In my former job I spent the majority of my time developing brand identities for artists.  I worked hard to determine the unique characteristics of the individual musician/band/singer and then figured out how to market that to set them apart from the rest of their competitors.  It was a fascinating, sometimes frustrating and yet, a very rewarding experience… especially when I felt like I captured the heart of the individual and got to share that with the world.

As much as the word “branding” sounds all-business, cold and impersonal, I really believe in the power of a brand.  More importantly I believe in the power of understanding your unique brand.

My personal definition of branding is: authentically being who you are and portraying that consistently.

Each one of us has been uniquely gifted by God with certain strengths, talents, gifts, passions, etc.  And this unique combination makes up your personal brand.

I believe there is great power in understanding who you are and who God has uniquely made you to be.  Some of us have learned this well.  Others of us have allowed life/people/circumstances to shadow our innate interests and desires… sometimes to such a degree that it takes years for us to dig up what’s been buried so deep.

So, who are you?

What makes you uniquely you?

How would others describe you?

Better yet, how would you describe the real you?

What’s your brand and are you living it with passion?

If these questions stump you, frustrate you or paralyze you, I would challenge you to go on a journey to understand who God has created you to be.  Here are a few things I would recommend to get you started:

1. Take a spiritual gifts assessment. This is a great tool to begin to help you unpack spiritual gifts as they are outlined in 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4.  Here is a free online test: Church Growth.org
2. Understand your strengths. Read Now, Discover Your Strengths or Strengths Finder 2.0 and take the Strengths Finder assessment.
3. Develop a relationship with a mentor who can provide candid feedback, offer encouragement and coach you in your growth.
4. Journal your thoughts and feelings… especially the moments where you feel alive and thriving.
5. Pray for God to give you clarity, insight and passion for the purpose He has for your life.

One of my favorite passages of scripture is in Galatians 6 from The Message:

Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that.  Don’t be impressed with yourself.  Don’t compare yourself with others.  Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.

Be uniquely you!!

Are you ready to get started?

Having a relationship with Jesus presses all of my “Do not want to be vulnerable” buttons. Knowing him requires learning to follow him, depend on him, surrender to him, submit to him, trust that he knows better than I do and believe that he knows what’s best for me even when I can’t see my way.

Amena Brown from her book Breaking Old Rhythms

Follow him

Depend on him

Surrender to him

Submit to him

Trust that he knows better

Believe that he knows what’s best

This level of vulnerability is terrifying for most leaders.  Seems like an impossibility, but that’s what he’s calling us to.

Where do you need to be a bit more vulnerable today to deepen your relationship with Jesus?

I only saw about 30 minutes of Sunday night’s Billboard Music Awards, but I watched enough to see Justin Beiber receive the Milestone Award.  I’m not a “belieber” as some of his fans describe themselves, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for Justin as the room booed him when he took the stage.

I’m aware that Justin has allegedly done some stupid things lately.  He’s 19.  I’m pretty sure I did some stupid things at that age too and I’m certainly grateful I didn’t have a world’s stage for them to be showcased in front of.

As Beiber tried to find the words to say in that moment, I understood a smidge of his pain.  No one likes to be booed.  I don’t care who you are or how much you’ve accomplished.  There is still a sensitive, fragile heart in there that is screaming to be accepted, loved, forgiven and extended grace. 

We need good feedback in our lives.  We need honest friends who will speak truth when we need it, but we don’t need boos from the crowd. 

Don’t be a booer.

Speak truth, love, hope and grace to the people in your circle of influence!

“If you want to reach any worthy goal at all or do anything significant for God, you will find you always have to go through a narrow place.  Any time God leads you toward a broader place – a position of great influence, a greater enjoyment in life, or a fulfilled desire – you will have to squeeze through a narrow place.”  Joyce Meyer

The narrow places aren’t fun, but they are necessary.

Where are you feeling stretched, pinched or pulled?  Do you know what the broader place is that God is leading you to?  Can you see a glimpse of what God may have on the horizon?  Hold out hope for that possibility and welcome the pressure of the narrow place. 

God always has more in mind than we can imagine!

But most of us aren’t willing to change our habits and behaviors until we start experiencing pain from them.

The loneliness of being left out = vulnerably reaching out to create community

Life and relationships destroyed = an addict’s willingness to finally admit their problem

And for leaders,

Lackluster results and recurring organization problems = willingness to grow, learn and implement new ideas.

Learning to embrace the pain = change equation is essential for life as a leader. 

When things get painful in our organization – and by painful I mean difficult – our initial reaction may be to ignore it, to place blame elsewhere, to make excuses, or to run away from it.

We react that way for good reason.  Leading change is hard!

“There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.” — Niccolo MachiavelliThe Prince (1532)

What pain are you facing in your organization?  What change might you need to consider to instigate health and growth?

Most of our decisions in life and leadership will be “next-best-step” decisions.  What is the next best step that God is asking you to take or to lead your team through?

Taking the next best step is where faith and obedience collide: faith for the unknown and obedience to the next step of action.

The story of Esther gives us a great example of this principle in action:

Scripture doesn’t really explain why, but notice that even when Esther approached King Xerxes, she doesn’t immediately share her request even though he extended his scepter to her to spare her life.  Instead she asked for a banquet with him by which to share her request.  And them still at that banquet, she asks for another banquet.  Why did she delay her request multiple times when she found favor with the kind in her first encounter with him?  I can only assume that she must have been responding to the discernment of the situation and being obedient to the next best step.  We know that ultimately, the delay of that conversation allowed Haman’s evil plot to be exposed and Mordecai to be honored, making way for the king to eagerly grant her request.

When Esther made a decision, it was always a next-step decision.  Every decision faced numerous outcomes that were beyond her control.  Knowing she couldn’t control the outcomes, she simply remained faithful to her next step.

