Category Archives: Actions

The Heart Of The Matter… Your Words

13 Friday Apr 2018

Posted by in Actions, Attitude, Authentic, Choice, Communication, Heart, Humility, Inspiration, Integrity, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Servant, Trust

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“Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.” Dan Rockwell of Leadership Freak

This I believe… You can never separate who you are with what you say you believe in. This is a powerful statement of leadership. We are walking “billboards” of our belief system; not only in leadership but all areas of life. What are people “seeing” and “hearing” from us?

The central question today for this post is, “Do the words of your heart matter?” If you answer “no,” then please check your leadership at the door and quit “trying” to be a leader. If you answer “I’m not sure,” please keep reading. If you answer “yes,” then you are where you need to be and know your words do matter (but please do not be satisfied).

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Photo Credit: dreamstime.com

There is no mistaking, what a person is inwardly, their mouth will sooner or later reveal outwardly. That is why our words matter and they are at the heart of our leadership.

Please understand, we are not speaking of areas where rightful anger exists. We are talking about areas where one’s speech is crude, rude, evil, hateful, manipulative, etc. You get the picture… When people speak like this, it reveals their heart. Our hearts carry so much. It is a large holding compartment of your character.

Our heart is the ultimate revealer of who we actually are. More often than not, it can also represent the people we surround ourselves with the most. If you can be “labeled” by who you “hang out” with, what would your label represent?

That is why one of my goals is to find and be with like-minded, kindred-spirited people. Our lives are too short, and our leadership is too important to be seen as uncharacteristic of quality.

Our mouths express our hearts. Like it or not, it is what it is. We will try to justify and explain our thoughts to the point of no end, only to make ourselves look good or feel superior. There are not any excuses that can undo this.

Do the words of our heart matter? You bet they do and everyone listening to you can tell. Be the leader others need. Be the leader others need to hear. Have good qualities in your heart. When you do, your mouth will reveal each one. You and everyone around you will be better for it.

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page

 

The CANNOTs of Leadership

06 Friday Apr 2018

Posted by in Actions, Attitude, Authentic, Balance, Choice, Clarity, Culture, Decisions, Humility, Ideals, Inspiration, Integrity, Leader, Leadership, Momentum, Opportunity, Passion, Perseverance, Power, Purpose, Servant, Team, Trust, Understanding, Unity

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“Leadership is an aspect of power, but it is also a separate and vital process in itself.” – James MacGregor Burns

Society has done a terrific job and an injustice of conditioning the minds of many leaders to be shallow and superficial. It distorts our thinking and our ability to make decisions. In some sense, it becomes a drug that is killing the future of what great, quality leadership should be.

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Photo Credit: gettingsmart.com

Unless there is a radical change in our thought process of the way we view leadership, to be for others and not ourselves, leadership will simply fade away.

Here are a few thoughts that we CANNOT allow ourselves to do…

  • We cannot simply flow with the societal trends of leadership.
  • We cannot elevate our leadership and at the same time not hold to the foundational truths of leadership.
  • We cannot promote our leadership by not living out what we say our leadership is.
  • We cannot fall victim not acknowledging that leadership requires humility.
  • We cannot fail to realize that leadership requires enthusiasm.
  • We cannot abandon our desire to want right leadership.

Today’s leadership models promote so much focus on self that we lose sight of serving others. It is self-absorbing. To make matters worse, we buy into it. We accept it as the norm. We allow it to become part of our inner being… ME FIRST!

Our defense against leadership, that is worldly and weakens right influence, relies on distrusting our ego to the point that we must separate the error it causes in our thinking.

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page

Leadership Expectations

23 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by in Actions, Attitude, Authentic, Choice, Expectations, Humility, Integrity, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Relationships, Servant, Trust

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“We expect because we trust. Otherwise we doubt, or do not expect at all.” – Anonymous  

What should your leadership expectations be and why?

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Photo Credit:  thetransition.org

 

Before we can ask that question; we must ask, what are you expecting?

  • Are you expecting awards and trophies?
    They will collect dust, thrown into a box, placed in the attic, and someone someday will throw them away.
  • Are you expecting relationships?
    Most people will let you down. Some on purpose, others unintentionally. They love you in the good times and forget your name in the bad times.
  • Are you expecting fame?
    Odds are, you will never be satisfied.

If these are what your expectations are, then you are for yourself. Just ask around, no one likes these type of leaders. If we believe we already have it “going on” or we are “self-sufficient,” then we are miserable.

So, since we have debunked the selfish expectations, let’s think about what our leadership expectations should be.

  • Our ultimate leadership expectation should be above ourselves and reaching to help others.
  • Great leaders strive to put others above themselves. They never push or pull them out or down; they push or pull them in, helping them beyond their own power and capabilities.
  • Great leaders are in some form or fashion are a creator and sustainer for others. People depend on you to be who and what you say you are. Many times, you are the lifeline that helps others to evolve into what they want to be.

What are your leadership expectations? As you reflect on today’s topic, consider how and what you do on a daily basis. If our expectations continue to be about us, we are not expecting much. When our expectations begin promoting growth, then much value can be placed on our leadership and we will meet our expectations.

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page

Your Choices Mean A “Lot”

09 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by in Actions, Attitude, Choice, Conflict, Deciding, Decisions, Leader, Leadership

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“It is our choices… that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – J.K. Rowling

Choices

Photo Credit: taylorintime.com

The other night for Bible Study, we looked at Genesis 13-14 and 18-19, with a focus on the choices that Lot made and how they affected him and his family.   As I was riding home, I begin to think, while maybe not on the same “extreme” level, we as leaders have a “Lot” riding on the choices we make.

I will let you read the verses in Genesis on your own to see the “before and after” of the choices Lot made.  What I would like to do is highlight three of them and show how they coincide with our leadership.

Because of Lot’s choices, He faced:

WAR (Genesis 14:11)

Now, we might not face war such as Lot did, but we fight inward and outward battles every day.  Most of them are just petty conflicts that have nothing to do with nothing, and we get caught in the middle.  What we should do is let our fight be for others.

KIDNAPPING (Genesis 14:12)

Most of us have never been kidnapped and held hostage.  However, from a leadership point of view, our minds can be easily kidnapped.  When we let “things” invade our mind and consume our thoughts and time, we are kidnapped.  I firmly believe that social media is kidnapping our society.  I am sure you can add to the list of the “things.”  What we should do is make sure we are letting our minds be captivated by what will not only build ourselves to be better but also others.

OPPRESSION and TORMENT (Genesis 19:1-11)

One word:  Drama… It can wear you out mentally.  Drama is everywhere.  If you do not go looking for it, it will find you. You know that saying, “Run for your lives.”  That is what we should do to avoid being associated with drama.

There are some other results of Lot’s choices, but I thought that these three were very pertinent to leadership today.  What we should realize is every choice we make as a leader dramatically affects our lives and the lives of others.

Decision making is an art that evolves with time.  We learn from our right and wrong choices, in the hope that we can do better every opportunity that comes next.  If I could impress one thought on today’s topic is that we should never make our choices lightly.

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page