LEADERSHIP Series: Thinking Rightly – Doing Right Things

Rich or poor. Oppressed or the oppressor. Experience shape us, not by what happens, but by what how we think and therefore what we do about what happens.

It is because of the simple, common grace of God that we are born seeing. Easily forgotten. We take such for granted – until we are one of those born sightless, or deaf, or dumb.

Beyond the actual to the metaphor, all have been given some measure of enlightenment. Both can experience the hope for something more than this life offers: the poor for wealth that comes without anxiety and the oppressor for wealth not built on abusive behavior, but on right living.

It always comes down to what we do with the light the LORD has given:

Do we turn away (leave the lesson) and seek the shade?
Do we reach out, despite our condition, and ask our Creator to teach us something more?
Do we leave the light and seek darkness?

Are you learning or “leaving?”

Proverbs 29:13 (MSG) The poor and their abusers have at least something in common: they can both see—their sight, God's gift!

LEADERSHIP Series: The Chords of Leadership Character

In their book The 5 Pillars of Leadership, Meyer and Slechta posit that the first three fundamentals of leadership are integrity, a servant’s heart and stewardship. The chord of your character, if built with those three strands, will not easily be broken!

Warren Bennis is quoted as saying that “Character is the key to leadership” and research, done by Harvard University professors, indicates that 85% of a leader’s performance depends on personal character.

Character helps you clearly define your goals because they are formed with integrity that is born from a Godly fear. These goals serve the needs of a leader’s followers because the Christian leader has first learned to serve their Master; and their goals reflect the attitude that the Leader does not “own” the business and its resources: the effective leader understands that s/he is a steward of those resources.

For the Christian leader, the source of character is a reverential and worshipful fear of the Lord: ignoring this fear (The attitude that I will fear no one!) has consequences. There is the final judge. What we do, what we think and what we say ultimately matters.

One of the paradoxes of Christianity is that happiness (blessedness) starts with fear. Know God - No Fear. Fear God - Know happiness.

From what are strands in your chord of character made?

Proverbs 28:14 (NIV) Blessed is the man who always fears the LORD, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.

For Further Study

Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

LEADERSHIP Series: Servant Leaders Await Praise

Servant-leadership is an expression of humility.

A great paradox is that this kind of leader is one who exercises authority, motivating people to willingly do what has been asked because of personal influence. They don’t do this for personal praise. They do it because they understand and share the vision, know the mission and make sure the team knows their roles and are driven by values that include other-orientation.

Authority is different than power. Power can be bought or sold and given or taken. Not so with authority. It is earned because of a person's character as expressed in their behavior.

Character is often best expressed in the rough-and-tumble of the street where selling, customer service and problem-solving takes place. When humility rules, successful case histories and testimonials can become a major part of your marketing communications program.

Effective market leaders drive further market penetration by developing “happy-user-stories” that powerfully tell of the results of the value your offering delivers. That result can be traced to the truth of the verse below – it is a universal truth.

Proverbs 27:2 (NIV) Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips.

Christ has left us with the example of the behaviors of humility and servant-leadership. The result of His humble authority is still being felt today.

Is your authority as a leader being positively experience in your organization today?

For Further Study

Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

LEADERSHIP Series: Choosing the Right Tools to Train, Guide and Grow

Leaders must use many different tools to encourage excellence. Some tools are meant to train; others, to govern direction and focus; and finally, there are tools that a consequence of inappropriate behavior. Each must be used with wisdom and without succumbing to emotional anger or disgust or some other expression of how we feel – it should never be about us – it must be about them.

Coaches often use different tools to train a team – I can remember running laps because of an inadequacy in someone else – the lesson was that we were all in this together. We work together. We are “punished” together. It is about team.

Motivations to change are both extrinsic and intrinsic – using a combination of each, at the right time, is what effective leader’s master. That mastery is directly related to the state of the leader’s heart. If your feelings, attitudes and motivations are not congruent with your Creator’s, how do you expect to train, guide and effectively discipline those you are charged with leading?

