Exodus 4:10 – Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

“Executive/Leadership Presence” has become and remained a buzz word in describing leadership attributes in others.  It frequently comes out of the mouth of leaders when assessing future leaders and/or identifying core characteristics of effective leaders.  However the concept is very nebulous to leaders when asked to define its components.  Often, employees are not prepared to focus on improving their executive/leadership presence when they receive the feedback due to the lack of understanding of its core meaning.  At times it becomes a scapegoat when a decision was made to not promote a person to a leadership / executive position (ie. “He does not have executive presence”).  Companies need to do a better job spending time educating leadership/employees on its meaning to appropriately develop the characteristic in individuals.   I have seen many times people think they exhibit executive presence by speaking up in meetings.  Executive/leadership presence is so much more.

In the church world, executive/leadership presence is often referred to as charisma.  When a pastor is chosen to lead a church, a key component involves assessing his/her ability to create followership in a particular environment.  But what does charisma and followership really mean when a person is assessed to lead a church?  Some individuals are chosen to be church leaders based on their ability to speak eloquently, convincing techniques (selling an idea/concept), outgoing personality, etc. Charisma and followership are so much more.

In the old testament of the Bible, Moses is portrayed as having the opposite of what many would think are components of executive/leadership presence.  His communications skills were poor; he admitted to God that he was a stutterer (as if God did not know this).  However, God used Moses to lead His people out of Egypt.  Moses had to exhibit leadership presence in releasing the children of Israel from Pharaoh’s control.  God taught Moses how to use his resources to display the elements of leadership to present freedom to the Israelites.  One of his resources was Joshua; he used Joshua to communicate at times the message of the Lord.

Executive/ leadership presence is much more than talking or speaking up in a meeting.  The true meaning of this concepts leverages communication artistically in a way that reaches to the psyche of a person and creates followership.   The following are characteristics of executive/leadership presence:

-          Social skills, grace, poise

-          Clarity; ability to explain the big picture

-          Self confidence, commands respect

-          Genuine, authentic, candid

-          Builds community and relationship by engaging others

-          Personal branding/presentation, professional attire

-          Active listening; listens with intent to understand

-          Passionate, inspirational

-          Executes strategy & vision; future oriented (does not dwell in present or past)

-          Effective speaking / presenting skills

-          Draws out alternative views from others, open, inquisitive (thought leadership)

-          Insightful, thoughtful

-          Humorous

-          Exemplifies values of organization

-          Courageous; willing to take risks

All of these attributes define executive/leadership presence in a comprehensive way that allows individuals to assess and develop an understanding of their strengths and developmental gaps in this area.  God did not care that Moses could not speak eloquently; speaking is just one component of executive/leadership presence.  God taught Moses how to develop and utilize all of the attributes above to be an effective leader.  How is God developing executive/leadership presence in your daily experiences?

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So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. ³ And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. ⁴ Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

The definition of delegation is to “give or commit (duties, powers, etc.) to another as agent or representative” (dictionary.com).  As I speak with new and more experienced leaders regarding their areas of improvement, one of the prevailing areas is delegation.  The inability to delegate hinders us from empowering others as well as getting work completed.  We somehow as leaders believe by not delegating the work it will get executed faster and the level of trust in ourselves gives us confidence that it will be completed the way we want it.  The lack of delegation in a leader chokes the ability to give others the opportunity to learn, grow, and gain experiences that will develop them into what they are purposed to become.

In Acts 6, we see the disciples coming to a realization they could not do everything.  They placed themselves in a situation where they were taking the concept of serving to an inordinate level.  The disciples realized they could not run a food program, preach, teach, and pray throughout a given day.  They were placing unnecessary pressure on themselves to get various things completed.

