![Think Bigger: the Call of a Leader [Subtitle] Inspirational Principles from Some of Today’S Top Leaders [Insert SLU Logo And](http://data.docslib.org/img/83fb77fcf44d6ed793890883049fca8e-1.webp)
[cover] [101 artwork] [title] Think Bigger: The Call of a Leader [subtitle] Inspirational principles from some of today’s top leaders [insert SLU logo and www.slulead.com]
PAT WILLIAMS co-founder and senior vice president, Orlando Magic DR. DANNY AKIN president, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary BRAD LOMENICK president, Catalyst MARK MILLER www.slulead.comvice president of development, Chick-fil-A The Call of the Leader | 1 Pat Williams Vice President | Orlando Magic
“The Portrait of a Leader”
Dr. Danny Akin President | Southeasten Baptist Theological Seminary
“The Person God Uses”
Brad Lomenick President | Catalyst
“It’s Not About You”
Mark Miller Vice President of Development | Chick-fil-A
“Great Leaders Serve” LEADERSHIP Leadership.
It’s a word we hear a lot, but what does it mean to you? Do you picture your loud-spoken classmate, the high power executive, a government official? While these people are certainly leaders, there is a lot more to leadership than position. We are all called to lead in one way or another, and the call of a leader often looks differently than just the intuitive leadership qualities that instinctively come to mind.
In this book, we have brought together four of today’s most prominent leaders, from heads of major corporations and organizations to prominent theologians and community builders, to share their secrets of leadership and the most important qualities of a leader. Their insights come together to paint a portrait of the type of person a leader is called to be. Some of their observations might surprise you; we hope they all will challenge you.
Join us as you answer the call, developing your character, living with humility, seeking wisdom and serving others.
LEADERSHIPwww.slulead.com The Call of the Leader | 3 A leader develops character.
“The best leaders are people who others naturally want to follow. They are bold, tenacious and full of integrity. They take risks; they embrace change and they serve others. It is the character of a leader that defines the extent of his or her influence.”
Pat Williams Orlando Magic co-founder and senior vice president Author of COACH WOODEN’S GREATEST SECRET The Portrait of a Leader
Great leaders posses unique character qualities. They are confident, yet humble. Not afraid to speak up, but great listeners. Able to create focus and cast vision, yet flexibly change direction when necessary. 1) A leader practices integrity James Hackett, CEO of the Steelcase furniture Sometimes these delicate balances are company, told an interviewer that great leaders best understood in practice, by observing possess a sense of self-understanding that comes men and women who have led by from integrity. “That’s what people look for and example in their own lives. In this portrait respect and want to follow,” Hackett said, adding of a leader, we look at six key character that his predecessor Bob Pew once told him, qualities leaders must develop and those “If you want to lead others, you’ve got to have who inspire us to do so. their trust, and you can’t have their trust without integrity.”
Hackett also learned integrity while playing for legendary Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler. He recalls a story Schembechler told about his dad taking the fireman’s exam. Bo’s father lost the job to a man who cheated. Young Bo asked, “Why didn’t you tell them the other guy cheated?” His father replied, “It wasn’t my job to tell them.” Bo asked, “Why didn’t you cheat?” His dad said, “Who wants to win by cheating?”
Hackett often talks to young people about integrity. “I tell them you almost have to practice for those moments when your integrity might be tested,” he says. Picture situations where doing right might get you fired—and no one would know if you did wrong. Practice making the honest choice. Mental practice conditions you to maintain your integrity in real-life crises. To truly understand yourself, be a leader of integrity.
2) A leader takes risks. Harold Hamm was born the son of Oklahoma sharecroppers. Growing up poor amid an Oklahoma oil boom, Hamm saw oilmen pumping enormous wealth out of the ground. The lure of “black gold” fired his imagination.
Hamm completed high school but couldn’t afford college, so he went into the oil business. “I started by cleaning oil sludge out of tanker trucks and learning the business from the bottom up,” he recalled. With borrowed money, he started his own wildcat drilling operation in 1967, sinking risky wells in unproven geological formations. The risk paid off, producing six million barrels of oil.
He went to college, studied geology and business administration, and continued building his company. A few years ago, he became convinced that the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota and Montana was saturated with oil. His company, Continental Resources, invented many environmentally friendly technologies for finding oil and extracting it from the shale. Drilling in the Bakken was another risky Harold Hamm wildcat operation—but it paid off. Today, many oil companies drill in the Bakken, which has
www.slulead.com The Call of the Leader | 5 proved to be the richest oilfield in the lower forty-eight states. Starting with one truck and the willingness take bold risks, Harold Hamm created an $8 billion energy empire—and single-handedly helped secure America’s energy future.
