How does a leader maintain his passion?
This was just one of the questions that was presented at the Global Leadership Summit (GLS), an annual 2 day leadership forum sponsored by Willow Creek Church in Chicago, where some of the greatest leadership minds in the world present their thoughts and experiences on what makes an effective leader.
This year, Jen and I attended a satellite location in Costa Mesa to listen to speakers such as John Maxwell, Alan Mulally (former CEO of Boeing and Ford), Patrick Lencioni, Chris McChesney, Bishop TD Jakes, Henry Cloud, Melinda Gates and others.
My favorite talk was the opening talk by Bill Hybels, in which he talked about the Lenses of Leadership.
Hybels’ opening line is that when a leader gets better, everyone wins. A leader moves people from here to there (a preferred future). But how does he do that?
Studies have shown that a motivated worker will outperform an unmotivated worker by as much as 40%. So clearly, motivation is a factor. But how do we motivate people. Hybels said that the highest factor in motivation is to work in and around a passion-filled leader.
So the question remains, how does a leader get and maintain their passion?
Pastor Hybels said that passion is usually derived from the mountain top of a beautiful dream or from the valley of frustration with something that completely outrages you.
Hybels said that there are three ways a leader gains and maintains passion: First, read passionate authors. Second, be around passionate people. And third, go to places that fill your soul.
Over the course of the two days, I found that my own soul was getting filled as we heard from passionate leaders who shared wisdom from their years of experience.
Jen and I hope to continue to fill our passion bucket through some of the books we picked up from Global Leadership Summit keynote speakers. Jen will be reading a book by Erin Meyer entitled the “Culture Map” while I picked up “Emotional Intelligence” by Travis Bradberry.
Please pray that we would be leaders who are passionate and able to motivate those around us to move toward our preferred future – one where Millennials throughout Orange County are connected to and experiencing Jesus fully and who are mobilized to make a difference for Him at work, at home and throughout their community!
The Lowedown 