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Five Ways to Improve Feedback

How do you view the concept of accountability? Some people view accountability positively.  They see it as an opportunity to grow personally and to improve professionally. Others view accountability negatively.  When accountability is viewed from the top down or as mandated responsibility, people feel micromanaged or like someone is looking over their shoulder. 

Trust and Accountability

Think about it for a moment. How do you best fulfill your commitments? I’m guessing that where you do not trust the people around you, you are not motivated to be your best. But where you experience trust, clear expectations, and frequent updates you gladly give it all you have. 

Reflect upon what you want or need regarding accountability. Consider the following: 

1. Lead by example and hold yourself accountable first.

As a leader, you set the attitude for the people you lead. They will follow your lead. If you are continuously showing up late for meetings, missing deadlines, and not owning up to your mistakes, the people you are leading will do the same. 

If you want the best out of the people you lead:

  • Complete your work or assignments by the timeline you agreed upon
  • Respect everyone’s time by showing up prepared and on time
  • Make the effort to support your team when needed. 

2. Work on your feedback skills.

One of the most important things you do as a leader is to provide feedback. Feedback is necessary, even when it is not easy to give.  Most people want to learn and grow personally and to improve and succeed professionally. So, even negative feedback is better than no feedback at all. When you offer feedback on a regular or continual basis (including positive feedback), it makes tough feedback much easier to give and receive. You also honor relationships and develop trust when people are not surprised by the feedback they are receiving. 

Brené Brown writes, “A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential. As a leader, your feedback comes from a place of genuinely wanting to help someone grow. Remember that “clear is kind.” Your feedback should not be ambiguous. 

3. Recognize that procrastination is not helpful

When you procrastinate providing feedback, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. People want feedback, healthy and frequent feedback. When there are issues, address them in a timely manner. They rarely resolve themselves. In fact, when you don’t address them, they usually get bigger. It is easier to deal with the issue as soon as possible for you, for the person to whom you are providing the feedback, and to the people who are depending on you as their leader.  Remind yourself of this often.

4. Make accountability a habit

Setting up a reminder to give and to ask for feedback as part of every meeting. This will help ensure that feedback flows consistently. Make time to meet with individuals on a regular basis for one-to-one conversation and use meetings as a way to celebrate the ongoing work of the people involved. Both the one-to-one meetings and the group meetings are opportunities to practice accountability by making it a habit. each meeting agenda 

5. Recognize and celebrate progress

The most motivating of all forms of feedback is praise for good work. Identify, celebrate, and learn from successes. It motivates people to do their best and creates responsibility role models for others to follow.

When Feedback is Difficult

When you find providing feedback, as an accountable leader difficult, consider finding a coach to assist you in your leader development. Your coach will help you:

  • Address successes, challenges, ideas for improvement, and ways to integrate ongoing learning and development.
  • Recognize development and growth opportunities for the people you lead. When you develop healthy relationships and stay in close contact with the people around you, you know where their gaps are and where the potential lies.
  • Develop empathy and compassion. When people feel cared for, they are more likely to be responsible. When they feel neglected, they are not motivated. Criticism and threats only discourage healthy relationships and accountability.
  • Provide positive feedback. Most people say the most memorable recognition they ever received was from a high-level leader. Remember, praise for good work is a powerful leadership tool. 

Model Accountability

As a leader, you can’t force people to develop a meaningful sense of accountability. But you can create the atmosphere that promotes commitment and responsibility by modeling accountability. Develop relationships, communicate clearly, and give frequent updates. 

So, how do you view the concept of accountability? The people around you are taking their cues from you.  What is one thing you will do this week to model accountable leadership? Maybe you can think of it this way, “How do I want to grow personally and improve professionally?” Remember, who you are is how you lead. 

When you need and want assistance, remember that Sara Thomas and I are with you in your leadership journey. When we can be of encouragement or help, contact us at connect@transformingmission.org. We are ready to assist you with insights and resources in becoming a courageous leader.

Check out LeaderCast. On the podcast this week, Sara Thomas and I continue our discussion on Accountable Leadership. If you have not been a LeaderCast listener, you want to start with this one. Check out Episode 175 of LeaderCast. This is one resource you will want to have as you navigate the challenges of 2021. Again, who you are is how you lead. 

