Dreaming is essential. In our latest episode of the Stay The Course Leadership Podcast we talked at length about why it’s essential for a leader to dream. At STC, we believe there are three types of dreams we all have regularly.
The visions and images you have when you’re asleep (sleeping)
The desires and ambitions you have when you’re awake (daydreaming)
The desires and ambitions you were created to do (Purpose)
True life-giving nourishment comes by way of the spirit. God’s word is what sustains us.
All “calories” are empty to the malnourished soul. You can’t “eat” your way to a righteous existence, instead consume his word and apply it in all circumstances if you wish to have a full life.
Have you ever been lost? It’s an awful feeling, in that moment of realization we experience this surge of mixed emotions like fear, anxiety, and panic. But prior to that moment being lost is imperceptible.
Leaders are learners!
Transformational leaders are at their core, life-long learners. Learning is ingrained in the DNA of a transformational leader. Learning is a lifestyle for them.
We live in the information era. We’re literally a couple swipes and a few seconds away from any bit of obscure information we might want. But that isn’t knowledge, that’s a distraction!
I thought I knew exactly what I needed. I needed a vacation. Time away from the office, time for leisure, time working on some passion projects. I had it all planned out, I knew exactly what I needed from my time off “get right.”
The truth is, transactional leaders make the work harder for everyone else. They become obstacles we have to work around on top of all the other obstacles on the way to our mission.
The question is, do you think they decided to be that way? Did they wake up and decide to be a transactional leader everyday? On the flip side, do transformational leaders decide everyday to be transformational? Think of a transformational leader who you admire. Do they just choose this leadership style?
I wish it were that easy. I wish we all could just declare “I decide to be transformational.” And to be honest, in the past that’s how I thought all this worked.
Now, I’m not so sure. If it were that easy, we would all decide to be transformational.
There’s nothing like becoming the head coach. I still remember how clearly I defined my ambition when I got my first collegiate head coaching position. I knew exactly how I was going to run the program, what we were going to value on the coaching staff and ultimately what my personal ambition was as the leader of the program. I wanted to coach the person before the player. I wanted to build up individuals of character off the field while competing hard on the field. I wanted to develop leaders for life. Maybe you have your ambitions in leadership really well defined as well. It’s so critical to have success clearly defined.
The growth of an Oak tree takes a really long time.
The growth of a leader takes a really long time.
Even though we know deep down the development process takes time, and even though we likely apply patience and understanding toward other people’s development, we often are impatient and frustrated with the length of time it takes to develop ourselves. Or for our situations to develop in the way we want them to.
Knowing what you know about how long development takes. Would you say your level of effort is sustainable? Are your lifestyle rhythms not only sustainable but are they going to get the results you want?
We were officially one minute over the meeting’s scheduled end time, and one of my colleagues spoke for the first time all meeting, exclaiming, “if it ain’t broke, why fix it?!” It’s as if she had been holding onto this one liner for the entire meeting just waiting for the right moment to impart this wisdom.
