Today I went in early to my gym for an appointment with a specialized exercise class. I have to admit, when I first walked into the room I was surrounded mostly by women and just a couple of older men. For a moment I thought I was in the wrong class. The instructor began talking about the exercises of the day and provided the necessary demonstrations. I thought to myself, “this has to be a joke, it seems too easy!”

The class began and we started our workout and changed gym area positions as the instructor told us to. Boy, this was more difficult than I had previously thought it would be. The workout was an hour-long and seemed never to end. The first thirty minutes was very difficult and I was dripping with sweat. We had finished our workout, when one of the students told the instructor we had missed one set. To be honest I needed a good lawyer at that moment, because I felt like I wanted to kill her. Even though I was tired, I did want to get the most out of the class, so I continued on without too much thought.

After the class I had a session with the teacher who transitioned to my personal trainer. It was time to take my measurements and set some goals. This trainer and I had talked every day I entered the gym and we become quite friendly to each other over the past several months. We had arrived at the point in the measurements when he asked me my age. I told him my age and he laughed and said, “no really, come on your pulling my leg, what is your real age?” I told him again, he paused and looked extremely surprised that I was still holding to the age of thirty-four. He honestly could not believe it. He said, “at most I thought you were twenty-five!” I quickly thanked him for his complement, but he still looked bewildered.

I had to be the one who shocked the most. I thought to myself, “most certainly if he knew how I was feeling after his class, he would know my age!” This started me thinking, because I have been starting to feel a little older. I was starting to feel like I was losing was becoming less relevant to my young followers.

This transaction with the personal trainer started me thinking, I am still relevant and still can relate. After all this personal trainer is in his early twenties and we have great conversations together. Teenagers I am around also seem to think I am fun and want to spend time with me. I guess it is our perception that changed when we begin to get older. I am certainly glad that today, I had a reality check. Leaders, it is not how old you are that determines your relatability, it is your attitude and willingness to take time and spend with those who are younger than you.

Sometimes you consider the value of your achievements and you are not sure if you are actually making an impact. You put a lot of your time diligently trying to move things forward. You feel like no one really understands the actual time you put in researching or learning to implement ideas into your leadership craft. You feel like a failure. Does this sound familiar?

The principle of leaders and followers is a large study, which some have committed their whole lives to, but often we think we can figure it out all by ourselves. The more I lead, the more I understand I must commit to learn more! Leadership is one of the trades in life, in which you must never stop learning. If you want people to follow your leadership, you must be at least one step ahead.

You are taking people to places you have been before, or into new areas you have planned and prepared to lead them to. The statement,

you cannot lead from behind

is true! If you do not believe me, try going into a dark tunnel that you have been in before, but instead of you leading the way, let someone else who has never been in the tunnel go a head. Let them make the decisions and see what happens. Chances are you will be lost in a matter of minutes. That’s the thing about your leadership; you know where you are going. People are excited to follow you into areas they have never been to before and things they never dreamed possible. You have done the work and have mapped out a plan. The right people are willing to follow.

There is a common idiom, which has been used and passed down throughout the ages, which says,

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.

I learned the fallacy of this statement from a long-time friend who passed away in 2015. He taught me, take the horse to the water and if the horse will not drink, put salt on its lips. Salt creates a desire for water, just as we must create a desire for our followers to follow our leadership. So, please pass the salt!

PERMISSIVE VS FORBIDDEN
Leadership always has its challenges. There are things in leadership we are allowed to do. Those are the things that are permissive. There are also areas that are considered forbidden. Throughout the life of a leader there are opportunities to do what is right, and those things that are not. When those opportunities to do things that are not consistent with general moral leadership practices present themselves, it is essential to do the right thing.

CHOOSING THE WRONG PATH
Why do some leaders choose the wrong path and end up in personal or even legal troubles? It is because a leader does not generally choose the wrong path in a single moment. The moment in question of failed leadership often is better realized as moments of failures that lead to the failure. It is important to analyze decision-making in your leadership. Moral or ethical flaws generally present themselves before an opportunity to have a huge moral failure occurs. There are signs to look out for. Leaders must analyze their (1) motives and (2) morals/ethics.

THE IMPORTANT DECISION
Each decision is crucial to how you lead. Never allow your decisions to go off track. It can be easy to take the path of least resistance, but this path is rarely the correct path. Often the correct and moral path is the most difficult, yet reaps the most rewarding future. Simply dismissing your decisions as something that will not effect your future is not correct. Each individual decision affects not only today’s leadership, but also tomorrow’s leadership.

