Contentment and Leadership

Proverbs 30:7-9 (NIV) "Two things I (Agur) ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.


It was the first century Roman philosopher, Seneca, who observed, “Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more.”

Our society has built commerce on carving more and more. The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), and the US Government drove the kind of behavior the allowed people who could not afford housing to fulfill cravings for housing. The result has been nothing short of catastrophic.

Today, woven throughout modern secular literature on leadership is the thread of the importance of character in leadership - especially the literature on servant-leadership. The nature of character of contentment – often couched in terms like “finding wholeness” yields behavior that reaches goals but not for purely self-serving motives.

The contented leader is a concept that addresses personal core values and has nothing to say about achieving profitable market share. The later drives a business: the former drives how the leader leads the people who “do the business.” Agur’s prayer – like the Lord’s Prayer – recognizes the truth that living is to be a daily experience.

There’s an old prayer, that I was taught as a child, that might illustrate: “God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for ______.”

How are you filling in the blank?


Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

Catch the Vision: Change the Culture

Proverbs 29:18a (DARBY) Where there is no vision the people cast off restraint


Corporate culture has a least three driving elements: vision; mission; and values.

A vision provides an over-arching view of the future. Great companies have articulated and shared their vision and the research demonstrates that those companies increase shareholder value well beyond comparable companies with no vision.

Vision shared effectively inspires employees to consider every problem as shared by each, calling for teamwork and cooperation, putting the needs of the company and its commitment to employees, customers and other stakeholders ahead of everything else. (The order is important, too!)

The mission presents the company’s reason for existence. It succinctly identifies what is done and the customer who receives the benefits of what the organization offers.

Values effectively shape the behaviors utilized to fulfill the mission.

Effective business leaders will have followers (employees) who understand the “rules” (core values), drive toward completion of a mission and help fulfill the corporate purpose (vision). Without a shared vision, assimilated values and a clear mission, employees not only are unsure of themselves and often unhappy, but also “cast off restraint” yielding an unwieldy team.

Leaders, passionate about the culture, inspire and motivate the team to focus on meeting customer needs in a way that yields a “happy” company (great work environment) and satisfied customers.

Are you taking this eternal principle and putting it to work at work?


Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

Leader: Are You Listening?

Proverbs 28:9 (AMP) He who turns away his ear from hearing the law [of God and man], even his prayer is an abomination, hateful and revolting [to God].

(MSG) God has no use for the prayers of the people who won't listen to him.

For some, it is the daily business issues often seem to be “not important enough" for prayer and searching and meditating on the His Word.

It is the "big" issues that drive people to seek God; but it is those small, daily issues that we think we can handle on our own, that begin our slide down the slippery slope of idolatry. “On our own” means we worship the creature (us) rather than the Creator.

Running a business, or being part of a team in a business, includes activities like: determining strategy; developing and implementing a sales plan; and, determining how best to use the human resources available. One might ask, “Where in Scripture will I learn about SWOT analysis, or territory management or Human Resource and Organization Development? You won’t. That’s not the issue.

His Word drives us to consider what are the essentials of life: it provides a foundation for our core values. It shapes our purpose. It gives us true meaning. From these platforms we can develop the strategy, plans and purposes to achieve business goals.

Tuning my ears to God's thoughts begins with my eyes focused on His word and my heart focused on Him in prayer. The result will be a life of significance that provides meaning to those seeking meaning.

How interesting: God listens to us when we listen to Him. Are you listening?

Copyright (c) 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

The Boldness of Leaders with Changed Hearts

Proverbs 27:19 (NIV) As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man.

Once they knew that their Redeemer lived, the hearts of the earliest church leaders changed from fearful to focused, becoming bold breakers of cultural and religious barriers. They faced the world with new hearts and became models of leadership to follow.

Consider the place of women in this community. At the first recorded prayer-meeting, women were present; incredibly, praying with the men. Unheard of in the Jewish synagogues, this was a radical result of the leadership of the Great Servant-Leader. The gender-barrier broken, ethnic barriers fell, and these leaders ultimately changed the diet of the early church. These, and other barrier-breaking behaviors, were lived out in deeds - not just motivating words and were born of hearts broken of self and filled with the Lord of the Universe.

From their lives (especially seen in the book of Acts), we learn that a heart committed to life of significance is educated through a commitment to prayer, enlightened by reading and meditating on the Word, and ultimately empowered by the Holy Spirit.