I just recently led a massive reorganization initiative.  The project entailed several business units and affected over one thousand employees.   Due to the aggressive timeline there were many elements that needed to be considered, planned, and executed very quickly.  Many leaders at various levels of the organization needed to be constantly informed on all of the moving elements as well as contribute to the direction of the outcome due to these changes affecting many areas of the company.  I had to quickly build a team that could be my arms and legs throughout this project and could assist me with all the items that needed to be planned and executed.  I thought I was doing well with leveraging the team in the planning and execution phase until I realized too late that I did not have the administrative support to help me with the day to day administrative duties that needed to be executed.  I found myself trying to locate conference rooms to hold these confidential meetings, looking for specific office supplies to aid in the strategic discussions, etc.  There was one time I was in a room with senior leadership to review the status of the project and I did not know how to use the technically advanced phone  and media system to have the people who were calling in obtain access to the information we were about to present.  I selected people to assist with everything else and I forgot to select someone to assist with one of the most important elements of a project: administrative support.  I was trying to lead a major project while making copies, making last minute changes to presentations, finding conference rooms, etc.  I was so overloaded that I could not place my focus on key elements within the project.  If only I realized this area of improvement sooner.  We sometimes have to take a step back and understand everything that is on our plate and reexamine if there is assistance available to mitigate the stress of trying to accomplish it all.

There are times in the church we don’t delegate because we are very controlling within our ministries.  We want to stay in our position forever and not teach and empower others to learn what we know.  We feel a sense of power and control and feel threatened by the possibility of someone coming and moving us out of our position.  Therefore, we do much of the work and keep a lot of pertinent information to ourselves.  Then we complain that people are not stepping up to help and/or they do not know how to do a particular activity.

We should never deceive ourselves to think that by not delegating will create/maintain job security in any position we hold.  It will only perpetuate what the enemy wants us to focus on: stagnation and lack of empowerment.  The disciples broke that mental stronghold in Acts 6 and realized the importance of delegation.  However, they did not just place the emphasis on giving work to others, but they also focused on finding the right people to give the work to.  We will explore how to effectively delegate to the right people in our next blog.

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“…well done good and faithful servant…” –

Titles.  We all have them.   Mother, father, pastor, sister, brother, minister, manager, supervisor, etc.; titles have become an important part of our lives, whether we want to believe it or not.  They have defined us, inspired us, and even motivated us to change who we are because of being given a certain title.  Although our society facilitates our thinking that titles make us who we are, we have to understand there is only one title that should govern our lives; the title of “servant”.

I have been in transition for the last few years.  In my career I have progressed to titles of supervisor, manager, and senior manager.  In my ministry I have been given titles of minister, leader, and pastor.  When you become accustomed to those titles you get comfortable in those acknowledgements and the element of elevated status begins to kick in.  Usually when you are promoted to certain titles in your career, your earning potential increases and increased wealth becomes a reality.  You purchase items that you may not have normally purchased; you travel to places that were once foreign to you.  Your experiences broaden and you are invited to circles of societies that were unknown.  Your status has changed and there is an air of confidence that sometimes could turn into arrogance.

In the church you may have started off as a minister in training.  You sat in the back of church just wanting to soak in the initial calling and trying to understand what it all means.  As the months and/or years pass you get licensed and eventually ordained.  You are no longer sitting in the back of the church but have progressed to either the front row, pulpit, or you are being escorted through the pomp and circumstance to the pulpit.  You have arrived!  If you are honest you have had this feeling and to had spiritually struggle with its implications.  With the title of bishop, apostle, reverend, etc. you are invited to certain functions that request your presence because of you who are.

I am being taught that if I am not displaying a servant mentality in any title I hold it means nothing.  Recently I have had this lesson look me right in my eyes in both my career and ministry.  I have taken a new position with another company and my title at my prior company was senior manager.  When I joined this new company I was given the title of manager.  Although in my new role I received more responsibility and money, I was still bothered by the title of manager.  In the church I have been accustomed to people addressing me as “minister”.  But recently there have been more people calling me “sister” or just my name in the church.  This was due to being introduced to different church environments and recently joining a new church.  My flesh (the carnal nature of man) was offended.  In that offense the Holy Spirit “checked” me and begin to correct my disposition.  He explained that the only title I should care about is the title of servant.  It does not matter that people call me minister, manager, etc.  It should only matter what I do within the opportunities God has given me.