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One Characteristic of Accountable Leadership

If I ask you what you have learned over the past year, what would you say? “I’ve learned more about technology than I ever wanted to know.” Or “I learned how to relate to people without being face-to-face with them.” Or “I have learned more about myself and who God created me to be.” 

One of the things I have learned or relearned over the past year is “as a leader your character will be tested more than your competency”. People who look to you as their leader are looking for a person they can trust. They learn to trust you by paying attention to what you do more than listening to what you say. Remember, who you are is how you lead.

I’ll Keep You in Prayer

Maybe you can think of this way. Over the past several weeks I have heard some of you say, “I’ll be praying for you,” or “I’ll keep you in prayer.” I am grateful for your prayers. I know you are sincere in making your commitment. Now, understand, I am not complaining, but I often wonder if you, or any of us, actually deliver on that commitment to pray.   

In our culture, when a report of violence has taken place like a mass shooting, whether in a school, a shopping center, or a neighborhood, (there have been 48 mass shooting in the United States since March 18), I either hear people say, “My thoughts and prayers are with you,” or I read on social media simply, “Thoughts and prayers.” Again, it is a good gesture to offer thoughts and prayers, but do you think people making that commitment actually pray?

Are You Accountable for Your Commitments?

I confess there was a time in my life and ministry when I would honestly say, “I’ll pray for you.” It was truly a desire of my heart to pray for the person to whom I had made the commitment. Yet, I would not think of that commitment until the next time I saw that person. The thought would run through my mind, “Oh, I hope they are doing well. I forgot to pray.”

Then one day it occurred to me, that every time I said, “I will pray for you” or “I’ll keep you in prayer,” I was making a commitment to pray. Now, I don’t know whether anyone knew I was praying or not, but I knew. For me, that was enough to develop new habits of accountability. What I have learned is, people listen to the words of their leaders and then observe whether the leader actually lives what he or she says. The question is “Are you being accountable for your commitments?”

Deliver on Your Commitments

Accountability occurs when you reliably deliver on your commitments. You demonstrate accountability when you show others you can be trusted to do what you say you will do. When you take responsibility for your actions and decisions, you model for others as well as set a path of accountability they can follow.

So, let’s stay with the practice of prayer. When you or I say, “I will be praying for you,” you are making a commitment. Now, how does that commitment to pray relate to accountable leadership?

 1. Lead by Example

By your actions, you model leadership by showing others how they too can be accountable. As a leader, you demonstrate accountability with these behaviors:

  • Discipline – Stay focused upon your goals and be aware when you are getting derailed by competing desires or priorities. If prayer is your goal and you make a commitment to pray, set aside the time to pray. The excuse of “not enough time” or “I had a meeting” reveals the need for the discipline to order your life around your goals.
  • Integrity – Be who you are. Be authentic and trustworthy regarding commitments and honest and responsible when something goes wrong. When you make a commitment to pray for someone, pray for them.  As a person of integrity, if you make a commitment to pray but don’t pray, be honest and responsible enough to admit that you forgot or simply did not pray. You will gain a greater respect and effectiveness if you keep your commitments as well as being honest when you don’t. Integrity does not come by “faking it until you make it.”
  • Improvement – Develop new skills and behaviors that assist you in keeping your commitments. If you want to pray for others, set aside time to pray. Establish new patterns and develop new schedules for prayer. You will not need to tell people you are learning and implementing new habits, your living will reveal the depth of your praying.

2. Develop Accountable Leaders

When you provide people opportunities to be responsible, you are developing accountable leaders. Regardless of the work or task, people learn to deliver on their commitments when they experience the importance of being reliable and trustworthy in the eyes of others. Assist the people around you with opportunities to pray for one another. Give your leaders prayer partners and have them check in with one another every time you gather. Celebrate the new prayer habits. If someone hasn’t prayed, asked what he or she needs to develop the habit of praying for others.

 3. Communicate Clearly

When you communicate clearly and share information and knowledge that helps others meet their goals, you are demonstrating accountability. People will learn and take their cues from you. They will observe what you do, practice what they observe, and listen for clear direction and feedback. Remember, clear is kind. It is important to not only share information that shapes behavior but to, authentically live by the information you are sharing. So, communicate not only with your words but with your character.  

Your Character Over Your Competency

Let’s come back to “as a leader your character will be tested more than your competency”.  I practiced most of ministry thinking I knew all the right things to do and say. Yes, I attended workshops, seminars, clinics, and conferences for the purpose of sharpening my skills, so I could do what I was doing better. I am grateful, that through the assistance of good friends, colleagues, and honest feedback, I realized that who I was as a person affected my leadership more than what I could do or accomplish as a person. So, again I say, “remember who you are is how you lead.”

