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20 Questions Every Leader Should Ask Themselves At The End Of Each Year

January 3, 2015

Gary J. Borgstede Coaching Corner Annual Review, Leadership Development, Life Coaching, Paul Sohn, Personal Growth, Powerful Questions, Professional Growth Leave a comment

As a leader, I am always on the search for powerful questions that can unlock the door to new levels of personal and professional growth for myself and others. The right question asked at the right time can be the difference between grand new possibilities in life and more of the same old stale stuff in life. And because it is the end of an old year and the beginning of a new year, I am especially open to seeking, finding, and asking some new questions that will unleash extraordinary new possibilities for myself and others in the new year.

We Have Not Because We Ask Not

The Bible says in James 4:2 that, “we have not, because we ask not”; therefore, as we begin this new year, let us ask ourselves and others the right questions that can lead us into greater levels of personal and professional excellence in the new year. To help us do just that, I discovered 20 questions that every leader should ask themselves at the end of each year so they can be better prepared to grow in the new year. These 20 questions were initially found on Paul Sohn’s blog at http://paulsohn.org/20-questions-to-help-you-reflect-the-past-year/ and then I slightly modified the list as follows:

20 Questions Every Leader Should Ask Themselves At The End Of Each Year

What activities made you lose track of time last year?
What accomplishments did you achieve this past year that deserve a “pat on the back”?
Which areas of life did you thrive in this past year (e.g. spiritual, physical, mental, relational, emotional, financial, vocational)?
Which areas of life did you struggle in this past year (e.g. spiritual, physical, mental, relational, emotional, financial, vocational)?
If someone made a film about your life this past year, what kind of film would it be: (e.g. comedy, romance, drama, horror, action, adventure, sci-fy, documentary)?
Where and how did God work most in your life this past year?
If you had to describe the past year in 3 words, what would they be?
What was your most common mental state this past year (e.g. excited, curious, stressed, anxious, worried, reflective)?
What was the best book you read this past year that had the greatest influence in your personal and/or professional growth?
What was your favorite place that you visited this past year?
What was your single biggest time waster this past year?
What was the most productive use of your time this past year?
For what or whom in your life this past year are you most thankful?
If you could redo this past year, what would you do differently?
What did you think about more than anything else in the past year?
What topics did you most enjoy learning about this past year?
What was your overall feeling about life this past year (e.g. happy, sad, angry, afraid, ashamed)?
What was your favorite compliment that you received this past year?
What was the best compliment that you gave to another person this past year?
What was the most important lesson you learned this past year?

By asking yourself these questions each year, I believe you will learn new things about yourself from the past year that will better prepare you for growth and new possibilities in the new year. So go ahead and do it…ask yourself these powerful questions and encourage others to do the same.

To God’s glory, have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

20 Questions Every Leader Should Ask Themselves At The End Of Each Year Copyright 2015, The Make It Happen Learning Institute. You have permission to reprint the leadership article, 20 Questions Every Leader Should Ask Themselves At The End Of Each Year, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission. All other rights reserved.

3 Reasons Why Jesus Would Attend The Global Leadership Summit

July 1, 2014

Gary J. Borgstede Coaching Corner, Leadership Insights 2014 Summit, Bill Hybels, Church of the King, Global Leadership Summit, GLS14, Leadership Development 3 Comments

As a promotional strategist of the Global Leadership Summit for Church of the King in the Gulf Coast Region, I have asked myself this simple question:

If Jesus was living on earth today, would He attend the Global Leadership Summit?

Well, after much thought, I have come to the conclusion that if Jesus was living on earth today, He would indeed attend the Global Leadership Summit for the following three reasons, (although I am quite certain there are many more reasons than just these three):

Reason 1: Jesus was a tomorrow-thinker

When Jesus walked the earth, He was always thinking about the future – the future for the Church, the future for His disciples, the future for you and me. He never focused on the past as He came to make all things new in us and through us. One day while thinking about the future for His disciples, He told them in John 14:2-3, “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come again and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”

Because Jesus was more concerned about the future than the past, He took advantage of every opportunity in the present to build a brighter future for you and me. As a result, if Jesus was living on earth today, He would attend the Global Leadership Summit because the Summit challenges leaders to think about tomorrow and build a brighter future for others.

Reason 2: Jesus educated the people He mentored

When Jesus walked the earth, He knew that His mission could not be fulfilled without teaching His followers the principles of His kingdom. To do so, He spent hours teaching His followers the principles of the kingdom of God. Give and it shall be given to you, serve others to be great, and die to self to find life, are a just few of the many kingdom principles that Jesus taught His followers while He was with them on earth. In Luke 11:1, the Bible records the account of when Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. “Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As He finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Whether it was teaching his disciples how to pray, how to heal, how to give, how to love, how to have faith, or how to make disciples, Jesus was always educating the people He mentored.

Because Jesus knew that people would learn what they teach, He taught His disciples to teach others and make disciples as well. Proverbs 9:9 commands teachers to, “Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous and they will learn even more.” As a result, if Jesus was living on earth today, He would attend the Global Leadership Summit because the Summit helps to instruct the wise so they can become wiser and it helps to teach the righteous so they can learn even more.

Reason 3: Jesus never tried to succeed alone

When Jesus walked the earth, He did not walk alone nor try to achieve success by Himself. Jesus knew that His mission was bigger than Himself so He called others to walk with Him and help Him achieve success. “One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers – Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew – throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, ‘Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people.’” Matthew 4:18-19 NLT

Because Jesus valued people, He gave people an opportunity to join Him in accomplishing His mission. The truth is that Jesus needed others with like-minded hearts and passion to help Him change the world and do what the Father asked Him to do. As a result, if Jesus was living on earth today, He would attend the Global Leadership Summit because the Summit gathers leaders from all over the world with like-minded hearts and passion to change the world and do what the Father has asked us to do.

Don’t miss God and don’t miss an appointment with Jesus at the Summit!

Now that I have shared the three reasons why Jesus would attend the Global Leadership Summit, I want to highly encourage you to make plans to attend the Summit this year. I can promise you that you will not be disappointed! In fact, I will go as far to say that even though Jesus will not be there in bodily person, I can assure you that He will be there in Spirit person. Bill Hybels, Founder of the Global Leadership Summit, and the Willow Creek Association Team have been in prayer seeking God for each Summit speaker whom God has lined-up to speak this year. As a result of their earnest prayers and the earnest prayers of many others, I am confident each Summit speaker will be anointed by the Lord and His presence will be felt and experienced at each of the Summit sessions. I know this to be true because it has been true for each of the four prior Summits that I have personally attended. For a brief video introduction of the Speakers for the 2014 Global Leadership Summit, please click Speaker Introductions.

