It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
Greetings to you!
Each week I send out a short leadership blog that's called "Tuesday at 2:00pm". The purpose of this is simply to provide a brief thought on leadership that you can read and think about in just a few minutes. I send it out every week at 2:00pm (PST) and encourage you to make an appointment with yourself to pause and think about the thing I'm writing about.
Russ...
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
What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.
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?
DEEPER STILL:
INFLUENCE
I began to share 6 ways to influence people, then got distracted. Let's get back to that.
#2) MODEL INFLUENCE, DON'T FORCE IT
#3) BUILD TRUST BEFORE TRYING TO CHANGE ANYTHING
#4) LISTEN BEFORE YOU LEAD
#5) BE AN ENCOURAGER
Encouragement Feeds Influence
There's a character in the Bible by the name of Joseph of Cyprus, and was introduced to us in Acts 4. He was renamed Barnabas, which means "Son of Encouragement".
There are a couple of things Barnabas did consistently that was encouraging.
HE WAS GENEROUS: In Acts 4, he sold a field and gave the money to the apostles to support the work of the early church. He gave in a tangible way through his finances, communicating his support and his desire to be involved in the world.
HE STOOD UP FOR PEOPLE: In Acts 9, the apostles were skeptical of Saul's conversion experience, but Barnabas believed in him so he brought him personally to the apostles and put his name and reputation on the line.
HE WENT WITH THEM: In Acts 13 and Acts 15, we read about Barnabas accompanying Paul & John Mark on their missionary journeys, taking the time to walk with them, to mentor them and to invest in them.
HE SPOKE WORDS OF AFFIRMATION: Barnabas was encouraging, believing in others, speaking on their behalf, challenging them to more.
Barnabas was a huge encouragement to the early church, and specifically to Paul, eventually stepping back to let Paul lead.
We underestimate the power and impact of Barnabas and of encouragement. How would Pauls ministry be different without this giant of the faith and his companionship and influence?
Who has been an encourager in your life? Who has consistently been there to walk with you?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
I lead a group here in Orange County called The Barnabas Group. We're trying to be "like Barnabas", coming alongside ministry leaders and non-profits, using our Time, Talent & Network to encourage them and help them!
This week is our 20th Annual Leader Mundial Global Leadership Summit. 67 Leaders and Coaches are joining together in the mountains of Georgia for a week of Training, Resources, Coaching & Community. This Community, and many that happen around the world have impacted men and women in leadership all over the world!
Stretcher Bearers by Michael Slater, one of my all-time favorite books on the power of relationships.
I'm enjoying this album by Mumford & Sons, Prizefighter on Apple Music.