Servant leadership strips us from our titles and places proper perspective in our lives.  Through this invaluable lesson, I no longer place a title in my email signature at work and do not feel like I have lost my purpose in ministry when people just call me “sister” and by my name.  Let us all learn this lesson in our careers and ministries so it does not distract us from the true nature of why we exist.  We exist to serve.

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From a leadership perspective, one cannot live in the past; however time must be spent glancing back long enough to make adjustments in the course that is being traveled.  We all have woulda, shoulda, and coulda moments in life.  We all have vast experiences, some more than others.   Unfortunately, sometimes experience travels alone.  Experience (years of service) is not a true reflection of what a person has gained during their time on the job, but evaluated experience can be translated into something actionable to help shape our future course.  

We are shaped by our past, but our past is not our future.  Adopting that extremely dangerous perspective would be like trying to drive to the future while looking only in the rearview mirror.  With that point of view, we’d drive ourselves off a cliff.  Take for example Lot from the Old Testament, when his wife looked back on Sodom and Gomorrah, she turned to a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26)!  They were told to leave and not look back!  God has not called us to live a life of regrets, but a life of promise and purpose.  We are bought by the blood of Jesus Christ and the old man is washed away.  We need not focus on the things that are behind us, because the blessings of God are in front us and we need to be looking ahead in order to not miss what He has in store for us.   

Reflection is needed to clarify and compare our perspective of what the current reality is. We compare the future to the present and determine what could be different.  That comparison is needed, we just can’t stay there.  “When we gaze first into our past, we elongate our future.  We also enrich our future and give it detail as we recall the richness of our past experiences.”  The Leadership Challenge, pg 119.  Leaders navigate for their people.  Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course.  Vision and direction come from a leader’s passion for something to change for the better.  In the end, we move ahead by glancing behind and reflecting on the lessons learned.  Work hard, do great things and have fun!  Jake  

But for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.

Robert Greene describes in his 6^th law, that attracting attention when rising to the top is essential.  More importantly he states, “the quality of the attention is irrelevant”.  We have seen this statement fail in several instances in people’s lives.  Many people have believed that bad publicity is actually good publicity because it keeps your name in the public eye.  However at what cost does this have on one’s soul?

As leaders, if we are honest, there are times that we want to seek the attention of others; be on top as the crowds admire our success.  In those moments of self seeking attention, we find ourselves drunk with the notion of being discussed in various social circles and wanting to forever be in the minds of people.  In Greene’s book, “The 48 Laws of Power”, he glorifies duplicity as the key to achieving this distorted feat and explicates it will make one “appear larger, more colorful, more mysterious than the bland and timid masses”.  He continues to discuss in this chapter how society craves for larger than life individuals that command our attention, thus in his mind proves this skill is relevant in achieving self-significance and power.  According to Greene, displaying actions that may be contrary at times to who you are keeps people intrigued and thus causes them to want to know more about you.

Commanding attention is important to a leader.  Whether one is in the pulpit preaching a sermon or leading a strategy session at work, captivating the attention of the audience is one of the key components a leader must own.  However, there is an appropriate way to command attention without being deceptive and evasive within your own personality. A leader does not have to “occasionally utter ambiguous phrases, deliberately appear inconsistent, and act odd in the subtlest of ways” (The 48 Laws of Power) to command attention.  The only established alignment I have with Greene in this chapter is around the element of capturing people’s attention by not “showing all of your cards”.  It is acceptable for people to not read you like a book.  According to Greene, “most people are upfront, can be read like an open book, take little care to control their words or image, and are hopelessly predictable”.  People are intrigued when there is more than meets the eye about you.  However you do not have to feed the intrigue through deception.  I admire leaders who can command attention either through the words they speak or do not speak.  When you are around skillful leaders they sometimes command attention through their silence instead of their oratory skills.  It builds a mystery around them and people are wondering what they are thinking and want to hang onto every word once they speak.  An effective leader attentively listens, carefully chooses their words, and selects the right time to be vocal, which in turn creates the greatest impact as well as command the attention of others.