In closing, let me strongly encourage you…don’t miss God and don’t miss an appointment with Jesus at the Global Leadership Summit this year! For more information on how you can participate in the Summit on August 14th and 15th at any Church of the King campus in the Gulf Coast Region, please Click 2014 Summit.

Thank you and have a blessed Make It Happen day!

100 Powerful Questions For Growing In Life And Leadership

October 5, 2013

Gary J. Borgstede Coaching Corner, Leadership Insights Coaching, Leadership, Leadership Development, Personal Growth, Powerful Questions 3 Comments

As a leader, I have learned that one simple question, asked at the right time, has the power to change a life when someone exercises the courage to honestly answer the question. I believe that powerful questions can often times provide the keys to unlock closed doors, unleash new worlds of discovery and adventure, and ignite tremendous growth in people’s life and leadership.

Therefore, I have compiled 100 Powerful Questions For Growing In Life And Leadership which I pray will be a powerful resource for your personal growth as well any other people that you lead. As a practical resource for growth, please feel free to read them, ask them, answer them, use them, and share them in any way you like.

100 Powerful Questions For Growing In Life And Leadership

How do you want to be remembered in life?
Who are your core trusted advisors?
What has God been doing in your life lately?
What are your greatest leadership strengths?
What are your greatest leadership weaknesses?
What activities replace the energy you expire relationally, physically, mentally, and spiritually?
What are your top 3 to 5 personal goals?
What are your top 3 to 5 professional goals?
If you could achieve one personal goal that would make your life better, what would it be?
What is the greatest limitation or barrier to achieving your top goal?
What “Well Dones” have you desired and NOT achieved in life?
How does that make you feel?
Will you allow me to give you some guidance in that area?
How full are your emotional, physical, and spiritual tanks? Empty, quarter, half, full?
What theme does God seem to be emphasizing in this season of your life?
What are you looking for God to do in your life during the next 6 months?
When was the last time you became angry and why?
What are your most compulsive bad habits?
How do you intend to break your harmful bad habits?
What has God been saying to you through His Word recently?
What passion is God stirring in your soul?
What season best describes your spiritual life right now: winter, summer, spring, fall?
What’s exciting you most in your spiritual journey these days?
How will you measure progress in your personal and professional life?
What does personal and professional success look like for you?
Who is the one person in your life who has helped to make you who you are today?
What is the most risky decision you ever made in your life?
What is the one thing you like the best about yourself?
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
What is the one character quality you value most in a person?
What did you always want to be when you were young?
Who is your favorite biblical hero of faith and why?
Where do you expect to be living 20 years from now?
Suppose you only had 6 months to live, what would you do with your time?
What person in life do you feel the closest to and why?
When was the last time you cried in front of another person?
When was the last time you cried by yourself?
What has been your biggest disappointment in life?
What has been your biggest failure in life?
What will you be when you grow up?
What was it like growing up in your family?
As a child, how was your relationship with your mom?
As a child, how was your relationship with your dad?
What percentage of your time do you spend on business, personal, and family time?
What have you learned from your greatest success in life?
What have you learned from your greatest failure in life?
If you could invite any 5 people (living or dead) to a dinner party, who would they be and why?
If you knew you were going to die today, what would you most regret?
What are your personal expectations of your family members?
What are your professional expectations of your business associates?
What person in life do you admire most and why?
What would be the perfect evening for you?
What is your most treasured memory?
Have you ever felt or experienced hate in your life?
Have you ever felt or experienced unconditional love in your life?
When was the last time that you were personally involved in a conflict?
How was your last personal conflict resolved?
For what in life do you feel most grateful?
When was the last time that you felt powerless in your life?
What are the God-centered ambitions in your life?
What are the self-centered ambitions in your life?
Who has been your most influential example of godly leadership?
What are the greatest honorable ambitions in your life?
Will you forgive me?
Who in your life do you need to forgive?
What was the low point of your life last week?
What was the high point of your life last week?
Do you have a written plan for your life?
What is holding you back from writing a personal life plan?
As a leader, what do you stand for?
How can I best serve you?
When was the last time you had a WOW experience?
Where is your favorite place to be alone with God?
What compelling God-centered ambitions do you have for your business?
What compelling God-centered ambitions do you have in serving God?
How well do you maintain self-control when things go wrong?
How well do you handle criticism?
When was the last time you profited from criticism?
What can you do to turn your disappointments into creative new opportunities?
Do people trust you with difficult and delicate matters?
Can you accept opposition to your viewpoint or decision without taking offense?
How well do you cultivate friendships?
Can you hold steady in the face of disapproval and temporary loss of confidence from others?
Do other people’s failures annoy or challenge you?
Do you direct people or develop people?
Do you shun or seek the person with a special need or problem?
Do you more often criticize or more often encourage people?
Who do you say Jesus is?
If you met Jesus today, what would you say to Him?
What are the obstacles that keep you from praying?
When was the last time that you felt rejected?
If you were stranded on an island, what 3 books or magazines would you most desire?
If you were granted a wish and could instantly and permanently acquire one leadership quality, what would it be?
If your reading highlights were turned over to a psychologist for character analysis, what would they conclude about you?
How long does it take you to overcome the feeling of failure?
What do you do or where do you go for renewal from fatigue?
What changes in your life have been difficult for you in the past year?
How do you deal with people who believe they are never wrong?
How can you better direct your energies to do the work God has for you to do on earth?
As you look back, how have you seen God at work in your life preparing you for leadership?

To God’s glory, have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

100 Powerful Questions For Growing In Life And Leadership Work Copyright 2013, The Make It Happen Learning Institute. You have permission to reprint the leadership article, 100 Powerful Questions For Growing In Life And Leadership, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission. All other rights reserved.

Learning: The Greatest Growth Factor For Leaders

June 23, 2013

Gary J. Borgstede Coaching Corner, Leadership Insights Coaching, Leadership, Learnining, Mentor, Mentorship, Mike Murdock, Norman Vincent Peale, Servant leadership, Stephen Covey, Team Values, Training and development 3 Comments

Learning Comes From The Direct Investment Of Others

Do you know that everything you and I know today is the result of someone else’s investment in us? I am able to write, speak, and teach about learning because of the people who have freely invested in my life in one way or another. Some people have invested in me directly through personal coaching, mentoring, and teaching. People like my father-in-law, who believed in me and personally invested in my education so I could possess the triple-crown in business education: a Finance degree, an MBA, and a CPA. He told me one day as we were sitting in his garden room talking about college and my future, “Gary, I think you’re smart enough to get your MBA and your CPA. You should think about it. Don’t let money stop you from getting an education. Once you have it, no one can take it from you.” And I was thinking to myself…what in the world is he thinking…an MBA and a CPA… Honestly, it was hard for me to get my head around that idea at that moment; however, many months later that seed sprouted into motivation to actually do it.

