Month: October 2015

A Dream for Congo

Posted on October 20, 2015 by - Africa, Stories

“My name is Yamba, and I live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Our country is economically challenged, but with the GLS we can impact our surroundings with the knowledge and tools we receive. The GLS has inspired me with quality teaching, which has led to the transformation of my whole life, as well as the improvement of my ministry.

My dream is to see a new generation of leaders transforming the church, city and country for the better. The GLS has helped shed light on my vision that has felt somewhat blurred. The light has helped me overcome obstacles in order to accomplish my dream! The GLS is very important to me. I look at it like a factory where raw materials go in to be transformed and used for a higher purpose.

We wish to deeply express our gratitude to partners and donors of the GLS. Thank you for your kind financial support. Without it, leaders of my city and my country of origin would remain in the darkness. We continue to pray for you, so that God may multiply your business in order to support the GLS and the WCA.”

– Yamba Yamba, GLS Event Manager, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Don’t Be The Next ____________

Posted on October 14, 2015 by - Articles, Calling, Leading Yourself

Our guest blogger today is author and speaker Shauna Niequist. In the post below, she explores the subtle implications of a phrase often used to describe up-and-coming leaders.

I keep hearing things like, “He’s the next Rob Bell.”

“She’s the new Beth Moore.”

“She’s a female Donald Miller.”

“He’s a young Dallas Willard.”

“She’s the next Anne Lamott.”

I get it, what people are saying when they say things like that. They’re trying to describe a certain potential, more ‘this’ than ‘that,’ to define trajectory and tone. They’re trying to pay a compliment—they’re saying, “I think you could do what that amazing person has done.”

But there are at least two problems with this way of speaking: first, there is already one Rob Bell. And he’s great at what he does. There is a Beth Moore, and she’s amazing. Let’s not communicate to them that they’re factory models, a dime a dozen, with newer, younger versions of the same nipping at their heels.

There will never be another Dallas Willard. There will never be another Anne Lamott. These are individual people with stories and families and quirks, not types and caricatures. But we make them that when we talk about them like products. They’re not products, and they’re not replicable. They’re unique voices that God has used in extraordinary ways, and we minimize that when we talk about them like types, not people.

And what you’re saying to someone, when you tell him he’s the next so-and-so, is that there’s a slot you think he can slip into, if he tries hard enough. There’s an identity he can put on like a necktie. Just occupy this person’s voice and identity, and all will be well.

No. All will not be well. We don’t need more of them. We need more of you. God is using so many people in such beautiful ways, but we absolutely don’t need replicas of them. We need you: your voice, your uniqueness, your magic.

And we lose your magic when you lay it down in order to imitate someone else. We lose your voice, your perspective, your story, your strengths, your weaknesses, your dreams, your secrets.

Don’t be the next anybody. Be deeply, weirdly, completely, totally you.

Why do I care so deeply about this? Why does the hair on the back of my neck stand up when someone says, “He’s the next Billy Graham?”

Because some of the hardest work I’ve done in my life is fighting to believe that God’s not asking me to be the next anyone… God’s asking me to be an entirely new thing, never before, never again.

You were not made to be a clone or a replica or a version 2.0 of what God’s already done. You were made to be only you, with all the limitations and triumphs contained within that.

And so, my dear friends, promise me that you’ll be you–deeply, weirdly, totally you, not the next _____.

That’s where life is. That’s where freedom is. That’s where peace is.

India | Uniting Leaders through the GLS

Posted on October 12, 2015 by - Asia, Stories

The state Karnataka is called the north India of south India because of the kind of atrocities and opposition against Christian work in the state. Bellary, a city in Karnataka, was a hotbed of revival from 1985 to 1998. Most of the revival happened among the youth on college campuses and impacted the state, as well as the entire country. Many leaders came out of this movement., yet the city continues to struggle with division, even among the churches. There are specifically two major groups among pastors divided against each other. One group won’t attend anything if it is organised by the other—and visa versa.

But recently, a third group came up led by two medical doctors. All members organizing the GLS in Bellary were part of that student movement from 1985-1998, and they are very excited for the opportunity to raise leaders in the city.

At this first time site, 235 participants and 25 volunteers from 20 different churches gathered together to attend the GLS. Right in the middle of divided churches, a team of people under the leadership of two medical doctors managed to organize the Summit and bring people together. They personally approached all leaders and churches from both groups separately and people from both groups came to the GLS. The feedback from the GLS is encouraging:

 “Great Leadership is not easy. I want to improve” – A professional working in a multinational company

“I was very sceptical about this conference, though it was organised by my friends. These days, everybody wants to become a leader and a boss. I thought, ‘why do we want to make more bosses than disciples?’ At GLS, the focus of leadership was ‘sacrificial love’, ‘helping others win’, and ‘empowering people’. I am really encouraged.” – Dr.Raghunath, a medical doctor

 “I was able to see ordinary people rising to extraordinary levels of leadership with the focus to serve others. I am encouraged.”  – Krishna Swamy

Please pray for the impact uniting these normally divided groups will have on the city, as well as the entire state of Karnataka.