3) A leader listens. When I was a minor league baseball executive in the 1960s, I had to go to Philadelphia Phillies owner Bob Carpenter and tell him that an individual in his organization was hurting his business. My stomach was in knots as I entered Mr. Carpenter’s office and laid it all out. He listened, then said, “Why am I always the last to know?”
All too often, leaders are in the dark about major problems in their organizations. That’s why leaders must be good listeners. They must not only hear people out—they must draw people out. Your followers are reluctant to bring you bad news. Make sure they know they can bring you any information, good or bad, and you won’t “kill the messenger.”
Great leaders don’t wait for news—they seek it out. General George Patton said that leaders should always talk to the soldiers. The troops, he said, “know more about the war than anybody. Make them tell you all of their gripes. Make sure they know we are doing everything we can to help them.” At least half of a healthy communication process is listening. When there’s bad news in your organization, make sure you’re not the last to know.
4) A leader embraces change. Around the globe, the pace of change is accelerating. Leaders who cannot adapt to change will be steamrolled by it. As Robert Safian observes in Fast Company, the smartphone market was dominated by three companies in 2007: Nokia, Research in Motion, and Motorola. Within five years, the smartphone industry had been upended, leaving Apple and Samsung in command.
Across the leadership landscape, old ways of doing things are being radically redefined. Automobiles, Safian notes, have become “rolling, talking, cloud-connected media hubs. In an age where Twitter and other social-media tools play key roles in recasting the political map in the Mideast . . . there is no question that we are in a new world.”
Leaders who do not force change run the risk of becoming irrelevant. When crises come, don’t panic— innovate! Become an agent of change. Don’t merely navigate change—make change happen. That’s the essence of great leadership.
5) A leader perseveres. On September 23, 1779, American naval officer John Paul Jones commanded the warship Le Bonhomme Richard off the northeast coast of England. There he encountered a British merchant convoy escorted by the royal warship Serapis. The British ship attacked the Richard, pounding the American ship with forty- four guns roaring. Though the Richard‘s hull was riddled with holes, Jones sent his ship straight into the enemy fire, colliding with Serapis. He ordered his men to lash the Richard‘s bowsprit to the British ship’s mizzenmast. Both ships continued blazing away at point-blank range. The British commander, Richard Pearson, demanded Jones’ surrender.
Jones later recalled, “I answered him in the most determined negative.” His exact words are unknown, but these defiant words are attributed to him: “I have not yet begun to fight!” Minutes later, one of the American shots found its mark, touching off an explosion aboard the Serapis. As a result, the British commander Pearson surrendered to John Paul Jones. Though Le Bonhomme Richard sank minutes later, Jones and his crew seized the Serapis as their prize. The story of John Paul Jones entered history as a great example of the mighty power of bold leadership.
6) A leader maintains character. Bill Lear (1902-1978) was an inventor and businessman, best known for founding the Lear Jet Corporation. Soon after he introduced the Lear business jet in 1963, two Lear jets crashed. Investigators couldn’t discover the cause. Lear ordered the grounding of the other fifty-five planes that had been sold—a move that cost him many prospective buyers. But Lear was committed to doing the right thing at any cost. Not willing to risk the life of a test pilot, he flew one of his own Lear Jets, simulating the conditions under which the planes had crashed. He nearly met the fate of the previous pilots—but he succeeded in isolating and correcting the design flaw. He made the correction in all fifty-five planes at his own expense.
As Dave Kraft concluded in Leaders Who Last, it took Bill Lear “two years to rebuild the business. . . . He lost money and risked his own life, but he never compromised his character.” What risks would you take, what price would you pay, to maintain your character? Character is not something we are born with; it’s something we develop. Anyone who wants to lead must first work on who they are — becoming the type of person others want to follow.
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” — Coach John Wooden
www.slulead.com The Call of the Leader | 7 A leader seeks wisdom.
“Leadership is often tested through difficult circumstances and challenging opportunities. This is why great leaders understand their own shortcomings and pursue wisdom in their leadership journeys.”
Dr. Danny Akin President Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary The Person God Uses
Leadership is ultimately about influence – for good or for bad. That’s why it is so important to not just pursue leadership, but godly leadership. Godly leaders care as much about their testimony as their 1) Count it as joy when trials come. territory, they constantly pursue wisdom Trials will come in all of our lives – they are an as they grow and develop to become more inevitable part of being human. We can choose like Christ. Ultimately they want to be a to get discouraged, entitled and angry at God, person that God can use. or seek out His purpose in them. James makes it clear that God allows trials to test our faith, pro- In the book of James, a book full of duce endurance, and make us perfect and com- practical truth, we see eight principles that plete. The trials we face are God’s way of getting define wise, mature leaders. When times us ready for game day, like a spiritual workout. get challenging, leaders do not feel they Leaders demonstrate maturity when they embrace have to be perfect but instead seek the trials with determination and a desire to grow. one who is. Godly leaders: 2) Ask God for wisdom. Throughout the Bible, from Solomon to Jesus, we see leaders seeking godly wisdom for their lives. Wisdom is the ability to see life from God’s perspective, and then act accordingly. Wisdom sees things as God sees things and takes the appropriate action. A godly leader sees more, further, and before others see. They wisely see what battles are worth losing and what hills are worth fighting on. They factor truth & timing into godly decision-making. James commands us to ask in faith for wisdom, without doubt that God will provide.
