Leadership With a Purpose

Some proverbs of note: “Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.” (1) “Don't brag about your wisdom or strength or wealth” (2) and in another place, “If the tongue has no fear, words are hard to make good.” (3)

Thoughts that certainly fly in the face of what the culture craves today.

I can’t help but also reflect on Clayton M. Christensen’s HBR article “How Will You Measure Your Life?” (4) His final thought, “Don’t worry about the level of individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people.” is a thought of wisdom.

The heart of the wise resonates with two steady heart-beats: Knowing self – understanding one’s purpose; and controlling self – exercising the discipline to hold to your principles. Christensen points out that it is “easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than it is to hold to them 98% of the time.” (4)

A good grip on life’s purpose (and the principles that make it real) prevents you from trusting your “smarts,” your physical strength or your riches. That grip is strengthened when you live a life of “ing” not “ed.” You are committed to learning. If you have learned, you have stopped learning. I am learning that this purpose-driven living is also about earning the right to be given more and more responsibility, often by contributing to the growth of those around you.

A focus on personal purpose will determine how you allocate your time, talent and treasures: will it be for yourself; or for others? This focus helps the tongue gain “fear,” which is expressed in words that heal, instead of hurt. That help, instead of harm. That hearten, instead of humiliate.

Leadership, continually practiced well, is a noble undertaking. It can inspire: cities are built in deserts; human footprints are put the moon; water, in underdeveloped countries, is made safe to drink. A reading of history tells us that the focus of the individuals responsible was never on “I” but on “we.”

If your purpose is all about you – if you climbed the “ladder-of-you” in life - you may find that not only is the ladder too short, it is also leaning against the wrong wall. Double jeopardy.

On what is your ladder of purpose leaning? Wall of self? Or others?


Copyright ©2011 by P. Griffith Lindell


1. Proverbs 28:26
2. Jeremiah 9:23
3. Confucius, Analects, c. 400 b.c
4. Harvard Business Review – Reprint R1007B

Leaders Persevere

A Proverb: “If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength!”1

This proverb begs the question: where do you find that kind of strength?

The more I read, the more I live, the more I am certain that the strength to persevere comes from a clear understanding of personal purpose. It provides the framework for handling what life throws our way. This kind of purpose is pure – it comes from inside. It cannot be manufactured in the caldron that mixes self-help books with motivational tapes and powerful speakers at the “rise up and take charge of your life” events - not that these are “bad” per se. In fact, they can help keep you focused.

Purpose begins when one takes the time to know who they are. Why they are here. And how they want to show up in life’s interactions.

Consider the story of writer from what is modern-day Turkey. He was smart. Well educated. Often spoke at public events in a time and place where what you said could get you imprisoned and/or publically flogged. History tells us it happened to him.

Enraged by his words, the crowds demanded public punishment and, as it was about to be delivered, he asked the local government enforcer if, in fact, they had authority over him - knowing he had a special class of citizenship that was recognized as distinctive in the place where he was speaking.

The result eliminated the flogging, but also grew into years of imprisonment, going from one jurisdiction to another. Near-death experiences on several journeys. Ultimately led to his death.

Yet, while he lived, he persevered. He continued speaking and writing. The underlying theme was: Reader, you have a choice – choose joy, discipline and obedience. Above all, live out your personal purpose with focus.

His life, lived with a passionate pursuit of purpose, is revealed in the historical record documenting his perseverance. His writings document his journey of finding and living out his purpose.

Are you living out your purpose?



1 Proverbs 24:10 (NIV)

Copyright ©2011 by P. Griffith Lindell

January 17, 2011 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Understanding your purpose has consequences. Taking a stand can be dangerous.

Today, we honor a man who was driven by this purpose to “love your neighbor as yourself.” And there were those who did not like his view of who was his “neighbor.” The story of the Good Samaritan continues to be lost on some whose view of others is screened with elitist lenses. Personal purpose that has practical value is focused on others, not self.

In his book, Strength in Love, King said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor [emphasis added] will risk his position, his prestige and even his life for the welfare of others.”

Purpose shapes us. As Harvard professor Christensen points out in his recent article in the Harvard Business Review (and edited and reprinted in the February 2011 Reader’s Digest) the struggle to find purpose should dominate our lives until it is settled in our souls.

Why? All the stuff we do, if not focused on fulfilling purpose, is just “stuff we do” and sometimes that stuff becomes expedient (to the point of living in the gray areas of ethics and laws), hurtful to others, or just plainly wrong.

You want to live of life of meaning? Understand your purpose.


Copyright ©2011 by P. Griffith Lindell

Leadership and Silver

Proverbs 10:20-21a The tongues of those who are righteous [upright and in right standing] with God are as choice silver; the minds of those who are wicked and out of harmony with God are of little value. The lips of the righteous nourish many.

Peggy Noonan, in a Wall Street Journal Opinion piece, The Captain and the King, (referring to Navy Captain Capt. Owen Honors and the duke of York, who in the 1930’s found England’s Throne thrust upon him), contrasted their leadership. What struck me was her thought that:

“…it's a great mistake when you are in a leadership position to want to be like everyone else. Because that, actually, is not your job. Your job is to be better, to set standards that those below you have to reach to meet. And you have to do this even when it's hard, even when you know you yourself don't quite meet the standards you represent.”

“God-fearing” used to be a standard to which leaders would aspire. What characterized these people was that their tongues and their hearts [minds] were in sync. Our generation has produced too many in leadership who are out-of-sync: why? Perhaps we have failed to practice “ruthless honesty” [A.W.Tozar] with our own spirits. We have lived autonomously and not with accountability. We build the body. Train the mind. Treat the spirit as some soft, fluffy thing not a part of us that must be congruent with what we think, what we do in private and how we behave around those watching.

The “humility and resoluteness of will” that Jim Collins writes about [Good to Great] is a product of refinement. The dross of a natural inclination to be different in private than in public - is burned off in the fires of accountability, honesty and humility. Personal commitment to refinement provides nourishment to those following. This leader shines! The silver glows when it has come through the fire of discipline, discipleship and the polish of a consistent dedication to be not only attractive but also cleaned and ready to be used.

The glitter of this generation is captured in “bling.” How very sad. The glitter of a Godly people is found in the analogy of silver-service – attractive to the eyes, but serving the purpose as a tool of nourishment.

Are you silver-service or bling?

Copyright ©2011 by P. Griffith Lindell