LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"The most influential people in my life are probably not even aware of the things they've taught me." Scott Adams

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We're going to explore this word INFLUENCE for 2 more weeks. I just finished a week outside of Atlanta with 66 Global Leaders & Coaches, and the theme of our week was "The Influence of a Leader".

Coming out of these days together, I really resonate with Scott Adams quote above. I'm sure this is true for many of you as well.

There are people who have had and continue to have a profound influence on my life, and they are completely unaware of that influence. They are simply living their lives, leading, impacting their sphere of influence, and I get to somehow learn from these people, I'm inspired by watching these people and they shape me as a leader and as a person.

In my life, I'm thinking of a couple of people that stand out:

Don Schuler was my middle school carpentry teacher. A very quiet, gentle man. He taught me some basics in carpentry, and I really enjoyed the class. What I learned from him was PATIENCE. He was the most patient person I've ever met, either with a group of middle school boys, or years later as he continued to serve that school in many different capacities, he was just willing to serve others and to do it with patience. I remember being inspired by him many times in how he related to people, but I've never had the chance to tell him how he influenced me.

Guy Adams was an advisor in college, and he had a unique way of AFFIRMING me and CHALLENGING me at the same time. I was serving in a student government role my senior year and Guy just pushed me gently to believe in myself and those around me. I always felt more confident after spending time with Guy and I want people to feel that way about me when they are with me. I'm sure Guy doesn't know the impact he had on me, but it was profound.

Patrick Lencioni, one of my favorite business authors, has written a number of books that have profoundly influenced my life and leadership. The 5 Dysfunctions of Team transformed the way I led my team, and his work through The Advantage impacted the health of the organization I was helping to lead at the time. Lencioni has influenced millions of people through is writing and speaking. I've heard him speak in person, I follow his social media and I devour every book or article he writes. Deep influence, and he has no idea!

I could go on and on as I think through a flood of faces and names who have influenced me in unique ways, and they probably don't know the impact they've had on me.

Don't underestimate influence that happens from a distance.

Make your list? Who has influenced you over the years that most likely doesn't know about it? Maybe you should let them know!

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Maya Angelou

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We're going to explore this word INFLUENCE over the next number of weeks. I'm hosting a Global Leadership Summit in Georgia in March with Leader Mundial, and the theme this year is The Influence of a Leader. While we have a number of topics, books and presentations to address this, I wanted to simply look at some quotes that explore this more.

This quote from Maya Angelou is so powerful. As we talk about influence for a couple more weeks, we're reminded that the way we treat people shapes our influence.

One of my favorite books from last year is the book Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara.(Thanks Eric for introducing it to me). Really impactful because the entire book is really about this quote.

How people are taken care of, how customers feel, how memories are made, how people are valued, how generosity impacts people.

While the book is written from the perspective of a restaurant, it's applicable to us all in any industry.

I've shared this before, but it's worth sharing again.

Years ago, as a young youth ministry couple with small kids and no money, we were invited to a couples retreat in Santa Barbara. We had to pay a little bit of money, but were told it would be a great "break". When we arrived, we were treated like royalty. There was a gift bag for us, the hotel we were in was right on the beach and was nice. We were welcomed warmly, and then they shared that the purpose of our time was to simply catch our breath and build some meaningful relationships. The 3 days were filled with great food and worship, time as a couple enjoying the beach and the area, and zero expectations. We were celebrated for the work we were doing with young people, and we were filled up.

The last evening, we were taken to a special dinner with the President of Westmont College where he thanked us personally for our impact into youth ministry and he shared about how Westmont College cares about youth pastors, and that this retreat was a gift of appreciation from them.

That was it. No sales pitch, no bait and switch, no expectations.

Just appreciation.

Can I tell you how many people I've encouraged to check out Westmont College over the past 35 years as a result of their "hospitality" in our lives?

Their genuine care for us at a time that mattered still sticks with us today.

Hospitality & Influence.

Think of a time when someone invested into your life and made you"feel" something?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing." Albert Schweitzer

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We're going to explore this word INFLUENCE over the next number of weeks. I'm hosting a Global Leadership Summit in Georgia in March with Leader Mundial, and the theme this year is The Influence of a Leader. While we have a number of topics, books and presentations to address this, I wanted to simply look at some quotes that explore this more.

When I read this quote, I'm reminded of another quote from a hero of mine, Jim Burns. He said this often when he was training me as a young youth pastor: "People won't remember what you say, but they will remember what you do."

He then went on to ask this question:

Name 10 of the greatest sermons you've ever heard: who preached it, what was it on... we always struggled with that question, and even though my dad was a pastor, I had to dig deep to identify 10 messages that I could remember. (Sorry Dad!)

He then asked this question:

Name 10 people who impacted your life: name them, how did they make you feel? 10 people were easy, and once I got thinking, I could keep going and going.

That's this quote. EXAMPLE is the only thing

We LISTEN to people all the time. We capture their message, we hear their words, we ponder their presentation.

We also WATCH people all the time. We watch close up and from a distance, we watch what is done and what's not done, we watch peoples reactions.

Bill Jones was a family friend who influenced my life in many ways. But in writing this, I remember how he taught me how to pull a water skier behind a boat. I was living with his family in Northern California, and they had a Boat House on Lake Shasta. We would head to the lake just about everyday after work, and it was some of the best skiing I've ever done.

Bill was the one who taught others to ski, who drove the boat, and who made everything happen, but often, he didn't get to ski because he didn't trust anyone to pull him the right way. Then I came along. He had me watch him drive the boat for weeks pulling skiers, then he had me take the boat out on my own just to get comfortable. He talked me through speeds, wind and the boats capabilities, and he then let me "practice" on his kids (what a great dad!) I did fine.

Then one day, he stopped the boat in the middle of the lake and jumped in. He said to me, "you're ready... Hit it!". I then became his personal driver, and spent the rest of that summer pulling people around Lake Shasta, and giving Bill some great time on the water.

That's example, and years later when we had our own ski boat, those lessons kept with me, and I passed them on to many other people.

"Things are CAUGHT not TAUGHT".

Bill led by example and modeled for me not only how to drive a ski boat, but how to live life fully.

Who has lived an EXAMPLE in front of your life, teaching you and molding you into who you are today?