Leadership is always on my mind, but never more than while I'm at this annual event. I looked around today and considered the leaders gathered here at Atlee. I thought, "I really love being with these people!" Which begs the question: Why? What is it about leaders that endears me to them, draws me to them?
I thought I'd share some thoughts about that here.
1)Leaders see what is not, but what could be. At lunch today, one PCC leader pitched to me an initiative that was beyond bold, beyond even imaginable in my mind. At first, I thought, 'he's crazy!' and then I thought, 'No. He's a leader.' That's what leaders do. They see what is currently not, but what could be. They envision a future of "what if's".
2) Leaders rally others to their vision. I'm not the only visionary at PCC. Within our clear mission to reach people outside of the church are particular visions that will reach the world. Lots of leaders speak vision into our mission. I love them for that.
3) Leaders make things happen. They are catalysts. They are unhappy with stagnation, unsatisfied with the status quo, unwilling to 'live with' less than our best. All day, one PCC leader after another has come to me and said, 'I've been thinking about...' This statement is followed by their assessment of some area that needs to be shaken up, changed, pushed, altered, fired up, etc. They don't just make suggestions, they make solutions. That's what leaders do.
4) Leaders grow. A real leader never says, "yea, I know what I need to know and dont' really need any more training." No, a real leader craves getting better, reaching new levels in their leadership. That is contagious. In fact, there is a certain conviction that happens here (in me). I hear these leadership gurus like Seth Godin talk about how to stretch to the next level and it makes me say, "My team is counting on me to grow. They won't tolerate me getting stale. They're growing. I've got to grow, too." This kind of accountability is good and it makes us all better.
5) Leaders know it's not about them. Real leaders care more about the cause than they do about their preference. Many people say, "I like..." "I want..." "I need..." But leaders say, "Forget what I want, this is what will make the organization better" "My need isn't as important as the needs of the people we're called to serve". The leaders at PCC have that kind of attitude
There are more reasons, but these are a few of the major ones. I stand in awe that these folks gave up 2 days of vacation and a hundred bucks, some are missing family events and other things. Bill Hybels says, "The local church is the hope of the world and it's future rests primarily in the hands of its leaders." I believe that.
And we are in good hands.
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