Gifted Leaders

How Will You Spend Your Dash?

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs

Are you considering the value of every single day?

Those days between our birth and death are all we have to build relationships, do meaningful work and create the legacy we wish to leave behind. Take three minutes to watch this movie about The Dash.

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” - Abraham Lincoln

Join the Peace Corps

“Peace begins with a smile.” – Mother Teresa

The name “Jeffrey” means “Gift of Peace” and I often pray that God would literally use me to help bring peace to others.  One very enjoyable way for me to do this is to use my sense of humor to “lighten things up” and make people smile.

As we celebrate Christmas this week, I’m reminded of the angels’ words from the Christmas story:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” 

I echo their sentiments and suggest that we all do our part by enlisting in the “peace corps!” Remember, it starts with a gift that we can all freely and easily give, the gift of a smile.

Holiday Greetings from Some Very "Gifted" Leaders!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The Signs of Outstanding Leadership

“The signs of outstanding leadership appear primarily among the followers. Are the followers reaching their potential? Are they learning? Serving? Do they achieve the required results? Do they change with grace? Manage conflict?” - Max DePree

Use the following list of questions by John E. Barbuto and Daniel W. Wheeler* to assess when and how often you exhibit eleven characteristics of Servant Leaders established by Robert Greenleaf. 

The characteristics are: 1) Having a Calling; 2) Listening; 3) Empathy; 4) Healing; 5) Awareness; 6) Persuasion; 7) Conceptualization; 8) Foresight; 9) Stewardship; 10) Growth; and 11) Building Community.

• Do people believe that you are willing to sacrifice your own self interest for the group?

• Do people believe that you want to hear their ideas and will value them?

• Do people believe that you will understand what is happening in their lives and how it affects them?

• Do others feel comfortable communicating their hopes and dreams when you are around?

• Do people feel comfortable coming to you when they are having difficulties in their lives?

• Do people believe you are committed to helping them develop and grow?

Where do the signs of outstanding leadership show up in your life and what would it take to bring out more of these behaviors as you relate to others?

*Published in Nebguide from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, October 2007.

The 3 P’s that Really Matter: Purpose, People, and Passion

“You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” - Woodrow Wilson

In conducting research for one of his books, Marshall Goldsmith and his co-author interviewed more than 200 leaders from around the world. A key question that they asked was: “If you stay in this company, why are you going to stay?”  The top three answers:

1. Purpose: “I am finding meaning and happiness now. The work is exciting, and I love what I am doing.”

2. People: “I like the people here. They are my friends. This feels like a team - like a family. I might make more money if I left, but I don’t want to leave the people here.”

3. Passion: “I can follow my dreams. This organization is giving me the chance to grow and do what I really want to do in life.”

When people on their death beds were asked about what really mattered in life, the answers were remarkably similar. Purpose, People, and Passion.

If you want to make a new beginning in life, what do you need more of? Purpose? People? Passion?

Marshall Goldsmith invites you to visit his article library.

The Music Comes from the Soul, Not the Instrument

“It is your mission to walk onto the stage of this world in order to reveal to all heaven and earth that the music of life lies not in your circumstances or external things but in your own soul.” - Charles Francis Richardson

Paganini, the great Italian violinist, once stepped onstage only to discover there was something wrong with his violin, just as the audience was ending their applause. He looked at the instrument for a moment and suddenly realized it was not his best and most valuable one. In fact, the violin was not his at all.

Momentarily he felt paralyzed, but he quickly turned to his audience, telling them there had been some mistake and he did not have his own violin. He stepped back behind the curtain, thinking he must have left it backstage, but discovered that someone had stolen his and left the inferior one in its place.

After remaining behind the curtain for a moment, Paganini stepped onstage again to speak to the audience. He said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I will now demonstrate to you that the music is not in the instrument but in the soul.” Then he played as never before, and beautiful music flowed from that inferior instrument until the audience was so enraptured that their enthusiastic applause nearly lifted the ceiling of the concert hall.

What circumstances or external things are keeping you from playing your life's music?

Source: Streams in the Desert by L. B. Cowman