What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

Posted on October 12, 2015 by - Articles, Emotional Intelligence, Leading Yourself

Have you ever noticed, the more you look for something, the more you find it? Like when you get a new car – the next week, you see dozens of them. That’s what I’m feeling right now about today’s topic. I’ve been shocked by how many leaders I’m encountering who have low self-awareness.

Self-awareness is huge for leaders. You can argue it’s important for everyone, but for leaders, a gap here may be the determining factor in your ability to lead at all.

How self-aware are you?

An exercise I often ask leaders to do is write down three strengths and three weaknesses. I’m amazed how often this activity is futile. If you overstate your strengths and minimize your weaknesses, you will end up in trouble as a leader. My best advice on this topic is to be ruthless in your evaluation of yourself… and get help.

We all have blind spots. Regardless of how hard we try, I’ve met very few men and women in my life who have been able to pierce these blind spots on their own. However, if you and I get help and we’re willing to embrace the truth, we can identify the strengths we need to leverage and the gaps we need to mitigate.

Here are a few ideas to help you shed some light on your real strengths and weaknesses.

Conduct a 360 assessment. This can be done in a survey or an interview format. If you do a traditional survey, my recommendation is to get a third party to process the results. This will make those reluctant to participate for fear of retribution a little more likely to tell you the truth. If you don’t have the budget for this, you can do it yourself. If you want deeper insights, hire someone to do face to face interviews on your behalf.

Conduct a Stop – Start – Continue survey. This is another form of a 360 assessment, but much easier. You ask only three questions: What should I STOP doing? What should I START doing? What should I CONTINUE doing? I do this every few years. I’m always amazed at what I learn.

Build a circle of trusted advisors. The leader who doesn’t have truth tellers in their life will always be on the brink of disaster. You can include anyone you like in this group as long as you have them on your team. For me, my wife and my son are the first on my list; my administrative assistant is next; followed by a few of my co-workers and a group of men who I’ve been meeting with for over 15 years. I’m counting on these people to care enough about me to tell me the truth. They help minimize my blind spots.

Truth is a leaders’ best friend. The truth about your leadership is perhaps the most valuable truth of all.

If you’d like some ideas regarding the type of questions you might ask, check out Mark’s book, The Heart of Leadership.

This post originally appeared on Mark’s Great Leaders Serve blog. Click here to access the original article and to see more of his insights.

Categorized: Leadership Insights, Mark Miller, Self-leadership, Self-Awareness

The 2% Who Misunderstand You

Posted on October 9, 2015 by - Articles, Leading Yourself, Resilience

The insightful and prolific Seth Godin (TGLS 2011) always has something interesting to say. We liked his recent post below.

Sometimes, it’s essential that you be completely understood. That every passenger knows where the emergency exit is, or that every employee knows how it is we do things around here.

But most of the time, if 2% of your audience doesn’t get the joke, doesn’t learn what you seek to teach them, doesn’t understand the essence of your argument, it’s not the problem you think it is.

Sure, the 2% who are under-informed can write reviews, tweet indignantly and speak up. You know what? It doesn’t matter that much.

If you insist on telling everyone on the airplane precisely how to buckle their seatbelt (!), then yes, of course you’re going to not only waste the time of virtually everyone, but you’re going to train them not to listen to the rest of what you have to say.

If you insist on getting every single person in the room to understand every nuance of your presentation, you’ve just signed up to bore and alienate the very people you needed most.

When you find yourself overwriting, embracing redundancy and overwhelming people with fine print, you’re probably protecting yourself against the 2%, at the expense of everyone else. (And yes, it might be 10% or even 90%…. That’s okay).

When we hold back and dumb down, we are hurting the people who need to hear from us, often in a vain attempt to satisfy a few people who might never choose to actually listen.

It’s quite okay to say, “It’s not for you.”

 

This post originally appeared on Seth’s blog here.

10 Questions With Brené Brown

Posted on October 7, 2015 by - Articles, Change Management, Confidence, Leading Organizations

Dr. Brené Brown (TGLS 2013, 2015) recently sat down with Time Magazine to discuss her new book, Rising Strong.

The best-selling author and professor of social work discusses the difference between guilt and shame and explains the best way to fail.

Time Magazine: Your new book, Rising Strong, is about failure. You’ve written two best sellers, teach at the University of Houston and hang out with Oprah. So what do you know about failure?