My grandfather is another person who consistently inspired me to be more, learn more, and do more. He was always there to encourage my business ideas and fan into flame my entrepreneurial spirit. He would say things like, “That’s a great idea! It will take some hard work, but if you put your mind to it, you can do it.” One time I was at work and I couldn’t remember my home phone number because my wife and I had just moved to a new home. So I called my grandfather to ask him for my phone number. He told me, “Boy, I may not have as many degrees as a thermometer like you, but this much is sure, I know my own phone number…”

My mom and dad are also people who invested in me by sacrificially supporting my education in private schools so that I could be well prepared for college. My dad would always tell me, “Son, I couldn’t afford to go to college, but I want you and your sisters to go so you can have it better than me.” I was the first person in all of my family to graduate from college and then my sisters as well as my mom followed behind me.

And lastly, but certainly not least, my Pastors have invested in me even at the lowest points of my life. They helped teach me how to daily live for Christ, love my wife, and lead my family. In fact, it’s one of the reasons why I’m now in full-time ministry. I was invited into my Pastor’s small group and I just wouldn’t leave so they had to put me on staff. All kidding aside, I am so grateful for my Pastors and all the people that God has put in my life to help me learn, grow, and develop as a person and a leader.

Learning Comes From The Indirect Investment Of Others

Besides those people who have invested in me directly, there have also been others in my life who have invested in me indirectly. People like Mike Murdock who wrote the book, One-Minute Businessman’s Devotional, that helped transform my thinking about business in the kingdom of God. John Maxwell, who has helped me learn how to develop myself as a leader and also develop the leaders around me. Norman Vincent Peale, who taught me the value of always possessing a positive attitude especially as a Christ-follower. Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, who taught me how to build an organization to last through values-based convictions. And Stephen Covey, who taught me that you learn 95 percent of what you teach to others. In fact, that is one of the reasons I so much enjoy teaching others. Each time I have the opportunity to do so, I help people learn and grow and I also learn and grow at the same time. This life principle leads me to the importance of living a Learning Team Value at work and even at home.

Learning Comes From Giving As Much As It Comes From Receiving

To practically live a Learning Team Value, leaders must be servant leaders who participate in continuous training, development, and coaching. And to do this really well, I believe you and I must learn an important kingdom principle found in Matthew 10:8, “Give as freely as you have received.” You see, each of us is a well of learning from others and as we are freely filled by the investment of others into our lives, we have the responsibility to freely give to others what we have freely received. Otherwise, you and I will become like the Dead Sea, dead and stagnate, always taking in, but never giving out. As Christ-followers, we are not designed to be takers only. No, we are designed to be givers like Jesus. However, none of us can give away what we don’t possess. Therefore, we must be life-long learners, continuously filling-up our well so that we have something to give away to others. A leader or a person that is no longer learning is a leader or person that is no longer growing. A leader or person who is no longer growing will soon have nothing new to invest into others.

So let me ask these two personal training and development questions. 1) Who are your mentors? And, 2) who are you mentoring? If you don’t have any mentors, directly or indirectly, you are not receiving, you are not learning, and you are not growing as a leader. Furthermore, if you do not have anyone whom you are mentoring, then you are not giving away what you have freely received and you are at risk of becoming a stagnate fruitless leader.

Learning Comes From Mentors And Mistakes

Now when it comes to having mentors in your life, some of you might be thinking to yourself that you don’t really have any mentors. I have at times thought the same thing; however, as a Christ-follower, I have come to know that believing such a thought is actually believing a lie. The truth is that you and I have the greatest, ultimate, Mentor, anyone can ever have in life. He is the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Counselor in ALL of life. John 14:15 states, “And I [Jesus] will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth” and John 14:26 states, “But when the Father sends the Advocate as My representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”

The issue for you and I is not whether or not we have a mentor or mentors. The issue is whether or not we will pursue the ultimate Mentor in our life and the other mentors that He divinely appoints in our lives. Let me encourage you. There is great benefit from pursuing the Holy Spirit as our ultimate Mentor in life as well as the human mentors that He places in our life because there are only two ways we can learn in life. We can either learn from our mentors or we can learn from our mistakes. Learning from mentors provides the opportunity to learn from revelation; whereas; learning from mistakes provides the opportunity to learn from tribulation. Let me tell you. I’ve learned both ways and I can personally testify that learning from revelation is so much better than learning from tribulation. Although, I am glad to say that learning from both ways can produce fruit in our lives when we apply what we learn.

Learning Comes From Applying What Is Learned

In fact, I don’t believe that true genius is found in learning alone because really everyone can learn, but not everyone is a genius learner. I believe people who are truly genius learners are people who not only learn, but actually go the next step and apply what they learn. Unfortunately, far too many people never take the time to take the extra step and apply what they have learned. In Luke 8:10, Jesus tells His disciples [His disciplined learners], “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’” As disciplined learners in the kingdom of God, if you and I do not apply what we learn through revelation, then we are no better off than those who are ignorant through lack of revelation. As stated earlier, we have no excuse for not learning through revelation because we have the Holy Spirit as our ultimate Mentor to lead us, guide us, and teach us. Pursuing Him today and everyday of our lives will produce great learning and great fruit in our lives.

Learning Comes From Having A Will To Learn

As an undergraduate student in college, sadly, I must say that I did not live up to my full potential as a student. I graduated with a 2.8 GPA which was ok, but was far lower than my High Honors GPA in high school. So when I found it difficult to land a good job upon graduation, I began to consider how I might learn from my mistakes as I decided to go to graduate school and obtain an MBA. Because I did not want to make the same mistakes in graduate school as I did in undergraduate school, I set out to make straight A’s and studied how to do it. In fact, my mother-in-law gave me some cassette tapes titled, “Where There’s A Will There’s An ‘A’”. Do you know that learning takes a lot of effort, but wise learning takes so much LESS effort. Let me tell you, wise learning begins with learning from others.

Here are 5 simple things I learned from the tape series that helped me to make all A’s and just one B in graduate school.

