Axiom

While traveling in the Ukraine, I was able to read Bill Hybel's Axiom which, as the subtitle suggests, is filled with leadership proverbs. This is a collection of 76 pieces of advice grouped into four categories. What follows below is a few highlights in each of the four sections

Vision and strategy

• Language matters - The best leaders wrestle with words until they are able to communicate their big ideasx in a way that captures the imagination, catalyzes action, and lifts spirits. They coin creeds and fashion slogans and create rallying cries, all because they understand taht language matters.
  
• Make the big ask - Leadership is about asking. After casting bold visions, leaders ask people to help make them become reality.
  
• Vision leaks - You or I could deliver a mind-blowing, God-honoring, pulse-quickening vision that leaves everyone revved up to go change the world, but by Tuesday many people have forgotten they were even in church the previous weekend.
  
• Six-by-six execution - Focus on six challenges/tasks that you want to accomplish in the next six weeks.
  

Teamwork and communication

• The Three C-s - What are the criteria for hiring staff: character, competence and chemistry - in that order.
  
• Never say someone's "no" for them - In other words, don't presume people don't want to be a part of your team or support your vision. Ask them anyway, make them say yes/no.
  
• Pay attention to greetings and goodbyes - Make it a habit to do a personal, enthusiastic, genuine, warm, highly relation, look-you-in-the-eye greeting to every single person sitting around the table before I even think about starting the meeting.
  
• Disagree without drawing blood - Effective leaders do not fear passion. They welcome it. But from time to time passionate discussions digress into personal attacks, and real people get really hurt. In my view, leaders must head that off before it happens.
  

Activity and assessment

• Is it sustainable? - At some point along the way, leaders must ask themselves how many hills they realitically can ask their congregations to climb in a given time frame.
  
• Develop a mole system - My direct reports need to know that I have other sources than the ones sitting right in front of me week in and week out.
  
• Facts are your friends - Some pastors whose churches are dying don't want to know the objective racts of their situation because they are genuinely afraid the raw information will be more than their hearts could bear.
  
• Are we still having fun? - In leadership terms, we carry a responsibility to lead in such a way that those we lead are as freed up as possible to do their jobs from a place of life and peace.
  

Personal integrity

• Obi-Wan Kenobi isn't for hire - Don't look for one person to be the cure all mentor. Instead glean from many individuals, including many whom you may never meet personally or only for a limited amount of time.
  
• Always take the high road - Bless what you can bless. Thank everyone you can thank. Cheer on what is appropriate to cheer on. And be done with it. Don't leave by drawing blood.
  
• Read all you can - Leaders have a responsibility before God to constantly get better, and one of the most reliable ways to do so is to read.
  
• Lead something - The more varied the environments in which you exercise your leadership gift, the stronger that gift will become. Lead in your church, in your community, in various contexts. What you learn in one context may come in handy in other contexts.
  
• Finish well
  

Need Some Small Change?

During my recent trip to Ukraine, there were several oddities that caught my attention. We flew into Odessa which has only a small airport with one coffee shop and one kiosk. Upon arrival, bought a bottle of water at the kiosk. The total amount was only a few kopecks shy of an even hyrvnia number. After looking in vain for small change (literally for less than 0.5 cents in USD), the attendant broke open a pack of Wrigley's Doublemint Gum and gave me two sticks as return change. After I realized that she was hoping that I'd be satisfied with the transaction, I simply smiled and thought I probably got more out of the deal.

New Students in Moscow

ETSM begen its 11th year of operation with a new class with nine students in its residential program. The New students come from different places of Russia: Siberian republic of Tyva, southern town of Volgodonsk in Rostov region, another southern town of Cherkessk in the Russian Northern Caucasian region, and from Moscow region. Among new students we have two new couples. Couples proved to be the most efficient ministers and most stable and dedicated graduates.

Altogether we have 25 students and spouses studying in the residential program in Moscow. Additionally, we have many more students enrolled in our extensions in Ukraine and other parts of Russia (including a "Moscow extension".

European/Eurasian Leadership Conference in Ukraine

During the week of September 9-12, I attended the Eastern European / Eurasian Leadership Conference and the Ukrainian Church of God National Assembly, both of which were held held in Nova Kakhovka, Ukraine.

Invited to the Leadership Conference were the overseers and educational leaders of our denominations from most of the countries in the the Church of God is represented - from Germany to Russia.

The Ukrainian National Assembly was also a celebration of its 15th anniversary in the Church of God. The Ukrainian church now has 85 congregations with a membership nearing 10,000. Among the various guest speakers were two of my bosses - Dieter Knospe (Germany) and Douglas Leroy (USA).