Brené Brown: People look at the success of Daring Greatly or The Gifts of Imperfection and think, “Oh man, this has worked out really well.” But I self-published my first book. I could wallpaper this building with “As sexy as a book about shame sounds, we’re going to pass” letters. I borrowed money from my parents and sold copies out of my trunk. And then I got a book deal, and that book failed.

Time: Is that where your interest in failure comes from?

Brown: I’m only interested in failure because I am interested in courage. I started my research six months before 9/11. Over the past 13 years I’ve watched fear run roughshod over our families and our communities. And I think we’re sick to death of being afraid. My question was: what do the men and women who’ve experienced falls and were able to get back up have in common?

Time: And what do they?

Brown: He or she who is the most capable of being uncomfortable rises the fastest. There is a huge correlation between a capacity for discomfort and wholeheartedness. If you cannot manage discomfort, that sends you barreling into perfectionism, blame, rationalizing–without taking away key learnings. Another construct that emerged that I had not seen before was curiosity. Men and women who rise strong are curious people. They’re, like, “What do I need to dig into?”

Time: It seems so simple: notice what we feel when we fail and ask questions about it. Why do we need this book?

Brown: The contribution here is bringing into awareness everything that happens under the hood. We asked hundreds of people to list all the emotions that you understand in yourself. The average number was three: happy, sad and pissed off. We don’t have a full emotional lexicon.

Time: Have you found that women respond differently to failure than men?

Brown: Shame doesn’t feel different to different genders. However, for women, the No. 1 shame trigger is appearance and body image. I know–I am so tired of hearing myself say it. For men, it’s the appearance of weakness.

Time: Are people getting better at handling failure?

Brown: We’re handling failure with a lot of lip service. You’ve got the “fail conferences” and #FailForward. We’re still trying to spit-shine failure. When failure doesn’t hurt, it’s not failure. If you’re a leader who wants to be helpful around failure, then stand in front of your team and say, “We failed, and this is what it felt like.” Shame needs three things to grow: secrecy, silence and judgment.

Time: You say one of the keys to all this is spirituality. Why is that?

Brown: I really wrestled with that. The way I define spirituality is a deeply held belief that we are inextricably connected to one another by something bigger than us, and something that is grounded in love. Some people call that God, and some people call that fishing.

Time (Asking for a friend): Are there failures like wardrobe malfunctions that are O.K. to never think about again?

Brown: I don’t know that we need to process in depth embarrassing failures. But we do need to process humiliating and shaming failures. Guilt, embarrassment, humiliation and shame: they’re the emotions of self-consciousness. Shame, I am bad; guilt, I did something bad. They’re the two we confuse the most. The only difference between shame and humiliation is I don’t feel like I deserve my humiliation. The hallmark of embarrassment is I know I’m not alone. It’s fleeting.

–BELINDA LUSCOMBE
This article appears in the September 21, 2015 issue of TIME. You can link to the online version here.

A Vision Re-ignited in India

Posted on October 6, 2015 by - Asia, Stories

The city of Kolkata, India and its suburbs, is home to approximately 14.1 million people. As a growing metropolitan city, it has considerable urban pollution, traffic congestion, poverty, overpopulation, and other logistic and socioeconomic problems. It is against this backdrop that the GLS organized in the city for the third year. More than 300 leaders gathered to discover how to develop their leadership for the sake of the Kingdom.

 

See what Andrew Samuel had to say about the event:

“God re-ignited a vision in me through the GLS. It is overwhelming for me to realize that many a times we forget the vision God gives. This is what exactly happened to me. There are many cycle rickshaw pullers near my home.  [Cycle rickshaws are a medium of transport powered by human by pedaling.] Two years ago, God gave me a vision to do something for these people. Most of the rickshaw pullers come from various other parts of the country. [Ninety-three out of 100 cycle rickshaw pullers are homeless and the rickshaw is their home.] Every time I see them, I sense in my heart that I should do something for them. I forgot this vision, but God reminded me of it at the GLS. I want to do something concrete for these people” – Daniel Roy Das, GLS attendee, Kolkata, India

“I consider this [the GLS] as one of the greatest blessings in my life.”  – Andrew Samuel, GLS attendee

Thank you from Zambia

Posted on October 2, 2015 by - Africa, Stories

Thank you for partnering with us to equip leaders and inspire a grander vision in Zambia. Your partnership creates opportunities for leaders to be trained and encouraged to continue to transform their communities.

Thank you from Zambia

Thank you from Vietnam

Posted on October 2, 2015 by - Asia, Stories

Thank you for partnering with us to equip leaders and inspire a grander vision in Vietnam. Your partnership creates opportunities for leaders to be trained and encouraged to continue to transform their communities.

Thank you from Vietnam