Do It Again, Lord!

Dr. J. Edwin Orr, as a lecturer at Wheaton College, would take students to visit places where Christian leaders had preached throughout history. In 1940 he took a group to England to visit the Epworth refectory where John Wesley had lived.

When the bus arrived at Epworth, Dr. Orr led the students off the bus and into the house. The group first saw the study of John Wesley. There was a bible on the desk and several books on the shelves. There was a feeling of awe as Dr. Orr explained that the beginnings of a great spiritual awakening had started in the heart of mind of Wesley in that study.

He then led them to the kitchen. The table was neatly but sparsely set. There were cups on the counter and plates on the shelves. Dr. Orr asked his students to imagine Wesley sitting at the table eating and taking nourishment for his preaching missions. He explained that deep spiritual conversations had taken place with colleagues and friends around that table.

He then led them into Wesley’s bedroom. It was a small room, barely large enough to hold the students as they filled in. There was a bed, neatly made, and a nightstand with a bible and a writing pad. Next to the bed, on the floor, were two worn impressions. Dr. Orr explained that those worn impressions were made by Wesley as he knelt in prayer every morning and evening.  He explained that it was Wesley’s prayers that had helped bring about England’s social and spiritual renewal.

When the visit concluded and the students were getting back on the bus, Dr. Orr noticed one person was missing. He waited for a moment before going back into the house to look for the student. He took a quick glance into the study. No one there. He looked quickly in the kitchen.  It, too, was empty.  It was when he entered the bedroom that he saw his student kneeling by the side of the bed. The student had placed his knees in the worn impressions on the floor. He was praying, “O Lord, do it again! Do it again! And do with through me.” Dr. Orr, knowing the schedule he had to keep, placed his hand on the student’s shoulder and whispered, “Come on Billy, we must be going.” At that moment the student, Billy Graham walked out of the house with this teacher and got on the bus.

Who You Are Is How You Lead

Who you are is how you lead. Your leadership is rooted in your character. You become an accountable leader when others know you can be trusted to do what you say you will do and when you take responsibility for your actions and decisions. 

You don’t need me to tell you what you need to work on regarding your accountability.  My guess is you already know. So, take a few minutes now to do the following: 

  • Thank God for making you who you are
  • Confess that you have not always been who you were created to be
  • Ask God to help you to live fully into God’s grace.  “Do it again, Lord, through me.”

Who you are is how you lead. Let me know if your conversation with God reveals anything about accountability to you. 

When you need and want assistance, remember that Sara Thomas and I are with you in your leadership journey. When we can be of encouragement or help, contact us at connect@transformingmission.org. We are ready to assist you with insights and resources in becoming a courageous leader. 

Check out LeaderCast. On the podcast this week, Charles Boayue joins us in discussing Accountable Leadership. If you have not been a LeaderCast listener, you want to start with this one. Check out Episode 174 of LeaderCast. This is one resource you will want to have as you navigate the challenges of 2021. Again, who you are is how you lead. 

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Four Characteristics of Accountable Leaders

Do your heart race and your muscles tense when you hear the word “accountability”? 

Does being accountable bring the image of someone looking over your shoulder keeping you in line when you miss a step or make a mistake? 

For some people, it means having assistance in keeping on the right path or doing the right things. For others, it means taking responsibility for their personal growth and being persons of integrity. As a leader, in addition to those things, it means taking responsibility for your decisions and for the decisions of the people entrusted to your care.

An Accountable Leader

As easy as it is to discuss accountability partners and accountability groups, which are good and necessary for personal growth and development, it is not always comfortable to be an accountable leader.   

What does being an accountable leader mean? 

Well, it means being responsible for decisions made, actions taken, and assignments completed.  As a leader, it is important that you hold those with whom you are working accountable for their work. But it is just as important for you to be held accountable for your leadership. Thomas Paine wrote, “Anyone holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.”

Accountable leadership:

  • Builds trust – The most important result of trust is the development of relationships
  • Inspires confidence – When relationships are healthy, accountability provides the people with whom you are working the opportunity to grow in skills and confidence. Accountability is not to be used for controlling behavior.
  • Creates hope – When people are growing together, they are excited about moving toward a common goal together. Moving toward a common goal creates hope for the future. 