Arrive to class early and stay late paying special attention to the material in the beginning and the ending of class because teachers often cover the material that will be on the test in the beginning or ending of class if they failed to cover it in the previous class or during the current class.
Sit in the front of the class because there are less distractions and you will learn more about the material than you will about who is wearing what and what kind of hairstyle people have.
Never eat a big meal before a test because the digestive process will take your physical energy that could be better used for the test. Instead eat a candy bar or drink a caffeinated soda.
Write special notes in the margin of your book to highlight important material for the test and read those handwritten notes before the test.
And here’s a bonus tip that wasn’t in the tape series, but I learned from the Ultimate Mentor, the Holy Spirit. Pray before each test for God to bring to remembrance everything studied in preparation for the test.

Learning Comes From Revelation Given Away

Do you see what I just did? I learned something that helped me to make all A’s and one B in graduate school and I freely shared it with you. I received revelation that helped me to learn and grow and I gave revelation away to help you learn and grow. I was mentored and now I am mentoring others. To live out a Learning Team Value is really that simple!

This is what the Bible says about being a wise learner and learning from revelation. Proverbs 9:9-12 states, “Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more. Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life. If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.” This is great wisdom for you and I today.

Learning Comes From Being An Uncommon Mentor

How many of you would like to be an uncommon mentor capable of instructing the wise so that they will become even wiser? Being an uncommon mentor is not easy because an uncommon mentor will risk the approval others to see their potential fulfilled. I like this quote from Coach Tony Dungy that I recently read: “I wasn’t there to be their Boss. I was there to help the players get better.” That’s what an uncommon mentor does. Uncommon mentors are not in your life to be your best friend. They are there to help you get better and fulfill your potential in life.

According to Mike Murdock, there is a big difference between a best friend and an uncommon mentor.

A Best Friend loves you the way you are.
An Uncommon Mentor loves you too much to leave you the way you are.
A Best Friend is comfortable with your past.
An Uncommon Mentor is comfortable with your future.
A Best Friend ignores your weakness.
An Uncommon Mentor removes your weakness.
A Best Friend is your cheerleader.
An Uncommon Mentor is your coach.
A Best Friend sees what you do right.
An Uncommon Mentor sees what you do wrong.

Learning Comes From Being An Uncommon Protégé

In the pursuit of learning, an Uncommon Protégé will pay any price to stay in the presence of an Uncommon Mentor and learn from them. And when they do, great blessing, favor, and anointing from the Uncommon Mentor is transferred to the Uncommon Protégé. This type of transference is seen in the Bible story about Elijah (an Uncommon Mentor) and Elisha (an Uncommon Protégé).

2 Kings 2:2-10 records the account stating, “Then Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel.’ But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!’ So they went down to Bethel. Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I know; keep silent!’

Then Elijah said to him, ‘Elisha, stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!’ So they came to Jericho. Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, ‘Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?’ So he answered, ‘Yes, I know; keep silent!’

Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!’ So the two of them went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?’ Elisha said, ‘Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.’ So he said, ‘You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.’”

In reading this story, why do you think the other prophets didn’t pursue Elijah like Elisha did? I believe it’s because they thought they already knew everything and didn’t need to pursue Elijah. In each of the cities, the other prophets told Elisha (all paraphrased by me for emphasis), “Hey man, what are you doing following that old man around…don’t you know that the Lord is going to take him away today? Why are you wasting your time with an ‘old-timer’ like that?”

The reason is that Elisha wanted a double portion of Elijah’s anointing and would do anything to stay in Elijah’s presence and learn from him. As a result, the Lord honored his pursuit and gave Elisha a double portion of Elijah’s anointing.

In living out a Learning Team Value, you and I must NOT be protégés like the other prophets in this Old Testament story. We must be Uncommon Protégés like Elisha and do whatever it takes to be in the presence of Uncommon Mentors and learn from them. And when the double portion anointing of the Uncommon Mentor transfers to us, we must then become an Uncommon Mentor to someone else. This is what it means to be servant leaders who participate in continuous training, development, and coaching.

To His glory, have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Learning: The Greatest Growth Factor For Leaders Copyright 2013, Gary J. Borgstede. You have permission to reprint the leadership article, Learning: The Greatest Growth Factor For Leaders, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission. All other rights reserved.

The Importance of Finding a Mentor (execu-search.com)
Don’t Have a Mentor? Try This Instead (thedailymuse.com)

Possessing A Positive Attitude

May 25, 2013

Gary J. Borgstede Coaching Corner, Leadership Insights Attitude, Behavior, Chuck Swindoll, Convictions, Joyce Meyer, Leadership, Team Values 3 Comments

In all my years of leadership, there is one thing I have consistently experienced and that is…you learn 95% of what you teach. So as I write about the team value of positive attitude, be certain that I am writing to myself as much as I am writing to you. As the author of this post on Possessing A Positive Attitude, it might surprise you to learn that there are days when I have a negative attitude lurking inside of me all ready and willing to express itself. And by the way, so do you.

Possessing A Positive Attitude Can Do Great Good Or A Negative Attitude Can Do Great Harm

The really neat thing about the attitude lurking inside of me and you…and the really scary thing for that matter…is that my attitude, your attitude…has the potential to do more good or harm than we probably realize or even fully appreciate. Let me share with you what Chuck Swindoll has written about Attitude:

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our Attitudes”

Possessing A Positive Attitude Is A Great Responsibility And A Great Choice

When I think about people and the kind of attitude we have towards our own attitudes, unfortunately, I see far too many people having a half-hearted attitude. A couple of months ago, I came across a little quote that I think will help illustrate the kind of attitude many of us have about our own attitudes. It is this: “No sense in being pessimistic…it wouldn’t work anyway…” So what am I saying? I think we all know that we should have a positive attitude, but unfortunately, like the author of that quote, we don’t fully own the responsibility for our attitude.

Do you know that if you write down the word A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E and note underneath each letter the numerical place in the alphabet that each letter represents (ie. A = 1 since it is the first letter in the Alphabet; hence, 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5), the sum total of the numbers equals 100? This is a pretty interesting little fact that serves to remind us that we are each 100% responsible for the choice of our attitude – positive or negative.

Possessing A Positive Attitude Is A Great Team Value And A Great Heart Conviction

As servant leaders in the kingdom of God, you and I must possess a positive attitude because our attitudes are infectious. This is why I prefer to have the unofficial title of CMIHL [Chief Make It Happen Leader] over my official CAO title [Chief Administrative Officer] in my organization. My CAO title defines my official responsibilities as a Chief Administrative Officer – what I am supposed to do in the organization, but it really doesn’t define much about the way I will choose to do what I am supposed to do in the organization. You see, being a CMIHL says a lot about how I will choose to do what I am supposed to do as CAO. As a Chief Make It Happen Leader, I choose to serve others with a positive attitude to make things happen for our team, our members, and our guests. Being a CMIHL is actually all about serving others with a positive attitude.

