Tag: leadership

Designate a Landmark

“Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight… These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” – Joshua 4:2-8


A landmark is defined as a place that is of outstanding historical, aesthetic, or cultural importance, or an object that serves as a guide for people trying to find a place.


In my ministry life, I have seen God do amazing things and bring me repeatedly to a new place of relationship with Him. One thing I have tried to do and encouraged others to do is to build a landmark, a memorial to identify a geographical place which you connect with what God did during that season.


The Israelites did this, at God’s direction, to remind themselves what He had brought them through, out of slavery and through the waters to save them from their enemies.


A few of mine:
– the pier on the Bohicket River outside Charleston, SC where I met with God while at Boy Scout summer camp as a teen. My “walk” with God became more real than ever before as I converted my teen angst into seeking Him for direction for my life.
– the hospital parking lot where I found out about Hodgkin’s for the first time. I have written more about that here.
– Chapel Hill is a collective landmark of memories from my college days, meeting Adena, making new friends, and connecting to the ministry that I am still connected with today.


What about you? Can you identify any landmarks in your journey? Visit them periodically. Take pictures of them. Journal about them.


Designating these places as significant in your life will esteem what God has done and help keep you on the path He has for you.

Don’t Overvalue Feedback

Feedback is a valuable thing for us as leaders. But it also has some drawbacks.

If you build good feedback loops so you gain information on what kind of results you are producing, you can make changes to better achieve your targets. You can adjust your strategy, your methods, and sometimes even your goals to make sure you are producing the ends you set out to achieve.

Potential risks, though: because positive feedback is refreshing, you can get addicted. I personally have found myself at times where I need constant feedback to feel that I have accomplished anything. This is not healthy or sustainable. 
When I was in retail, we had daily sales goals. On big days, we would even look at things by the hour. But feedback isn’t that easy to get in a non-retail setting. The first time you do something, you may get praise or critique but after you have done something ten times or more, no one feels a need to tell you whether it was good or not. It is tempting to seek out feedback and want to score yourself every time. But this will drive you down a path of dependence on receiving personal kudos that will keep you from focusing on the more important things in life.
Tips to overcome feedback addiction:
1. Recognize it and choose to work against it. This is the first step to any effort.
2. Bring some accountability into your life. Be honest with your spouse and perhaps a few friends about your recognized need for feedback. Ask them to help you override the mental loops you go through looking for external feelings of success.
3. Recognize that positive feedback doesn’t always mean your goals were achieved. Just because a communication was well delivered and well received doesn’t mean anyone took action based on your request. Some actions actually take years to evaluate effectiveness. Having a long-term viewpoint means you may have to sacrifice short-term celebration of wins.
4. Reflect on God’s heart for you as an individual. He loves you PERIOD. It isn’t about what you do or don’t do. Scripture tells us our works are rags before Him. He doesn’t value us based on feedback or external measures of success. Neither should we.
If you have dealt with similar challenges, what methods have you found to work on this?
big picture

Managing Macro: Staying mindful of the big picture

Last week, I wrote here about “managing micro”. This is different than micromanaging, with its negative connotations, and is necessary for organizational success.

Someone has to manage macrobig picture

I don’t want to move on without taking an opportunity to insist that it is also required for someone to be “managing macro”.

  • Someone has to be looking at the organization from the thirty thousand foot view.
  • Someone should be looking ahead to where future energies will need to go.
  • Someone should be anticipating where potential obstacles may arise.
  • Someone must be looking at the pieces of the organization in the context of the whole.

Who’s looking at the big picture?

There is a classic leader-manager joke:

“What’s the difference between a leader and a manager? A manager makes sure you’re climbing the ladder but a leader makes sure the ladder is on the right wall.”

This joke and others like it undervalue the role of managers. They do provide a good contrast though, for what I am referring to here as the managing macro role.

Usually, the point person or driver for an initiative will be the person managing the higher level pieces. If that’s you, don’t get stuck in the details on your to-do list. Don’t forget to check yourself regularly against your larger purpose and goals.

Someone has to do both

Managing the details and maintaining the big picture are both necessary. Don’t neglect them and don’t let yourself get frozen in one or the other. You may fail to achieve your overall objectives.