DEATH OF LEADERSHIP
Leadership is no longer able to influence when credibility is lost. Credibility is not necessarily lost in the process of making mistakes, even those which are considered moral/ethical failings. Credibility is really lost when a leader does not acknowledge their own mistakes and learn from them. Each and every day leaders make mistakes; people are not perfect. In the Book of Genesis Chapter 3, Adam and Eve denied their failings, they tried to hide their failure by lying. The best way to kill your leadership is to lie about your mistakes. Most mistakes are fixable, but it takes (1) admitting your failings, (2) asking for forgiveness, and (3) learning from failures.

Do not take the forbidden fruit of leadership!

References
Holy Bible: New Living Translation. (1996). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House.

Think about it, there has to be someone you just can’t stand. This person is probably someone you just don’t understand why they do the things they do. Maybe they get on your nerves and you think about running for the hills every time they come near. You know the type of people I am talking about, those you duck to avoid in the supermarket. No admission necessary, but I am sure there are those you work with or even your employees that you avoid by ducking beside the next cubicle in sight. Yes, you may be laughing to yourself right now and thinking, “your right!” These are the people who proably can make you angry simply by opening their mouths and talking to you. You can say right now, “I hate to deal with that person!”

Leaders must be careful not to allow those who they cannot stand to become those they hate. Hate is something that creeps in slowly and does not happen overnight. There is nothing wrong with not getting along with someone, sometimes there are people who we just have conflicts with because of clashing peronsilities, but this does not have to become a trait of hate. We should never be able to say, “I hate that person!” Historically hate has been the cause of the destruction of many. Hate was that which existed within Nazi Germany, hate drove Stalin, and hate has continued to be destructive in many forms causing national calamities and wars worldwide. There is no reason to allow hate to creep in and begin an organizational war. Organizational wars will destruction.

It is extremely important to constantly note your attitude when dealing with others. Your attidue is crucial in organizational conflict resolution, in dealing with employees, and in growing your organization. Negative attitudes spread like wildfires throughout causing destruction, thus it is necessary to carefully examine your personal state of being. Here are some steps to help evealuate your attitude:

1. Learn more about the person you cannot stand.
2. Be willing to listen, especially when you disagree.
3. Allow conflict to exist in a constructive manner.
4. Settle conflicts as soon as possible.
5. Be willing to admit your wrong.

“But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment!…” (Matthew 5:22, NLT, 1996).

References
Holy Bible: New Living Translation. (1996). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House.

A few months ago, I wrote: I started my day off right! As I prepared myself to assemble together with other believers, I went through the drive-thru at McDonalds to get my Sausage McMuffin meal with a medium Iced Vanilla Coffee. This has become my Sunday morning ritual. If I do not have my McDonalds on Sunday’s I feel a bit off. Maybe it’s the caffeine! In any event, I guess it is a form of luxury I aim to receive, since I do not eat out very much anymore. I tend to take the time and cook meals and make sandwiches in order to gain a much healthier physique.

Last night, I slept very well, but when it came to this morning I had my standard wake up call. About 3 seconds before the alarm clock went off, I woke up. This happens almost everyday. I am not sure how or why. It is actually quite scary! Have I become so scheduled that I can wake up about 3 seconds before my alarm clock goes off, even if the time is set different each morning? If I am to be honest the answer is yes. Okay, I will claim it, I am a nice guy, but I have become a “Type A Personality.”

This morning I was full of energy and ready to go, but the only thing is my coordination was not. Not only was my coordination off, but I also am in a very joking mood. I have been cutting up all morning. Yes, I have fun normally, but I mean more than normal. I also feel a bit tired, although I slept well and long enough.

Sometimes it is just like that in leadership. You can do everything right, but you just do not feel like yourself. You just do not seem like everything is perfect. You can make mistakes and feel like you’ve done the worst job you ever have. When those type of days happen, it is important to realize you are not alone. There are days where we all are more critical concerning our performance than other days. Those days are those when you just want to roll over and go back to sleep. But since you are already awake, let me remind you that these days are just reminders that you are not perfect and hopefully, they will remind you that others are not perfect either. These days help to give us balance and help to remind us of where we came from. Personal reflection is important when these types of days come, so that you can manage other days even better.