And guess what? Every person on a team has an official job title that defines what they are supposed to do in their job; however, a team value for possessing a positive attitude with a corresponding heart conviction will actually help inspire each person on a team to be someone who will serve others with a positive attitude. The Team Value is: Positive Attitude. The Heart Conviction is: We are servant leaders who possess a positive attitude.

Possessing A Positive Attitude Ignites Great Promotion And Great Potential

This means that we must not only focus on our technical competencies in our job, but also our behavioral competencies and this is where the rubber meets the road. You see, it’s relatively easy to coach people on their technical competencies in a job, but when you start getting into the areas of their behavioral competencies like attitude, people get nervous because you are touching upon who they are on the inside. Joyce Meyer says that, “Attitude is your thought life turned inside out.” The Bible says in Proverbs 23:7 “As a person thinks in his heart, so is he.”

Let me illustrate by the wings of an airplane what it means to develop ourselves both technically and behaviorally. Years ago, when I was at a church leadership conference in California, I heard a great leader illustrate how truth and grace (representing 2 wings of a plane on the journey of Christian life) intersect at the cross. He said that if Christians only approached life in truth without grace, they would be flying on a plane with one wing of the gospel and having a perspective that everyone would be going to hell. On the other hand, if Christians only approached life in grace without truth, they would also be flying a plane with one wing of the gospel, but in the opposite direction and having a perspective that life could be one big party with no boundaries. However, in the Christian life, perfect truth meets perfect grace in Jesus at the cross which totally frees the Christian to soar in the journey of life on the two full wings of the gospel: perfect truth and perfect grace.

As I pondered this teaching, I came to realize that the same airplane illustration could be used to describe the importance of developing people, technically and behaviorally, on the journey of leadership and people development. As leaders, if we only focus on developing people’s technical competencies, then people end up flying on a plane with one wing going round and round in circles and never really achieving their full potential. For instance, if someone is an interpreter and has developed their language skills to the level of being able to fluently speak 10 different foreign languages, but they never develop a positive attitude in life, they will keep going around the same mountain of personal failure and disappointment. It may be true that such a person is technically competent to fluently speak 10 different languages; but, if they possess a mean, rude, negative attitude…having the ability to speak 10 different languages only means that they can be fluently rude in 10 different ways. Such a person will never be promoted in life no matter how many languages they learn to speak. Does this make sense?

Now the same is true on the behavioral side of leadership and people development. If a person only develops their behavioral competencies and never spends any time developing their technical competencies, then they are flying on a plane with one wing in the opposite direction going round and round in circles and never really achieving their full potential. For instance, a pilot can be the nicest person in the world, perhaps bringing everyone on the plane homemade brownies from his wife; however, if he has only flown small commuter prop airplanes and doesn’t know how to fly large commercial jet airliners, I’m not getting on a commercial jet airliner with that pilot in the cockpit. It doesn’t matter how nice someone may be, if they are not competent to do their job, they will find themselves never fully reaching their growth potential.

BUT, when people develop their technical competencies and also their behavioral competencies, they actually build a plane with two wings that will allow them to soar to ever increasing heights of leadership development and growth potential. So let me be clear. Possessing a positive attitude is a huge component in developing an exceptional behavioral competency and as coaching leaders, we cannot ignore that aspect of personal development for each person on our team.

Possessing A Positive Attitude Overcomes Great Unmet Expectations

Now let me ask this question. What do you think is the biggest reason why people go around with a mean, rude, and negative attitude? Personally, I think one of the biggest reasons that someone will do this is because of unresolved unmet expectations in their life. Proverbs 13:12 states, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” Unfortunately, when someone is let down and they do not get that matter resolved in their heart, a bitter root can grow that causes them to possess a negative attitude towards life. For example, someone at work is expecting a promotion and it doesn’t come. Or maybe someone else gets the promotion. Either way, the expectation of being promoted remains unmet and furthermore, the longer that expectation remains unmet and unresolved in that person’s life, it can eventually turn into a sour root that begins to express itself in the form of a negative attitude towards life and people.

But I have good news for you and me! We do not have to let unmet expectations stay unresolved and turn into a sour negative attitude in our lives because the word of God gives us some great guidance in this area. Proverbs 4:23 states, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” When we properly guard our hearts, we are careful to not allow an unmet expectation to turn sour in our hearts and produce a negative attitude. I believe the best way to do this is found in Luke 6:37-38 which states, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.”

I find it hard to have an unresolved unmet expectation in my heart when I make a conscious decision to not judge someone whom has failed to meet my expectation. The key word here is unresolved. While an expectation may be unmet, it doesn’t have to stay unresolved in my heart through judgment towards the person that failed to meet my expectation. Now add to that the extension of forgiveness towards them when I am hurt by their failure to meet my expectations, I find that this will pretty well insulate my heart from embracing a sour negative attitude towards life and others.

Possessing A Positive Attitude Is Possible With Our Great God

Furthermore, as bone-fide Christ followers, let me encourage you with 3 great reasons why you and I have no excuse for possessing a negative attitude in life.

1) We have the Holy Spirit living inside of us.

2) We have the Word of God and all of its promises are Yes and Amen in Christ Jesus through us.

3) We have the ability to pray and commune with our heavenly Father anytime, day or night.

Writing to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul states in 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” Regardless of our circumstances in life, the apostle Paul tells us that we have a great power from God that shines in our hearts. This great power is the Holy Spirit which empowers all Christ followers with the ability to have a positive attitude despite any negative, adverse, or challenging situation in life. Furthermore, Jesus Himself tells us in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” With faith in Christ and the Holy Spirit living inside of us, you and I have everything we need to possess a positive attitude in life!

To the glory of God, have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Possessing A Positive Attitude Copyright 2013, The Make It Happen Learning Institute. You have permission to reprint the leadership article, Possessing A Positive Attitude, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission. All other rights reserved.

Building Leaders In The Kingdom Of God – Part Two

May 4, 2013

Gary J. Borgstede Coaching Corner, Leadership Insights Character, Chemistry, Competency, Cultural, Leadership Development, Personal Excellence, Professional Excellence, Spiritual leadership 2 Comments

When we study the New Testament, we find that Spiritual Leadership combines two cups of leadership in the kingdom of God: a Spiritual Cup and a Leadership Cup. The Spiritual Cup entails exemplary living as a born-again child of God and the Leadership Cup entails the equipping of God’s people to do His work. As spiritual leaders in God’s kingdom, we are to become more like Jesus in exemplary living every day as we do what He has called us to do in the equipping of His people to do His work.

