Click here to return to Blog Post Intro
Reflections on 2014
Patience
This was my “Fruit of the Spirit” focus for 2014, and I blogged about my Bible Study on the topic (see my October 22, 2014 post). I had no idea how much the study and this focus would help for the year—particularly at work. I returned to Human Resources in the #3 management role for 3 months until returning to my Deputy Director (#2) position in April, which was awkward for a while…but soon, the Director and I hit our stride and had a strong year.
Then, we encountered a significant challenge with an external audit of our student hiring practices. Unfortunately, we had some differences in opinion and approach with our Headquarters, which made the audit a quest in “long-suffering.” Fortunately, we endured to the end and ultimately had no corrective actions issued—hooray!
People
My return to the HR team was the highlight of my year. I’ve heard it said that “Absence makes the heart grow fonder…or yonder…” For me, I definitely found how much I appreciate and enjoy the HR team I am privileged to work with every day. So, it was great to be home!
Possibilities
When I wrote about possibilities last January, I had no idea how 2014 would unfold. Let me share a few highlights from my blog & side business:
In June during our family vacation to Colorado, I read Mike Bonem’s In Pursuit of Great AND Godly Leadership (see my October 15th Blog Post). After learning that Bonem was a McKinsey Consultant who became an Executive Pastor for a church in Houston, I initiated a mentoring call with him on June 27th. Mike explained that the transition worked for him because his church had a specific need, but he encouraged me to get involved with the Christian Leadership Alliance (an organization focused on professional development for Christian Non-Profit Leaders).
I joined the organization and noted they were calling for workshop presenters at their April 2015 Conference in Dallas, Texas. I submitted a proposal, which was ultimately accepted! Click here for information on that session – Christian Leadership Alliance 2015 Outcomes Conference
After learning more about the CLA, I initiated another mentoring conversation with Mark A. Griffin from In HIS Name HR. That call led to an opportunity to contribute to Mark’s latest book effort, aimed at providing college students with advice on how to approach and prepare for employment application & interviews.
In August, I became certified through the John Maxwell Team as an independent coach, trainer, and speaker. I’m hoping that certification will open doors for Out of This World Leadership!
In November, I presented to the McMurry University Baseball Team and Coaches in Abilene, Texas on Home Run: Learn God’s Game Plan for Life & Leadership by Kevin Myers with John Maxwell. (Check out my November 8, 2014 blog post for more on that experience.)
Wow…2014 was definitely full of patience, people, and possibilities!
New Year’s Focus for 2015
My Fruit of the Spirit focus for this year is Love. Interestingly, I’ve run across several things recently that confirm this is the right focus for the coming year.
First, Mike Bonem’s December 16th Blog Post “Lead with Love” says, “The conclusion of Kouzes and Posner’s The Leadership Challenge has stuck with me for years. The authors quote one of the exemplary leaders from their research, who said, ‘The secret to success is to stay in love. Staying in love gives you the fire to ignite other people, to see inside other people, to have a greater desire to get things done …’ Kouzes and Posner acknowledge, ‘Staying in love’ isn’t the answer they expected to get in their extensive research on leadership.
Then they conclude: It finally dawned on us how many leaders used the word love freely when talking about their own motivations to lead. Of all the things that sustain a leader over time, love is the most lasting. It’s hard to imagine getting up day after day, putting in the long hours and hard work it takes to get extraordinary things done, without having their hearts in it…”
Kouzes and Posner conclude, “Leadership is not an affair of the head. Leadership is an affair of the heart.”
Then, I recently read The Servant: A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership by James C. Hunter. He points out, “When Jesus speaks of love in the New Testament, the word agape is used–a love of behavior and choice, not a love of feeling. So, he didn’t mean that we should pretend bad people are not bad when they clearly are or feel good about people who act despicably. But He is saying that we ought to behave well toward them.” And He went on to say that love is “patience, kindness, humility, respectfulness, selflessness, forgiveness, honesty, commitment.”
Hunter also uses a quote from Vince Lombardi—the great Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Football Coach—who said, “I don’t necessarily have to like my players and associates but as the leader, I must love them. Love is loyalty, love is teamwork, love respects the dignity of the individual. This is the strength of any organization.”
So, love & leadership appear to be the right theme combination for 2015! I look forward to more possibilities (or should that be “likelihoods” to stay with the “L”-theme?) in the coming year…
May your 2015 be filled with Likelihoods, as you shoot for the stars!