leadership Archives - Junkyard Wisdom

Sarcasm

My blog went silent for a few weeks as the devotions were sent, so I’m overdue for a post. Thought you’d get a kick out of this story.

A friend sent this meme:

“I once got sent out of class at school for being too sarcastic. The teacher yelled at me, “What would your parents say if I called them?” I replied, “Hello?”

I laughed, and it reminded me of a childhood story.

I was about 10 years old and playing with my buddy Larry during recess. We were taking paper towels out of the dispenser, dampening them, folding them …

Nope, no age discrimination here!

Hey, I’m back from vacation! And did you hear the crazy news? PathLight International, an organization I co-founded and greatly admire, has hired a sixty-something snarky white guy to become their Chief Executive Officer.

Worse, he has no academic training in missions, never lived in a foreign country, only speaks English, has never been a teacher, earned no degree in theology, has no cross cultural training, and lives in what some call the spiritual wasteland of California.

I would add he’s bald and a little chubby, but that’s getting personal.

He has one advantage: he works for free. That’s

…

The Generous Boss

This morning I had the honor of speaking to the Campolo Scholars at Eastern University. The topic was leadership and the talk was centered around why I wrote the book Salvaged.

At one point we covered the leadership ideas of Max De Pree, which concludes that all leaders finish their job by saying “thank you” to everyone involved. The process for a leader is basically, 1) define reality, 2) become a servant, 3) become a debtor, and finally 4) say thank you.

There’s generosity to this model. It’s basically the servant leadership concept from Scripture, but expressed in more …

Six Ways to Motivate Your Team During a Pandemic

Last year I shared my six ideas for motivating your team (which had previously been published by Outreach Magazine). I wondered how the six ideas hold up during a pandemic. Would they still work in an era of zoom calls and working from home?

I looked over the list and decided to give it a refresh. Usually I write about stuff I know and have decades of experience with, but this time I’m winging it like everyone else. So your feedback is even more welcome as we all learn how to motivate folks in these crazy times!

Anyway, here are …

Wit and Wine

I’ve lost track of the number of boards I’ve served on. From organizations I’ve started myself to boards that have been around for nearly a century. They’ve included churches, foundations, mission groups, retreat centers, colleges, conferences, and companies.

The common denominator in them all? Building a good board is hard work. You need quality people who share your vision and have the capacity to help. Finding the right people is not easy.

Decades ago I discovered the late Max De Pree’s books about leadership. One of the most helpful insights was the four W’s for board members: work, wealth, wisdom, …

On mentoring

Every now and then somebody asks me to mentor them. I suppose this is God’s way of reminding me I’m getting older. But it is also God’s way of reminding me to give back.

For much of my young adult life I wanted a good mentor but never could find one. It wasn’t until my late 40’s that I found a few. So I’m sympathetic to those who approach me.

But just because I sympathize doesn’t mean I agree to do it. Many of the people who ask get a “no, sorry” response. In my head a few get a …

Give Them the Opportunity to be Wrong

A simple way to broaden your leadership impact is to give your team the opportunity to be wrong.

That doesn’t mean you actively encourage being wrong of course. You must still do all you can as a leader to ensure their success.

But many of us can, at times, become too risk-adverse when it comes to letting your team make mistakes.

A lot of leadership gurus will tell you a good leader puts their team in a position to succeed. Well, duh. Even so, having the best team, perfectly prepared, with all the right resources, will not always result in …

Seriously, Nobody Cares if You Are The Smartest Person in the Room

Last week was my final meeting on a board I joined almost 18-years ago. Eventually I might rejoin the board, but it feels strange to step aside from something that has been a big part of my life.

It reminded me of this story, which I shared a few years ago. I’ve refreshed it and am posting again because the advice from this mentor was so powerful. Here goes:

Many years ago I joined a board of directors for a reasonably large organization. It was an honor to be invited, and I wanted to help the organization in the best …