Four Characteristics of Accountable Leaders

With that in mind, let’s consider what it might mean for you to be an accountable leader. To be an accountable leader means:

1. You are a person of hope. 

You are leading the people entrusted to your care to the destination of trust, compassion, stability, and hope.

  • Focus on your purpose. Where are you going? It is necessary that you know the mission, the purpose, or the goal toward which you are leading the people. Your focus on the purpose will help you keep on the path when difficulties arise. 
  • Know and name your current reality. Where are you now? What is your context? It is necessary that you have a clear understanding of your starting point. If you don’t know where you are, how can you get to where you are going? As simple as it seems, it matters where you start. The more you know about the context, the more clearly you can focus upon your purpose. As important as it is to know the current reality, it is equally important to name the current reality for the people with whom you are working. Remember, clear is kind. If you are fuzzy about your context, you will have difficulty reaching your goal or achieving your purpose. 
  • Provide clarity on how you achieve your goal. Work with your people to develop the specific steps or actions you need to make it from where you are to where you want to be. What obstacles are in the way? What do you need to do to avoid or to address the obstacles?
  • Again, clear is kind. Be clear when answering questions. If you don’t know the answer, either work with your people to discover the answer or connect with someone who does know the answer. As the leader you are navigating the obstacles, so everyone arrives at the destination.
  • Meet the challenge of where you are going and make it a possibility. You know where you are, where you are going, and you are navigating the obstacles.  So, as you go, hold the purpose out in front, assist people to take the necessary steps to get there.  Provide manageable steps and celebrate each step when accomplished. 
  • Develop checkpoints, or places to check your progress, along the way. Hold yourself and your people accountable for meeting each step. At each checkpoint review and evaluate.  Keep the purpose, the goal, in front of you. Celebrate each step that gets you closer to your goal. Ask yourself and the people with whom you are working what has gone well, what have they learned, and what needs to improve to move forward. 

2. You are not afraid to be vulnerable

To be a person of hope, who leads toward the goal, you must risk trusting the people with whom you work. You must own up to your commitments and promises and answer to the decisions you have made. In other words, not throwing anyone under the bus.

On one hand, establish clear goals. Be vulnerable. When the goals are fuzzy, admit you have created confusion. Take responsibility for the frustration your fuzziness creates. Remember, it is difficult to be accountable when you don’t know what you are being accountable for.

On the other hand, be honest and constructive when you know that people you are depending upon are having difficulty moving toward your goal. If you know where you are, where you are going, and the steps to get there, be vulnerable enough to risk holding people accountable to their part of the work.

3. You ask for help when it is needed

Even though you are diligent in creating a clear path, there will be bumps along the way. Don’t ignore the obstacles by pushing through.  If you are not clear on how to proceed, ask for help.

So, don’t let your pride get in the way. It is okay to ask for help before you a situation a crisis. Jim Collins, in his book From Good To Great, says that Level 5 leaders put the team’s vision and goals above their own needs. Asking for help does not mean you are not accountable. In fact, it shows just the opposite. It shows you committed to the people you are leading as well as to the goal to which you are leading them. 

4. You provide honest and constructive feedback 

Believe it or not, this aspect of accountable leadership is often the most difficult. To get to where you are going means you must provide others the opportunity to be responsible in reaching your goal. The best way to do this is through honest and constructive feedback. Feedback allows the people with whom you are working to know how they are doing. Everyone wants to know the truth. Confirming with them that their work is hitting the mark is helpful. Helping someone see where they are falling short of expectations is also helpful. Honest feedback builds trust.

Constructive feedback provides for improvement.  This is one place keeping your focus upon the purpose is necessary. Provide feedback along the way in light of your goal. It should be a continuous process. It is while you are navigating the obstacles that people need to know what needs to be adjusted or when to pivot. When you provide honest and constructive feedback, you empower the people with whom you are working.  In fact, you are allowing everyone to be accountable. 

Your Next Step

I’m not convinced you need an accountability partner or accountability group to become a courageous and effective leader. But I am convinced you need someone who you trust to give you honest and constructive feedback regarding your leadership.  I know you resist it. So do I. But to become the leader needed in today’s world, you and I must be courageous enough to risk becoming who God has created us to be. 

