Month: January 2019

5 Reasons Why I Host the Summit on Our College Campus

Posted on January 14, 2019 by - Because of the GLS, Education, North America, Stories, The Global Leadership Summit

Northwestern College GLS Host Site Entrance

I first attended the Summit in 2000 and have attended nearly every year since. I have long encouraged other leaders I’ve worked alongside to attend, telling them the Summit is the most formative leadership experience I’ve ever been a part of.

When the opportunity arose in 2017 for Northwestern College to be a Summit host site, I felt the Holy Spirit’s leading to bring the Summit to our campus. We’ve hosted two successful Summits, and I’m especially grateful that around 20 percent of our total audience has been Northwestern College employees.

These are the five biggest reasons we host the Summit on our college campus:

1. We’re dreaming bigger.

Audience at Northwestern CollegeOver the years, I have definitely incorporated insights and inspiration from the Summit into my own leadership style and strategy. Now that the Summit is on our campus, though, I find myself dreaming bigger. I am encouraging members of the college’s President’s Cabinet to attend regularly, and they, in turn, are bringing their teams.

One dream I have is for Northwestern College to be known as a place where leaders learn—a place where not only students, but also church and community leaders come for world class leadership content delivered either within the context of or easily adapted to a Christian worldview. I’m grateful for the providential partnership of the Summit as we seek to expand Northwestern College’s kingdom influence.

2. It’s influencing our leadership and culture.

Discussion at Northwestern CollegeAs we’ve hosted the Summit just twice, we’ve not yet realized the full potential of Summit influence on our campus leadership and culture. But the Summit has already proven to be a powerful starting point for campus leaders and leadership teams as they determine vision and strategy for delivering Christian higher education in ways—both form and content—that meet the demands and expectations of today’s college students.

3. It reminds us we have influence and we equip influencers.

Volunteers at Northwestern CollegeOne of the things I enjoy at every Summit are the stories of leaders who started small (or young) and have accomplished amazing things for God’s kingdom through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are a college host site. The timing of the Summit doesn’t enable us to involve our students, but they are the future leaders we, as a Christian college, spend nine months teaching, mentoring and equipping for participation in God’s redeeming work.

The timing of the Summit does enable us, as college professors and staff members, to gather before the start of another school year and invest in ourselves as leaders and teachers. It reminds us that 1) we have influence and 2) we are equipping influencers.

4. It’s relevant, humbling and confidence building.

Tech booth at Northwestern CollegeI spend a great deal of time around young Christians, and one of the things that concerns them is that the church seems less and less relevant to the world they’re experiencing. This year especially, the Holy Spirit worked through Summit leaders to deliver a Summit filled with honesty and lament alongside inspiration and practical insights. It felt more relevant than ever, and the Summit’s reckoning with relevance is one that I believe is a valuable model for churches and Christian organizations.

It is both humbling and confidence-building to participate in the Summit alongside other leaders who have the same mix of questions, doubts, grand visions and strategic plans you have as a leader of an organization and follower of Christ.

5. It brings awareness to the need to refresh constantly.

Prayer Room at Northwestern CollegeThis year was particularly challenging in ways that led me to lament and in ways that reminded me that Jesus Christ is really the only perfect model of leadership to follow without reservation. One takeaway this year has been a sober awareness of the fallibility of human leaders and of the need to ask God to constantly refresh my spirit of humility, my openness to feedback and my self-awareness regarding how I honor and nourish the image of God in those I lead.

At Northwestern, our mission is to be a Christian academic community engaging students in courageous and faithful learning and living that empowers them to follow Christ and pursue God’s redeeming work in the world. The Summit is serving our school by helping us to dream bigger, raise our leadership culture, equip us to equip others, stay relevant, humble and confident and refresh our awareness. Indeed, the Summit is one of the most formative leadership experiences I’ve ever been a part of.

The Silver Bullet to Your High Performance

Posted on January 14, 2019 by - Articles, Influence, Leadership Development, Leading Others

Row team on the lake at sunset with Oakland city skyline in the background.

What do you believe is the single greatest contributor to your high performance as a leader?