The Spiritual Cup Of Exemplary Living – Who We Become in Christ

In 1 Timothy 4:11-13, Paul tells Timothy, “Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.” The Spiritual Cup of spiritual leadership pours into others from who we are in Christ. We live as an example to others by the power of the Holy Spirit that lives inside us. Through Christ in us, we become more like Him as the Holy Spirit teaches us all things and leads us into all truth.

The Leadership Cup Of Equipping Others – What We Do In Christ

In Ephesians 4:11-13, Paul tells the believers in Ephesus, “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.” The Leadership Cup of spiritual leadership pours into others from what we do in Christ. We equip others to do God’s work in the earth as His ambassadors on the earth. While Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords sitting at the right hand of the Father, it has always been God’s plan to empower His creation to carry out His will on earth by His authority given to redeemed men and women in Christ.

As spiritual leaders in the kingdom of God, who we become in Christ and what we do in Christ are equally important. In fact, we find this spiritual leadership pattern in the kingdom of God represented in Christ all throughout the Bible by the person of Jesus and the principles of Jesus. To be an impactful spiritual leader in God’s kingdom, we must not only know Jesus personally, but we must also do what He says to do by living out His principles such as:

Give and it shall be given to you
Lose your life to save your life
Serve others to be the greatest
Pray for those who persecute you
Forgive and be forgiven

In John 14:15-17, Jesus tells His disciples, “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn’t looking for Him and doesn’t recognize Him. But you know Him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you.” Spiritual leaders in the kingdom of God know Jesus and obey Him because the Holy Spirit lives inside us and teaches us how to live out His principles in life.

The Imperative For Developing Spiritual Leaders

As a young leader, the COO of our organization told me early in my professional life that I had to prepare myself to grow and lead in an environment with significant growth. Additionally, I was encouraged that if I heeded that instruction, I too would enjoy the opportunity of personally growing the same way within the organization. In response to that instruction, I continued developing myself as a leader within the organization.

As a result, in 10 short years I went from being a Director of 3 teams, to an Administrator of a Clinic Division, to a VP of a consolidated Hospital and Clinic Division, to an SVP of a Central Business Office operation for 7 Hospitals and more than 700 Physicians, to a Chief Operating Officer of 7 different operating divisions. From the age of 30 to the age of 40, my leadership responsibilities grew from leading 45 people to leading over 1,000 people in my direct sphere of leadership influence because I was willing to learn, grow, and develop as a leader as well as equip others to learn, grow, and develop as leaders.

The reason I share this story is because the kingdom of God is experiencing significant growth in these last days and we must appropriately prepare ourselves as spiritual leaders in God’s kingdom if we intend to effectively steward the harvest of souls entrusted to us by the Lord. This means that spiritual leaders have to become better leaders and must effectively equip more leaders for the work of the ministry in God’s kingdom. The stakes are high and if we are not prepared for the growth, we will be at significant risk of ministry overload and personal burnout, even as spiritual leaders in God’s kingdom.

The Development Process For Spiritual Leaders

In order to effectively develop spiritual leaders in God’s kingdom for sustainability in their personal and professional lives, spiritual leaders must have a Personal Excellence Plan derived from a written Life Plan and a Professional Excellence Plan derived from a written Business Plan. The Personal Excellence Plan focuses on important leadership development aspects of the leader’s personal life such as the character development of the leader and the chemistry development of the leader within his or her team. The Professional Excellence Plan focuses on important leadership development aspects of the leader’s professional life such as the culture development of the leader and the competency development of the leader within his or her team.

A Personal Excellence Plan Supports Character Development And Chemistry Development In A Spiritual Leaders’s Personal Life

The Character Development of a leader builds the Spiritual Cup of a leader on a personal level. A good Personal Excellence Plan seeks to answer Spiritual Cup questions such as:

Who are you becoming when no one is looking?
How are you becoming more like Christ each day in your personal life?

The Chemistry Development of a leader builds the Leadership Cup of a leader on a personal level. A good Personal Excellence Plan seeks to answer Leadership Cup questions such as:

What are your personal leadership gifts and talents given to you by God?
How will you personally use your gifts and talents to glorify God and benefit others?

A Professional Excellence Plan Supports Culture Development And Competency Development In A Spiritual Leader’s Professional Life

The Culture Development of a leader builds the Spiritual Cup of a leader on a professional level. A good Professional Excellence Plan seeks to answer Spiritual Cup questions such as:

What type of team are you helping the organization to become when no one is looking?
How are you helping the organization to become more like the kingdom of God?

The Competency Development of a leader builds the Leadership Cup of a leader on a professional level. A good Professional Excellence Plan seeks to answer Leadership Cup questions such as:

What are your leadership commitments and responsibilities in the organization?
How will you fulfill your leadership commitments and responsibilities as a kingdom ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ in your organization?

To be sustainable spiritual leaders in our personal and professional lives, we must continually fill our spiritual cup (who we are in Christ) and our leadership cup (what we do in Christ) in the areas of character development, culture development, chemistry development, and competency development. Otherwise, empty cups will lead to empty spiritual leaders.

To His glory, have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Building Leaders In The Kingdom Of God – Part Two Copyright 2013, The Make It Happen Learning Institute. You have permission to reprint the leadership article, Building Leaders In The Kingdom Of God – Part Two, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission. All other rights reserved.

Building Leaders In The Kingdom Of God – Part One (makeithappenmoment.com)

Building Leaders In The Kingdom Of God – Part One

April 22, 2013

Gary J. Borgstede Coaching Corner, Leadership Insights Ironman Triathlon, J. Oswald Sanders, Leadership, Leadership Development, Race Across America, Spiritual leadership 2 Comments

One day on the streets of our city, a young man about the age of 20 was asked this question by an interviewer: “What is a leader?” The young man thought about it for a minute and responded, “I think it’s a little more than a gallon…”

Well, I don’t think this is exactly the definition that the interviewer had in mind. The shortest definition for leadership that I’ve ever heard is that “leadership is influence” taught by John Maxwell. Great military leader, Bernard Montgomery, defined leadership as “the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose, and the character which inspires confidence.”

The Leadership Mandate From God

Regardless of whether or not you and I know the definition of leadership, in the kingdom of God, we are all natural born leaders because God created us in His image and He has given all of us a mandate to lead. Genesis 1:27-28 affirms our leadership mandate stating, “God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.’”