The result? Even in the workplace, as you work to break down societal and cultural barriers, your heart, reflected in your countenance, will attract followers who want what you have – the beauty of becoming a magnet of meaning to those seeking meaning.


What do you see reflected when you gaze into the mirror? Do you have the heart to break barriers?



Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

No Leader Is An Island

Proverbs 24:6 (MSG) Strategic planning [wise guidance (NLT)] is the key to warfare; to win, you need a lot of good counsel.

Collaboration is a key to effective strategy development. Insights from all categories of stakeholders are valuable. No stakeholder should be deemed “insignificant” or “incompetent” to provide insights to the external and internal factors shaping your strategy.

Leaders in new organizations benefit from the current team’s corporate knowledge, even if it is based on an “old” paradigm and is not in sync with the leader’s new vision. Their current understanding of customers, competitors and the company (the important three “C’s” in business) provide valuable insights in a current-state analysis. As one of my colleagues once put it: you must understand your customers intimately, your competitors thoroughly and your firm brutally.

The same may be said for living a significant life at work, at play and at home. There exists a spiritual battle for the Christian leader. You are not warring against flesh and blood, but principalities, powers and rulers of darkness whose aim it to keep you from achieving significance – especially significance that counts for eternity,

Understanding the three “C’s” above can well drive your product introduction battles. They also drive your life battles (think customers as those you serve as a leader; competitors as Satan and his minions; company as you, and your family). Understanding for both “battles” cannot be done in a vacuum. Personal and corporate “victories” result when you have wise counsel from wise people.

Have you “wised” up?


Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

The Seduction of Success

Proverbs 23:17- 18 (NIV) Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

Personal success often gets in the way of real significance.

Hoping for personal success always gets in the way of being significant. We are called to significance – to live lives that are magnets of meaning to those seeking meaning.

Our only chance to build a life of significance is driven by a single-minded focus. Scripture tells us that this zealousness is “for the fear of God.” Our culture has softened this Biblical concept. If we are zealous after God, we will not covet, envy and be driven to be like the “successful” of the world.

This change in our leadership attitude means, that as leaders, we hope only in Him for meaning - for significance of our life itself.

Our leadership success is not measured by power, prestige or wealth. It is measured by our impact for Kingdom growth – and that’s often measured in eternity, not here on earth. The results of our life, lived in our workplace should have Kingdom impact.

Are you working for personal success or Kingdom significance?


Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

Leaders Share Their Heart

Proverbs 22: 11 (NIV) He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king

Personal values for a Christian Businessperson are simple and direct: purity of heart and pureness of speech. The heart is not often seen: but in the end, it is what is said and how it is said that gives away the heart.

Do you want to make a change in your workplace? Work on your heart and leave the rest up to God. His love for you will cover the consequences of your stand for righteousness - your expression of a pure heart.

Do you work for someone who manages by intimidation and also expects the same from you? Smile. Stand firm in your conviction to be well spoken, not mean-spirited. Remember, we are called to love and not to return evil with evil, but evil with good.

Purity of motive: graciousness of speech: What’s not to like?

For more on how to better fulfill God's plan for their lives through business, click here.

Copyright (c) 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

Leaders Learn to Let Go

Proverbs 21:1 (MSG) Good leadership is a channel of water controlled by God; He directs it to whatever ends he chooses.


What do successful businessmen like Ken Blanchard, Jim Amos (President of Mail Boxes, Etc.,), John Couch (one of the early VPs at Apple Computer) and Senator Bill Armstrong (former entrepreneur), just to name a few, have in common?

Read their stories and discover that each learned from mistakes - a mistake with the most impact was their pride that made them independent of God. Pride produced results they each did not like. They changed what how they thought and what they did to produce different results.

That journey of change began at the door of self. Denying self and following Christ changed their perspective and their life results. Personal humility grew them and their businesses.

It is our responsibility to plan, vision, propose, motive, implement, control, manage and lead; however, all this is done from an internal understanding that we are but a “channel of water controlled by God.” It is God who must be our strength. It is in Him we must trust. We are not sovereign: Only God is.

Who do you really trust to guide your life?


Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

Leaders Take the Time for Counsel

Proverbs 20:18 (AMP) Purposes and plans are established by counsel; and [only] with good advice make or carry on war.

Of course, you might say, leadership asks for advice.

Not according to a survey of 1,400 leaders and managers (by the Ken Blanchard Group) as reported by Nic Paton in www.Management-issues.com. It seems that a whopping 81 per cent of the respondents reported that leaders failed to listen or involve others in the process of planning.