Self seeking attention births signs of insecurity and the need to be the constant center of attention.  We have seen leaders today display these characteristics and have books written about them titled, “The Rise and Fall of “X””.   For self seekers who only command attention for themselves, there will be a fall.  They may be at the top today but the ascension is fleeting.  As a leader, aspire to command attention only to build others up.  Court attention at all costs in order to inspire, motivate, and lead others to their greatness and not your own.

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So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom. – Psalm 90:12

We have all heard the saying, “Life is too short”.  Many people live this mantra and make decisions every day to choose to live life to the fullest and not let trivial things get in the way.  However there are still many of us that allow finite issues to choke our joy, happiness, success, peace of mind, etc.  Although Psalm 90:12 is not teaching us to find out how many days are left in our specific life to live, it rather teaches us to look at our days as numbered with purpose.  Each day of our lives God has infused purpose within them. There is not one day that goes by where purpose is to be lived and executed.

We make decisions every day to choose whether our purpose will be realized or if it will be derailed by wrong choices we make or our inability to look at life the right way.  I am almost hesitant to refer to a movie I just recently watched but a particular scene within it resonated within my soul.  In the movie, “The Bridges of Madison County”, there is a scene where Clint Eastwood’s character, Robert looks in the face of Meryl Streep’s character, Francesca to make a decision on if she would stay with her family or leave them to be with him.  The scene is so powerful because you can see the struggle she has in making this decision of struggling with a part of her life that wants to explore something different and new while being pulled to a place of familiarity, fidelity, and honor.  I don’t glorify this movie due to its focus on adultery; however this particular scene spoke to me in a way that deals with every day choices.  There will be days where life stares you in the face to make a decision to stay in your comfort zone or leap into an unfamiliar place that will take you to another dimension.  My spiritual eyes no longer looked at this movie as a love story but a wakeup call to myself of what God was teaching me about life.

Your “familiar place” may be having to seek the approval of others, being consumed with your career/ministry, not stretching your mind/thinking, etc.  You have been stuck in your familiar place for so long that you forgot what your passions are, what drives you, or what you have always wanted to be or do with your life.  Climbing the corporate ladder or having children/family should not be excuses for you to not pursue your dreams.  Remember your days are numbered with purpose. 

I have recently decided to stretch my boundaries and pursue things that will expand my view on life.  I have taken the hands of judgment and “in the box” thinking off my neck that have choked me for years and leaped into exploring different cultures, religions, lifestyles, thinking/concepts/styles, etc. that I have never have in the past.  In these there are hints of truth and awareness of self.  C.S. Lewis stated in his book, Mere Christianity, “If you are a Christian, you are free to think that all these religions, even the queerest ones, contain at least some hint of truth.”  I would add however only mature Christians can take this leap and explore the world in this way.  There must be a reconciliation of knowing that  Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life as well as understanding there is a world out here that is bigger than you that has truths hidden in them for self discovery.  One cannot go without the other.  Because I am free to explore myself in Christ I can refer to secular movies, find hidden truths, and not be condemned or judged by others.  God showed me in that movie that Clint Eastwood’s character was staring me in the face as if he was representing the potential of my life to make the decision to explore the world in ways I have never seen, to view God in levels that have been unknown to me, and to abandon my focus on temporal things that have choked my ability to soar. 