It is clear from the biblical account of creation that men and women are natural born leaders. However, to be a spiritual leader in the kingdom of God, it takes more than just God’s mandate to lead. Spiritual leaders in the kingdom of God are also anointed by the Holy Spirit to lead and they are appointed to lead in spiritual service by God alone. J. Oswald Sanders says this about spiritual leadership, “Spiritual leaders are not elected, appointed, or created by synods or church assemblies. God alone makes them.” In John 15:16 Jesus told His disciples, “You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit.”

The Difference Between Natural Leadership And Spiritual Leadership

According to Mr. Sanders, there is a significant difference between natural leadership and spiritual leadership. Many of the differences are highlighted below:

Natural Leaders are self-confident
Spiritual Leaders are confident in God
Natural leaders know men
Spiritual leaders know God
Natural leaders make their own decisions
Spiritual leaders seek God’s will
Natural leaders are ambitious
Spiritual leaders are humble
Natural leaders create methods
Spiritual leaders follow God’s example
Natural leaders enjoy command
Spiritual leaders delight in obedience to God
Natural leaders seek personal reward
Spiritual leaders love God and others
Natural leaders are independent
Spiritual leaders are dependent on God

Regarding the process by which God qualifies spiritual leaders to lead in His kingdom, Mr. Sanders writes, “Often truly authoritative leadership falls on someone who years earlier dedicated themselves to practice the discipline of seeking first the kingdom of God. Then, as that person matures, God confers a leadership role, and the Spirit of God goes to work through him. When God’s searching eye finds a person qualified to lead, God anoints that person with the Holy Spirit and calls him to a special ministry.”

The Outward Physical Expression Of Inside Spiritual Growth

After my return home as a prodigal son back into my heavenly Father’s arms, the Lord began to privately develop my spiritual leadership as I intimately pursued Him in close personal relationship. However, during that time, to the casual observer of my physical activities on the outside, I may have seemed like just another Type A over-achiever; but, on the inside, God was doing a deep restorative work in my soul, preparing me for true spiritual leadership and service in His kingdom. People who knew me during those days might recall how much weight I lost and all of the physical training that I was doing in preparation for an Ironman triathlon. It took 3 years of training for the Ironman and most of that time, I didn’t tell many people that I was even training for an Ironman.

I first started training with 14 miles of outdoor riding, then training for the two-day 75 mile MS Tour Ride, then a back-to-back ADA century ride, then run training for my first half marathon, then a full marathon, then my first sprint triathlon, then an Olympic triathlon, then a half Ironman triahthlon, then a second half Ironman triathlon, and then the full Ironman triathlon. Then two and a half years later, the 3,000 mile Race Across America – the world’s toughest bicycle race.

You might ask yourself, what in the world was he doing all that for? I can imagine that many people may have thought that I was trying to find an identity outside of Christ through over-achieving activities. I can truly understand how some might think that to be true of me during that time in my life. And to state the obvious, it does take a lot of effort to do an Ironman triathlon and ride a bike across America. However, for me it was more than just the effort and the rewards attached to those significant physical achievements in my life. By the sufficiency of God’s grace freely given to me through my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I can say with purity of heart and a clean conscience before the Lord that I had nothing to prove or anything to earn by such physical pursuits. The truth is that all of my physical training at that time was simply an outward expression of my spiritual training on the inside as I sought to love Jesus with my whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, learned how to walk more closely with Him, and diligently pursued His kingdom.

The Mirror Between Physical Disciplines And Spiritual Disciplines

While people could easily see my physical training on the outside at that time, unless you knew me well, most people couldn’t see my spiritual training on the inside during that same time. I was not only training in the physical realm through the pursuit and practice of physical disciplines, I was also training in the spiritual realm through the pursuit and practice of spiritual disciplines beginning with my water baptism, then my freedom weekend retreat, my daily prayer meetings with God, my daily devotions in the word of God, my writing of hundreds of bible verses on note cards to memorize in prayer, my weekly praise and worship to God with tears and weeping, my faithful participation in small group no matter what, my completion of the Biblical Foundations class, my faithful serving in the parking lot every other weekend, my leading of small group every week, my engagement in the prison ministry at Rayburn Correctional Center, my 1 day, 3 day, 5 day, 7 day, 10 day, and 21 day fasts, my mission trip to South Africa, my daily prostration on the altar of God as a living sacrifice crying out to God to know me, search me, and change me from the inside out.

The Spiritual Leadership Development Sharpening Process

What was God doing in me during that time? Through the process of developing the physical disciplines necessary to complete an Ironman triathlon and the simultaneous pursuit of the spiritual disciplines necessary for growing in Christ, I was learning the principle of Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so does one man sharpen another.” Throughout the three years of training for Ironman, I did not train alone, but rather trained with one of my best friends in life. Committed to run the race of life together, we both trained for Ironman, sharpening one another, so that we could both strongly cross the finish line. And we did. Additionally, I can tell you that during those physical training days with my friend, I was also being sharpened spiritually with the help of my awesome Pastors. In their good hands, I was being taught how to pursue God and live for Him as a spiritual leader in His kingdom. I now stand today with a healthy fear of the Lord, amazed at His faithfulness in my life, and humbled by His grace to give me the opportunity to be a spiritual leader in His kingdom…a tremendous privilege I do not take lightly.

I share this personal story to emphasize that spiritual leadership development only happens through the diligent pursuit of a real personal relationship with God and other spiritual leaders in His kingdom. Must you complete an Ironman to become an impactful spiritual leader in God’s kingdom? Certainly not! But you must love Jesus with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength as well as seek first His kingdom and all of His righteousness in your life. As Christ followers, none of us are exempt from pursuing and practicing the spiritual disciplines necessary to grow us as spiritual leaders in God’s kingdom. If we truly desire for the Lord to mature us, qualify us, appoint us, and anoint us as impactful spiritual leaders in His kingdom, nothing less than loving God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength will do.

To His glory, have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Building Leaders In The Kingdom Of God– Part One Copyright 2013, The Make It Happen Learning Institute. You have permission to reprint the leadership article, Building Leaders In The Kingdom Of God – Part One , in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission. All other rights reserved.

