Become the Legacy Leader You Were Meant To Be

John Maxwell's Commentary (paraphrased):
You and I were born to lead. Take a look at five observations that suggest our leadership potential:
1- We were created to lead. We were created differently than the animals of the earth. We were created with an intelligence and spirituality that the animals do not possess.
2- Both men and women have been given the ability and authority to lead. Leadership is not gender specific.
3- We are to rule over the earth, but not necessarily over each other. History is largely the story of how men and women have perverted their roles by trying to rule each other.
4- All of us are to serve one another in the areas of our gifting and purpose. Everything was created for a purpose. Our general purpose is to lead, but each of us should seek our more specific purposes.
5- Each person's leadership is best exercised in his or her areas of giftedness. When we discover our gifts, we will naturally lead in those areas where we are most productive, intuitive, comfortable, influential, and satisfied.

Mike's Thoughts:
I (and you, too) am to be a leader and I am to use my talents to be an effective leader. Men and women were not made to RULE over each other, but to serve each other as leaders in each of our areas of strength and purpose. All of us have natural ability to lead in different areas or circumstances. It is important that I understand what my strengths are and seek to use them to positively lead others when appropriate and create enduring legacies for future generations.

Mike's Action Points:
1- I will honor others by being a positive leader.
2- I will honor and respect the leadership of others, male and female.
3- I will seek revelation as to my strengths and purpose for my life.
4- I will step forward as a leader when it is appropriate.

Shhh ... It's a Secret!

John Maxwell's 25 Ways to Win With People:
11. Share a Secret with Someone

Mike's Thoughts:
Share a Secret with Someone! Share a Secret with Someone? My first
thoughts were to ask how this helps to "Win With People"? After thinking about it though, it makes perfect sense as I've often done so myself. There is an important distinction though between sharing a secret and spreading gossip. If I tell someone a secret that I know, it is because I know the facts behind it. Gossip, on the other hand, is just repeating unsubstantiated information that may be damaging to another person. As a leader, I can earn the trust of a family member, a friend or someone I work with by sharing a secret with that person - however, my intentions must be pure and the revelation of the secret must not be damaging to someone else. How the person I share the secret with handles it also will reveal much about that person and their loyalty to me.

Mike's Action Points:
1- I seek wisdom and discernment concerning secrets and gossip.
2- I will have pure motives when sharing secrets.
3- I seek wisdom and discernment in selecting whom I share secrets
with.

You Were Made to Lead

John Maxwell's Lessons in Leadership:
*Humankind was created to lead and rule.
*Leaders must learn to adjust their plans while holding tenaciously to the vision.
*Everyone leads and follows someone.
*No one can lead well without following well.
*Individuals must see the benefits of the vision before they will
commit to it.
*To win trust, leaders must exhibit both character and competence.

Mike's Thoughts:
Mike's Action Points:
1- I will seek wisdom, strength and courage to do the following:
A- Be a leader that others will look up to.
B- Be flexible enough to adjust my plans and yet hold firmly onto
the vision I have been given.
C- To be an excellent example of what a good follower looks like.
D- To be a good communicator of the benefits of the vision I have been trusted with.
E- To exhibit character and competence in everything I do.

Barriers to Legacy Leadership

Today is the six year wedding anniversary of my daughter, Nina and her husband, Stephen, and so I will dedicate today's discussion to them.

From a Message by Garrett Booth in Houston, Texas on 8/16/09:

Four Barriers to Legacy Leadership:
1- Performace/Behavior: we are a performance oriented society and much too often our self-worth is wrapped up in our performance, whether judged by ourselves or others or both. Our acceptance and love/respect for each other should not be based on our performance or behavior. We can accept and love/respect each other even if our performance or behavior is not up to acceptable standards.
2- Motivation: when guilt, fear and intimidation are used to motivate others, it creates distrust, disillusionment and dissatisfaction. Those who use such motivating techniques are insecure with themselves and have self-serving agendas.
3- Playing Favorites: when someone is singled out as a favorite at the expense of others the result is jealousy and envy.
4- Team/Company Melt Down: damaged relationships can cause team/company melt downs that affect generations to come.