I have admired leaders who are open minded and well versed with various life experiences and knowledge, while not neglecting biblical foundation.  Even closed minded business leaders who do not have varied experiences are unsuccessful in the corporate world; what does this also say about church leaders?

My days are numbered with purpose and I don’t want to lose another second of God enlightening my eyes to see this purpose lived out every day for the rest of my life. My eyes will be enlightened through the lenses of spiritual and natural things (secular, worldly, and religious experiences). As a consequence, wisdom will come and dine with my soul and I will see this world in ways I have never seen it before!

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And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it. – Luke 23:3

There has been debate as to whether Jesus managed people’s perceptions.  Some would say in reference to the above scripture that He did not, while others would say that He did perceive the thoughts of others and managed their perceptions accordingly.  The million dollar question is: What responsibility as leaders do we have regarding perception management?

Whether we are leaders in the workplace or in a particular ministry in the church, people have perceptions of us ranging from our leadership style to our personality style and everything in between.  In our own minds we may think those perceptions are fact or fiction, however we must understand those specific perceptions are someone’s reality of us.

Jesus actually did manage perceptions to an extent.  His purpose was to portray Himself as the Son of God and through His acts, sermons, lifestyle, etc. Jesus was able to create and manage His position in the Trinity and how God the father sent Him on a particular mission to save the sinner.  However we must understand there were certain times where Jesus did not manage the perceptions of others.  One could say in Luke 23 when Pilate asked Him, “Are you the King of the Jews”, Jesus’ reply rendered a simple response that implied He would not justify this statement/accusation.  We as leaders must understand the proper way to administer perception management. 

Every piece of feedback we receive does not always need an explicative retort.  We may need to replicate the response of Jesus in today’s terms of, “You have said so” and cease further explanation.  Sometimes people’s opinions or perceptions of you are influenced by others and it becomes difficult in these times to change the perception and therefore you are probably better suited to have a “thou sayest” attitude/response and understand they have formed an opinion of you which may be difficult to change.

For situations where perception management is crucial to execute, the following are strategies to ponder when managing the perceptions of others:

Preparation – think about the position/idea you want people to hold of you.  What is your brand?  How do you want people to think of you?

Credibility – make sure the information you gather  from others about you has some level of consistency.  You cannot manage multiple opinions; find the opinions/feedback that is consistently heard from multiple people.  This will assist you in finding key themes of what others think about you.

Influence – find individuals who can be your promoters (the people who will proclaim the brand/perception you want to create).  These are people who could also help others change their negative perceptions of you.

Security – ensure your strategy is not publicly proclaimed to various people; perception management is tricky at times when it comes to motives.  You do not want people to think your strategy is not authentic and if you share this strategy with many people they may not understand your intent and may misconstrue this to be manipulation.

Flexibility – make sure your strategy is flexible as new information/feedback is given.  Perception management must have some level of agility when changes happen.  Be proactive in seeking regular feedback from others to continue to manage the perceptions.

In summary, you must understand when to use the “thou sayest” response or the perception management strategy when dealing with people’s opinions of you. As a leader you will experience both situations and what makes an effective leader is their ability to utilize the right responses in those particular situations.

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…”

Many are familiar with the term “servant leadership” and how this is now the new way to lead others.  But is it actually new? 

 The term “Servant Leadership” was introduced by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In the essay, he states:

“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.”

“The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?” (information taken from www.greenleaf.org)

Servant leadership takes the form of serving others with the secondary consequence of leading others.  In today’s environment most leaders may say they are servant leaders but their actions display a different matter.  These individuals lead from the front and their primary agenda is to have their teams execute strategies that will get them elevated status or accolades.  The reverse behavior of a servant leader is someone who puts their team first and meet their needs while placing their personal agenda and motives on the back burner.  

