwell.org

4. Planning Retreat—Take a night away for intentional conversation, prayer, reflection, and planning to move forward in your giving.

5. Sponsor a Child—Sponsor children the same age as the children in your life. Encourage your children to be generous with their words and prayers in the regular correspondence. 

6. Make a Word Cloud—Generosity is more than just giving money. We can be generous with our time, our words, our ears, and our attitudes. Take time to brainstorm with your kids and put together a word cloud listing all the ways they can be generous. Put it on display and refer to it regularly as a way to encourage wholehearted generosity

7. $2 Tuesdays—Go to the bank and get $100 worth of $2 bills. Each week, give each child a $2 bill to give to someone unexpected every Tuesday. Prepare for lots of fun reactions!

8. Give Them Generosity—Give teens $20 and challenge them to listen to God’s prompting. Encourage them to give it away spontaneously and then report back to you.

9. Do Vacations Differently—Plan your family vacation to be on a mission with your giving goals. You could be part of a medical mission trip, meet a child your family sponsors, or see firsthand the work of an organization you support.

10. Intentional Dinner—Invite your family to dinner and ask, what’s one area of society that you’d like to impact for good? Where have you been involved that you feel you are making a difference? Then ask how you can support them in their efforts.