Have you ever been desperate for something? Ever been in a place of total need where you absolutely knew that the task at hand was too great for your own abilities? A place where you knew that what you were working on or encountering seemed impossible in and of your own strength? And so you were desperate, just praying for something to happen, praying for it all to come together.

Now in many professions, it’s probably not too popular for a leader to earn a reputation as desperate. No one wants to be known as someone who is just grasping at straws or will do anything to land the deal, do anything to land ANY deal. That kind of desperate isn’t what I’m talking about.

As a pastor, I’m finding that living from a position of desperation is a great way to live. Over the past few months, I’ve written a couple of times about being a part of helping our church launch a new campus. Over the past 8-12 months we planned and prepared and prayed…and honestly thought we had some pretty good systems in place (and they were). But then something happened…day 1 happened. The first weekend, nearly 2,000 people showed up and it changed everything…in a great way. In a way that’s tough to put into words. So I won’t try to describe all that it changes in you as a leader, I’ll just say this: When God does amazing things, it brings you to a desperate place.

It’s a place where you’re relying on him for everything: wisdom for the next decision, wisdom for EVERY decision, favor in the eyes of people, even just energy to make it through the day. You’re just trusting in God because you know that what you’re experiencing isn’t anything you could’ve done. And so you desperately seek God and ask him to equip you for the moment.

As a leader it’s good to be this kind of desperate.

What’s crazy then is how quickly my desperate heart can change, can fade. For a few weeks, you’re completely praying, completely relying on God because you’re just trying to hold on for the ride…and then something happens. You begin to figure a few things out. You make some decisions that bring some form of order to the chaos or you feel like you have some personal wins and guess what?…the desperate position from which you’ve been operating is gone (truthfully it’s still there, you still need God just as much as before it’s just that you forget about it). That desperate position can be gone so quickly.

Now don’t get me wrong, I believe God gives us wisdom to lead in the midst of those moment and as he’s leading us, we’re able to make good decisions, able to bring order from chaos, able to do the task in front of us. But if we’re not careful, we don’t do it with the same spirit. We begin to treat each task, each decision as if it’s just as common as picking out which socks I’m going to wear today. And if I’m honest, it’s scary how quickly you can go from that desperate place to almost an independent place. And as a pastor, I’ve got no business operating independently. This is all God’s work. Not mine.

So today, could I encourage you – operate from a point of desperation, one where you’re counting on God and seeking God and asking God to show up in the midst of even your most ordinary tasks and decisions. Because what he has in store is amazing. It will blow you away…and I know for me at least, I’m more attune to it when I operate from a desperate place.

*Click* 

Go ahead…take a mental snapshot of something, of anything: your favorite birthday, your biggest success, that moment that you never want to forget. What amazing moment comes to mind? Or perhaps, as you filter through the moments of your life you can’t help but fixate on a regret, a mistake, that moment you wish you could forget forever…but can’t.

These snapshots, all of these — good or bad, encapsulate one single moment, just one second in time. And that’s pretty important to remember as a leader because we tend to think of our work or life as a snapshot, you know your cover-of-the-magazine moment, but that’s not the truth. The truth is your leadership story is more like a filmstrip. It’s more like a million snapshots edited together. But it is no single snapshot. Sure, there are “defining moments” along the way, but still, your leadership story is greater than any one moment.

Here are three reasons I think this important to remember as a leader:

1) Fixating on one snapshot may cause you to miss new moments of opportunity. 
Why? Because the snapshot you took is now in the past and there’s a whole other world of opportunities, a limitless number of new snapshots awaiting. But if you’re looking back all the time, you’ll never see them coming…and so you’ll miss them. Don’t get me wrong, celebrate the amazing snapshots of the past. Learn from the snapshots that you wish you could erase from your memory. But don’t fixate in the past. There’s more to come.

2) Your team may not continue to be inspired by the same old snapshot.
The job of a leader is to constantly help the people they are leading move from HERE to THERE. A project, a sales goal, a new strategy, a new product – whatever it may be – will take effort in helping your team move from here to there. Helping your team accomplish new goals and achieve new wins provides inspiration. People are motivated by what could be and what’s ahead much more than they are by a single feat accomplished 10 or 20 years ago. Again, don’t get me wrong, celebrate the past — it’s what has propelled you to today. Just don’t live there.