Do not roll over and go back to sleep, instead realize there is something that can be learned from these types of days. Others may not even notice you are having a rough day, but even if they do, they will realize something very important, you are human — and that’s okay!

*egg from PD

Have you ever wanted to do something that you couldn’t? For an entire week I had planned to go on a trip with my cousin to NorthStar Ski Resort in North Tahoe. With great excitement I left my house at 7:00 a.m. to meet my cousin. We quickly packed up and headed up Interstate 80 toward Reno. The drive was beautiful, and though it is summer, we were able to see small snow packs still on the mountains. As we arrived at NorthStar, we paused with great hesitation, because of the beauty and the excitement of the day’s activities. You might wonder why we are at NorthStar Ski Resort in the summer, but there is much more to do at this resort than Ski. Mountain biking is a popular activity this time of year.

My cousin is so excited to go on this biking adventure and I am excited to stay in the resort to do some typing and some hiking. In the evening we will be traveling along Lake Tahoe to find an open space to stargaze with my powerful telescope. While I am doing a lot of activities myself, I must admit my desire to go the distance and go with my cousin on the bike trails, and therein lies my dilemma. I am not a bike rider, but the more active I get at the gym, the more I desire to do physical activities I have never done before. I am at this point, completely unable to take the bike trails. It would be very dangerous to do so, so I will continue with my plans.

Albert Einstein wrote,

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

Einstein is absolutely correct! I do not normally take big risks, such as going down a mountain trail at top speed, which scares me. But to not miss out on the next opportunity to go mountain biking, I must prepare myself and learn to become a great bike rider.

Preparation is often half the battle. In leadership we tend to face similar obstacles. There can be areas in our leadership we are afraid to try because were unsure of the path ahead and the obstacles, whichlie before us. Preparation helps us to gain the strength, endurance and the mindset to deal with these new feared areas. Those things that are uncomfortable are only uncomfortable, because we do not have experience in those areas.

For your leadership obstacles develop a simple plan of attack to gain experience. If you are charting new waters start off around the coast line before you go out any deeper. To gain experience on the mountain bike trails I must first start riding my bike more. As I am able to go further I must start to go up and down small hills and move toward larger hills. If I never attempt do do so, I will never progress. The same goes for your leadership, if you do not make a plan and set goals you will never increase your ability to lead in difficult areas. Developing a plan to reach past obstacles helps to develop more powerful leadership.

Yesterday was a great day! I decided to go with a friend of mine to Tahoe to look at the beautiful lake and spend hours under the stars using a telescope to view the heaven’s above. Sounds great doesn’t it; a day at a lake with a friend and the beauty of all creation surrounding you. The wonder, amazement, and the simple awstruck, at how the world could be created in such majesty filled my soul, but it did not start out that way. On the way to Tahoe everything was going as good as can imagine. We avoided certain traffic by taking side-roads throughout Sacramento. As we arrived back on the freeway there was a lot of traffic behind us and somewhat-mobile traffic ahead of us. To my left on the other side of the freeway, I was saddened to see a car accident scene; the car had been engulfed in flames. My concern and prayers immediately was with those who had been involved with this accident.

Soon we were off on the road on our daring afternoon journey to reach the lake. We decided to stop for an early dinner at the KFC in Placerville and had a terrific dinner. In as little as 20-minutes our excitement led us back onto the road toward Tahoe. We approached the intersection and the light turned green. “This is it, we are really going to do this and with impecable timing,” I thought to myself! “Put, put, put…” said Big Blue. You see, Big Blue is the name for my truck, because I drive a Ford Ranger XLT that is blue and my friend drives a Ford F-150 that is the identical big brother twin of my Ranger. So to be nice and to make Big Blue feel like he was just as great, I began calling him Big Blue. So Big Blue broke down, right in front of the light! Embarrased and not knowing what to do I sat there trying over and over to start my truck, but nothing happened. Soon a man from the bail bond shop, which was located in back of us came and pushed the car back into his parking lot. Thank you, Bail Bondsman!!! It may seem like the story ends there, but it doesn’t. I was given very grave news about Big Blue, but I did not give up on him, so I asked for a second opinion. The second AAA truck came and helped me by agreeing with me that the battery had just died, so he gave me a jump and I headed down to the local Walmart to get a new battery.