Following the conference, we then toured southeastern Ukraine visiting the towns of Donetsk, Mariople and Slavyansk. Our last stop was in Kiev before returning home.

What were my impressions from the trip?

• First of the all, the Ukrainians know how to do music and create a great worship atmosphere.
  
• Second, they did a great job is working out the logistics. They almost put the always organized Germans to shame.
  
• But I couldn't help but to compare building standards with those in Germany - or should I say, I was looking for the comparisons between the two countries.
  
• Fourth, boy am I ever thankful for the good roads we have in the States and Germany. The contour rich roads gave our van/mini-bus a broken rear spring - thus making for a bumpy, slanted ride for hundreds of miles.
• Catching a stomach virus (or digesting foreign food) does not go well with bumpy roads.
  

Passing of a Soldier

Today I received the sad news that Jack Nkandu (pictured left) had passed on to his heavenly reward. He was diagnosed with cancer just one week prior to the General Assembly (in other words, just six weeks ago). I requested prayer for him in an earlier blog.

Jack was one of our students at the EBS in Rudersberg during the late 90's. He was always a mature and deeply spiritual voice in the crowd of young, enthusiastic schoolmates.

Peter Thomas (second from left), who serves as the Field Director for Africa, worked side by side with Jack for many, many years. Below is his tribute to a brother in the Lord.

Dear Friends,

With great sadness in our hearts we want to inform you that our dear friend, brother and colleague Jack Nkandu went to be with the Lord last night at 23:20hrs. While we feel this great loss we are at the same time comforted to know that he has gone to the One to whom he belonged and whom he served with all his heart and life.

Jack has served in his country Zambia in different positions. His time as pastor was marked by a special compassion for widows and orphans. He served the church in Africa as Regional CE-Coordinator for Central Africa and was appointed at this last General Assembly as Regional Superintendent in the same region.

Jack will be remembered for his passion for God, his deep love for his wife and family and for his great love and dedication for God’s Kingdom and His church. His burden for the lost and for the advancement of God’s kingdom was clearly evident to all who knew him. Personally I was blessed many times when I heard him minister and teach under the anointing of God’s Spirit, which was extraordinary. He will remain in our hearts as a true brother, friend and servant of the most high God.

At the time of death his wife, Gift was with him. She informed us that his transition from this life into eternity was very peaceful and without pain. At the moment she is preparing for her return flight back home.

Please remember Jack’s family, his wife Gift and his three sons, Timothy, Isaac & Joshua in your prayers.

May the Lord bless all of you

Peter & Deborah Thomas

Leadership is Everyone's Business - Leadership is Staying in Love

One of the good things about vacation is the chance to finally read a good book. In my case, it gave me a chance to finish off what I started reading several months ago. Below is my summary notes of the final chapter of Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner.

Leadership is about relationships, about credibility, and about what you do.

You are the most important leader in your organization.
If you’re a manager in an organization, to your direct to reports you are the most important leader in your organization. You are more likely than any other leader to influence their desire to stay or leave, the trajectory of their careers, their ethical behavior, their ability to perform at their best, their drive to wow customers, their satisfaction with their jobs, and their motivation to share the organization’s vision and values.

If you’re a parent, teacher, coach or community leader, you are the person that’s setting the leadership example for young people. Not hip-hop artists, movie stars, or professional athletes.

The leaders who have the most influence on the people are those who are the closest to them. You have to challenge the myth that leadership is about position and power.

There is no escape: Leadership is everyone’s business. No matter what your position is, you have to take responsibility for the quality of leadership your constituents get. And because you are the most important leader to those closest to you, the only choice you really have is whether or not to be the best leader you can be.

Leadership is learned
The age old question: “Are leaders born or made?” Our answer: “Yes, of course!” All leaders are born – who wasn’t. What we do with what we have before we die is up to us.

It’s just pure myth that only a lucky few can ever understand the intricacies of leadership. Leadership is not a gene, and it’s not a secret code that can’t be deciphered by ordinary people. The truth is that leadership is an observable set of skills and ability that are useful whether one is in the executive suite or on the front line.

It’s not the absence of leadership potential that inhibits the development of more leaders, its’ the persistence of the myth that leadership can’t be learned. This haunting myuth is a far more powerful deterrent to leadership development than is the nature of the person or the basics of the leadership process.

Leaders make a difference
Leadership is applicable to all facets of life. If you are to become a better leader, you must first believe that leadership applies to you and that you can be a positive force in the world.

People working with leaders who demonstrate the Five Practices (KP) are significantly more satisfied with the actions and strategies of their leaders; they feel more committed, excited, and energized, influential, and powerful; and they are more productive. In other words, the more you engage in the practices of exemplary leaders, the more likely it is that you’ll have a positive influence on others in the organization.

