Proverbs 5:1-2 (AMP) MY SON, be attentive to my Wisdom [godly Wisdom learned by actual and costly experience], and incline your ear to my understanding [of what is becoming and prudent for you], that you may exercise proper discrimination and discretion and your lips may guard and keep knowledge and the wise answer [to temptation].
Leaders communicate. Effective leaders communicate well. Sometimes, however, communicating well means being quiet.
As some readers know, I was a theater major many years ago and completed all my graduate work, sans thesis, in theater. That schooling made it clear to me that actors are taught not only how to communicate, but also how to “be” in the silence between speaking parts. It is a form of active listening, as it were - being the character -which sometimes is not part of the direct conversation, but is part of the stage conversation.
Your leadership may call on you to practice discreet silence. Keeping one’s own counsel. “Playing their cards tight to their chest.” Guarding knowledge. When to speak about a matter and when to just listen takes discretion that is often born of experience – bad experiences.
As in all matters dealing with communication, one must be diligent to not only control the tongue, but also the body. Sometimes, our silence communicates the message we have withheld speaking.
Are you as careful with your silence as you are with your words?
Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell
Showing posts with label listening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label listening. Show all posts
Monday, October 05, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Leaders Listen & Take Advice
Proverbs12:15 (MSG) Fools are headstrong and do what they like; wise people take advice.
Listening leaders are the ones who have learned that the more they know, the more there is to know and they cannot know it all. Simply listening to advice and actually taking advice are two different activities.
In which activity are you engaged?
Listening leaders are the ones who have learned that the more they know, the more there is to know and they cannot know it all. Simply listening to advice and actually taking advice are two different activities.
In which activity are you engaged?
Bookmark this post: | 
|
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Leaders Know What’s Precious
Proverbs 7:3 (NKJV) Keep my commands and live, and my law as the apple of your eye.
The idiom in this verse literally means the “pupil of the eye” but has come to mean, “that which we hold most precious.” Remember the words of our Servant-Leader model about what is precious:
Robert E. Staub - (The Heart of Leadership: 12 Practices of a Courageous Leader) - reveals that those who purport to lead - but fail - do so because they don't understand who it is they're trying to lead. Sometimes, evaluations of the team are based upon the wrong criteria – they may well be the right “people on the bus” and leaders miss it because they are not holding the skills possessed as “precious.”
According to Jim Collins, “The good-to-great leaders understood …[a] simple truth….if you begin with “who,” rather than “what,” you can more easily adapt to a changing world.” What I have learned is that working on developing the “who” is a rigorous process and takes competency, intimacy, integrity, and passion.
Leaders know what is precious: It not the stuff that must be done; rather, it’s the people who team with them to get it done.
Who is (and/or is it “what is”) most precious to you?
Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell
The idiom in this verse literally means the “pupil of the eye” but has come to mean, “that which we hold most precious.” Remember the words of our Servant-Leader model about what is precious:
“Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them."” Matt 22: 37-40 (MSG)God’s laws, like principles of leadership, are fundamentally about two issues: personal integrity and the value of others. Robin S. Sharma in Leadership Wisdom from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari put it this way: “The greatest privilege of leadership is the chance to elevate lives."
Robert E. Staub - (The Heart of Leadership: 12 Practices of a Courageous Leader) - reveals that those who purport to lead - but fail - do so because they don't understand who it is they're trying to lead. Sometimes, evaluations of the team are based upon the wrong criteria – they may well be the right “people on the bus” and leaders miss it because they are not holding the skills possessed as “precious.”
According to Jim Collins, “The good-to-great leaders understood …[a] simple truth….if you begin with “who,” rather than “what,” you can more easily adapt to a changing world.” What I have learned is that working on developing the “who” is a rigorous process and takes competency, intimacy, integrity, and passion.
Leaders know what is precious: It not the stuff that must be done; rather, it’s the people who team with them to get it done.
Who is (and/or is it “what is”) most precious to you?
Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell
Bookmark this post: |
|
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Influential Leaders Listen…Well
Proverbs 5:1 (NIV) My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight…
Whether you are leading a small business, a large company, or a team, listening is a skill that has direct impact on your ability to be an influential leader. Listening, learned and applied, is priceless to the person to whom you are listening.
If listening simply means gathering and making sense out of information, and information drives effective communication, then we need to be intentional about developing effective listening skills.
Research indicates that fifty percent of our time is spent listening, but our real attention consumes only twenty five percent – the other half is spent thinking about what to say next. We lose our ability to listen at an alarming rate – in first grade, we heard 90% of instruction and by ninth grade that percentage plummeted to 25%.
