whispers

if you follow my twitterfeed, you know that last week i had the privilege of attending the Willow Creek Association's Global Leadership Summit. i think this has been my seventh or eighth year attending, and in my estimation, this has been one of the best. {i guess it's always a good thing when the most recent one is the best!}

in previous years, there have been times when i've walked away from the Summit with so much to think about, so many things that i've wanted to change and make better and try that i was fairly overwhelmed. this year, it seems that there was a perfect blend of speakers and topics, and i have walked away with the ideal mix of challenge and inspiration.

in the very first session, led by Bill Hybels, he talked about some basic leadership principles...

• leaders move people from here to there: from where they are to a preferred future. our job as leaders is to figure out what God wants done in the world and move people to get there.
• leaders need fantastic people: in the past Bill has talked about the three Cs: character, competency, chemistry, now he is adding a fourth C, culture {what kind of person will thrive on their staff team}.
  
• leaders need to observe mile markers & celebrations: the middle of the journey is where you lose people. celebrate every mile marker en route to your destination. what keeps people going on the journey with you is a sense of hope that they will arrive some day. there is a 40% differential between an inspired team and an uninspired one. inspiration matters.
• leaders need whispers from God: John 10:27 "My {Jesus} sheep hear my voice." do i really believe God speaks? will i do everything in my power to listen? God whispers are usually short, and what you need to hear in that moment.
  

this last part is a great lead-in to Bill's newest book, The Power of a Whisper. you can read the first chapter here.

i like the concept of keeping track of the things God whispers to me, which is why i started the above page in my FieldNotes booklet. starting with some of the ones Bill gave during his session, i've begun adding my own, and foresee needing to start a new page soon.

well, that is session one from the Summit. i'll post more thoughts and observations over the next week, as i go back over all i've learned.

have a super monday!