Leadership by committee sounds wise until the future demands courage.

The Promised Land was visible. The opportunity was real. The abundance was undeniable.

Even so, an entire generation walked away from it because the majority report carried more weight than God's promise.

Beware recency bias – societal emphasis is always shifting.

Last week I read an insightful post about the declining emphasis on “The 5 AM Club” and its related life-hack cronies. In the author’s opinion, the trendlines are shifting away from hyper-discipline culture.

The argument was thoughtful and fair. We went through a phase where intensity, grind, and optimization became badges of honor.

Thankfully, many people are now rediscovering the importance of sustainability, balance, and healthy rhythms.

I agree with the move. For the most part. Except for one pesky little reality…

The older I get, the more convinced I become that gratitude and ambition must learn to coexist…or one will eventually poison the other.

We turn 30 this year!

Some leaders spend their entire lives acting like generators when they were only ever designed to be conduits. God never asked leaders to manufacture power. He asked them to steward what he already released into creation.

“Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be transferred or transformed.” - The First Law of Thermodynamics has had me thinking lately.

Most leaders focus on fixing what’s broken. Few invest deeply in strengthening what is already working.

Most of my readers will recognize the use of “the body” as a metaphor for the Church (1 Corinthians 12; Romans 12; Ephesians 4). 

Metaphors, analogies, and illustrations help us make sense of the world.

The difference between a leader people follow and one they merely tolerate often comes down to a single internal posture.

There are a lot of tensions in leadership. This is a big one.

There are moments in leadership when you cannot fix the outcome. In these moments, the opportunity lies in your response.

I was really looking forward to my first basketball officiating camp of the summer. They moved it up a week this year. No problem. Adjust and go.

So I packed up, made the trip, even came down a few hours early to connect with a friend and former client. Our dinner fell through at the last minute. Not ideal, but it happens.

Then came Saturday morning.

Pressure is not the enemy of leadership.
It’s part of what makes it all work.

I pulled out of my driveway onto Route 116 and felt a rumble on acceleration. Nothing dramatic. But definite. Noticeable.

After a couple of miles it smoothed out. Still, something felt off. A quick glance at my mileage reminded me I was due for a tire rotation anyway, so I stopped in to see my friends at East Peoria Tire and asked them to take a look.

Turns out, one of my tires was running on 12 pounds of air.

Twelve.

There is a reason the most important truths in life are repeated so often. Not because we forget them, but because we have not fully learned them yet.

There are seasons in leadership when the hardest thing you will manage is not your business… It’s life itself.

At some point, every senior leader faces a moment where life doesn’t just interrupt the work – it overwhelms it.

Life happens.

Major events in the lives of people close to us. Sometimes our own. Events that demand incredible time, energy, and gut-wrenching navigation of uncharted waters.

But…you still have a business to run.