Month: October 2016

Because of the GLS in Zimbabwe | A Pastor is Liberated from the Grip of a Broken Relationship

Posted on October 14, 2016 by - Africa, Church, North America, Stories

Friend helping another up a mountain

My name is Bazil Bhasera, I am a pastor in Kadoma, a city in the midlands of Zimbabwe. In 2015 I had the privilege of attending the Global Leadership Summit here in my city. I have been a leadership coach for the past 14 years. So initially I figured going to a Leadership Summit was way up my alley.

But I received more than leadership encouragement.

I started to write a book a few years ago, but had lost steam and was letting go of my dream of becoming a published writer. But after my experience at the GLS, I finished the book I had started… and wrote a second one! I am currently working on a third manuscript.

The GLS was one of the strongest reasons for this forward motion in my life, and here is why…

At the Summit, they talked about how we all need to have a degree of “self-awareness.” We should investigate whether we are still “tethered” to things and events that took place in our past. I have had a rough relationship with my dad and it shows up in my own role as a father to my kids. I always think that I would have lived a better life and become a better person if I had a good supportive dad.

One of the speakers described the day his own father died, and a moment of comfort came through the gripping truth that God is a father to the fatherless.

Wait a minute! Here was a man who had sat in my place, wondering how life was going to turn out without a father. I held in my heart bitter hurts and anger and self-pity because my father had not been there emotionally. My response tied me to my past, whereas his response gave him more hope for the future.

I was tethered.

Brian Houston also resonated with me. As he spoke about his book Live, Love, Lead, he told of a difficult time in his life that involved his dad. I was amazed that a man so used by God could also struggle in his relationships. This pulled me out of my pity pool and into the reality that God was using this moment to help me from my self-made pity.

“Good Father” by Chris Tomlin,  makes it real.

I felt an overwhelming sense of being liberated as the grip on the past loosened finger by finger.

I had a good father all along, but I had chosen the long hard road of misery by not choosing to focus on what I had in Christ and instead I focused on what I had lost. I borrowed the term “tethered” and that’s what I titled my book.

That’s where it all started.

 I have since published a blog and written articles that led to being asked by Skynews Zimbabwe to be a columnist.

I was about to give up on writing.

I thought it was too big a dream to pursue, but the motivation I got from the Summit made me believe I could do something great for God and inspire others.

A Glimpse of the first GLS in Mogok, Myanmar

Posted on October 13, 2016 by - Asia, Because of the GLS, Stories

The city of Mogok is a location for a new GLS site in Myanmar this year. 240 people attended for the first time. The event was held in a church on a hill overlooking the beautiful city.

Mogok is filled with Lisu tribe people. Their first language is Lisu and their second language is Burmese.

We’re thankful for the talks being translated in voice over because they wouldn’t have been able to read the Burmese subtitles.

The crowd responded well and God’s presence was awesome. Thank you for supporting the GLS in Myanmar!

Five Ways to Check Your Hiring Blind Spots

Posted on October 13, 2016 by - Articles, Human Resources, Leading Organizations

Good hiring checklists—the best ones—are inextricably linked to your organization’s mission. Deeper still, they’re linked to the specific skills and behaviors you’ve ascertained will achieve that mission. Now, we understand there are also a number of “must-have” traits that most managers look for in the hiring process. Integrity is one of them, and of course, you want it on your list. It’s a simple “go/no-go” prerequisite, no matter how attractive the candidate is on every other front. Also in this “must-have” category, the widely popularized components of emotional intelligence: self-regulation, self-awareness, internal motivation, empathy and social skills.

Successful hiring takes discipline; that’s it. It takes knowing the particular skills and behaviors your particular organization needs to win, probing candidates to see if they possess them and signing on only those people who do. And here’s the thing. You still might miss now and again; hiring’s like that. But up your odds with rigor. Good hiring demands the opposite of winging it.

As with every pronouncement like the one we just made, there are a few critical addendums and caveats that go along with it. Sort of an “uh-oh” folder to carry with you during the hiring process, if you will. Ours would contain the following notes.

IQ Over All

No matter which three or four or five mission-driven skills and behaviors you have on your hiring checklist, make sure the list also includes IQ. In today’s business environment, the playing field isn’t level. It is tilted toward the team with the smartest people.

Personality Matters

Especially a bad one. Glum, annoying, overbearing, phony or otherwise unpleasant people always seem to have a way of drawing attention to themselves, don’t they? And in a work setting, they can bring a whole team down. Obviously, if a candidate possesses exactly the dazzling technological capabilities you cannot live without, you might make an exception. But, man, should that bar be high. While you can’t train negative energy out of a person, a person—yes, even one person—can sure infect your organization with it.

Drama-Free

Certain industries, and in particular, the creative industries, contain a higher than normal quotient of—how can we say this?—drama-seekers. You know—the people who love spectacle, in particular with themselves at the center as the main attraction. Unfortunately, such people tend to be very talented, or else they wouldn’t so often end up as candidates on your short list, with you thinking, “Hmmm, I really like Bob, but he seems extremely…emotional.” The problem with excess emotionality is that it expands to fill the space available to it, spawning junk like palace intrigue, gossip and repeated personal dilemmas. People get married and divorced. They buy homes. Most employees know how to handle these life events with the proper amount of sharing. Drama-seekers can’t go through them without an audience. Sometimes their talents are worth the cost in lost productivity. But not often.”

Beware the “Swell” Factor

Next, be on alert for any person who doesn’t get that he’s, well, just a person. We’re talking about a surfeit of self-confidence. Don’t get us wrong. Healthy self-confidence is a must-have, as it’s the font of resilience. But when it seems like someone you’re interviewing for a job might have the propensity to swell instead of grow, that’s an arrogance high-alert. Stay away.

Face into References

Finally, your uh-oh list needs to include the question, “Did I check the candidate’s references—like, did I really check them?”

Yes, of course we understand that many reference checks are BS. Either the candidate has handpicked someone who’s going to spew superlatives—why wouldn’t they?—or you end up with an executive who gives you the usual CYA, “We don’t discuss former employees” line.

Don’t leave it at that. Bust your butt to find someone who really knows the candidate. Then listen—to what is and isn’t being said. If you’re getting blasé commentary or lack of detail about achievements, do not hold the phone away from your ear, though it will be tempting. Fight also the urge to make excuses for your candidate. (“That company is a mess; they didn’t appreciate Kathy.”) You must face into references, especially the bad and the ugly.

If you don’t, three months after Kathy starts to flail on the job, the person at whom you’ll be yelling, “I told you so!” will be yourself.

Because of the GLS | A Friendship Becomes a Lesson in Receiving an Un-repayable Gift

Posted on October 12, 2016 by - Because of the GLS, North America, Relationship with God, Stories, Wellness

The Global Leadership Summit is more than an annual event. It is more than leadership training. It is more than an infusion of encouragement and inspiration. Many of the stories we hear are about how one leader connected with another and together they were inspired to do something great.

This is one of those stories.

Tiffany Riddle, former event manager and Daisy O’Dell, former promotional strategist at one of our Summit sites in Spokane, WA, met several years ago while volunteering at the Global Leadership Summit.

It was a God-ordained meeting, and they grew to become great friends.

But what they didn’t realize when they met was how connected their lives were about to become, and how God would use their friendship to teach them about sacrifice, grace and saying yes to God’s whisper.