Leading. Learning. Loving.

Pr 23: 12 (NIV) Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.

Interesting discussions lately, on LinkedIn®, about leadership vs. management and whether leadership can be taught within a 10-day framework. Some confused management with leadership.

I have found the Kotter’s view that management is more about managing complexity and leadership is about managing change to be most helpful in distinguishing the difference. Change is a very individual journey. Leaders pull followers with them on that journey.

Change begins when an individual is able to take instruction and see it more than a simple collection of facts; rather, it drives a personal worldview – those facts mean something.

How we view ourselves (our very “origin,” our view of Truth, our role in society) impacts how we view others (their value, importance and meaning). Leaders are people who are centered and therefore can love others in a way the builds community – a team – with honest, encouraging camaraderie. Leaders invest the time to develop the habits needed to apply the heart and tune the ears so that, with true altruism, they can give themselves.

Leaders give. Time. Resources. Insights. Instruction. Encouragement. Energy. Leadership that promotes followers and builds new leaders is framed within the context of serving. The servant-leader has learned to learn – because knowing self and controlling self is not an event – it’s a process. Lifelong. Ongoing. Like learning.

Are you learning to be a leader?



Copyright ©2010 by P. Griffith Lindell

Idols and Leading

Proverbs 8:4 (NCV) Wisdom calls to you like someone shouting; understanding raises her voice.


I got ‘em. Trying to get rid of them as they become evident. But love them, anyway. After all, they are my idols.

As leaders, we often hang onto old stuff – stuff of our making. Wisdom - the capital “W” Wisdom, which has been around before creation, and is found only in God – and that Wisdom must drive my worship.

I’m reminded of God speaking in the major prophets about those foolish people who find wood, use part of it for a fire, and part of it to carve an idol. Melt some gold to wrap the wood: it’s still wooden. Then they worship it. I used to laugh. “How stupid. How silly. Why did the Israelites, who saw miracles, worship those things?”

I missed the point. I’m just like them. Wisdom was shouting at me. I was transfixed by my idol.

Leading – without the disciplines of knowing yourself, controlling yourself, giving yourself – easily can lead to hubris, not humility. Business publication, journals, papers contain good stuff, but not truth. God is Truth. Learning to listen to Wisdom only happens if we are in the Word.

Wisdom’s calling. Are you listening?


Copyright ©2010 by P. Griffith Lindell