Mike's Action Points:
1- I am to love/respect others regardless of whether or not their performance or behavior is up to appropriate standards. As a leader, I need to distinguish between love/respect for the person and dislike for their lack of performance or behavior. I should communicate this when confronting a team member whose performance or behavior is not up to appropriate standards.
2- As a leader my personal motivation greatly affects the motivation of team members. If I show a servant attitude with love/respect for the person, then team members should be likewise motivated.
3- I cannot show favoritism towards one team member over another. Does this mean that I cannot draw closer to one team member than
another? Of course not! But it should be clear to all team members that there is love/respect for everyone. Does it mean that every team member is treated exactly the same. No, it does not! Every team member needs to be treated according to their personal needs and personality.
4- The good news is that regardless of where I am or what has happened to me, I can break the bonds of team/company melt down and create an awesome future for myself, my organization and future generations. I can repair damaged relationships or create new positive ones.

Pass the Credit On

John Maxwell's 25 Ways to Win With People:
9. Pass the Credit on to Others

Mike's Thoughts:
As a leader, it is my duty to develop leaders for future generations ..... Legacy Leaders! Playing off Ken Blanchard's "One Minute Manager", I can help develop Legacy Leaders by offering "One Minute Legacies" such as passing the credit for work well done on to others. This is also teaching leaders to have humility, a character trait that many may see as weakness, but in reality requires strength and maturity!

Mike's Action Points:
1- I need to seek humility in my accomplishments.
2- I need to look for opportunities to pass the credit on to others in a genuine, not self-serving or patronizing way.

Legacy Leaders are Encouragers

Number 8 on John Maxwell's list of "25 Ways to Win with People" is to Encourage the Dream of Others.

I believe that encouragement is one of the key characteristics of a successful leader. Everyone needs encouragement whether it is at work, at school or in the home and it is the leader's responsibilty to do so. In marriage, so much positive energy comes from a relationship of mutual encouragement. I can't emphasize this point enough. I truly believe that if more marriage partners encouraged each other, we could easily cut the divorce rate in half! An encouraging environment at school or work provides a foundation for excellence and achievement.

Mike's Action Points:1- I will work to encourage everyone in my life.
2- I will practise by encouraging myself and anyone I talk to every day.
3- I will read encouraging books, go to encouraging movies and events and associate with encouraging people.

We Are Our Own Worst Enemy

John Maxwell asks; "Isn't most of history the story of conflict among people trying to lead and rule one another, ....?"

If you study the story of Queen Esther, you will see an example of how leaders working together thwarted evil ambitions and did good things. Another obvious example would be how leaders of the Allied Nations worked together in WWII to defeat common enemies. I'm sure there are countless examples of how leaders of nations, of states and cities, of businesses, of communities, of homes and churches have worked together to overcome adversity and do great things together. That being said, I believe one of the two biggest problems in our society are leaders who are only interested in how short-term results will make them look good and imposing their self-serving agendas on others. I believe this holds true for leaders in every position, whether it is the leader of a nation or the leader of a home. While I cannot change all of mankind, I hope that I can have a positive effect on many. I have committed myself to help create Legacy Leaders who look beyond the short-term to see how their decisions will effect future generations and help them to create Servant Leadership agendas that will encourage and develop
Servant Leaders for future generations. Please join me in this quest! My new company, Legacy Coach International will be launching soon for this purpose. The web site (not yet developed) will be www.legacycoach123.com.

Mike's Action Points:
1- If you are inclined to pray, as I am, then join me in prayer for our leaders and for my/your leadership agenda. If not, please meditate on how you can have a positive effect on leaders and yourself in this area.
2- I will look at the long-term effects of my decisions.
3- I will develop a Servant Leadership agenda and strive to influence Servant Leaders for future generations.