Leadership Thoughts Effective Leaders are learners. Those who are not learners are not leaders for long. My personal journey has involved more than two decades' study of leadership character,behavior and strategies. A while back I wrote down several things I was learning about leadership ... I trust the following will be of help to you as you make a difference in your world! Yours for leadership that makes a difference! Dr. John Jackson "You're here to be light ... God is not a secret to be kept ... Be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in Heaven." Matthew 5:16, The Message LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT INFLUENCE and if you don't, you are not ... People do what people see ... modeling, mentoring, and monitoring lead to multiplying influence. Getting people to embrace and seek a vision that requires them to break through familiar ways of thinking and acting requires trust. You can teach what you know ... you can only reproduce who you are. It is most often not the big decisions that change the course of history ... it is the series of small daily choices we make that can change our world. Leadership is a way of thinking about institutional heirs, a way of thinking about stewardship as contrasted with ownership" (Max DePree in Leadership Is An Art). LEADERS ARE VISIONARIES This doesn't mean they see only the future and not the present. This means they see the future AND connect the present to it ... Vision is "a clear mental image of a preferable future, imparted by God to his chosen servants, based upon an accurate understanding of God, self, and circumstances" (Barna, Without a Vision, the People Perish, 1991) "The right vision is an idea so powerful that it literally jump-starts the future by calling forth the energies, talents, and resources to make things happen" (Nanus) "There are two parts to leadership ... one is the vision casting and the other is implementation ... you have to implement things that match your vision ... And remember, the thinking that got you to where you are today, will not get you to where you need to go" (Ken Blanchard, quoted in NetFax) There is no necessary conflict between leadership & management ... All effective leaders manage ... the key question is what do effective leaders manage? LEADERSHIP INVOLVES RISK Risking for a clear and compelling future is part of the leadership calling ... "Leadership is cultivating, in people today, a future willingness on their part to follow you into something new for the sake of something great" (Daniel Brown) "There is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all who profit by the old order, and only luke-warm defenders in all those who profit by the new order. This luke-warmness arises partly from fear of their adversaries, who have law in their favor; and partly from the incredulity of mankind, who do not truly believe in anything new until they have actual experience of it" (Machiavelli, The Prince, 1513 A.D.) What 20% of what you are now doing will you stop doing this year (because it is no longer effective) and what 20% new enterprises will you launch? Drucker ... "What will you stop doing as a result of what you have learned today?" Know someone else who might find this information useful? Foward this email to a friend! Every effort was made to ensure that you were excluded from this email if you have previously unsubscribed to offers and solicitations sent by Pastorpreneur. If you would rather not receive messages from Pastorpreneur, remove yourself from future mailings. VisionQuest Ministries, 1045 Stephanie Way, Minden, NV 89423