Listening to the team and collaborating drives businesses success. The new CEO, with a new perspective and philosophy, has the difficult, but essential task of mining the imbued wisdom of the existing team before personal adjustments are made. Strategic planning process should be a team effort. Established leaders must develop an intentional process to collaborate. A process that cannot be cookie-cutter – it must match the leader’s learning style and/or communications style. Intentionality is key.

God, who promised us wisdom, not only imparts His wisdom through his Word, but also through others. The growing success of groups like Christ@work) or Wise Counsel or the Internal Coalition of Workplace Ministries demonstrates the benefits of wise, Biblically-based business counsel. A new resource can be found at Kingdom Business.

Are you connected to wise counsel?


Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

Leaders Know Who to Fear

Proverbs 17:12 (NIV) Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly

You are on a leadership retreat in the wild. Does this proverb seem like a hyperbole? A bit melodramatic? A stretch? A human - a living, thinking fool spouting off foolishness -is more deadly than an upright 500 pound Syrian Brown Bear, with bared teeth, menacing growl, towering height and long claws, diving down and running at you?

Hard to imagine that, but we are asked to. We would desperately try to avoid cute little bear cubs if we found them while hiking. No provocation from us. Avoidance at all costs – just as we are to avoid the advice and counsel of those who live life as if there were no God.

A bear; a fool: A person wise in their own eyes can do greater damage After all (we think) we can debate the fool but are not strong enough to withstand the bear - unless we had a sufficient weapon and we knew how to use it so as not to enrage the bear and spawn further attacks. Ah, the comfort of false thinking!

Relationships, not rhetoric wins people. We have become a timid lot, we followers of the Way. Some, because they are not sufficiently armed to “fight” with both an intellectual resolve and a non-judgmental relationship strategy. Others have accepted the marginalization of the Christian worldview as the way things should be (separate business from faith) and, fearful of rhetoric, never engage in relationship.

We are willing to listen when we should stand up to speak; and we stand up to speak only when the audience is “safe.” The attack of the “foolish” can be as divesting as the mother bear! We really do know that.

Are you sufficiently armed to stand up and speak?


Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

Servant Leaders

Proverbs 16:2 (NLV) All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the thoughts of the heart.

In the forward of Insights on Leadership: Service, Stewardship, Spirit, and Servant-Leadership, Stephen Covey posits, "the power to cultivate servant-leadership comes from the individual. It's an inside-out approach."

And therein lays the real problem.

“Google” servant leadership and you may find as I did 1,160,000 results. A topic that drives some interest and not all are in agreement with the concept. The reason may be quite simple: the “inside” of humans must be changed before an authentic servant-heart emerges.

When the “going gets tough,” for those with hearts unchanged by their Creator, self-serving behavior drives decisions. Motives can be hidden except from the One who will judge the living and the dead. When what we do is about us and not about Him, our motives are wrong. Hard for us to “weigh” that one: our scales are weighted in our favor.

What motivates you - really?


Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

Leaders Practice Collaboration

Proverbs 15:22 (NLV) Plans go wrong without talking together, but they will go well when many wise men talk about what to do.

Fresh perspectives are vital to innovation.

Research has shown that collaboration that results from participative management in a flat organization drives better business decisions. According to Sirota, Mischkind and Meltzer in The Enthusiastic Employee, camaraderie that grows in a collaborative environment is one of the fundamental desires of employees. Your key employee turnover may be a key to the answer to how well you collaborate.

In Built To Last, Collins and Porras found that higher performing companies promoted from within – a process facilitated in a collaborative environment which does not happen in a vacuum: it is the result of people actually talking together - not a person telling someone something. Richness of perspective yields well-shaped solutions that drive enduring relationships with the team, vendors, suppliers and customers.

For entrepreneurs, collaboration sometimes must take place within an Advisory Board. If you are a SOHO entrepreneur, you will find the collaboration with members of such a board will add depth of understanding and a perspective, often desperately needed when you are measuring the bark of each tree while they are looking at the shape of the forest.

Are you leading by collaborating or by telling?



Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

Leaders Choose Advisors Carefully

Proverbs 14:7 (AMP) Go from the presence of a foolish and self-confident man, for you will not find knowledge on his lips.

Concerning issues of character, morality and ethics where you get your advice is critical.