3) Rest in what they have. Great leaders keep things in proper perspective. They lead with a sense of eternity, not underestimating the importance of our work here but also understanding that even our greatest accomplishments fade. They lead with an eternal purpose and do not get discouraged at small setbacks.
4) Understand that God may test our faith but never tempts us to sin. Godly leaders know there is a difference between trials and temptations. What God sends as a trial, Sa- tan will try to use as a temptation. These leaders understand the difference and recognize each situation as it arises. Where they maturely embrace trials, they resist their own evil desires to avoid being enticed by temptation.
5) Understand that God gives only good gifts. James makes it clear that every good gift comes from God. He wants to bless those He loves, and He never changes in His goodness. Godly leaders show gratitude, not entitlement, for the success in their lives and don’t blame God when trials come.
www.slulead.com The Call of the Leader | 9 6) Listen well. James tells us to be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Godly leaders know the difference between the wrath of God and the wrath of man, and control their tempers. Even when pressed or stressed, they do not lose control and give into sin’s power, but instead follow the path of wisdom.
7) Know that actions speak louder than words. People do not follow worthy causes; they follow leaders who pursue worthy causes. James commands us to be doers and not just hearers. Great godly leaders “look into the law of liberty” and follow it. These leaders understand that liberty is not the lack of obligations but the freedom to do the things they ought to do. Leadership is established by a lifetime of leadership, as people see leadership in action.
8) Help the less fortunate. Immature leaders only pursue or surround themselves with people who can further their agenda. They practice self-focused leadership, seeking their own advancement. Godly leaders, on the other hand, use their positions as a platform to help those less fortunate. Loving people who cannot do anything to further your agenda shows true character and confidence. Treat everyone as they are the most important person in the world because in that moment, they are.
Godly leadership is not just focused on outcome; it is focused on becoming the person God meant for you to be and helping others realize their God-given potential in the process. Godly leaders consider both the ends and the means and pursue wisdom in all they do. Where others look at earthly qualifications, these are the people God chooses to use. A leader know it's not about them.
“Being selfless is biblical. It’s Jesus focused, Jesus centered and Jesus honoring. And it’s a lifestyle. You can’t just turn the selfless button on and off. You have to embrace it fully. ”
Brad Lomenick President Catalyst
www.slulead.com The Call of the Leader | 11 It’s Not About You
I am always bothered by the person who continually just talks about themselves. The person who thinks that the world literally revolves around them. The person who constantly 1) Be Selfless. is only worried about how things will affect them Being selfless is biblical. It’s Jesus personally. They pretend to be interested in others, focused, Jesus centered and Jesus but really are only concerned with furthering their honoring. And it’s a lifestyle. You can’t just career or pushing their agenda turn the selfless button on and off. You or making a bigger deal about themselves. have to embrace it fully.
It’s not about you. Really. It’s not. 2) Fight against pride constantly. So here are a few thoughts on combating the Pride is a killer. It’s a collaboration killer. “You” paradigm: It will corrupt a team. And it will corrupt your own leadership growth. It is deadly when given the chance to flourish. Many times, pride is induced not by leaders, but more by those around them who feel a burden to make their leader so elevated that they end up furthering the problem instead of helping squelch it.
3) Be generous. This is a great way to combat your tendency to think that you own it, and everything is about you. Especially with money or possessions. When you sense in your life a strong pull towards hoarding, just intentionally be more generous than normal.
4) Honest friends. A crucial component in fighting the “You” paradigm. Surround yourself with friends who will be brutally honest, and will tell you when you are being selfish and too “you” focused. Us is way better than me or you.
5) Ego Leak about others. If your ego has a hard time being contained, then let it leak about others. Puff others up, and make a big deal about others around you. Let your ego leak toward those around you.
So what does a leader who is NOT all about him or herself look like? They are: 1. Ready to take the fall. 2. Willing to sacrifice. 3. Always informed enough to make the tough decisions. 4. Constantly learning. 5. In touch with reality. 6. Able to plan for the future while leading in the present and honoring the past. 7. Quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. (Yikes!) 8. Humble and hungry. 9. Never satisfied, but always content. 10. A great follower who understands how to be led. 11. Wise and discerning. 12. 100 percent trustworthy. 13. Willing to risk when it’s needed, and not afraid to create change. 14. Constantly encouraging. (Yikes #2!) 15. Casting vision on a regular basis and creating a picture of the end goal. 16. Responsible. Your yes is yes and your no is no. 17. Anticipates what needs to get done. 18. Always hustling.
