Lead Where You Are

On August 5-6, 2010, ten of us carpooled to Folsom to attend the Global Leadership Summit - one of the best investments a leader can make in himself. Personally, I was poured into, refreshed, energized, challenged, and sharpened.  If I could, I would take all of you next year!

Below are this year's speakers, their topics, and my take-away from each:  

Bill Hybels - Opening Session

• Leadership involves moving people from HERE ---> THERE!
• Assemble a team of fantastic people who possess character, competence, chemistry, and fit with our organizational culture.
• Inspire people along the journey by establishing mile markers and celebrations.
• Listen to the whispers of God.

Jim Collins -Never, Ever Give Up

5 Stages of Decline

1. Hubris of Success (outrageous arrogance)
2. Undisciplined Pursuit of More
3. Denial of Risk and Peril
4. Grasping for Salvation
5. Capitulation to Irrelevance or Death 

• One can be in stages 1-3 and look great on the outside, while the inside is diseased.
• Do regular diagnostics.
• Count your blessings - account for all the good things I didn't cause!
• We spend too much time trying to be interesting; we should spend more time being interested.
• Most of us have a to-do list. We also need a stop-doing list.
• BHAG - Big Hairy Audacious Goal

Christine Caine -Leading on the Edge of Hope

• It doesn't take a lot of light to dispel the darkness.  It just takes courage.
• Serve out of obligation, and you do what you have to.  Serve out of passion, and you do what you want to.
• We can serve with passionate hope and an unshakable confidence in God.

Tony Dungy -The Mentor Leader

• He was just there to help his players play better.
• Work efficiently. Don't mistake hours for productivity.
• Look for a mentor and look for someone to mentor.
• Get interested in someone's life and speak into them.

Adam Hamilton -When Leaders Fail

• Giving --> Emptiness --> Vulnerability --> Temptation --> Addiction --> Shame --> Alienation

• Attraction

          > the movement of the maybe; rationalizing the sin
          > nothing good can come out of telling the other person
          > maybe eventually becomes a yes
          > find the strength to stop saying maybe and say NO

• 5 R's of Resisting Temptation

1. Remember who you are.
2. Recognize the consequences of my actions - fantasize about the worst possible outcome.
3. Rededicate self to God in prayer (stop/drop/pray)
4. Reveal struggle to a trusted friend.  The power of temptation is secrecy.
5. Remove self from the situation.  Erect clearer boundaries.

Dr. Peter Zhao Xiao - Beyond Economy:  China's Transformation with the Cross

• He was commissioned by the Chinese government to study the success of the American economy.  He concluded that a moral foundation allowed our economy to flourish, argued that China's economy would benefit from the spread of the Christian faith, and embraced Christianity himself!

• Leadership is not just about influence, but direction; so we have to be aware of changes.
• There are only 2 kinds of transformations: that with the cross, and that without the cross.
• I will not give to the Lord that which costs me nothing.

Andy Stanley - The Upside of Tension

• Our opposing thumb creates pressure resulting in progress.
• Some problems never really go away.  They're not meant to be resolved, but rather to be managed.
• Don't think in terms of balance.  Think in terms of rhythm.

Jeff Manion -The Land Between

The land between is fertile soil for:

• complaints, not just against their situation, but against God himself
• melt downs
• God's provision, though sometimes not in the way we think
• God's discipline
• transformational growth (inviting trust evicts complaint)

Terri Kelly -When Leaders Emerge:  The Story of W.L Gore & Associates

Established common foundation of values:

• Value of the individual
• Power of small teams
• We're all in the same boat
• Take a long-term view

Daniel H. Pink -What Motivates Us:  Not What You Think

• Autonomy - Management is an archaic technology designed to get compliance. It doesn't lead to engagement.  Self-direction does.
• Mastery - Making progress is the best motivator, and the best way to get people engaged.  Help people see progress.
• Purpose - With the limited profitability of the times, we've seen a rise of purpose as the motivator.

Blake Mycoskie - Making Conscious Capitalism Work:  The TOMS Shoes Story

• It's never to early to give!
• Incorporate giving into work life, into your culture.
• 4/15/2011 - One Day Without Shoes - to spread awareness about the impact one pair of shoes can have on a child's life.

Jack Welch - Leader to Leader

• Authenticity - Be comfortable in your own skin, be someone people can count on.
• Engery / Energize - Unless the leader feels the fire, it is hard to pass it on.  Tell a story how their lives will change.  Get them excited about the journey.  Get them to tell their stories to each other.  Raise the intellectual power of the meeting by drawing out other people.
• Candor - Fight desperately to get what people are really thinking/feeling/believing on the table.
• Differentiation - Identify the top 20%, the vital 70%, and the back-end 10%.
• Create an appraisal system that creates conversation that lets people know where they stand.
• Attitude/Behavior of Top 20% People - filled with energy, excites others, like-able, good values, loves to see people grow, loves to reward people, not mean-spirited or cheap/stingy, they celebrate people. Generosity of spirit, don't have a lot of envy, celebrates success of others.
• The Vital 70% - hard and consistent worker, but isn''t always there in the clutch
• Bottom 10% - not a team player, acidic

T.D. Jakes - Combustible Passion

• People are assets.  They are passionate when they can do something within their reach.  They want to be stretched, not ripped apart.  Evaluate what people can do.  Challenge them without overwhelming them.  Don't want them to feel defeated.
• Assess who they are, where they are, what they do, and allocate them appropriately.
• Confidant - Some people are for you.
• Constituent - Some people are for what you are for.
• Comrade - Some people are against what you're against.  Some people are fighters! Direct these people towards the target, instead of making yourself the target.
• Don't hold on to people too tightly who are meant to come and go.