There are several ways to answer that question:

  • Expose yourself to great leadership content or experiences
  • Align your leadership closely with your strengths
  • Reflect on your best next step of development
  • And the list goes on…

At the Global Leadership Summit, performance development expert Rasmus Ankersen shared that the silver bullet contributing to high performance (primarily in elite athletes) was their environment, based on research in his book The Goldmine Effect.

He discovered that any time you grouped aspiring athletes together, their “better-togetherness” amplified their capacity to develop athletically.

It was the global consistency of strength-in-numbers—despite different ethnic contexts, global climates and even sporting engagements—that consistently proved environment was the single greatest contributor to high performance.

Do you have an environment that stimulates your high performance as a leader?

When I say environment, I’m not referring to your work space or culture. I’m referring to an environment where you cluster with other like-minded leaders for the purpose of training each other to be better. I’m referring to the kind of environment Ankersen would say most stimulates high performance–a leadership-development environment.

About a decade ago, I realized that I wasn’t part of any leadership environment, so I imagined and ultimately created one. I made some phone calls to about a half-dozen other senior leaders of churches in similar size and stage to mine and asked if they’d be willing to join me in creating a training environment.

Then I contacted a senior leader of a church beyond where we all were and asked if he would join as our coach—someone who could facilitate conversations among us, help us share our best practices and also someone who could provide insight in ways we wouldn’t even know to ask.

Leadership development can’t just be something you witness; it’s something you actively make happen in those around you.

Then I challenged each of our group members to create a similar cluster in their local communities, as a way of paying forward into other church leaders the value we were receiving from each other. So, each of the half-dozen leaders started a second group, where they played the role of coach for other church leaders in their surrounding neighborhoods.

Fast forward over a decade and what we now have in Southern Ontario is a “Leaders’ Village.” Believing it takes a village to raise a child—but feeling like there was no village to raise people who were leading churches—this set of leaders gather for formal sessions; informal phone calls and lunches and more ongoing e-mail banter has become a both lifeline and launch-pad for our leadership.

One prominent member in our group described our Leaders’ Village as the single greatest leadership development investment he had received in a decade. Rasmus Ankersen wouldn’t be surprised, since he knows that environment is the single greatest contributor to high performance.

If you’re looking to cultivate a leadership development environment for yourself, ensure these three basic ingredients are at play:

1) Show up

No group can strengthen and perform effectively if participants’ attendance is sporadic and irregular. Consistent commitment over time is essential. This might sound simple, but one of the greatest challenges in a leaders’ life is pace. Regularly assembling high performance-seeking leaders requires tremendous discipline and commitment to make it happen.

2) Join in

A group only benefits if each member contributes. Full participation is required by every single group member, if the group is going to have the impact of a high performance-stimulating environment. Leadership development can’t just be something you witness; it’s something you actively make happen in those around you.

Life change happens best in relationship. But if leadership development is simply a specific kind of life change in a specific type of person, shouldn’t leadership development best happen in communities of leaders committed to being iron that sharpens each others’ iron?

3) Be real

Not only do group members need to listen, they also need to be vulnerable and ask for advice. They should share their challenges, struggles and the places where they’re most stuck. Pursuing high performance is no time to get paralyzed by egos. It takes a humility that welcomes others into your world to make you better.

 

 

Do you have a leadership-developing environment around you that you’re a part of, as Ankersen suggests? If not, can you form one and make these simple but significant commitments to each other?

At our church we’ve said that, “Life change happens best in relationship.” But if leadership development is simply a specific kind of life change in a specific type of person, shouldn’t leadership development best happen in communities of leaders committed to being iron that sharpens each others’ iron?”

Rasmus Ankersen would challenge us to embrace that the single greatest contributor to high performance is environment.

Why (Most) Resolutions Fail

Posted on January 10, 2019 by - Articles, Change Management, Leading Yourself, Learning Agility

New year Concept - 2019 number and text on notepad. Smartphone, pen and cup of copy background.

It’s the New Year, so I’m writing this post on day 24 of a juice cleanse, while walking at a treadmill desk and simultaneously learning Italian, Mandarin and Dothraki.

Actually, I just stopped at Panda Express. (So good!)

Is every resolution doomed to fail or is a “New-Year, New-You” even possible?

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately—how behavior changes can be encouraged, why some methods work where others crash and burn. And not just because it’s January.

You’ll be more effective inspiring behavioral change by persuading them with nudges than by restricting choice.

As we build Humu, we’re acutely focused on making the experience of work better for everyone, everywhere—a mission that’s likely to require behavioral change in organizations from top to bottom, from the mailroom to the boardroom, from retail to real estate.

There’s a lot to learn, but there’s one thing that the research is unequivocal on: as cliché as it is, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. You’ll be more effective inspiring behavioral change (in yourself, in others, in your company or organization) by persuading them with nudges than by restricting choice or forcing action or ideologies.

I was reminded of this by a recent Atlantic article in which writer Peter Beinart described research by a team from the University of Toronto:

In a 2011 study, three social psychologists … gave college students two different pamphlets meant to combat prejudice. The first emphasized the value of nondiscrimination. (“It’s fun to meet people from other cultures.”) The second emphasized social norms that discourage discrimination. (“People in my social circle disapprove of prejudice.”) The second pamphlet was not only less effective than the first in reducing bigotry; it actually led to a spike in manifestations of bigotry. [emphasis mine]

“Shaming people for their views can backfire,” he wrote, causing them to dig in their heels and double down on the behavior. “Pressuring people to accept a non-bigoted belief can engender resentment that leads them to express more bigotry than they did before.”

A specific example to be sure, so now back to my juice cleanse, and why restricting diets, which often rely on tactics of shame and deprivation, so often fail. When we slip up on our resolutions (me at Panda Express), we shame ourselves for that failure. And shame leaves little reason for doing better tomorrow. What’s the point? I’m flawed, I’m terrible, so why bother trying? And all of a sudden, we’ve constructed a justification for not eating healthy.

The winning tactic isn’t the removal of choice, it’s the subtle nudge toward a better one.

On the contrary, if I tell myself that I made a mistake, but tomorrow is another meal, another chance, I’m able to accept the inevitable ups and downs without giving up. In this way, deprivation is never going to construct an environment for a personal success, nor is it likely to provide the outcome you want when trying to shift behavior in a workplace or other social setting.

Here’s where we know nudging is proven to be effective. For the uninitiated, read up on the work of Nobel prize-winning economist Richard Thaler. Personally speaking, the techniques we implemented at Google helped me to lose 30 pounds over two years and keep it off. When we put candy in opaque containers in company micro-kitchens, calories consumed from sweets dropped by 40 percent as people opted for the more visible, healthy snacks.

The winning tactic isn’t the removal of choice, it’s the subtle nudge toward a better one. In contrast, when Google tried an experiment replacing 12-inch plates in its cafeterias with 9-inch versions, it was close to outright revolt. “Now I have to get up twice to have lunch,” wailed one employee. But the power of the nudge: in a cafe where both the 9 and 12-inch version were available, 21 percent switched to the smaller plates.

The big idea is this: if we’re trying to change our behavior, looking backward makes us feel ashamed. Looking forward gives us a chance to be a little bit better, every day.

Whether your goal is to become healthier, reduce bigotry or master a fictional language, look for the opportunity ahead of you, instead of the missed opportunities behind.

 

This article originally appeared on LinkedIn.

Christians in Persecuted City Find Hope at the GLS

Posted on January 9, 2019 by - Because of the GLS, Church, Middle East, Stories

Road in the Middle East

The Global Leadership Summit takes place in countries and cities we never thought God would take it. In some cases, we can’t even disclose the name of the city for the protection of the Christian pastors and leaders there who hunger so desperately for the leadership encouragement, inspiration and training.

This is one of those cities.

During the 2018/2019 GLS season, the Summit blessed hundreds of leaders in a remote city in a persecuted region of the Middle East.

Be blessed by the words of several of the attendees, and know that your prayer and support are not in vain.

 

Thank you for standing beside me.

Just few days before Christmas in 2017, there was a terrorist attack on our church. Scores of people were gunned down and brutally injured during the Sunday church service.

I will not forget the bloodshed, the screaming and gunfire in the church. Life felt meaningless and fear dominated me and the congregation. At the same time, I was in deep sorrow for all the victims. For months, nothing could help or put a balm on my wounds for what happened under my leadership. I was badly broken inside.

How much more thanks can I say for the GLS—for caring for us in this time and taking a step of faith and boldness? God sent the GLS for me, especially, and for all others who went through this dark time.

I can stand firm now and say, God cares for me and He cares for all the sorrow and wounds, because He already took all this on the cross for me. Thank you for standing beside me.

 

The best is yet to come.       

After being in isolation because of the persecution here, I asked God “Is this it? Is this the end to my calling? Maybe I have to move from this hard ground and to another city.”

But here comes The Global Leadership Summit again this year. It was just like a fresh breath of air for me. I felt God show me that He is not yet done with me! Truly, after spending two days at the Summit, the Lord is showing me that the best is yet to come!

 

He has not given us a spirit of timidity.

The situation here is dire. We did not expect there would be a big gathering here for Christian for quite a long time. It’s been a terrible situation. But the GLS showed us our God teaches us to work above our situation and circumstances, not under them. And when the team came all the way here, there was no point for me to stay away and be afraid.

I got more encouragement and boldness to do His service after attending the GLS. Indeed, He has not given us the spirit of fear and timidity (2 Timothy 1:7). I am active again in evangelism.

 

It was daring of them to come here.

It was a very difficult decision, but I had decided to move with my family to another city, as it’s been getting very difficult to carry on. But deep down in my heart, I knew it was not right. Then the GLS came to our city. It was surprising and daring of them to come.

During the two days of the Summit, I experienced how God has the power to turn every bad situation into something for good. It was so compelling to me that every element, discussion and session were all speaking to me. This year, the GLS was made for me.

 

Today is a turning point.

The thing that is astonishing for me is that God has a plan for my life even at the age of 67. Today I attended my first GLS. I never thought I could get better or develop more skills. But the teachings were so clear. I cannot deny that I repented and made my pledge to God that I will put forth my best effort to grow more to the full potential God has given me. I will glorify God in my business from now on. Thank you. Today is a turning point in my life.

Willow Creek Independent Advisory Group Update

Posted on January 8, 2019 by - News & Updates

View of Summit audience from the balcony

The Willow Creek Independent Advisory Group (IAG) has been fully engaged in its assignment since its formation this past August. Its task is threefold: 1) consider allegations related to Bill Hybels as founder and pastor of Willow Creek Community Church (WCCC) and founder and spokesperson of the Willow Creek Association (WCA); 2) review organizational culture of the church and association; and 3) make recommendations to the church and association for future actions.

The IAG works autonomously. Neither WCCC nor WCA are represented on the IAG nor party to the group’s work except for providing information as requested. Both WCCC and WCA have pledged their full cooperation and to date have been fully cooperative of all requests made of them.

Extensive written documents have been reviewed by the IAG, including submissions to its fully confidential hotline. A lengthy list of interviews has and is being conducted, and additional consultations have been engaged. The IAG continues to receive broad and candid engagement.

The IAG is on track to meet its completion target of sometime in the first quarter of 2019.

Members of the IAG serve without remuneration. Expenses are covered by an anonymous donor outside of WCCC/WCA and administered by a third party. The group is co-chaired by Jo Anne Lyon, General Superintendent Emerita of The Wesleyan Church, Indianapolis, IN, and Leith Anderson, President of the National Association of Evangelicals, Washington D.C. Other members are Margaret Diddams, Provost of Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL, and Gary Walter, past president of the Evangelical Covenant Church, Chicago, IL.

The IAG continues to welcome confidential submissions to the hotline at: WillowInvestigationHotline@CapinCrouse.com. Confirmation of a received submission comes via return email acknowledgement. Voice submissions may be left at the hotline number of 630.682.9797 x 1292, receipt of which is acknowledged in the message. The IAG does not respond to media requests or individual inquiries.

Upcoming GLS Events & Prayer Requests

Posted on January 8, 2019 by - Asia, Europe, News & Updates, The Global Leadership Summit, Western Europe

Worship in India

Every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 8:30 am CST, our staff gathers together to pray for our partners across the globe.

Please join us in prayer as we lift up the international Summit events happening this weekend. Pray for God’s anointing on every detail and that those who attend would leave feeling equipped, inspired and encouraged to lead the change they long for in their communities.

And if you have a prayer request, please share it with us. We would be honored to pray with you!

January 11

Seremban, Malaysia

January 12

Marthandam, India

The need is great. We see God using the GLS in a great way. And we really want to thank you—for all the support you’ve given so we could make a change in our country, and so our leaders could have a greater opportunity for change. Our churches can have incredible influence because of your prayer.

Huskvarna, Sweden

January 14

Bellary, India

 

 

Summit Faculty in The News–Winter 2019 Edition

Posted on January 8, 2019 by - News & Updates, North America, The Global Leadership Summit

Summit Faculty in The News––Winter 2019 Edition News and Updates Post Photo

GLS faculty alumni continue to impact the world of leadership. Catch up with those that made news in 2018 in this update.

 

1) Craig Groeschel’s (2018, 2015, 2012, 2008) Life.Church opened its 28th location in Catoosa, Oklahoma, the seventh in the Tulsa Metro Area. Life.Church broke ground on the 37,059 square-foot building in May 2017 and opened its doors in March 2018.

2) Bishop T.D. Jakes (2018, 2016, 2010, 2004) is preparing to bring an economic empowerment event to Atlanta this year.

3) Danny Meyer (2018) is spearheading a $20 million funding round for Goldbelly, a food delivery upstart that teams with notable restaurants across the nation.

4) Bryan Stevenson (2017) was presented with the People’s Champion Award, presented by John Legend at the E! People’s Choice Awards in November. He was recognized for opening the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, a new memorial that opened in 2018, standing as a sobering reminder of racial inequality in America, from slavery to segregation to mass incarceration.

5) Brené Brown (2017, 2015), a Houston native, served as a social worker to victims of Hurricane Harvey and mobilized clothing donations through social media for Harvey evacuees.

6) Gary Haugen’s (2017, 2008) International Justice Mission has announced a partnership with Target Corp. to combat labor trafficking in India. Target is investing funds over three years toward social responsibility initiatives, enhanced policies to ensure safe migration for laborers and a grassroots prevention program. The program is designed to equip non-governmental organizations and empower survivors to become advocates with government leaders. The program also aims to engage the media to raise awareness about the prevalence of bonded labor.

7) Ed Catmull (2015) stepped down as president of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios on Jan. 1 and will stay on as an adviser through July 2019.

8) Joseph Grenny (2014, 2013) and The Other Side Academy won the 2018 EY Social Entrepreneur of Year Award in the Utah Region for creating a successful model of Entrepreneurship for the organization that creates a global “therapeutic community” available to all who need it.

9) Carly Fiorina (2014, 2012, 2009, 2007) launched a new podcast in November called By Example: A Leadership Podcast with Carly Fiorina , where she will sit down and talk with real leaders who are focused on changing the order of things for the better and solving real problems. Guests will include NBA star Baron Davis, Gen. and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Sen. Bob Dole, ESPN Commentator Jay Bilas and Gretchen Carlson.

10) Tyler Perry (2014) has been cast as Gen. Colin Powell in the movie Vice, the story of Dick Cheney as Vice President to President George W. Bush.

11) Tony Dungy (2010) returned to his alma mater, the University of Minnesota, this fall and presented the university with a commemorative Hometown Hall of Fame plaque, which will be on permanent display. Dungy’s hope is that students will see it as a symbol of what happens when committing themselves to greatness.

12) Blake Mycoskie (2010), founder of TOMS, has launched a new campaign to end gun violence in America by bringing voices together through a simple call to action. TOMS is also giving $5 million to organizations across the country committed to ending gun violence, which Mycoskie announced in November on the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.

13) Tim Keller (2009) has stepped down as senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in Manhattan, New York. His retirement was part of a decade-long plan to transition the single Presbyterian Church in America congregation into three churches. Keller will work full-time teaching at the Reformed Theological Seminary and working with Redeemer’s City to City church-planting network.