Being Defined vs. Being Meaningful

My daughter Jeri (a high school junior) came home from school yesterday feeling defeated. She had made a B on an AP Psych test. Many of you know how I feel about bringing home B’s! While I have no problem with B’s, I knew how hard she had studied for that test. She had every word and its definition on separate index cards. I reviewed all the words with her, and she didn’t miss any in our practice sessions. She put forth an effort any parent would be proud of. However, the test revealed that the teacher didn’t just want the students to know the definitions. The exam was all about situations that involved having to clearly identify the meaning of the words through circumstances that were being described.

While I was bummed for Jeri because I knew how hard she worked on hundreds of definitions, I was impressed and taken by this learning moment. (more…)

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it –
he will be blessed in what he does. -James 1: 22 – 25

Hearer versus doer. Learning versus living it out. It’s what Christians are called to do – live out the instructions and principles in the Bible.

It’s also what we’re called to do as leaders. Live out the instructions and principles we gain from trainings, books, CDs, DVDs, webinars, blogs, other leaders, and live events on leadership.

Remember, leadership isn’t a noun. It’s a verb. It requires action.

Learning is the easy part. But having the tough conversations. Making the sacrifices. Serving when you don’t feel like it. Leading through the challenges. Giving up your time. Empowering others. Practicing humility.

Living out what you learn about leadership.

That’s when you become not just a hearer, but a doer.

How are you being a doer of leadership?