We began our journey again, after a short pit stop. We are heading up the mountain when all of the sudden I see something dart out in front of me. My heart sank and my foot breaked immediately, as I realized what it was right away. I hit a deer — Bambi! My heart was racing a mile-a-minute and so was the deers, luckily! Quickly the deer got up and ran away, and my friend and I gathered ourselves and made it up to a gas station about 20-miles up the road, where we checked for car damage. We were blessed for a few reasons, (1) I was driving below the speed limit, (2) I always scan for dangers when I am driving, and (3) I was able to stop hard enough and quick enough to just stun the deer and keep us all safe. I must admit I must be careful when driving through to Tahoe again, because I know this deer had to be pretty young and his mother will not be too happy with me, but in all it was an accident, so I am sure she will understand.

In leadership and in life, sometimes things just do not go the way we have planned. Circumstances arise. It is important to know how to keep going and how not to give up. During our trip I told me friend, “if we hit one more animal we are heading back home.” Yes, many things happened to detour us from our detination, but we kept pursuing the goal, which we had laid out. Maybe in your leadership you have hit walls and you do not know if it is worth heading forward anymore. You may be ready to give up, but that can be a great place to be! I told my friend “when bad things happen, just wait something really good is coming!” The same is true in leadership, we may have to course correct at times, but stay true to the vision that has been laid out and see what good things are getting ready to happen. It is good to know when to give up, but it is also good to know when not to give up. For us not giving in meant seeing the wonder of nature, relaxation and peaceful moments.

It is no wonder why Scripture proclaims,

“Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory” (Psalm 50:15, NLT, 1996).

References
Holy Bible: New Living Translation. (1996). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House.

JUST FOR THOUGHT
Regret is something all people face, certaintly, at many points within their lives. Leadership regrets tend to encompass a full-scope of feelings concerning both personal and organizational doubts. Regrets can include (1) things we can control, and (2) things we cannot control. The best thing to do in the category of “things we can control” is analyze those areas that went wrong and learn from the mistakes of the past. The second category, “things we cannot control” is an important reason for journaling, which is crucial to leadership development. We tend to forget those things that are not our fault and take on personal blame. The responsibility leaders have create a stress of its own. Knowing you are a leader, of so many people and so many things, can seem daunting or overwhelming at times. Creating a balance of learning organizational control is key. Not everything that happens within the organization is the prevailing fault of leadership, sometimes misunderstandings happen, or things that just cannot be controled are the issue. Instead of living with regrets, move forward and live in the future. Realize what you can control and what you cannot control.

Thanksgiving is upon us and many of us are getting ready to spend time with those we hold dear to us, the work-week will be suspended for many of us, and we will shop until we drop on Black Friday. It is easy to think about all the good times we will have, but before many of us leaders move into our Thanksgiving plans it is especially important we spend time with our followers and let them know just what we think of them. Before you run around the office and begin telling people off, please continue reading!

Leadership can at times be seen as commanding orders, such as “do this” or “do that.” It is important to take time and acknowledge those who really contribute to organizational success. Take a moment and walk through the halls of your organization and see all the work that is getting done. This is work you need done in order to do your job or to meet your deadlines. These are the people who make it all possible. It is easy to forget to acknowledge those who are doing so much and it is often much easier to complain about what is not getting done, but in reality they are making it all happen.

This Thanksgiving the message inside this article is the most simple leadership principle you can find. It is often the most forgotten and most ignored leadership principle. The most effective way to lead your organization and followers is by demonstrating the art of gratitude. The key is, say “thank you!” When you say, “thank you” you are allowing others to see you have appreciation for their contributions. Saying “thank you” encourages followers and can even contribute to increased productivity.

Take a moment and tell those around you, “THANK YOU!”

As leaders, a situation can come up seemingly from nowhere, which attempts to thwart one’s telling of truth. Leadership must be willing to make the difficult decision to tell the truth in all situations. Followers may desire to hear an “alternate truth,” but speaking truth is a foundation block of all good leaders. People tend to desire to have their ego’s carressed, but organizational growth cannot excel when falsities are being passed as truth. Gaining insight from other’s is important, but nothing can replace the truth.

Jesus had the same choice to appease the crowd of disciples or to speak the truth in John 6:66-71. He easily spoke the truth, even though his followers were complaining. He eventually lost many of his disciples who began to realize Jesus was a leader who presented only truth, no matter how harsh that truth might be. He questioned his group of his twelve closest disciples and asked if they would also leave him, but they stayed knowing Jesus was speaking

“the words that give eternal life” (John 6:68, NLT, 1996).

Remember, leadership always speaks truth!