What one step will you take to grow in your leadership this week? If you want to be held accountable, let me know what step you are taking. Remember, who you are is how you lead. 

When you need and want assistance, remember that Sara Thomas and I are with you in your leadership journey. When we can be of encouragement or help, contact us at connect@transformingmission.org. We are ready to assist you with insights and resources in becoming a courageous leader.

Check out LeaderCast. On the podcast this week, Jessica Moffatt joins us in discussing Accountability and Courageous Leadership. If you have not been a LeaderCast listener, you want to start with this one. Check out Episode 173 of LeaderCast. This is one resource you will want to have as you navigate the challenges of 2021. Again, who you are is how you lead.  

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Four Questions to Improve Your Leadership

If you could have one leadership quality, that would remain constant throughout your everyday life and work, what would it be?

As you know, there are many qualities that are necessary for effective leadership. The list is long: trust, compassion, vulnerability, authenticity, integrity, stability, hope, accountability, just to name a few. But there is one leadership quality that lies at the heart of effective leadership. That one quality is self-reflection.

As a Jesus follower, reflection upon the scripture, everyday life, and current events is a given. Being a person of reflection is who we are. So, why do we find it so difficult and painful?

Begin with Your Purpose

As a leader you know that everything begins with your purpose. Why do you do what you do? Related to your purpose, you then decide what you are going to do to fulfill your purpose and then you plan on how you are going to make it all come about. When you don’t take time to reflect regularly upon who you are and why you do what you do, you continually run the risk of either “blowing in the wind” without direction or bumping into tensions and failures that could have been avoided.   

The Power of Self-Reflection

Self-reflection is a humbling, yet powerful skill that helps you improve who you are as a person as well as your effectiveness as a leader. It is a practice that assists you in taking an honest look at yourself: your strengths, your weaknesses, and areas for improvement. It allows you the time and space to decide how you want to live and work in the days, weeks, months, even years ahead. It is not easy to admit you could have done something better, but it is in your own self-reflection that you can decide how you will live and lead differently from this moment forward.

To say it another way, self-reflection is taking time to think, contemplate, examine and review yourself as part of increasing your self-awareness.

An Illustration

Permit me to use a personal illustration. This week I am celebrating my 67th birthday. Over the years, I have developed the practice of reflecting upon my life and work as my birthday approaches. I believe God has created me to make a difference in the places I live, work, and associate with people. This past week, during my time of reflection, I asked myself, “Am I giving myself in the ways God has created me to give?”

In reflection of the scriptures, the stories of Holy Week were fresh in my mind. Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. Simon Peter denying that he knew Jesus. Judas betraying Jesus and feeling guilty. Pilate washing his hands of responsibility. The soldiers and the crowd taunted Jesus and cried out for his death. Jesus hanging on a cross, crucified.  

Thinking about current events, I reflected upon the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The 53rd anniversary of his assassination was on Easter Sunday. I reflected on the life of George Floyd and upon the life of the police officer who is on trial for killing him. I reflected upon the multiple mass shooting events over the past two weeks, the acts of violence toward Asian Americans, the continued politicization of wearing masks in the midst of the COVID pandemic, and the children and teenagers being detained at the border.  

Pausing at a Question

More than once, I caught myself thinking, “Would I have treated Jesus the way the people treated Jesus in these stories? I caught myself being judgmental and blaming others for the current misjustice and treatment of people in our culture.   

So, I confess, I have basically kept my faith private. I have a lot of knowledge about Jesus and his radical message of love. I have an abundance of information about the current events in the world in which I live, but I express my faith in safe and sterile ways. To put it another way, I do a lot of talking but not a lot of walking regarding my faith as a Jesus follower. 

Another Look at the Cross

So, I took another look at Luke’s story of Jesus on the cross. In Luke 24:34, Jesus prays, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” This prayer was in keeping with the character and life of Jesus. He was praying for forgiveness for those who were violating him because they did not know what they were doing. In Luke, the primary problem is ignorance. “Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.” They have killed the Lord of glory in ignorance.

Forgiven for Ignorance?

I know it seems strange that anyone would have to be forgiven for ignorance. We usually don’t put forgiveness and ignorance together. But when you think of the different kinds of ignorance that move and motivate people, the ignorance that closes their eyes when they have every opportunity to see the truth, our hope is “Father, forgive them…”

When I think about it, evil could be called intentional ignorance. When we refuse to listen or to understand. When we remain silent and do nothing. When we turn our backs and say, “Well, it is terrible, but it is not my problem.” That is intentional ignorance.