First lead yourself
Leadership development is self-development. The instrument of leadership is the self, and mastery of the art of leadership comes from mastery of the self.

The quest for leadership is first an inner quest to discover who you are. Through self-development comes the confidence needed to lead. Self-confidence is really awareness of and faith in your own power.

Learning to lead is about discovering what you care about and value. As you begin this quest toward leadership, you must wrestle with some difficult questions:

• How certain am I of my own conviction about the vision and values?
• What gives me the courage to continue in the face of uncertainty and adversity?
• How will I handle disappointments, mistakes, and setbacks?
• What are my strengths and weaknesses?
• What do I need to do to improve my abilities to move the organization forward?
• How solid is my relationship with my constituents?
• How can I keep myself motivated and encouraged?
• What keeps me from giving up?
• Am I the right one to be leading at this very moment? Why?
• How much do I understand about what is going on in the organization and the world in which it operates?
• How prepared am I to handle the complex problems that now confront my organization?
• What are my beliefs about how people ought to conduct the affairs of our organization?
• Where do I think the organization ought to be headed over the next ten years?

Open yourself to a more global view. The leader is usually the first to encounter the world outside the boundaries of the organization. The more you know about the world, the easier it is to approach it with assurance. Thus, you need to learn as much as possible about the forces – political, economic, social, moral, or artistic – that affect the organization.

To be a leader, you must be interpersonally competent, and you must be able to develop the trust and respect of others.

Moral leadership calls us to higher purposes
Leadership practices per se are amoral. But leaders are moral or immoral. There’s an ethical dimension to leadership that neither leaders nor constituents should take lightly.

All exemplary leaders have wrestle with their souls. Such personal searching is essential in the development of leaders. You must resolve those dissonant internal chords. Extensive knowledge of the history and the outside world increases your awareness of competing value systems, of the many principles by which individuals, organizations, and states can choose to function. You can’t lead others until you’ve first led yourself through a struggle with opposing values.

When you clarify the principle that will govern your life and the ends that you will seek, you give purpose to your daily decisions. A leader with integrity has one self, at home and at work, with family and with colleagues. Leaders without integrity are putting on an act.

Leaders take people to places they’ve never been before. But there are not freeways to the future, no paved highways to unknown, unexplored destinations. One begins with the inner territory. We continue to discover that the most critical knowledge for all of us – and for leaders especially – turns out to be self-knowledge.

Humility is the antidote to hubris
Remember: You can do all of these leadership practices perfectly and still get fired. Moreover, any leadership practice can become destructive. Virtures can become vices.

The biggest problem, however, is hubris. In many all too subtle ways, it’s easy to be seduced by power and importance. All evil leaders have been infected with the disease of hubris, becoming bloated with an exaggerated sense of self and pursuing their own sinister ends.

Humility is the only way to resolve the conflicts and contradictions of leadership. You can avoid excess pride only if you recognize that you’re human and need the help of others. “Listen to what your colleagues have to say. They know more than you do.” Humility. It comes up time and again. Exemplary leaders know that “you can’t do it alone.” and they act accordingly. With self-effacing humor and generous and sincere credit to others, humble leaders get higher and higher levels of performance.

Leadership is in the moment
Leadership opportunities are presented to everyone. What makes the difference between being a leader or not is how you respond in the moment. Approach every interaction and every situation as an opportunity to lead.

Each day provides countless chances to make a difference. There are many moments each day when you can choose to lead, and many moments each day when you can choose to make a difference.

The secret to success in life
Followers look for leaders who demonstrate an enthusiastic and genuine belief in the capacity of others, who strengthen people’s will, who supply the means to achieve, and who express optimism for the future.

• remain passionate despite obstacles and setbacks
• with a positive, confident, can-do approach to life and business

Leaders must keep hope alive, even in the most difficult of times. Without hope there can be no courage. This is the time and place for optimism, imagination, and enthusiasm. Leaders must summon their will if they are to mobilize the personal and organization resources to triumph against the odds.

• Hope is essential to achieving the highest levels of performance.
• Hope enables people to transcend the difficulties of today and envision the potentialities of tomorrow.
• Hope enable people to bounce back even after being stressed, stretched, and depressed. Hope enables people to find the will and the way to unleash greatness.

And yet, hope is not all. There’s still one more less to be learned and it is the secret of success in life.

The secret of success is to stay in love. Of all the things that sustain a leader over time, love is the most lasting. It’s hard to imagine leaders getting up day after day, putting in the long hours and hard work it takes to get extraordinary things done, without having their hearts in it. The best kept secret of successful leaders is love: staying in love with leading, with the people who do the work, with what their organizations produce, and with those who honor the organization by using its products and services.

Leadership is not an affair of the head. Leadership is an affair of the heart.