4. Don’t Give Too Much Attention to Troublemakers During the first World Cup match I watched this year, I was struck that when a fan came streaking onto the field to cause a ruckus, the cameras moved away. That is, we didn’t actually see the ruckus, we only heard about it briefly. One of the commentators mentioned that this was per FIFA’s instructions. While I have plenty of critique for the way FIFA is run, they’re definitely onto something here. For when you give troublemakers the attention they seek, you inspire more people to make trouble. I think leaders – in congregations, schools, businesses, and the home – can learn a lot...

Over the last two days, I’ve written posts about leadership and change – in particular, about transformative change and the kind of leadership necessary to engage in the disruption that is part and parcel of transformation. I think all of this is true and important and valuable and that this kind of leadership is, frankly, quite rare. But I also think there’s a danger in focusing on the rare leader who can inspire transformative change. Or, indeed, focusing on any element of leadership that seems rare and unique. Because the thing is, each of us is called to lead every day. More than that, each of us can and does lead already,...

One of the attributes that I think is woefully undervalued in leadership is the capacity to be surprised. That may, I know, sound like an odd capacity to lift up and perhaps seems like a rather mundane thing on which to focus. After all, aren’t all of us regularly surprised by all kinds of things all of the time? Yes…and no. Do things regularly happen that we didn’t expect? Sure. And do we venture into experiences that we’d not had before and are therefore surprised. Absolutely. But that’s not quite the kind of surprise I’m talking about. What I really mean is the willingness to have our expectations defied, even overturned. To...

Attitude is everything. You’ve probably heard that from teachers, coaches, and parents on numerous occasions over the years. But I’m still going to say it once more. Attitude is everything…because attitude is finally about perspective and vision. Your attitude – and in particular how you decide to frame situations – largely determines what you see and thereby how you might respond. The following brief video — less than 3 minutes — offers a great example of this axiom in action by inviting us to confront challenges differently. One way – the usual way – to approach challenges is to start by defining them as problems....

When you watch the following short video, notice what happens to the people who come up to conduct. A little background to put this request into context. This video, produced by ImprovEverywhere, invites people to take a turn at the stand and conduct a Carnegie Hall Orchestra. There’s a group of musicians, a milling crowd, and a music stand with the invitation, “CONDUCT US”. Their expressions are priceless. Often a bit disbelieving at first, as in “you want me to do what?” Then a turn to nervousness or tentativeness, but usually then another turn toward enjoyment, and sometimes delight and passion and confidence to boot. I think...