It is in the “gray areas,” where arguments can be made on both sides of an issue, that “solid” advice is critical. Parsing issues based on legality and balance (is the solution just for all parties involved?) is generally straightforward but are only two legs of a stool: it is the third leg of – “rightness” – that can cause real problems. Even law has issues: for example, do you law as a moral minimum rather than a ceiling?

In today’s atmosphere of “relative truth” (an oxymoron for a Believer), the question of right and wrong can be quickly muddied with expediency. This drive to accept relative truth seems to come from those who could be labeled as “foolish and self-confident” persons. These people live as if God is irrelevant: they would posit that the “God-stuff” is really simply a personal decision and is not really life and certainly not applicable to business.

Their foolish words often are pronounced from positions of power. Don’t be mislead: your discernment that an integrated Christian worldview does not separate law and ethics has power – supernatural power. God's way is not negotiable: business must be run in a way that pleases God and the people you impact.

When “coloring” the gray areas, are you choosing your business advisors carefully?


Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

Leaders Lives Are Living Lessons

Proverbs 13: 14 (MSG) The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, so, no more drinking from death-tainted wells!

In an article in Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge publication, authors Sirota, Mischkind and Meltzer deduced that one does not have to motivate employees; they have to stop demotivating them.

They posit three goals – behaviors, really – that must be met: equity, achievement and camaraderie: in other words, treat people justly and with respect; recognize their contributions; and promote teamwork. With these practiced, demotivation will cease and teams will be built.

Core values of an organization, like these three, are the promises its members make to one another. They can’t be traded off: they each must be met. The values become "alive" in an organization when the leader practices them - the leader's life is the lesson.

Interesting: each of the three are taught in Scripture – our “fountain of life” - where the Christian leader is to be drinking deeply.

Are you a “fountain of life” to your team?


Copyright (c) 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

The POWER That Made Sunday - Son-day

He is risen.

Three powerful words in any language.

The Power giving the World a risen Messiah is that same Power that is ours to make the Monday - Saturday stuf alive, active and meaningful.

If you serve a risen Savior and believe He is in the World today; if you know that He is living (despite what the world may say), Monday is your opportunity to make Easter Sunday real.

The world's a'watchin, not for a fluffy bunny, but for people who are committed, living life with a confidence and peace that is beyond normal understanding.

Are you committed? Go with God this week.

IT'S FRIDAY, BUT SUNDAY'S COMING

This old message, delivered by Tony Campolo's, pastor, at the mostly-black church in Philadelphia several years ago, still has meaning today.



"It was Friday, and my Jesus is dead on a tree. But that’s Friday, and Sunday’s coming.

Friday, Mary’s crying her eyes out, the disciples are running in every direction like sheep without a shepherd. But that’s Friday, and Sunday’s coming.

Friday, some are looking at the world and saying, “As things have been, so they shall be. You can’t change nothing in this world! You can’t change nothing in this world!” But they didn’t know that it was only Friday, and Sunday’s coming.

Friday, them forces that oppress the poor and keep people down, them forces that destroy people, the forces in control now, them forces that are gonna rule, they don’t know it’s only Friday, but Sunday’s coming.

Friday, people are saying, “Darkness is gonna rule the world, sadness is gonna be everywhere,” but they don’t know it’s only Friday, but Sunday’s coming.

Even though this world is rotten, as it is right now, we know it’s only Friday. But Sunday’s coming!"

Easter: Counter-cultural Leadership

Proverbs 9:10 (AMP) The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning (the chief and choice part) of Wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight and understanding.


Today’s culture demands that we read this verse privately, personally. After all, they say, it is simply an expression of subjective values - for the individual belief only. This thinking posits that accepting it has nothing to do with objective reality: and it certainly does not speak to how you lead in a business context. The educated opinion-makers would grant that believing this verse might be OK for you, but it is not truth, per se, and is not central to a business leadership construct.

As we approach Easter this weekend, we have to ask: are the Incarnation and Resurrection historical facts? If our answer is “Yes!” then the dichotomy that defines our culture is false – relegating “values” to personal and private issues and placing science, math, etc. to objective reality.

To believe both is a contradiction. God-fearing leaders hold that the Creation, Incarnation and Resurrection are objective Truth that speaks to our purpose and destiny including how we work, live and lead.

Christian leaders must begin to shape our culture – not succumb to it. Christianity offers a “unified, integrated truth” whose source is our Creator who, when He lived among us, molded servant-leadership to a group of men who could not grasp the concept until after He rose from the dead. Serving first, then leading, yields true happiness, contrary to what the world, which is centered in pride and selfishness, thinks.

