Lead Where You Are…

The 2013 Global Leadership Summit (GLS) was last week.  Facilitated by Willow Creek Church in Illinois, the GLS is a two day leadership conference conducted live at Willow Creek and broadcast to 235 locations in the US with over 75,000 participants, and another 92 countries around the world (some live and some on DVD later in the fall).  It’s an open call to men and women to live out their Christian faith in the workplace and within their church developing and growing their capacity as leaders.

So what were the nuggets this year?  I started my list that is actually much longer, but here are the top 10 that made me pause and are still making me think this week.

Bill Hybels – Pastor

• Be strong and courageous because I am with you -  God to Joshua (Joshua 1:9, the Bible) 

Colin Powell - General

• Great leaders know how to connect the purpose of the organization to the role of each person.

Patrick Lencioni – Business Consultant and Author

• We can’t be Christ like servant leaders if we don’t help people connect the reason they work with how they work. To be relevant is to have a reason for doing what you do, and the job of a leader is to help employees find that reason.  Management is ministry.

Mark Burnett – TV and Movie Producer

• Choose your companions before you choose your road.  Hire the right people,  empower them,  get out of the way

Joseph Grenny – Business Consultant and Author

• If our faith experience isn’t translating into other habits and experiences, we aren’t leading.

Chris Brown – Pastor

• Never get caught up in the great things of leadership if it takes you away from the God things of leadership.

Bob Goff – Attorney and CEO

• What were you made to do?  God created us to do unique things.   Discover it and do it! Lead where you are!

Brene' Brown – Research Professor and Speaker

• “The 2 irreducible needs of men, women and children are love and belonging…In the absence of these, there is always suffering….Fitting in is different than belonging”

Oscar Muriu – Pastor in Kenya

• Reflect Jesus - never do ministry/lead alone. Keep budding leaders around you.   When you lead alone,  there is a missed opportunity for mentorship.  (When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. - Acts 4:13, the Bible)

Dr.  Henry Cloud – Psychologist and Author

• The people who thrive create a list of things they can absolutely do & forget about the things out of their control.

The challenge with any conference take-away is what do you so with them once you get back home. Here are three simple things:

1. Tell someone what you learned or what stuck out 
2. Revisit your notes within a week 
3. Decide on 1-3 things you are going to do and put them on the calendar and make them happen 

Save August 14-15 next year for two great days to blend leadership with your faith. Their website has a list of locations already as well as an early bird registration.