3) A single snapshot doesn’t portray the truest reality of your leadership story.
I know in our culture it’s easy to remember the guy who won the national championship game by draining the 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded. That’s the image or video that’s repeatedly shown over and over. But the reality for most of us will be the story that’s painted by our filmstrip, not our snapshot. So if you had a buzzer-beater-shot-draining moment that’s awesome, but there’s more to your leadership story than that. If you’ve made horrible mistakes as a leader that constantly fill your mind with regret and shame then I’ve got good news…there’s more to your leadership story too. So in either case, keep leading well.

Really…I am a believer in Kodak moments. I love them. I’ll never forget my wedding day, jumping out of an airplane, the first time I dunked a basketball, leading my first mission trip overseas, starting an inner-city ministry in a desperate housing community, moving to Pennsylvania on my 1-year wedding anniversary, the day my daughter was born, the first time I sat around the table with the Saturate team, or opening day of LCBC’s York Campus. I’ll never forget any of them. And I’ll appreciate all of them. But I have to remember that each one is just a single snapshot…hopefully a snapshot of a greater story that’s being told.

So today, remember that your leadership story is a filmstrip…and have fun creating some new snapshots along the way.

I love the game of golf. I started playing when I was in 5th grade and I’ll never forget the first time my dad took me out on the course. I love the history that accompanies the game. I love that on the course, it’s a gentleman’s game where being honest while keeping your own score and exercising appropriate etiquette are valued. And of course, I love the competition.

This past weekend, The Masters, one of golf’s most prestigious events, was held at its annual location in Augusta, Georgia. I wasn’t able to catch each day of competition, but I was able to catch most of the final round on Sunday. I was definitely sitting on the edge of my seat as Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen extended play into a sudden death playoff and stared intently at the screen as Watson made his final putt to earn himself the coveted green jacket (the “trophy” for winning this particular tournament).

And as Watson took his time, quieted the crowd, and tapped in his final 8-inch putt all I could think about is every single swing of the club, every single other putt, every single practice round that Watson played in his entire career that made that one, single 8-inch putt even possible. I thought about how much discipline it takes to swing the same clubs over and over and over day after day after day. I thought about how no one shows up to the biggest tournament of the year and just stumbles upon success and victory.

No. You earn that victory by being disciplined with every moment up to that point.

And I think the same is true with leadership (whatever it is you might lead: your business, your team, your family) as well. If you want to lead well, you have to be disciplined.

And the reality is you and I must begin exercising discipline right now. It begins long before you’re engaged in a sudden death playoff at a prestigious golf tournament, long before you’re in the middle of executing a new marketing plan for your largest client, long before the launch of your new product or line, long before you find yourself launching a campus. The way you swung the club yesterday and how you swing it today actually matter because the discipline you did or didn’t exercise dictates how you’ll perform when you arrive at your “biggest-moment-of-your-life” opportunity.

And so, discipline has to start today, with your “right now” moment. And chances are you’re right now moment isn’t as huge as the big account you’re hoping to land or by introducing the next best thing to the market. But you and I have to realize that it’s all the swings we take with the club on the off days that will earn us the opportunity to make our 8-inch putt when the biggest opportunity of our life comes around.

So today, where will your discipline start? Your exercise plan? Growing yourself by reading or learning something new about your profession? The way you manage your personal or company’s finances? Your diet? Being consistent with minor details and choices? Prioritizing time with your family? Whatever it is, be disciplined today. It may just lead to a bigger victory than you ever dreamed possible.

It did for Bubba Watson.

I’m not a huge reality-show fan, but whenever I get the chance, I love watching Survivor and The Celebrity Apprentice. Both shows intrigue me and there’s a huge part of me that wishes I had the opportunity to participate on each show. Really, I just love to compete and I love seeing what strategies are successful in helping people get to the end and win. Conveniently, both shows are on right now.

And as I’ve been watching over the past few weeks (really as I’ve been following these shows for years), what I always notice is that while it may seem like these are games where individuals compete to reveal one true victor, there has never been a winner from any season that made it to the end without the help of others. Never.

It doesn’t matter what you’re doing…other people always share in the win. The efforts of others help make the best wins possible.

In Survivor, for the majority of the show, they’re competing in team challenges and it’s even those who have been voted off of the show that determine the winner. On The Celebrity Apprentice they too compete in team challenges and even when it’s down to the final two, members who have been “fired” return to make the final challenges possible. A team always contributes to the success. Other people always share in any win.