Who are you going to believe: Our culture or our Creator?


Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

Servant-Leaders Are Present

Proverbs 8: 34 -35 (AMP) Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoever finds me [Wisdom] finds life and draws forth and obtains favor from the Lord.

Connecting; active listening; intentionally being present in business conversations: these are three qualities of a servant-leader. Leaders who really listen to follower’s problems, who do more than “nod” and expresses thanks, are leaders will inspire her/his community of followers.

More importantly, however, is being present in the process of letting God superintend your life and your work. This concept is found in two words: “watching” i.e. being diligent every day to connect with the Lord, and “waiting” as being eager. Both are attributes of servant-leadership: eager to learn from our Creator and eager and diligent to learn from people around us and from results of our actions. Life-long learning.

The if/then quality in this proverb (“finds” “draws” “obtains”) are not motivations to get on God’s “good side,” but define a group of consequences that flow from watching and waiting. The Christian leader who practices these principles will receive favor from both the Lord and from the followers being led.

Leadership is not about wealth, power or prestige – it’s about influence. Kingdom-building influence begins with the simple process of diligently and eagerly listening to the Word and then drawing what you need to impact your world.

Do you model being “present” in your communications?

Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

Leadership Not Shrewdness

Proverbs 7: 4 (NIV) Say to Wisdom, "You are my sister," and call understanding your kinsman.


The Senior Management team in public companies is faced with the realities of Wall Street, P/E ratios, plummeting stock value, and meeting analysts’ forecasts. Sometimes "games" are played that affect those outcomes. Private companies face their own unique challenges to sometimes fudge the numbers to meet expectations.

The Christian business person is charged with managing by a different set of standards –standards that sometimes fly in the face of “how it needs to be done.” Standards have a source that begins with the "right self-talk" – talk that embraces Wisdom as if she were family. "Wisdom, You are the one I know intimately - I need you: Understanding, I call to you to be my Rock through this crises."

It takes both to lead remembering that leading is a spiritual battle. The one who would destroy your relationship with your Creator wants to fool us into thinking that we shrewd enough to do it in our own strength. Not true. Whether leading an organization or a team, God’s ways are not always the world’s ways and remember, "What society sees and calls monumental, God sees through and calls monstrous."

Are you intimate with wisdom and understanding?


Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

Inspirational Leadership Listens

Proverbs 6:16 - 17a (AMP) “These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others]…”

You know that look from the person who “has it all together:” a “proud look.” Sometimes it’s a glance. A smirk. A roll of the eyes. The look that says, “How in the world could you ever be that dumb?

It’s a look that should never cross a leader’s face. But it does, sometimes. Pride is like that – insidious. Authentic, inspirational leadership does not underestimate others.

Connecting to the team demands that leaders be vulnerable. Goffee & Jones, in their September-October 2000 Harvard Business Review article, “Why should anyone be lead by you?” wrote about four qualities of inspirational leaders: one of those qualities is that leaders selectively show their weaknesses (“by exposing some vulnerability, they reveal their approachability and humanity.”)

How do you do that? One way to begin addresses attitude: “do nothing from factional motives [through contentiousness, strife, selfishness, or for unworthy ends] or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves].” (Apostle Paul to Philippian church) Now, be human, vulnerable and approachable.

Powerful stuff that is hard to reconcile with the hard-charging spirit of the times: but it is the leader who is open to the thoughts of others - their experiences, knowledge, and words of wisdom – that leader will truly achieve this Biblical mandate.

Are you willing to listen to your team?



Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

Servant-leadership Is An Attitude

Proverbs 5:21 (MSG) Mark well that GOD doesn't miss a move you make; he's aware of every step you take.

Richard Kriegbaum, in his book Leadership Prayers, points out that we are not business leaders every moment (every step), but we are ourselves every moment.

Ourselves, step-by-step. Every moment counts. OUCH! This reality means our lives - what we think about; how we behave; our impact on people - are a much stronger message than our words.

Integrity – being whole – means that we must be ourselves in all situations and God has called those who claim His name (Christian leaders) to be holy – set apart for righteousness. I know that I can’t do that on my own. Being naturally self-centered and thinking that what I do is "righteous" at all times, I have learned that to be a person of integrity that it takes two.

Servant-leadership begins by following - emptying of self to allow the Spirit to lead. It means giving up what you want to do and letting Him shape you into His image – one step at a time.

Christian business leader, are you allowing the Spirit to work in you and for you?

Copyright (c) 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell