This will be the last post in our Growing Leader series.  To this point we’ve covered:

• Are you a growing Leader?
• Do you really want to grow?
• What’s on the inside counts
• Where’s the end?
• Are you Connected?
• Invest and Grow

This week we’re coming back around to your personal life.  Not your character or integrity, we already covered that, but a thought about putting it all together.

Last week in my Masters class we had a discussion about how do you know what you know? Many of us have many things that we expound on as a belief, but when the rubber hits the road – we don’t act on that belief. I would challenge you on whether you actually believe what you claim to believe if you do not carry your belief into action.

In our discussion we have covered your personal character, your spiritual life, you personal vision and mission, and other aspects of being a growing leader. I’ve had many people speak to me saying that they really enjoyed a particular blog – but my question is: Did you enjoy it and put some principles into action or did you just enjoy it, like you enjoy a good show?

If we have a personal value then we incorporate that value into our decision making process. Proverbs 14:12 tells us we will come up with our own thoughts on what we should do – but they are probably wrong.  If we develop a sound decision making process in our life that is consistent with our values, biblical truths, and the vision/mission that God has given us – then we are setup for making a good decision. If we do not create a process for making a decision – we open ourselves up to walking through life with poor consistency.  I’ll share a story with you that illustrates this.

When I was 19 I had the opportunity for an internship with a company that made all of the animatronics for Disney. I has spent several years as a puppet builder at my home church and someone with connections saw some potential in me and made the offer.  It was a great offer.  I really enjoyed building puppets and the chance to work with Disney was huge!  But I decided not to do it.  Why?  Because when I was 13 God had placed a call on my life to be a pastor and I was leaving for Bible College in a few short months.  I passed up the opportunity because I had a clear vision of what God wanted me to do and I was able to make that part of my decision making process.

How about you? How do you decide what you should do? How do you decide what’s for you and what’s not for you? There are a ton of opportunities out there and a wealth of potential – but that doesn’t mean you should do it. I contend that if you spend time thinking about how you make a decision you will be better prepared to act on what comes at you in life.  Give it some thought – How do you know what you know? how do you decide what is right for you? Certainly it involves prayer, but is there anything else there? I hope so…

So put it all together and you’ll be on your way to becoming a growing leader!!!

Often times when we set goals we think of these high and lofty life long achievements we’d like to attain.  Now don’t get me wrong, it is important to have long-term goals.  It’s good to think in advance and plan out where you want to go, but often times when we are making goals for ourselves – these are the only type of goals we make.  And when we only think in reference to long-term, it becomes difficult to see the immediate or short-term goals that move us forward.

Any goal we set, long-term or short-term needs to be broken down into steps – otherwise we will have a difficult time in tracking if we are heading towards our goal.  And there is nothing more frustrating, when we are trying to achieve something, than not being able to tell if we’re making progress.

Last week we listed two things a goal needed to be a good goal – it needs to be SPECIFIC and MEASURABLE.  Lacking these two things a goal becomes too ambiguous to track.  But having these two things does not automatically mean you have set a good goal.  Perhaps you set a goal that is too far out there. While it’s good to shoot for the stars, you want to set a goal that will bring success and encouragement not frustration and feelings of failure.  So when setting a goal keep in mind making it ATTAINABLE.

Let’s say we set this goal:  We want to grow our Preschool department by 75 kids in one month.  First of all, Mr. Boris’ (our preschool director) head would explode.  Secondly this is a totally unrealistic goal – it’s specific and measurable, but it’s not attainable.  When you’re thinking attainable – think “Set a goal you can control”.  Some goals we set are dependent on other people and if that person doesn’t hold up their end of the bargain then our goal is shot.

Look back to the first week of this series, when Dawn set her “Fitness Goal” – it sounds like a good goal, but the hard part about it is that it means her dad has to cooperate.  He has to lose in order for her to win.  Maybe a better goal would be to identify what in her game is causing her to lose and set a goal to work on that….maybe she needs to work on her pinch shot, or cross-court, or serves.  She can control how much time she works on those, she can’t control if her dad is going to beat her.