As leaders, it’s easy to think it’s about us when others are looking to us to lead. Resisting pride, ego, and selfishness is a natural and constant fight. When you are tempted to make it all about you, remember to practice these principles. Not only will you feel your focus shift, but ironically, you will gain even more respect from those around you.
www.slulead.com The Call of the Leader | 13 A leader serves.
“Being a servant leader acknowledges the different roles, responsibilities and strengths of people. It is not about who’s in charge. It is about who is best suited for which roles. It is about helping people accomplish things beyond what they previously thought possible. Servant leaders have a genuine respect for those they lead.”
Mark Miller Vice President of Development Chick-fil-A Great Leaders Serve
Great leaders…serve?
Isn’t leadership about taking charge? Being in control? What does it look like Just because an idea seems crazy at face value ac- to practice servant leadership? tually has no bearing on its validity. And servant leadership is not a new idea. Robert Greenleaf I know this idea is counterintuitive and popularized it in the 1970’s, but Jesus taught it countercultural. It always has been. To over 2,000 years ago. It was as counter cultural some, the idea that a leader should then as it is today. Why does this often-overlooked serve seems outlandish. But, think about approach to leadership make sense in today’s electricity – energy flowing through world? wires to light our homes and power our appliances seemed far-fetched just over For me, to serve is at the heart of what enables a 100 years ago. Today, it is electricity that leader to become great. Servant leaders apply this has modernized our world. principle at two levels:
First, the issue of motivation – Why do you lead? Is it for you or for others? The best leaders think of others first. It is a mark of their character. It is who they are or are becoming. Serving is a core motivation for the best leaders.
Second is in the strategic principles that guide his or her life and leadership style. In my book The Secret (written with Ken Blanchard), we break down the five ways leadersSERVE :
• See the Future • Engage and Develop Others • Reinvent Continuously • Values Results and Relationships • Embody the Values.
It’s not a second-class approach to leading. It’s not like saying if you can’t play in the NFL, there’s always the Arena League. It’s not the minor league of leadership. Leaders who serve well release tremendous reserves of potential, creativity and results from those they lead. The question is not “Does it work?” but “Why does it work?”
Here are a few of the reasons. Servant Leadership…
1) Focuses on Others The focus of the servant leader is on others. Specifically, those you desire to lead. Your ever present question is not what can you do for yourself; rather, it is how can you serve THEM. When decisions are made, you consider the organization and your people before you weigh the personal consequences.
www.slulead.com The Call of the Leader | 15 2) Honors People Being a servant leader acknowledges the different roles, responsibilities and strengths of people. It is not about who’s in charge. It is about who is best suited for which roles. It is about helping people accomplish things beyond what they previously thought possible. Servant leaders have a genuine respect for those they lead.
3) Builds Trust We trust leaders whose motives are others centered. Their candor, feedback, encouragement and even their directives feel different when trust is present. When our leaders serve us and the organization, we trust them more. Trust is also a key ingredient in loyalty and retention.
4) Raises Engagement There is clearly an inspirational component at play when we see others serve on our behalf. It energizes us as followers. When you and I believe that our leaders are not only for us, when we sincerely believe they want to serve us, then we want to serve them and the organizations they lead.
5) Reveals the Heart Leadership always reveals the heart of the leader – even if what is revealed is not flattering. When you and I choose to be a serving leader, people see our heart and they realize that we really are in this together. Ultimately, it’s the working together that makes servant leadership so powerful.
To serve is a tall order for any leader. It is about why we lead, how we lead, how we think and how we see our role in the world. It is a high bar to shoot for every day. To do anything less creates an inferior form of leadership. Are you ready to answer the call of a leader?
Join us at Student Leadership University, a journey that takes students around the world and deeper into their faith and future as they learn to lead through life-changing experiences.
A youth program like no other, SLU empowers, enables and equips middle and high school students to rise to the call of leadership and awaken their potential as they learn faith, leadership and life principles in unforgettable destinations. Learn from speakers such as Pat Williams, Dr. Danny Akin, Brad Lomenick, Mark Miller and many others as we put students in the ulti- mate classrooms and give them access to world-class training. Whether they go behind-the-scenes at Sea World, explore our Nation’s Capital, immerse themselves in history in Europe or walk where Jesus walked in Israel, at SLU, young people learn to think bigger, ignite their calling, impact their world and lead like Jesus.
With four progressive, cumulative levels taking place during the summer and at various times throughout the year, Student Leadership University changes the way students think, dream, and lead today and for the rest of their lives.
Take the leap and see where the SLU leadership journey could take you! Learn more at www.slulead.com.
www.slulead.com The Call of the Leader | 17 STUDENT LEADERSHIP UNIVERSITY
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