The crowds walked by Jesus on the cross, their only words were insults, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us.” Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” It sounds like Jesus forgave them for their ignorance. Could that work for us?

Father, Forgive Us…

When we are filled with prejudice and we target and kill innocent people because of cultural differences or the color of their skin… “Father, forgive us, we are being intentionally ignorant.”

When we use our power, position, or privilege as harassment, to keep others in their place… “Father, forgive us, we are being intentionally ignorant.”

When we know that women are paid less for the same work, not promoted with the same skills, overlooked for being different…” Father, forgive us, we are being intentionally ignorant.”

When children and adults, bystanders, are killed by gun violence in schools, in parks, in clubs, in churches… “Father, forgive us, we are being intentionally ignorant.”

When medications are not available or too expensive because our health care is inadequate…” Father, forgive us, we are being intentionally ignorant.”

When any one of us remains silent when we know we should speak up and step out… “Father, forgive us, we are being intentionally ignorant.”

Can we be forgiven for our ignorance? “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”

The Love of God

These words were spoken by a person whose only weapon was the love of God. Whose only crime was being different. Who raised suspicion because he challenged the systems of hatred, prejudice, and bigotry. Yet, in the midst of being put to death for extending love, even to his enemies, he called upon God to forgive the ignorance of his abusers and accusers. 

I have made peace with the fact that I may not see the full result of any ministry I have been graced to participate in. But I understand that I honor God by offering myself in living this way.  I don’t want to deny it or work against it.  I don’t want to turn away from the work God has for me to do. 

So, I am, again, committing myself to hold back evil, in all the forms it presents itself. I am committing to repair systems and structures, especially the church that has helped make me who I am. And I commit to be a healing agent for people who are broken and suffering. I am committing myself to be about the business of peacemaking. I will constantly be about the work of disrupting the façade of peace so the authentic peace of Christ can take root and grow. 

Please pray with me and for me as I grow into this stage of my life and ministry. Pray that I am who God intends for me to be at this point and time in history. Pray that I will make the difference God has created me to make.

Now, what about you? 

Self-reflection is not spending hours contemplating your navel. It is focusing upon what and who you value and deciding on what you are going to do about it.  It is not some intellectual exercise.  It is about being self-aware and becoming more who God created you to be. 

Four Questions for Self-Reflection

Here are four questions to ask yourself and to reflect upon:

  1. Am I being true to myself? It is easy to lose sight of what you value and why you are doing what you are doing. Your identity can become quickly lost in the paperwork, meetings, preparation, care, etc. These are all good and necessary aspects of being a leader. This question helps realign yourself with what’s going on around you. 
  2. Am I allowing the things I can’t control to stress me out? It is tough not to worry about the things of which you are responsible. Environments, factors and conditions outside your control all affect the eventual outcome of what you are trying to do. Live in the grace given in the moment. There will be grace for what you face tomorrow. So, place your energy on what you can influence. In other words, don’t use up so much mental energy in focusing on what we can’t influence. 
  3. Do I make time for those closest to me? What you do is important. But so are the people closest to you. They are your inspiration and your constant reminders of what you value most. By making time for those closest to you, you keep yourself in touch with everything that truly matters. 
  4. Am I achieving the goals I have set for myself? When you don’t know where you are going you usually end up there. This is one of the biggest shortcomings of leadership, you get so caught up in activity, which might be good, but it is not taking you where you want to go. Stopping and changing direction is not a sign of failure.  On the contrary, it is a sign of courageous leadership, no matter how far you’ve travelled in the other direction.

Remember

Your leadership starts with you. So, what one thing will you do this week that will help you reflect upon your life and work. What one step will you take to become more the leader God has created you to be?

Remember, who you are is how you lead. 

When you need and want assistance, remember that Sara Thomas and I are with you in your leadership journey. When we can be of encouragement or help, contact us at connect@transformingmission.org. We are ready to assist you with insights and resources in becoming a courageous leader. 

Check out LeaderCast. On the podcast this week, we talk about Accountability. If your eyes just rolled or your heart rate started to speed up, join us as we reframe accountability as a way to grow, succeed, and innovate in life, leadership and the local church. Check out Episode 172 of LeaderCast. This is one resource you will want to have as you navigate the challenges of 2021. Remember, who you are is how you lead.