Giving Forgiveness

Who do you need to forgive? I don’t mean just saying, “I’m over it.” I mean real forgiveness. Who changes your heart for the worse when you think of or have to deal with them? Who are you fighting inwardly?

At one time or another, we’ll all have to deal with someone who we wish would become invisible to us, or at the very least become someone we could like, love, or trust once again.

Maybe you’re dealing with that right now. Maybe you’ve been wronged, misunderstood, or violated. Maybe the other person thinks they are the innocent party. (more…)

“Just the very act of letting go of money, or some other treasure, does something within us. It destroys the demon ‘greed.'” – Richard Foster

Letting go is hard. As leaders, we can be greedy, struggling to let go of the intangibles that we believe define who we are or the importance of what we do.

  • Decisions – We resist delegating decision-making or trusting others to make decisions for us.
  • Job Duties and Responsibilities – We hoard all the work because it makes us look like the hardest worker. We don’t trust others to do the work because we’re afraid it might not get done correctly.
  • Title and Authority – We hang on to our titles because we believe they define who we are. We find safety and order in them.
  • Influence – We resist giving our influence away or developing the influence of others because we like being admired, needed, or important.

Yet, what would happen if we let these things go?

  • Decisions – We let others learn how we make decisions, then we let them make the decisions. We’re freed up to focus on bigger things, and they’re able to move faster and accomplish more.
  • Job Duties and Responsibilities – The people around us grow by taking on some of our work. We grow by letting go of what we were holding on to and taking hold of the future.
  • Title and Authority – We create an environment where leadership and influence exist without a title. Your team follows you because they respect you and love to serve you, not because your title dictates their unquestionable compliance.
  • Influence –  You develop leaders who are more influential and successful than yourself, which contrary to some beliefs, doesn’t dilute your leadership. It makes you a leader who develops other leaders. What better legacy to leave in business than that?

What are you hanging on to that you need to let go?

Are you fostering an environment where employees are challenged and empowered to grow? If you still make every decision and control every project, you’re not. Common traits of leaders who struggle letting go (and the impact on their teams):

Chief Decision Maker

  • Time is spent making decisions that others can make.
  • The team doesn’t gain confidence to make decisions.
  • When the leader is gone or unavailable, the team waits for a decision. (more…)

Today’s post is by ML Hubbard, one of our Emerging Leader bloggers. I love her passion for leadership!

Power. Control. Mine.

We’ve seen it happen to the best of them haven’t we? From the extremely witty Marvel villain, to the money driven investor, to the yacht owning CEO – power and control have been their demise.

It starts out as something so simple. A success. A compliment. A promotion. And before too long what was just an attempt to prove one’s worth in the world becomes a sense of entitlement and drive.

I work at a fast paced company. There’s no time to stop and smell the yellow roses (that’s for all you Texas readers). Not only is there no time for a light stroll; there’s no room for those who lack competence. It sounds harsh, but it really isn’t. We’re in the business of developing leaders, and competence is a key characteristic that is needed to get that accomplished.

The only problem with that sort of mindset is that it can at times produce driven—while capable—self-sufficient leaders. And this can be a good thing gone bad.

Leading in the middle is difficult. Embracing a call to emerging leadership can be treacherous, confusing, challenging, and overwhelming, yet what an amazing opportunity to display control and power at its best. (more…)