Is your heart ready to guide to govern and to grow your people?


Proverbs 26:3 (NLV) Guide a horse with a whip, a donkey with a bridle, and a fool with a rod to his back!

YOU May Want to Check Out Further Study

Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

LEADERSHIP Series: Authentic Self-promotion

In an interview with Larry King, Donald Trump observed that pretenders to success often spend too much time talking to him about all they have done. He has observed that successful people, on the other hand, spend the time learning -- asking questions about his success.

Self-exaltation often results in disaster.

For the Christ-centered, small business person, authentic self-promotion is not about talking about yourself. It must be practiced within the context of personal values that are focused on thinking of others first. Marketing communications, then, will creatively, clearly and compellingly communicate the value you deliver, differentiating your offering.

Your authentic self-promotion is made real by pursuing a turtle-mentality rather than a hare-mentality. Proving the value you deliver is about consistency of behavior, not about your intention to behave in a certain way.

Christian leaders are called to march consistently to a heartbeat whose cadence is called out by God, not by the meaningless chatter of this world.


Who beats your marching cadence at work?

Proverbs 25: 6-7 (MSG) Don't work yourself into the spotlight; don't push your way into the place of prominence. It's better to be promoted to a place of honor than face humiliation by being demoted.

For Further Study

Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

LEADERSHIP Series: The Leader’s Reputation – Got the Right Stuff?

Recently, the news has been filled with those business people and other leaders who have achieved a result and their name is not good because of that result.

For everyone, especially leaders, two attributes are more desirable than all the wealth we can accumulate: to be well spoken of and to be held in high esteem by others.

Both point to personal purpose: knowing who you are and what your purpose is. I hope you have a handle on that.

A.W. Tozer offered seven “tests” for us to use when we want to understand better how we are “known” and what really drives us:
1. What we want most
2. What we think about most
3. How we use our money
4. What we do with our leisure time
5. The company we enjoy
6. Who and what we admire
7. What we laugh at

And remember, as my Mom used to say: “What you do speaks so loudly, I can’t hear what you say.”

What really drives you? Do you have a personal purpose statement?

Proverbs 22:1 (NIV) A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

For Further Study

Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

LEADERSHIP Series: Planning. Collaboration. Prosperity.

Leaders plan: one could probably posit that planning is elemental to leadership.

I like Philip Crosby’s definition (The Absolutes of Leadership):

“Leadership is deliberately causing people-driven actions in a planned fashion [emphasis mine] for the purpose of accomplishing the leader’s agenda….planned fashion means actually laying out a sequence of events that lets people know what is going to happen and what they are supposed to do.”

One way to “let people know” is to clearly express your vision – then share it; publish your mission (which includes your reason for existence - what you do, why you do it and for whom); and promote the values that give shape and meaning to the way you do it.

Leaders build all of this (and more) into planning – note: it is not The Plan – but planning – a dynamic, collaborative process that includes measuring the results, comparing them to the plan and evaluating the variance from the “plan.”

Good planning, in other words, takes hard, collaborative work. The focus is always on results. Shortcuts most often focus on a declaration of success or failure. Remember, you ALWAYS succeed…in producing a result. That success-failure-get-it-now attitude leads to disaster.

What kind of results are you producing? What do those results say about your planning, and work?

Proverbs 21:5 Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.


Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

LEADERSHIP Series: Good to Great May Involve Sacrifice

The mix of humility and relentlessness will may define a “Level 5” (Collins, Good to Great), but for the Christian at work, there may be more to consider.

Humility is more than some building block toward leadership: it must be an essence of leadership. It is the definition of a leader that is driven by a desire to serve others.

In Genesis, there is a story about land. It seems that the land could not support both Abram and Lot’s herdsmen who were quarrelling (two groups professing faith) in a land of unbelieving people. Abram’s plea for peace came with a powerful offer to Lot: take half. Lot did not deserve it: was not promised it. But “keeping away from strife” drove Abram’s decision. He trusted God to provide even though Lot chose the best land.