Most recently I’ve been reminded of that truth by helping launch a campus. Launching LCBC’s 4th Campus has been what I’ve spent most of my energies on for the better part of the past year – and on March 18th, we finally launched! Now before you think I’m crazy comparing the launching of a church campus to two made-for-TV reality shows (especially two that are filled with manipulation and blind sides), they share the common theme that a total team effort is involved in reaching the final goal.

Over the past 8 months especially, it has been the efforts of literally hundreds of staff, volunteers, and contractors that have made each step in the process successful. Demolition, creating artwork and furniture, planning out the layout of a building, working with city officials, cleaning, painting, setting up chairs, hanging equipment, ordering signage, preparing volunteer teams, sharing the “why’s” behind each “what” — all of it, every single piece, took a total team effort. No one person could have completed the job. No one person launches a campus. No one.

And to me, that’s what makes the Church, not just our church, but all of the body of Christ so incredibly special — it’s more than just an individual competition. The body of Christ is a collective engagement of people who have had their lives changed by Christ working together to be and achieve something greater than anyone ever could on their own.

So to the hundreds of volunteers, LCBC staff, and contractors that have worked tirelessly and passionately to help launch a campus I say THANK YOU. It’s been your commitment that’s made this start even possible — and the lives that are changed by Christ, even our own, over the following weeks, months, and years will be the success that we all share together.

Over the past few weeks I’ve gotten emails and texts asking, “Hey where did you go? You not blogging anymore?” Nope. Not the case at all! In fact, next Tuesday I plan to return to my normal weekly posts.

But over the past few weeks, it seems I’ve been put through a leadership crash-course in the classroom of Life. And just one of the things it’s forced me to do is prioritize. So to be honest, I needed to sit quiet for a few weeks as I gave my attentions to a few tasks at hand. Sure, could’ve been reposting from the archives, but you know what?…it’s okay just to be quiet sometimes.

One of the things that has challenged me most and required my focus and attention over the past few weeks has been the launch of a new campus at my church. I work for a church called Lives Changed by Christ (LCBC) and on Sunday, the 18th we launched our 4th campus in York, PA. I’m actually the Campus Pastor at the York Campus and have been working with our team on this project for almost a year. And now, it’s finally begun.

This launch process has taught me a lot about leading, a lot about humility, a lot about valuing others, a lot about valuing your team. And so I look forward to sharing some of the things I’ve been learning about leading and serving through that process.

So next Tuesday, check back in. I’ll be back…seriously.

Thanks for continuing to follow, continuing to read, and continuing to contribute.

- Paul

Recently, I was listening to a talk entitled “Personal Accountability” from the EntreLeadership Podcast that’s produced by Dave Ramsey’s organization. If your intrigued by or passionate about leadership, it’s a must have download that’s offered free via iTunes every other week. Pure gold.

This particular podcast featured a clip from a challenge Dave Ramsey gave to his staff at their weekly meeting where their staff is challenged and indoctrinated with their company’s core values. As Dave was sharing, he hit primarily on one value that their company has and it’s this:

I Am Responsible.

Responsibility. With that word comes ownership, comes accountability, comes buy-in, comes the opportunity for leadership. When each member of your team understands that they are personally responsible for their work, responsible for their best work, it motivates them to kill it. It invites them to care.

As Dave was sharing about that particular value, there are a number of things that immediately sent my pen to my moleskin, thoughts that I wanted to digest and chew on, but one that really stuck out was this statement:

God brought YOU here for THAT.

You are here for That. Whatever “That” is in your life, in your family, in your career, in your community – it’s for You. You are the one who is entrusted with that responsibility. You are the one designed to carry out that function or make that dream a reality. It’s YOU. Not me. YOU. My That  is something different than yours. I can’t do your That…I can only be responsible with my own.

What’s crazy is how often we walk around craving, envying, longing to have someone else’s That…when we have a unique That of our own. You can only have your That. And those other That’s, they’re for members of your team to have. Let them have their Thats. Because with each person on your team doing the That only they can do, chances are you’ll have a pretty strong team.

You are here for That.
Be responsible with YOUR That.
Your That is what we all need you to do.

I have a friend, John, who once told me that when you begin a new job you can expect the following progression:

1st Year at Job – You don’t know what questions you should be answering.
2nd Year at Job – You know who to go to in order to get the answer.
3rd Year at Job – You know the answers to the right questions.

I’ve found this to be true. Perhaps you have as well.

Questions and answers really have an interesting relationship. They have the ability to empower you, to make you look like a god among mere mortals. Or they have a sickly way of humbling you that robs you of any ounce of self-confidence which you possessed.

