Sunday, August 14, 2016

The Global Leadership Summit: The Lenses of Leadership

(Resending this one, I cleaned up the errors for those who want to reuse it.  Thanks!)

This past week, I attended the Global Leadership Summit (GLS) which is comprised of two days of leadership talks which are empowering to say the least. For the first time ever, the GLS was held at the Haven for Hope Campus so that 200 clients who are working to overcome homelessness and a 100 staff could be a part of this great event. It is a Christian leadership summit and clearly impacted many of the more than 300 participants.

One of the sessions was presented by Pastor Bill Hybels the founder of the GLS and pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington, Illinois. He spoke about the four lenses of leadership which I believe are critical to being a good leader.  Here is a synopsis of his Four Lenses of Leadership: 

1. Passion Lens-A good leader must understand the importance of passion and the impact it has on those we lead. It can energize and sustain those on our team when it comes to getting them on board with the vision of the organization. A leader must sustain his or her passion if they are to be effective. Sustaining passion requires overcoming the obstacles that diminish passion, utilizing those obstacles as motivators or ignitors to re-energize one's passion. "A passionate leader + energized followers = an unstoppable force" (Bill Hybels).

2. People Lens-We are all susceptible to having our people lenses clouded by the experiences of the past. Bad people experiences can cloud our judgment thus we must be careful to wipe our lens clean to avoid the improper view of the people that work with us. "Leaders must love what God treasures--People" (Bill Hybels).

3. Performance Lens-Maintaining top performance is a critical responsibility of each leader and requires a sincere commitment to excellence. At Willow Creek Community Church, the focus is placed on three critical areas: Thriving, Healthy, and Performance. You want your people to thrive and grow, to know that they are doing well and to know you see it, and you want to help those who need to improve, do better. Help them know they are thriving and healthy and if underperforming, that they have your support with improving their performance.

4. Legacy Lens-What will people remember about your leadership once you have moved on? When you look back, what do you see and how does it make you feel? As Christian leaders, we want to make sure that people remember we led with love and compassion; that we honored God. This doesn't just apply to our leadership at work, but in our home, marriages, and families. We must ensure that work doesn't overly consume our lives causing us to be poor leaders in the other critical areas. What will your legacy be? Is it too late to change your legacy?

I'll close with Pastor Hybel's example of a biblical character who in an instance changed his entire legacy. Of the two thieves who were crucified with Christ ridiculed him while the other proclaimed that Christ unlike he, was innocent. That second thief even went so far as to own up to his mistakes and to ask for Christ's forgiveness. In that moment Christ forgave him and assured him that soon he would join Christ in heaven before God almighty. The thief's faith in Christ instantly changed his legacy, he is remembered as the repentant thief who in his last moments, believed! Wow, what a legacy transition.

These four lenses provide each of us the opportunity to become the types of leaders that impact people with the grace and love God has shown us. Just a little advice to go!

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