 A recent example of God showing me how to display this character was in a recent objective setting meeting with my team.  Instead of assigning people projects, tasks, and objectives I asked them to think about what areas they would be interested in leading this year.  In our next meeting I asked them to state their interest in the projects they wanted to lead and I would take the ones they were not interested in. In all honesty, a part of me wanted to assign projects to them because there were certain items I either wanted to lead or did not want to lead.  The Lord helped me to understand that I am here to serve and to not be self serving in my leadership position.

 Although this is a simple example, what specific things is the Holy Spirit teaching you about servant leadership and how it applies to your role as a leader.  In leading people, is your mindset focused on how you get the credit and how to self serve your motives and agenda?  Or is focused on going to the back of the line and have your team help themselves to the first serving and you take the last serving?  I am learning the term servant leadership is less of the latest saying and more of an action to be done.  If Jesus was a servant leader how much more should we be that type of leader?  

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Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us

Ephesians 3:20 speaks of a particular power that works within us to accomplish things beyond our imagination. Amazing things happen when you can learn to tap into the power that works within you. This power (Spirit of God,) coupled with your obedience and action will yield a powerful outcome that will exceed anything you may ask of God. You may ask God for a toothpick but through the power that works within you, you may actually receive a lumberyard. When you give your best while using the power that’s within, your best becomes good enough. Your eyes will see (physical and spiritually) things that never could be realistically achieved through your own power.

As leaders we must be careful not lead others in our own power. Our power is not powerful. It is laced with fleshly desires, ideals of people pleasing, etc. We must lead with God’s power, discerning when to serve, correct, and develop others. Leading with God’s power is an act of humility. When we allow the power of God to work within us we lead the way Christ led which producted mighty acts in the Bible. That same power is within us.

The gospel artist Fred Hammond wrote a song called, “Success Is In Your Hands”. Please read the lyrics below and meditate on what God is saying to you.

Success is in your hands
Follow my plans
I’ve called you for this hour
And placed in you my power

It’s in your hands

Follow my plan
I will do exceedingly above all you ask of me
It’s in your hands
Follow my plans

Is God asking you to give up your own power and tap into His power? He is saying your best is good enough when your best is connected with His power.

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For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? – Luke 9:25
Ambition used in the wrong way can be very dangerous. It could be a deadly drug that intoxicates our soul to pursue things that are not within reasonable limits of God’s purpose in our lives. We may see what others have achieved and believe this is what our lives should be; therefore, we strive for things and accomplishments hoping it will bring comfort and satisfaction. However the following may happen during this process. The first option is that one achieves the things and accomplishments but the feeling of comfort and satisfaction is fleeting and temporary. As a result one finds him/herself back to striving to ascend to another level of materialism and the world’s view of success. The second option is that one never achieves what is being strived for and frustration may set in which could eventually lead to jealousy, depression, etc.

The Bible talks about there being a war within ourselves. James 4:2 states, What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? Our passions to rise to the top in various areas of lives may cause an internal struggle within ourselves. This is not to confuse the apostle Paul stating to press towards the mark of God’s high calling; we are to always strive to become the likeness of Jesus Christ. However, if your striving entails aggressively climbing the corporate ladder, desperately growing your business/ministry beyond its current capability/season, etc., it could be an inordinate expression of ambition. If there is also a feeling of anxiety while in the process of achieving your ambitions then this may indicate a sign of a problem. Ask yourself why are you striving to achieve this level of aspiration? Those answers may guide you in addressing the inward battle you may be fighting within yourself. You may have to redirect your focus if you find your answers are reflected more on self (the fleshly desires). The book of Ecclesiastes teaches about many areas of self focus are meaningless: So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless (Ecclesiastes 11:10).
Ecclesiastes Chapter 2 shows us how striving for meaningless things hinders us more than helps us. We are called to strive for the things of the Lord, not for the things for self. As you read this passage, please take an inspection of your heart’s motives and ask the Lord to share with you if your ambition is leveraged the right way.

I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. 20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. 21 For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. 22 What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? 23 All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless. – Ecclesiastes 2:18 – 23

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