By climbing standards it may not be considered a real mountain but it is still called Mt. Severance. The elevation is a mere 1693’, the vertical ascent 813’ and the entire round trip only 2.4 miles. Climbing it does not count in any contest nor earn you status with any mountaineering club. However, when I lived in Schroon Lake, NY,…
If you have a younger sibling, you probably have heard these words at some point: “You are not the boss of me!” Your intentions might have been pure. You may have thought you were being protective. Instead, you were misunderstood and accused of being bossy. In order to help them you had to discover creative ways of leading them. Leaders…
My passion is to always be a student - to never stop learning or growing. One of my mentors once told me, Mike, It has been sound advice motivating me to this day. One of the ways I do this is to read numerous articles each week on a variety of topics. I read broadly and enjoy topics such as…
The movie “Gladiator” opens with the Roman general Maximus leading his troops into battle against a horde of vicious barbarians. Instead of sitting on a distant hill like other generals, simply observing, Maximus leads the charge himself, yelling at the top of his lungs, “Stay with me! Staaaay with meeee!” It is reported he never lost a battle. Many think…
Serve in business or ministry long enough and the odds are high you will experience the good, bad and ugly of leadership teams. If you have been blessed to be part of an organized, highly proficient, united team, count yourself among the fortunate. Too many have experienced the dark side of leadership teams: the kind that are disjointed and unproductive.…
My passion is to always be a student - to never stop learning or growing. One of my mentors once told me, “Mike, It has been sound advice motivating me to this day. One of the ways I do this is to read numerous articles each week on a variety of topics. I read broadly and enjoy topics such as…
I have spent the last 40 years of my life studying leaders and leadership. My antennas are always up when I am around anyone in a leadership role. I watch leaders because I want to learn both the positive and negative characteristics of the function of leadership. During my life, I have connected with leaders from churches, youth ministries, organizations,…
I study people! I especially study people in leadership positions - and I have for over four decades of ministry. In that time, I have been privileged to know many incredible Christian leaders. I have seen some who’ve been thrusted into leadership positions and have watched as a few maneuvered themselves there. Like I said: I study people. One thing…
NOTE: I first posted this in November 2016. In light of the recent UCF’s winning season, Shaquem’s outstanding performance in the Peach Bowl and Scott Foster’s new appointment as Head Coach at Nebraska, I thought it worthy of repeating. “Nobody makes you give up; you choose to give up!” I could not dismiss the quote I heard on ESPN Game…
Alex Haley has been credited with saying, “Anytime you see a turtle up on top of a fence post, you know he had some help.” I have heard a dozen variations of the quote as it relates to leadership. However, all of them infer the same thing…all potential leaders need help to become leaders. Most people may be presented with…