Courage: Don't Leave Home Without It

Award winning TV producer Mark Burnett with Willow Creek Pastor Bill Hybels

Courage is no longer for the warriors of the world. Increasingly, courage is required of every day people.  At the annual Willow Creek Association Global Leadership Summit - it was a recurring theme of day one of the two day leadership training event.  From the opening session with Willow Creek Community Church Senior Pastor Bill Hybels to the final interview session with Hollywood producer Mark Burnett, courage in leadership was practically demanded by every speaker. Courage with our calling and courage with our people were the top two areas emphasized.
Calling

We all have a calling in life. Some of us are called to lead companies. Other of us are called to lead teams. Many more are called to lead families. Regardless your calling, our WCA GLS  leaders reminded us, again and again, that courage in your calling is a dealbreaker. Attorney and entrepreneurial leader Bob Goff said, “If we were not afraid, we’d live the life worthy of our calling.”
He is right on point. The day we get a glimpse of what we are called do is the day we must decide to stare our greatest fears in the face and defy them. It is not a one-time deal, it is a daily decision to get up and pursue our life’s work. Our calling deserves our attention and accountability. We owe it to the calling to live no other way. How else will we motivate the people we do life with to join us in the calling if we ourselves are afraid to go for it.

People

People in our lives need us to be courageous as well. Whether it’s the family you lead or the team at work, the people we lead expect us to have the courage to take care of the entities we head. We must ensure that the environment we lead is a healthy one where the inhabitants can grow and flourish. Business strategist Patrick Lencioni challenged us to know the people who work with us. Take an interest, make certain we know our people so that they can live up to their best potential and have the courage to face their own callings.

Relational courage is of utmost importance in our lives both in business and personal settings. Burnett stated that “unresolved emotional conflict drains the energy from an organization.” It takes courage to face conflict with others. It takes courage to root out toxic behavior. We cannot move toward our collective or individual calling without courage in our relationships.


Take a moment this week to look for ways to be more courageous in your calling and with the people you do life with.

Two Of My Favorite Days Of Every Year

Water. 

Life-giving.

Refreshing.

Nourishing

Thirst quenching.

Sustaining.

My drink of choice any day. Water is what I thought of this day as I look ahead at my upcoming week. Because later this week, I will participate in two of my favorite days of every year - the Willowcreek Association Global Leadership Summit.

As a leader, these are two of the most important days for me every year because they represent all those traits I wrote about my favorite drink above. I'll elaborate on the three most important.

Life-Giving

My walk as a leader gets weary at times. Things happen. Things DON'T happen. And many days, I feel as though my very life is being sucked away from me. Time at the the WCA GLS is like a life line and it always comes on time. I am certain that minute one, day one - I will be injected with insights and learnings that will literally bring me "back to life."

Nourishing

Dictionary definition of nourish is "to provide with substances necessary for growth, health, and good condition." The growth, health and good condition of a leader constantly needs attention. And throughout the year, I do many things to contribute to that. I read. I attend workshops. I work with business coaches and advisers. But every year since 2006, the WCA GLS has served as annual super injection of nutrition. This year will be no different. 

Sustaining

This one is the most important for me personally. It is always easy to get inspired when locked away from your real life for two days with leaders from around the globe. It is a slam dunk to be motivated by the likes of Harvey Carey, Patrick Lencioni, Bono, Jim Collins, Carly Fiorina, TD Jakes and Gary Hamel - not to name drop - teaching you in an incredible setting. What's tough is taking those learnings home with you and applying them.  Which is what makes the WCA GLS work for me. There are tons of resources distributed leading up to, throughout and after the conference. Not a year has gone by that I have not referenced past conference notes or principles. Last year, I started distributing my notes to a small group of folks who have been interested in attending. I even found myself carrying materials around for months after the conference. And this year, I am excited to bring one of my business partners as a guest.

So I will work super hard Monday - Wednesday and do my best to get a good night's sleep on Wednesday night because come Thursday,  

It's on.

Learn more about WCA Global Leadership Summit here.

Encounter with an Authentic Leader

This post will go 100% against everything the person it honors stand for... individual recognition. But I have to write it because I believe it will enlighten folks who've only heard of him or interacted with him at a distance.

The person is Bill Hybels, founder and Senior Pastor of Willowcreek Community Church.

Last night, my family and I had the honor of sitting in the second row for a historic event at Willowcreek Community Church, the first Christmas service presented in Spanish in 34 years of Christmas services - Dios Con Nosotros. The picture above is not great but gives you an idea of the magnitude of the event - close to 10, 000 Spanish speaking people in the auditorium.

Fernando Arau, the Mexican born entertainer opened the event with an incredible testimony of how he experienced Immanuel (God with Us or Dios Con Nosotros) in his life.

What followed was a heartfelt mix of music, drama and message delievered to close to 10,000 Spanish speaking guests in the main auditorium of the third largest church in the United States.

I could not help but be excited when I spotted Bill, one row over from us in the front. I've been part of Willowcreek, off and on since 1990 - settling there once and for all in 2002.

I've attended 3 out of the last 4 Leadership Summits at Willow that draws church and marketplace leaders from around the world with faciliators such as Carly Fiorina, Bono, Colin Powell, Jim Collins, Patrick Lencioni and next year Jack Welch.

To say that Bill is a rock star to me is really an understatement. I have admired him from a distance for many years. His example of leadership has especially touched me since I started attending the Summits in 2006. But none of it prepared me for the chance encounter last night.

At the conclusion of the service, we moved to the front of the stage to hug Gaby Hermosillo, the wife and partner in ministry of the Casa de Luz Pastor Hector Hermosillo. As I turned around, there he was, standing pretty close and not talking to anyone

I introduced myself and told him a brief story I crafted in my head a moment before, as I spoke - he looked at me intently. Smiled warmly. It was as if it were me and him in the room (with 10,000 of our closest friends nearby).

Just as I started to tell him how awesome Willow has been in my life over the years - he got the look of "Please don't thank me" and quickly acknowledged that it was "God thing" how Willow had come together for me over the years including the start of Casa de Luz, a Spanish language service that not-so-conincidently began in the fall of 2002, just as we moved to the area looking for a church home.

Sorry Bill, but I disagree.

You, your authentic leadership and obedience to God is what has propeled Willow in the last 34 years.

Your humility that I witnessed first hand last night, up close and personal is astounding.

Your vision is unshakable.

Your compassion for others and particularly for me and my family last night is moving.

Your genuine desire to put Him at the center of everything is inspiring.

Thank you.

You didn't let me say it last night but I will say it here.

Thank you for your quest for justice.

Thank you for leading by example.

Thank you for leading me (and Willow) all these years.