Sometimes, moving from “good to great” demands a sacrifice resulting in a “move” for which God alone receives glory.

Are you a “mover and shaker” for peace at work?

Proverbs 20:3 (AMP) Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man, but any fool will quarrel.


Copyright ©20009 by P. Griffith Lindell

LEADERSHIP Series: Dangerous Compromises

Compromises of our moral principles begins when we forget the basis of those principles. Our slide down that slippery slope gains its momentum when we stop learning from the text that really matters – Scripture.

In her book, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, author Goodwin noted that Lincoln was consumed with learning. A study of his life reveals that he not only read but also studied Scripture. His Bible was never far from him and one of his quotes, no doubt stimulated by his constant reading of the Scriptures is, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”

His compassion (an expression of humility) was demonstrated in his 2nd Inaugural Address when he declared: "With malice toward none; with charity for all…" and that began the process of healing between the North and the South.

You, as a leader, now have power – at some level - to heal or hurt. How you use that power with your followers will demonstrate your ability to follow your Creator-leader. Effective leaders must demonstrate in their character what Lincoln lived out – “a paradoxical mix of humility and resoluteness of will” - one of the hallmarks of “Level 5 Leadership” (Good to Great, Collins).

Arrogance (a lack of humility) and compromising principals starts when we stop “listening to instruction” from the Ultimate Instructor.

Even when we think God is not listening, He is there. As John Eldredge points out (in Walking with God: Talk to Him. Hear from Him. Really) “Hearing from God flows out of our relationship” – a relationship born of God, given us through the work of Christ and sealed by the Spirit.

Like any meaningful relationship, this one also takes work. Driven by a daily duty to declare that even our time belongs to Him, we make that declaration real by “listening to instruction” from His Word – first.

Got the Book? Are you hooked on instruction?


Proverbs 19:27 (NKJV) Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.


Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

LEADERSHIP Series: Listening Critical to Effective Leadership

Listening to understand others and listening to one’s self (self-awareness) are each critical skills in effective leadership and exemplify a leader’s inquiry for and even a craving for, knowledge.

Leadership literature lights up when combining a “Google” search for listening with leadership and one very interesting link was to a research study submitted to the National Fire Academy as part of the Executive Fire Officer Program by a Battalion Chief from Sandy, Utah. Peter Drucker, in The Effective Executive (1966), and Stephen Covey, in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (1977) are just two of the more well-known thinks who laid some crucial groundwork in the literature on leadership and listening.

Jeroen van der Veer, President of Royal Dutch and Chief Executive of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, stressed to during a lecture at the Stanford Graduate School of Business the importance of listening skills to sustainable leadership. He urged the MBA students “to adopt a model of leadership that involves modesty, empathy, and reflective listening.”

He understood that one of the roles of leaders is to ask good questions and then listen to the responses. That takes time and is very different from “doing stuff” – but, in fact, it is the stuff of leading.

Do you take the time needed to listen?

It’s hard work, but leaders do it. Here are five listening tips:

• Pay close attention to the speaker. This does not mean to stare intently into their eyes as they speak. Mirror and match how they use their eyes: some glance about as they speak; others stare. People like people who are just like them. Match, but fix your attention upon them.
• If they ask you a question, give a direct, but quick answer and ask a question in response. This shows that you care about their opinion and people often ask questions of us because they have something to tell us about the subject.
• Be collaborative – seek their feedback - and follow up their feed back with action (send email, a Tweet) that demonstrates that you have thoughtfully considered their input.
• If a bad news “message” is being sent, listen to message – don’t think about the messenger. Leaders need to practice the body language that is open to critique, contrary opinion, or bad news. Listen and learn and seek the kernel of truth that may exist in every negative critique.

Proverbs 18:15 (AMP) The mind of the prudent is ever getting knowledge, and the ear of the wise is ever seeking (inquiring for and craving) knowledge.

Copyright© 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell