Month: February 2019

A Challenge From John Maxwell Inspires Young Leader to Serve Immigrants in Lisbon

Posted on February 4, 2019 by - Because of the GLS, Leading Organizations, Nonprofit, Stories, The Global Leadership Summit, Vision, Western Europe

The Lisbon Project

Ever since I was a little girl, justice was really important to me. As I grew up, this feeling of justice continued to grow stronger in me and become a part of who I was.

When I was 14, I went with my dad to Guinea Bissau. It’s a tiny little country in western Africa. On the first day we were there, I remember being so shocked with a different reality that I had never seen before. For the first time, I saw real inequality. For the first time, I saw real poverty. That trip really impacted me.

A different perspective of the world.

I remember coming back to Portugal, and seeing my own reality with different eyes. Before it was so normal, but now I had a different perspective. I had a broader understanding of the other realities that existed in the world. I started asking, “What can I do? What can I do with my life that will bring justice to the world? What can I do to establish a little more equality in my surroundings?” God started to grow this deep desire within my heart. There’s a verse in Isaiah 1:17, and it says, Learn to do what is right. Seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Plead the case of the widow and the orphan.

I decided to study politics and international relations. I had the opportunity to go to Scotland to the University of Aberdeen. During those four years, God opened doors for me to go to India, Sir Lanka, Mozambique and different countries where I got to further my understanding.

A different perspective of my home.

I came back to Portugal with a very clear plan of what I wanted to do with my life, but God had a different plan for me. God started closing doors I thought he was clearly going to open. As time went by, I started looking at Lisbon a little differently. I started looking at my home city with different eyes and a different perspective.

I met a family from Nepal who had been in Portugal for just a couple of years. When I went to their house to have dinner, I saw the reality that they were living in—in my city. It was not what I thought existed in Portugal. In the same summer I graduated, two friends approached me and said, “We need to do something for the refugee crisis in Europe, for refugees coming to Portugal and so many migrants coming to Portugal looking for a better future. What are we doing? And what can we do?”

John Maxwell inspired me at the Summit.

At the time, I remember going to The Global Leadership Summit for the first time. I remember one particular session—it was John Maxwell. He was closing his session when he told a story about a lady named Gabi and how she had decided she was going to use her life to add value to other people’s lives. I remember him looking into the camera and saying, “We need more Gabis in the world. Are you going to be the next Gabi, who intentionally decides to add value to other people’s lives?” And I was sitting there thinking, “ I AM Gabi, and I want to be the next Gabi!” And that’s where God really cemented the idea in me that I had to do something for the migrants and refugees in the city of Lisbon, and that this is where he wanted to use me.

The Lisbon Project is born.

Over a year has passed since we inaugurated the Lisbon Project, and we’ve been able to help over 420 people from all over the world from Syria, Eritrea, Somali, Iraq, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, the Philippines, India, Bangladesh and from all over. We’ve registered over 100 volunteers who have helped us provide services, healthcare, access to employment, language courses, skills training, workshops and so much more.

For six months my children were sleeping on the floor, but the Lisbon Project helped me. – Eli – refugee from Mosul, Iraq.

Jesus is the best thing I have to give.

None of this would make any since if I wasn’t giving people the best thing that I have, and that’s Jesus. We started having church gatherings on Sundays and Bible studies throughout the week. We’re having amazing one-on-one conversations with people who have never heard of the gospel.

God provides a way.

I love telling the story of the Lisbon Project because it is such an encouragement of how God can use anyone. It’s not about your qualifications. It’s not about your experience. It’s not about your knowledge. It’s about the willingness of your heart to step out and do something. Have faith that when God gives you a vision to do something, and God puts something in your heart, he will provide the way. He will equip you. He will bring people to you to provide and make that change that he’s put on your heart.

5 Diseases That Kill Teamwork

Posted on February 4, 2019 by - Articles, Leading Others, Supervising People, Team Building

Group of worried freelance workers having problems during a meeting at casual office.

Don’t you just love teamwork? I mean, it really is a great thing. More can be accomplished. Greater heights can be reached. Bigger goals can be achieved.

“Teamwork really does make the dream work.” When the team is healthy.

But, when the team is unhealthy, it can kill teamwork. And, it usually doesn’t happen quickly. Just like it takes time to build a strong team, it is also true that it takes time to kill a team.

“Teamwork really does make the dream work.” When the team is healthy.

You probably know that well. Remember when you were in college and you had to do the dreaded group project? For most of us, we hated it and only wanted it to be over as quickly as possible. For me, there were many times when the team would only meet once, for the purpose of dividing up the work, and then we would wouldn’t meet again until the project was due.

As leaders, we must be able to assess and recognize when teams are sick. We have to be the doctors who diagnose the diseases on our teams and prescribe the antidote. It is up to us to keep teams healthy and far away from the diseases that kill them.

In my experience with many different industries, I have discovered there are five diseases that will kill teamwork. These diseases are prevalent on all kinds of teams—for-profit or non-profit, big or small, established or new.

 

1) Confusion

When there is a lack of clarity on a team, they will begin to make their own rules. A team that is confused will have results that miss the mark. It is vital that a team understands its purpose, the roles and responsibilities of each of its team members, the goal of the project or task, and the desired outcome of their work. When these are missing, teams will find themselves doing work that, at a minimum, doesn’t matter and at a maximum, is a complete waste of time.

 

2) Apathy

There must be commitment to teamwork from the top of the organization down to every member on the team. If at any point a person isn’t committed to working together, they will become a virus and infect the rest of the team. If a leader doesn’t communicate the value of working as a team despite the deficiencies that often come with it, the team will drift apart and begin to do work that leads to individual pieces that don’t quite fit together.

 

3) Selfishness

In any organization, there are individual goals and motivations that exist and there must be a sense of “the greater good” on every team. In other words, no individual person can view their own pay, reward, recognition or status as being more important than accomplishing the desired outcome of the group. It must be we > me, every time.

Teamwork only works when leadership supports them in both words and actions.

 

4) Exclusion

One of the reasons teamwork is so effective is because you get a diversity of thought, experience and skills from the people on the team. Far too often, however, teams have a dominant person or two who kill the inclusivity that’s necessary for the optimal outcome. When a person is or feels excluded from the process, their contribution will be stunted, thereby leading to a weaker result. Over time, exclusion destroys teams and causes many to just go through the motions rather than engaging and giving it their all.

 

5) Isolation

This one is where the rubber really hits the road for leaders. Teams that work with and for us must be supported by those in authority. Simply creating teams is not enough, we must give them the resources they need to be successful. Far too often, teams feel isolated—like they’re on their own—and that can cause teams to become frustrated and disillusioned with their work. Teamwork only works when leadership supports them in both words and actions.

 

How are the teams you lead? Are any of these diseases present?

If you’re not sure, this would be a great exercise to invite the team members to assess and report back on their thoughts. If you see one or more of these, now is the time to fix it.

Identify the symptoms and then attack the root of the problem and you will see your teams become stronger, more effective and more productive.