Month: June 2017

The Church Steps in to Unite Colombia in the Midst of Uncertainty

Posted on June 2, 2017 by - Because of the GLS, Government, Latin America, Military, Stories

The GLS returned to Bogota, Colombia after several years of disunity and lack of peace in the region.

But the paradigms are shifting. They are on the cusp of a new era.

Colombia is currently experiencing a process of building peace within the country. On the outside, the perspective is nice, but on the inside, there is still a lot of uncertainty among people.

The Church realizes it can step in to unite the country, despite the uncertainty.

Realizing the Church can have an influence on the government, the GLS team in Colombia says they are experiencing the beginning of an era of unity as the Church plays a role in bringing peace to the nation by influencing all sectors of society.

“I celebrate that I had a chance to come to an event like the GLS.

At the most recent GLS, people from all sectors of society—business, education, church and government—all attended the relaunch anticipating new hope for the future of their nation.

A colonel in the Colombian army sat in the audience and was inspired to be a better leader. He wrote this note:

“I celebrate that I had a chance to come to an event like the GLS.

Many of us think it’s just our experiences that prepare us to become great leaders, but to be able to receive tools and ideas that cause transformation, not only as individuals, but as organizations, and whole communities, was truly enriching.

The GLS is beyond what I could imagine. On an individual level, I had the opportunity to come to terms with the conviction that I still have a lot to offer. I can positively influence my family and my community.

I was convicted with the commitment and the responsibility to seek Jesus as a model in leadership.

It is my desire to continue to attend, and, if possible, bring the GLS to our military this year.”

Thank you for your prayers and support for the GLS in places like Colombia that deal with the strife of unrest. Please continue to pray for the impact that the GLS will have in all sectors of society.

Wise, Foolish or Evil: Which One Are You Going to Be?

Posted on June 1, 2017 by - Articles, Communication, Conflict Management, Leading Others, Supervising People

If you believe that you’re a responsible and loving person, it’s easy to assume that other people think like you.

You think that they care about other people and how their actions affect those people. Since you have a concern about how what you do affects others, then it makes sense that everyone else is just like you, right?

The truth is that not many people take responsibility for themselves or care about how their actions are affecting other people or the mission. Moreover, some are even worse than that, and they’re actually out to do you harm. If you don’t want to accept this reality, then you’re going to waste time, money, energy and resources on people who will either squander or destroy it.

There are three types of people in the world, or rather, three styles of behavior that a person can exhibit in a particular time or context. Depending on whether you’re a psychiatrist, employer, a spouse or a judge, there are different ways of describing these categories. They all use different words, but the same categories clearly emerge in people’s behavior.

The Wise Person

Wise doesn’t mean smartest, brightest or most talented. While wisdom may coexist with these traits, having wisdom means many things. It comes from experience, and to let experience do its work, a person has to be open to receiving the lessons that it has to teach. The person who ultimately does well is the one who can learn from his own experience or the experience of others, make that learning a part of himself and then deliver results from that experience base.

But the bottom line with a wise person is that they’re open to feedback. It helps the wise, and they value it. If a person is willing to take feedback, you will likely get your return on investment.

The Foolish Person

If the chief descriptor of the wise person is that when the light shows up, he looks at it, receives it, joins it and adjusts his behavior to align with the light, the fool does the opposite: he rejects the feedback, resists it, explains it away and does nothing to adjust to meet its requirements. He’s never wrong: someone else is.

Whereas talking about a problem to a wise person helps, it is time to quit talking about the problem with a foolish person and time to have a different conversation. You have to take steps to protect what is important to you, the mission or other people. Give limits that stop the collateral damage of their refusal to change, and where appropriate, give consequences that will cause them to feel the pain of their choice not to listen.

The Evil Person

When you deal with an evil person, you have to go into protection mode, not helping mode, and it’s a big step to realize that there are people who hurt you because they want to. There are some people whose desire is to hurt others and, you have to protect yourself with lawyers, guns and money. You’ll see what I mean.

Do not hope for the evil person to change. Stay away, create the firmest protective ending that you can, and get real help to do it. Use your lawyers, law enforcement (this is the guns part), and your financial resources to make sure you will not be hurt by someone who is trying to destroy you or the things that matter to you.

You should:

1) talk to wise people about problems

 2) talk to fools about consequences

3) not talk to evil people at all, period

Making people decisions isn’t something that should ever be taken lightly, and it’s crucial to have good criteria for deciding whether or not to pursue relationships with them.

You cannot deal with all people in the same way, but once you learn the character traits that give real reason to hope that they can be different, you can know better whom you want to invite into your tomorrow.

Dr. Henry Cloud discusses this concept in more depth in an episode of The GLS Podcast. To listen, to watch, and access more resources go to glspodcast.com.