In life and in business, the more effective your listening skills, the more you learn about what the prospective customer really needs; what the current customer considers as exquisite service; and what your staff thinks is needed build a team focused on growing revenue or profitability. As one writer states, “The time and money you save by listening effectively can make the difference between success and failure.”
Scripture tells us that developing a “the hearing ear,” or teachableness, results in happiness. Imagine that: a skill we can learn, if diligent, results in something just for us that make us appealing. Leaders who have developed that ear will attract followers not only because they are heard, but also because the leader, who is really listening, is not full of self and is…happy.
We all want to be heard. God does to: Are you listening?
Copyright © by P. Griffith Lindell
Whether you are leading a small business, a large company, or a team, listening is a skill that has direct impact on your ability to be an influential leader. Listening, learned and applied, is priceless to the person to whom you are listening.
If listening simply means gathering and making sense out of information, and information drives effective communication, then we need to be intentional about developing effective listening skills.
Research indicates that fifty percent of our time is spent listening, but our real attention consumes only twenty five percent – the other half is spent thinking about what to say next. We lose our ability to listen at an alarming rate – in first grade, we heard 90% of instruction and by ninth grade that percentage plummeted to 25%.
In life and in business, the more effective your listening skills, the more you learn about what the prospective customer really needs; what the current customer considers as exquisite service; and what your staff thinks is needed build a team focused on growing revenue or profitability. As one writer states, “The time and money you save by listening effectively can make the difference between success and failure.”
Scripture tells us that developing a “the hearing ear,” or teachableness, results in happiness. Imagine that: a skill we can learn, if diligent, results in something just for us that make us appealing. Leaders who have developed that ear will attract followers not only because they are heard, but also because the leader, who is really listening, is not full of self and is…happy.
We all want to be heard. God does to: Are you listening?
Copyright © by P. Griffith Lindell
Bookmark this post: |
|
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
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
(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
Bookmark this post: |
|
Monday, April 20, 2009
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
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
Bookmark this post: |
|
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
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
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
Bookmark this post: |
|
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
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
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
Bookmark this post: |
|
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Leaders Listen - Actively
Proverbs 18: 2 (AMP) A [self-confident] fool has no delight in understanding [(MSG) thoughtful discourse] but only in revealing his personal opinions and himself.
Part of living in a world ruined by rebellion is that what began with Eve and was established in Adam has become a natural “way of being” for many – the creature not only thinks s/he knows more than the Creator, but also, and too often, thinks s/he knows better than anyone else. Caught up in their own hubris, s/he barely listens with “half a ear” while forming thoughts about what to say next. You know, pontificate.
“Understanding” often begins with the simple act of active listening – a trait leaders learn early and must develop continually. Authentic leaders listen - actively: the pretenders nod their heads, interrupt mid-sentence. They send the message that what they think is more important than learning what you think. A “pretender” may tell you he/she respects your opinion: it is their behavior that more clearly communicates.
Have you learned to actively listen?
Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell
Part of living in a world ruined by rebellion is that what began with Eve and was established in Adam has become a natural “way of being” for many – the creature not only thinks s/he knows more than the Creator, but also, and too often, thinks s/he knows better than anyone else. Caught up in their own hubris, s/he barely listens with “half a ear” while forming thoughts about what to say next. You know, pontificate.
“Understanding” often begins with the simple act of active listening – a trait leaders learn early and must develop continually. Authentic leaders listen - actively: the pretenders nod their heads, interrupt mid-sentence. They send the message that what they think is more important than learning what you think. A “pretender” may tell you he/she respects your opinion: it is their behavior that more clearly communicates.
Have you learned to actively listen?
Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell
Bookmark this post: |
|
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Effective Leadership Begins at the Interview
Proverbs 12:13 (NLT) The wicked are trapped by their own words, but the godly escape such trouble.
When Dr. Donn Lobdell, head of R&D for COBE Labs, a high-tech medical device manufacturing company, was asked by the Denver Business Journal, "What's the most important part of your job?" he replied, "Hiring is the most important part of my job, because when you're hiring, you're creating the future of your company."
Good questions to get the interviewee talking are vital. Seemingly innocent questions work wonders. Questions like:
The answers reveal character qualities and patterns of thinking that give you a glimpse at the heart. To be effective, your heart and the words you speak aloud must be congruent. Remember, what comes out of the mouth has its source in the heart. Skilled “hands” and great hearts build successfully organizations.
Do you have the heart to ask insightful questions?
Copyright (c) 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell
When Dr. Donn Lobdell, head of R&D for COBE Labs, a high-tech medical device manufacturing company, was asked by the Denver Business Journal, "What's the most important part of your job?" he replied, "Hiring is the most important part of my job, because when you're hiring, you're creating the future of your company."
