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How to Turn a Summit Chair into a Seat of Transformation

September 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

You’ve heard the comments before at the Leadership Summit.

With great flourish a renowned leader points to a chair in the auditorium as he passionately thunders, “That’s the chair where everything changed. I remember sitting in that very chair many years ago at a conference when my life was forever changed…”

Image via iStockPhoto.com

When a Summit speaker makes such a statement, guests typically have one of two reactions. For some they think to themselves, “I can relate. I had a similar experience at a Summit.”

But for others the response is, “Huh? I’ve never come close to that kind of moment. What gives?”

Why the difference?

I’ve learned that if you want to experience the Global Leadership Summit in such a way that is more likely to lead to a transformational moment it all comes down to what you take with you into the event.

Specifically, I believe there are at least 3 vital tools every leader must bring with them to the Summit:

1.   An expectation of transformation
If you arrive in a posture of expectancy that your world could be rocked, you stand a much greater chance of experiencing one of those “a-ha” moments.

2.   A willingness to wrestle in “real time”
In each talk, be constantly asking, “Do I agree with this? What is my immediate take away? What will I have to change in my own leadership?”

3.   A team-learning approach
In past years, team learning was difficult to work into the fabric of the Summit. But this year there will be more opportunities for you to huddle up with your team for a time of facilitated discussion. Take full advantage of these opportunities!

There can be many reasons for registering your team for an event like the Global Leadership Summit. Perhaps it’s a team-building exercise, or maybe it’s just for a well-deserved break from the grind of ministry!

But if your expectation is to actually experience growth, change and development, come prepared with these three tools.

Perhaps one day you’ll point to a seat in the auditorium and say, “That’s the chair where everything changed.”

What have been your transformational experiences at the Summit?

 

Filed Under: Featured, Leadership, Team, The Global Leadership Summit Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Why Leaders Need to See the World through “Young Eyes”

July 27, 2012 By 1 Comment

Originally posted May 1, 2012

There’s nothing quite like proven, reliable experience to help a leader navigate through the toughest of challenges.

But at a recent gathering of the board of The Leadership Centre Willow Creek Canada, I was reminded of an important quality in leadership that is an essential companion to experience.

It’s the ability to see the world through “young eyes”.

As our meetings concluded, one of the board members closed in prayer by asking God to bless each of these seasoned leaders seated around the table by granting us young eyes with which to view the world.

By this he meant the ability to balance experience with a youthful outlook.

As I reflected on this later, I recognized just how vital a quality this is. And I was reminded too that after years in the trenches, leaders may need to exercise the daily discipline of choosing to view the world through a youthful lens.

But the leadership payoff is worth it. Specifically, if you choose to see the world with young eyes you will develop three distinct advantages:

1. You will develop an exuberant optimism
Along with wisdom and perspective, longevity in leadership can also sometimes bring with it a certain jaded cynicism.

But when you see the world through young eyes you continue to see possibilities in any situation.

2. You will develop endless curiosity
Years of experience can have the unfortunate side effect of causing a leader to view certain outcomes as inevitable.

But choosing to see the world through young eyes creates within you an insatiable curiosity to understand why things are the way they are, and then a refusal to believe things have to stay that way.

3. You will develop stubborn resiliency
Spending years in the trenches of leadership can yield invaluable perspective and understanding.

But with young eyes you can add to this an uncanny ability to rebound from failed attempts.

The paradox is that the more experience you attain in your leadership, the more discipline may be required to maintain this youthful outlook.

But the results are worth the effort.

How do you ensure you continue to see the world through young eyes?

Filed Under: Featured, Leadership, Strategy, Wisdom Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Preparing to Pass the Leadership Baton

March 10, 2010 By 5 Comments

Last week I was privileged to take part on a panel of ministry leaders organized by Alpha Canada. The event took place just outside Vancouver, and was simply entitled “Join the Conversation.” Six of us “older leaders” (ouch!) were invited to engage in leadership discussions with about 25 leaders under the age of 35; and we had a ball!

In no particular order, here were my highlights and key learnings:

• Young leaders crave mentoring
  o My generation (the boomers) has tended to process leadership development as a solo sport – not so with the emerging generation. They process in community and deeply desire to be mentored by those who have gone before.
• Many have felt rebuffed by older leaders
  o One young person shared how an elder in their church had stated publically, “No one should have a voice in leadership until they’re over 30 years old.” While all agreed that we become more seasoned as leaders with life experience, such attitudes may be driving our best and brightest young leaders away from the Church.
• “The day of the expert is sooooo over!”
  o I busily scribbled down this quote from one sharp young leader. He spoke in response to a question about the difference in how the emerging generation learns, compared to “boomers.” My generation has tended to develop most readily by listening to or reading the words of leadership experts like Bill Hybels, John Maxwell, Rick Warren, and other proven leaders. Young leaders do learn from those who have gone before (see note on mentoring), but this flows from relationship, not merely professed expertise.
 

As I drove home to Kelowna I found myself both excited for the future of the Church in Canada, and at the same time challenged as to how to connect young leaders into meaningful mentoring relationships.

If we can do this, I’m convinced the greatest days for the local church in Canada are still before us.

How are you equipping young leaders in your church?

Filed Under: Action, Canadian, Community, Featured, Leadership Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Canada’s Secret Olympic Formula

March 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Like almost every other Canadian, I find myself scrambling to share my post-Olympic reflections. Everyone, it seems, resonated with a different element of the Canadian Olympic experience, whether it be the exuberance of the downtown crowds, the compelling stories of perseverance or the new-found confidence Canadians seemed to develop in themselves through this experience.

But for me my single overwhelming takeaway can be boiled down to a simple yet profound formula.

“5” multiplied by “X” equals “26”.

Let me unpack this.

The “5” represents the total medal “haul” Canadian athletes achieved the last time Canada hosted the winter games, back in 1988 in Calgary. The “26”, of course, is this year’s medal count.

“X” is whatever happened in the intervening 22 years to produce this five-fold increase in results.

Let’s be clear. Canada didn’t drift into that increase. Canada was not “lucky” this time out. Something very deliberate took place to see us go from 0 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze in 1988 to 14 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze in 2010.

In a word, it was leadership.

It took leadership to declare that 5 medals was unacceptable.

It took leadership to set a goal to see an increase in medals.

It took leadership to put together a plan to achieve those results, then to cast the vision, secure the funds and ensure execution.

Can you imagine what would happen if we saw that level of leadership multiply over and over in Canadian churches?

With the power of the Holy Spirit infusing fired-up, well trained and equipped Christian leaders, the results would far surpass just a few Olympic medals. The results would be a Church against which the gates of hell could not prevail.

What is your leadership development plan, and what results do you hope to achieve?

Filed Under: Canadian, Development, Featured, Joy, Leadership Tagged With: , , , , , , ,