Category: Leadership Skills

Are you a Spender, a Waster, or an Investor?

God's Investment Strategy

Are you a spender, a waster, or an investor…of your time, talent, and treasure? Week 32 of the NIV Leadership Bible focuses on the leadership skill of Stewardship.

This week’s devotions made me take a hard look at how I’ve spent my time over the past several weeks. For the last part of July, we took a family vacation to Colorado (or God’s country, as some people say). It was peaceful and relaxing…and making memories with our 3 kids was definitely priceless. I’d characterize those weeks as time well invested.

Then, I returned to work with a variety of issues needing immediate attention…then after work, my wife and I carefully coordinated our schedule, as we shuffled our kids to their evening activities: Katy to her clarinet lessons; Cody to his football practice; and Tanner to his karate practice. At times, life seems crazy busy…but I don’t feel like I’m wasting my time…

Let’s get a Biblical perspective on God’s investment strategies. Click here to continue.

Can You Turn Conflict into Creativity?

Conflict Pin

“Our present challenge is to change the culture of conflict itself, within our workplaces, our communities, and our world. We must create a culture where even the most serious disputes are handled not on the basis of coercion or force, but from mutual respect and coexistence. Far from eliminating differences, our challenge is to make the world safe for differences.” – William Ury, author of Getting to Yes

From my last Blog Post (“To Conflict or Not to Conflict: Is that the Question?”), we noted the importance of conflict management skills to today’s leader. In fact, unresolved conflicts permeate our lives, our workplaces, our politics, and our community. I started this blog last October when I was sitting at home—one of the thousands of federal government employees on furlough. One of my first blog posts (“Building Coalitions” – 10/2/2013) focused on the leadership skill of “commons creating”—another way to resolve conflict.

Recently, I read an article from The Ken Blanchard Companies entitled “Challenging Conversations—Strategies for Turning Conflict into Creativity” that provided some good tips. To learn more, click here.