We have to be careful when we set goals – they can be encouraging or they can be defeating.  I think that is why some folks don’t like to set goals – they are worried they’re going to fail.  Part of that worry comes from setting goals that are unattainable.  One of the keys to navigating change is creating short term wins – a well set goal that is ATTAINABLE is a great way to create a short term win.  Is this getting your thoughts stirred up on setting goals?  I hope so.

Next week we’ll talk about the last two pieces of a S.M.A.R.T. goal…

I spend a lot of time on this blog talking about goals, vision, growing as a leader…these are core values for me as a leader. As I’ve been thinking about things over the last couple of weeks I was presented with an interesting question in some of the challenges I’ve faced recently.  ”How have I contributed to the problem?”

So I want to ask you a similar question – in the problems and difficulties you may be facing – how have you contributed to the problem? There are a lot of resources out there on how to become a better problem solver, but I think any solution that does not start with understanding how you contributed to the issue is inadequate.  Let’s be honest, if you’ve had the same problem (I’m not talking illness or infirmity here) for an extended period of time – you probably need to look inward to begin getting it fixed. Likewise, if you have moved to a new job, church, or location and you find that the problems you had at your last local have followed you–then it’s a good bet part of the problem is within you.

I wrote a chapter for a book that should be coming out soon and the entire chapter was dedicated to the concept of “Self-leadership.” At the core of self leadership is understanding what in you needs to be grown, healed, or cutout in order for you to advance in life. So when faced with a problem–start looking at yourself first and then look at the outside factors. Only you (and the Holy Spirit) can change you…

“…so are the days of our lives.” Yes, I just quoted a soap opera…no I don’t watch them.

Who out there has ever said – “Where did the time go?” “It’s how late?” “I lost track of time!” or something else to that effect? Time can be slippery – especially if you don’t manage yours well.

I think one of the greatest hurdles to accomplishing our goals is not using the time you have wisely.  There are a lot of resources out to help with time management (Here’s a good one from Jim Wideman – Beat the Clock). I wanted to share a good resource with you that I came across. It’s from Gene Wood’s book, Leading Turnaround Churches.

Self-Discipline Tips

1. Just say NO! (learn what you should and shouldn’t do)
2. Hold Stand-up meetings. People will stick to their focus if they don’t get comfortable.
3. If you have an open door policy – remove the chairs from your office so people can’t sit and settle in.
4. Use to-do lists. Quote: “A commitment unwritten is nothing more than a nice intention.”
5. Use a time analysis sheet for a week or two. Compare it (using 15 minute blocks) to what you planned to do vs. what you actually did.
6. Establish Priorities and review them regularly.
7. When you suddenly remember something you forgot to do just before you drift off to sleep – get up and write it down.
8. Carry something you can take notes on for when you remember things you forgot.
9. Do tasks that require creativity in your peak time.
10. Do mundane but necessary tasks in your downtime.
11. Handle paper only once. Don’t just shuffle things around your desk – make a decision and move on.
12. Develop a habit of punctuality.
13. Do two things at once. (Listen to a book and drive, etc.)
14. Get sleep.
15. Build extra time into your schedule for unexpected things.
16. Do the hardest things first.
17. When you’re very busy, avoid new things. Stick to routines.
18. When on the phone, deal with business and get off the phone.
19. Meet in other people’s office – this means you can leave when the purpose of the meeting is fulfilled.
20. The goal of a to-do list is not to have a long list, but to cross things off in proper order.
21. Delegate – use the time of others.
22. Plan your time.
23. If you can communicate in writing – do that. Don’t have a meeting to talk about something you could have emailed.
24. Do your most bothersome tasks first.
25. Avoid television like the plague!

Try to implement a few of these things at a time and you will find you have a better handle on your time…