In my experience, God doesn’t give us the entire route all at one time.  He gives us next steps, step-by-step, day-by-day.  Learning to be comfortable and confident in those steps of obedience is what marks you as a great leader.

What critical decision are you facing today?  What does the next-best-step look like?

**Parts of this post are excerpts from chapter 6 of Just Lead!

Now that I’ve actually finished reading the entire thing, I thought I would share some of my favorite quotes and reminders from it:

Ambition must be grounded in wisdom.  Inspiration must be pursued with integrity.  Dreams must be built with boundaries.  And passions need the steady hand of principles to guide them.

Living one’s calling is a necessary first step to leading well and becoming a change maker wherever God has planted you.

If we don’t learn to be content with who God has made us and called us to be, then we will never reach our potential as influencers.

If we believe we are called by God to the work we do, then we bear the responsibility of doing this work with an unrivaled standard of excellence.

Every great organization has a few areas where their standards are so high it’s annoying.  This is a good thing.  Set standards that scare you, and work to achieve them.

Your calling is crippled without courage.  Courage moves us from ideals to action, from potential to actuality.  Courageous leaders are working in their sweet spot but may be outside their comfort zones.

We can’t live and lead in a state of fear and inactivity.

Leaders are defined by their inner strengths and convictions, not the outer portrayal of who they are.  Your character will determine your level of leadership and even your legacy.

Humble yourself enough to focus on others.

Demand perfection from yourself before anyone else ever demands it of you.

When we are spiritually disciplined, we are often more vocationally effective.

Leaders are dealers of hope, and we must give it way constantly and without bias.

A leader lives in the tension of the now and the next.

Cultivate leaders who create possibilities rather than make excuses.

The more influence you have, the more intentional you have to be about giving it away.

This book would be a great resource to read with your entire team.  I encourage you to check it out.

And… be sure to join us for Catalyst Atlanta October 2-4!

The more I study great relationships and great organizational cultures, the more frequently I find effective communication at the center of their success.

You’ve likely heard the axiom “everything rises and falls on leadership”.  I would add to that and say if everything rises and fall on leadership, leadership rises and falls on communication.  We can’t lead well without figuring out the communication conundrum.

In our book, Just Lead!, Sherry and I identify the 6 “Be’s” that we believe are essential for good communication as leaders.

1) Be a good listener.  Our temptation as leaders is to hurry through conversations and make quick decisions; however, earning equity and credibility with your team is often best achieved through intentional listening.

2) Be self-aware.  In order to help others understand us, we must first understand ourselves.  Nancy Beach said it this way, “Most of us have blind spots about how we come across to others, and the huge challenge is to find ways to see ourselves more clearly and to identify where we are strong and where we need to improve.”

3) Be sensitive.  A Harvard Business Review article said this, “Communication isn’t as simple as saying what you mean.  How you say what you mean is crucial and differs from one person to the next…”  Not only do we need to be sensitive to how we say things, but we also need to be sensitive to how others receive what we say.

4) Be direct and confident.  Oftentimes when we need to deliver feedback or constructive criticism we can be guilty of convoluting the message so much that the other person doesn’t understand our point or the seriousness of the message.  Say what you need to say kindly, succinctly and honestly.

5) Be well-timed.  A well-timed word of encouragement is absolutely life giving to someone, and a poorly timed criticism can completely demotivate or even derail them.  Be quick to praise.  Be slow to criticize.

6) Be you.  Nothing you communicate as a leader will be effective if it feels inauthentic.  Find your voice.  Trust your instincts.  Discovering your authentic voice as a leader will be one of the most important steps in your leadership development.

What’s the most challenging issue you face when it comes to communication?

This is a book that will jar you out of your “Christian rut” and give you new eyes for looking at EVERYTHING. It’s a quick, inspiring, and entertaining read.

Over 47 Christian leaders have recommended the book, including me.

Here is my endorsement for “God’s Favorite Place on Earth.”

“God’s Favorite Place on Earth beautifully creates a powerful and moving portrait of the humanness of Jesus and His dearest relationships.  Taking a story well-told, Frank Viola engages the voice and view of Lazarus to bring a new perspective and moving relatability to Jesus’ life on earth.  Incredibly thoughtful and moving.”

The premise of the book is simple: when Jesus was on the earth, He was rejected everywhere He went . . . from Bethlehem, to Nazareth, to Jerusalem. The only exception was the little village of Bethany.

The curtain opens with Lazarus, who is now ready to die, telling the incomparable story of Jesus’ interactions with him, Martha, and Mary. God’s Favorite Place on Earth blends drama, devotion, biblical narrative, and first-century history to create a riveting book that you’ll find difficult to put down. Within each narrative, the common struggles Christians face are addressed and answered.

Go to GodsFavoritePlace.com to read a Sampler of the book, and watch the video trailer.  In addition, if you get the book between May 1st to May 7th, you will also get 25 FREE GIFTS from 15 different authors including Leonard Sweet, Jeff Goins, Andrew Farley, Steve McVey, DeVern Fromke, Pete Briscoe, Frank Viola himself, and many others.

And then sometimes I blow them up.

As good as systems and routine are for creating good habits, structure and behavior, they can also breed complacency, contentment and comfortability.

When we get too comfortable we lose our hunger for pursuing what’s better and best.

When we are content, we aren’t actively seeking what could be great.

As Jim Collin’s says “good is the enemy of great”.

So every once in awhile as a leader, you gotta blow up the system.  Displace routine.  Disrupt the norms.

Because in our discomfort, we find new solutions.  We create new ways of working.  We develop new communication channels.  We find more efficient ways to work.

What system, structure or routine do you need to blow up today?