March 27, 2018
by Rod Smith
I read, think, observe, leadership a lot. I’ve seen dismal attempts at it and men and women who seem to fully understand its art. Here are a few observations. Please, send me yours. I am always interested in new perspectives and approaches others have found useful:
- Having your name on the top of the list or possessing the title leader does not make you a leader. You are a leader if your constituents are following you or are doing what you are commissioned to lead your constituents to do or to be.
- If you are authentically leading your group, church, or business, and you are doing it well, you will sometimes (even often) feel a strong sense of isolation. It comes with the call of authentic leadership. It’s lonely. It is unlikely you are leading well if you are not facing some, if not strong, opposition. Authentic leaders stimulate necessary imbalance and some humans, those who set in their ways, will naturally resist such provocation for growth and change and may even portray you as an enemy.
- Your own growth as a person within your family (all of your family) will do more for your effectiveness as a leader than anything you implement at work or at your church or wherever it is that you are supposed to be the leader.
Posted in Boundaries, Education, Family Systems Theory, Leadership, Listening |
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March 27, 2018
by Rod Smith
Prayers and desires for our children, young and older….
- That they may find useful, positive passions, and spend their energies on things they really love.
- That they may make their livings from using their talents.
- That they may find and enjoy deep and lasting reciprocal friendships.
- That they may have mutual and equal and respectful relationships with everyone they love and know.
- That they may neither be intimidated nor intimidate others no matter who they are.
- That they may know they are deeply loved and respected by their immediate and extended families to whom they owe nothing but the return of healthy love and respect.
- That they may be enduring students despite their academic achievements and patient teachers when others are trying to learn from them.
- That they may love powerfully and be loved powerfully in relationships that are free and open and devoid of jealously and pettiness.
- That they may grow into generous and kind people who are trusted for their integrity and goodness.
- That they may have each other’s backs while risking the natural urge to rescue each other from self-made difficulties.
- That they may develop goals and ambitions that far surpass making a good living but that include serving others and enhancing the lives of people whom they don’t know and may never meet.
Posted in Blended families, Boundaries, Children, Communication, Differentiation, Education, Faith, Family, Forgiveness, Friendship, Leadership, Listening |
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March 27, 2018
by Rod Smith
People often find other people’s true stories inspiring.
Please tell me your story if any of the following topics apply to you. Try to keep it to 200 or fewer words and include permission for me to run it in You and Me.
I will not print your name unless you specifically indicate you want your name included.
- You left your spouse for another man or woman and it did, or did not, turn out well.
- You have seen a radical change in a family member for good or for ill.
- You were abandoned in a marriage but came back from the trauma to live really fully and well, or, if you never did really recover.
- You are an adult who was adopted as a child and finding your birth parent(s) was, or was not, a rich and rewarding experience.
- You left South Africa to live in another country but returned.
- You have witnessed amazing acts of grace and forgiveness and generosity.
- You have worked for the most difficult boss in the world and survived.
- You have witnessed or experienced a miraculous act of friendship.
- You found love in a most unexpected place or from a most unexpected source.
Posted in Difficult Relationships |
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