Good questions to get the interviewee talking are vital. Seemingly innocent questions work wonders. Questions like:
“Tell me about where you grew up?” [What issues do they talk about? Does their answer show awareness of the times and what it meant to their maturation?]
“Describe the work environment that invigorated you?" [What is important to them?]
"Tell me about the corporate culture where you experienced the most success.” [This is another way to ask the same question - is the answer essentially the same?]
“What are the three most important values you demonstrate as a leader/manager/team member?"
"Tell me a story that demonstrates how you made those values real within your workplace.” [This helps see if the values are platitudes or prompters to behavior]
The answers reveal character qualities and patterns of thinking that give you a glimpse at the heart. To be effective, your heart and the words you speak aloud must be congruent. Remember, what comes out of the mouth has its source in the heart. Skilled “hands” and great hearts build successfully organizations.
Do you have the heart to ask insightful questions?
Copyright (c) 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell
Bookmark this post: |
|
Friday, February 27, 2009
Leaders and the Power of Friendship
Proverbs 27:17 (NKJV) As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
People are meant to be interdependent. John Donne reminded us that “no man is an island” and it today’s economy, being connected is important and ultimately healthy to each of us. Conversation helps. Praying together helps more. Find one or two friends with whom you can connect.
But then note: it is iron we are talking about. Not tin. Not soft rock. Strong iron is filed by other iron ores to refine its shape, to sharpen its edge or to shine its surface. A lonely piece of unrefined iron, by itself, does little.
It should never be “lonely at the top” for effective leadership is not a solitary endeavor. The leader must have around friends who provoke the leader to deeper thinking (energizing the intellect) or provide authentic encouragement --both brighten the countenance.
Testing ideas in conversation refines our skills: it is also the penetrating questions of the soul that shapes our spiritual being. The influence is great; therefore, leaders must choose wisely the friends who would brighten their countenance.
Do you have friends that can sharpen you? That you can sharpen?
Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell
________________________________
EMAIL: griff@lindellassociates.net
WEB: Lindell Associates
LinkedIn: Griff
Blogs: On Leadership
On Marketing, Management, Personal Growth
Twitter: PGriffithL
People are meant to be interdependent. John Donne reminded us that “no man is an island” and it today’s economy, being connected is important and ultimately healthy to each of us. Conversation helps. Praying together helps more. Find one or two friends with whom you can connect.
But then note: it is iron we are talking about. Not tin. Not soft rock. Strong iron is filed by other iron ores to refine its shape, to sharpen its edge or to shine its surface. A lonely piece of unrefined iron, by itself, does little.
It should never be “lonely at the top” for effective leadership is not a solitary endeavor. The leader must have around friends who provoke the leader to deeper thinking (energizing the intellect) or provide authentic encouragement --both brighten the countenance.
Testing ideas in conversation refines our skills: it is also the penetrating questions of the soul that shapes our spiritual being. The influence is great; therefore, leaders must choose wisely the friends who would brighten their countenance.
Do you have friends that can sharpen you? That you can sharpen?
Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell
________________________________
EMAIL: griff@lindellassociates.net
WEB: Lindell Associates
LinkedIn: Griff
Blogs: On Leadership
On Marketing, Management, Personal Growth
Twitter: PGriffithL
Bookmark this post: |
|
Friday, February 13, 2009
Collaborate: Lesson from the “Stimulus” Bill
Proverbs 13:10 (MSG) Arrogant know-it-alls stir up discord, but wise men and women listen to each other's counsel.
Caught-up in their hubris, ideology drove a Bill to completion without real input from those with legitimate and different views. Despite protestations to the contrary by the President, the facts (and the rhetoric of the Speaker) tell a different story. More discord will result. Less collaboration will rule the day. Not the kind of change wanted.
As Jim Collins, author of Good to Great discovered, leaders who successfully manage change are not only humble, but also have learned to collaborate.
These business times demand honest collaboration, looking at potential results of each position and that position’s ability to meet real needs. This is not time for arrogance. This is the time to “listen to each other’s counsel.” To learn and grow.
Do you collaborate? Even with the contrarian?
Copyright (c) 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell
Caught-up in their hubris, ideology drove a Bill to completion without real input from those with legitimate and different views. Despite protestations to the contrary by the President, the facts (and the rhetoric of the Speaker) tell a different story. More discord will result. Less collaboration will rule the day. Not the kind of change wanted.
As Jim Collins, author of Good to Great discovered, leaders who successfully manage change are not only humble, but also have learned to collaborate.
These business times demand honest collaboration, looking at potential results of each position and that position’s ability to meet real needs. This is not time for arrogance. This is the time to “listen to each other’s counsel.” To learn and grow.
Do you collaborate? Even with the contrarian?
Copyright (c) 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell
Bookmark this post: |
|
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