I think that often as leaders, we feel like we have to have all the answers. We have to know everything. We have to be ready always to give the right answer…immediately. With every second that ticks away where you’re unable to communicate the right answer, the pressure builds until you feel like your chest is going to collapse.

Or something like that.

But what I’ve been learning recently is it’s okay to not know sometimes. It’s okay to not have the right answer all the time. If you knew all the answers all the time you’d have nothing to learn…and life just doesn’t operate that way. Life is the teacher that never takes a holiday. It’s there with a new lesson each day.

So it’s okay, at times, not to know. And what’s even more okay is when you don’t know the answer…just say you don’t know. Nothing’s more embarrassing that being outed when you’ve fronted like you had a clue. Just say you don’t know…you don’t know the solution, you don’t know their name, you don’t know what your team should do next. In the moment, that’s okay. Just be honest about it.

But then go find the answer.

How about you?…remember a time when you fronted like you knew the answer but ended up getting busted? Let’s hear it!

Over the past two days, I’ve watched a lot of celebrating…especially by the New York Giants. And with due cause: to win the Super Bowl is an accomplishment worth celebrating. That one win represents months and months of preparation and hard work. Think about it: we only saw the Giants play 24 games this season: 4 preseason, 16 regular season, and 4 playoff games. 24 games…that’s all we saw. But it took months and months or working and practicing nearly every single day for them to arrive at just one game, the Super Bowl. And for the Giants, they seized their Super Bowl moment…so celebrating makes perfect sense.

But I bet if you asked any of them what they’ll be thinking about after this week is over, they’ll quickly respond and let your know that somewhere in the back of their mind, they’re already thinking about that next workout, that next practice, and the next Super Bowl…Super Bowl XLVII.

Now you and I have these moments too. We have our Super Bowl moments. And while they may not be on a national stage with millions watching, they’re no less important to you or those you lead.

You know what it feels like to put in months and months of work. You know what it feels like to let a project or initiative become part of our your very soul. You know what it’s like to spend your best intellectual property to move your own figurative ball down the field. And you know what it feels like to reap the reward, to get the win, to know that you’ve done your best.

So when those moments come, celebrate. Go ahead and party…it’s ok! But then be ready to move on, to get back to work, to put in the time. Because we all know that yesterday’s success are never sufficient for tomorrow’s opportunities.

One of the things I love most about my job is the opportunity I have to contribute to a program called Emerge, a 9-month leadership development program designed to encourage and challenge some of our 20something leaders at LCBC. As a group, we meet together about every 6-8 weeks to focus on areas that will expand our leadership ability in our relationships, our homes, our work environments, our communities, and in our church.

This past meeting, we gathered at The Hershey Story to examine the life of Milton Hershey and talk about the topic of Influence. As part of the evening, I asked one of our coaches, Beth Graybill to share about influence from her perspective. And as she shared, her words challenged each of us; each 20something, each coach.

Yesterday, she wrote a guest blog on her husband, Matt’s, blog and you have to check it out. Seriously…YOU. NEED. TO. READ. THIS. So check out this link below and I hope it challenges you to seize each opportunity to influence…even when they show up in different ways than expected.

Check the Post –> Influence at the Back Door by @BethGraybill.

On Saturday, I visited The Hershey Story in preparation for an upcoming meeting with some 20somethings from LCBC. As I toured the museum, it not only grew my love for a great confectionary delight, but it developed my respect for a great man, Milton Hershey.

Throughout the museum were placards that shared his story…from failure to fortune. They talked about his humble beginnings, education, and desire to impact his community. There were many placards that grabbed my attention, many that made my head nod…and so I thought I’d share one today. It read:

It was really cool to see some of the different kinds of tools that were developed individually in order to get the job done. And it seemed the tools could be unique as long as the outcome was the same. Each worker could contribute in a personalized fashion to a larger vision that exceeded any of their own capabilities or agendas. The workers were inspired to create…and so they did. Not only a great product, but a great process.

So somehow there’s this mysterious, invisible pull that eventually causes (if not careful) leaders to become removed from the people (the workers) and from the assembly line (the process). And yet, from the colliding of people and process come some of the greatest suggestions, ideas, inventions that have the ability to keep any team or corporation humming…or at least one of the world’s greatest chocolate companies.

So the challenge for us all: Stay close to the people and give freedom with the process. An environment that values the people and the process can produce creativity that will propel everyone forward.