Building Leaders In The Kingdom Of God – Part One (makeithappenmoment.com)

3 Essential Aspects Of Work As Worship

February 22, 2013

Gary J. Borgstede Coaching Corner Marketplace ministry, Purpose, Work, Workmanship, Worship Leave a comment

When reading about Jesus in the Bible, I find He spent a great deal of His time in the marketplace ministering to all kinds of people. The reason I think Jesus was so often found in the marketplace is because the marketplace is where most people spend each day seeking to fulfill their purpose and destiny in life. Ephesians 2:10 reads, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” This verse tells me that before the creation of the world, God prepared a destiny for each of us to walk in with Christ and bring Him glory. I believe when Jesus came to earth as the Son of Man, He went into the marketplace where people were seeking to fulfill their God-ordained purposes in life with Him. Two thousand years later, I don’t believe anything has changed. Jesus still wants to minister to people in the marketplace where they can be found seeking to fulfill their God-ordained purpose in life with Him. However, for Jesus to do this today, God’s people must embrace the following three essential aspects of “work as worship” in the marketplace with Jesus.

1) Work As Worship Redeems The Purpose Of Work In The Marketplace

Work as worship in the purest form, fundamentally entreats the redeeming purposes of God in the marketplace; however, the unfortunate reality is that many people view work as a four-letter curse word rather than work as worship. Tragically, such a misconceived view of work causes God’s redeeming purposes for work anywhere in His kingdom to be forfeited to the evil purposes of the kingdom of darkness. If God’s people, His kingdom ambassadors on earth, do not understand God’s redeeming purposes in work, then how will God’s kingdom shine forth in the marketplace arenas of our world as a city that is set on a hill? Sadly, it will not because God has given you and me the personal privilege and responsibility to shine His light through us by our good works glorifying Him in the marketplace. Matthew 5:16 states “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” This admonishment from Jesus applies to good works on Monday through Saturday as much as it applies to good works on Sunday. God can be glorified and worshiped in all of our work when we truthfully embrace our work as worship unto Him and not unto men.

2) Work As Worship Truly Matters To God In The Marketplace

Colossians 3:23-24 states “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” Please hear the spirit of God in this matter of truth. We serve Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, in all of our work including our work in the marketplace. God cares about our work in the marketplace because He cares about people and He designed our work to help Him take care of people. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God foreshadowed His provision for their spiritual needs by the shedding of blood to cover their sin AND He also foreshadowed His provision for their temporal needs by covering their bodies with clothing. Since then, God has been caring for the spiritual and temporal needs of man and woman – eternal spiritual beings created in His image, living in a temporal and fallen world. This means if you are in the clothing business, you are actually doing work that matters to God by helping Him provide for people’s clothing needs. It’s the same for anyone in the marketplace doing work that helps God care for the temporal needs of people. The apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:19, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” When you discover the temporal needs of people that God is supplying by your work in the marketplace, you will discover God’s ordained kingdom purpose for your work in the marketplace.

3) Work As Worship Fulfills The Two Greatest Commandments In The Marketplace

Responding to a lawyer about the greatest commandment in the law, Jesus answers in Matthew 22:37-39, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

When we approach our work as worship, we fulfill these two great commandments of the Lord in the marketplace by doing our work in a manner that glorifies God with wholehearted love for Him and doing our work in a manner that benefits others through our genuine love for others. Loving God and loving people is the cornerstone of true work as worship in the marketplace with Jesus!

Thank you and have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

3 Essential Aspects Of Work As Worship Copyright 2012, Gary J. Borgstede. You have permission to reprint 3 Essential Aspects Of Work As Worship, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission. All other rights reserved.

Culture Development – Rx For Expansion

February 9, 2013

Gary J. Borgstede Coaching Corner Built To Last, Core Values, Expansion, Faith-Based Leadership, Growth, Ideology, Jim Collins, Organizational Culture, Reproduction 3 Comments

Expansion

The culture of an organization reflects the values of the organization and will drive everything inside the organization. In fact, I will assert that culture is the most dynamic force in an organization because it is the outward expression of the organization’s internal values that are held as firm convictions by the people inside the organization. Emphasizing the organizational strength and power of culture, Dr. Sam Chand, author of Cracking Your Church’s Culture Code, says “Culture will eat vision for lunch!” I believe this statement by Dr. Chand because everything in an organization will ultimately revolve around the written and unwritten culture code inside the organization. Understanding the unseen powerful dynamic of culture is extremely important for faith-based leaders if they desire to build an organization that glorifies God, benefits others, and endures in the marketplace. I believe faith-based leaders can only effectively do this by intentionally developing the organization’s culture code with practical faith-based values communicated in the make-it-happen language of the marketplace.

Culture Development Clarifies Core Ideology And Builds An Organization That Lasts

In their book, Built To Last, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras write, “Core ideology defines the enduring character of an organization – its self-identity that remains consistent through time and transcends product / market life cycles, technological breakthroughs, management fads, and individual leaders. Core ideology provides the bonding glue that holds an organization together as it grows, decentralizes, diversifies, expands globally, and attains diversity within.” Core ideology that is well defined within the organization’s core values and also well reflected in the organization’s culture will effectively empower organizational leaders to build the organization in a way that will stand the tests of time. This is true because core values provide the character definition of the organization and culture provides the life expression of the organization’s character as it exists through time.

Developing Culture Builds The Internal Foundation Required For External Growth And Expansion

Any farmer knows that a seed can only reproduce after its own kind. It would be completely foolish for a farmer to plant watermelon seeds and expect to harvest tomatoes because watermelons can only reproduce watermelons. In Luke 6:43-45, Jesus further affirms the principles of reproduction in the kingdom of God by stating, “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs never grow on thorn bushes, nor grapes on bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” These principles of reproduction affect all forms of reproduction including organizational reproduction; therefore, before an organization starts reproducing itself through growth and expansion, it is absolutely imperative that the organization’s core values are clearly defined and appropriately reflected in its culture because the organization will simply reproduce after its own kind. Noble, strong, God-honoring, people-loving organizations will reproduce noble, strong, God-honoring, people-loving teams, departments, branches, divisions, regions, and new corporate entities.

To help organizations effectively develop the organizational culture that fully reflects the organization’s core values, I recommend the following 4 practical steps to developing culture:

Clearly define an organizational core values statement based upon a timeless enduring core ideology that can be effectively communicated to the people inside the organization over and over and over and over again.
Write, tell, and archive well scripted organizational stories that effectively communicate the core values of the organization to the people inside the organization and tell those stories over and over and over and over again.
Strategically design frequent celebrations and planned events that encourage people inside the organization to celebrate the core values of the organization over and over and over and over again.
Conduct semi-annual culture surveys to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s life expression of the organization’s core values through the perceptions and feedback of every person inside the organization and to make appropriate life expression adjustments that continually clarify the core values over and over and over and over again.

Thank you and have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Culture Development – Rx For Expansion Copyright 2013, The Make It Happen Learning Institute. You have permission to reprint Culture Development – Rx For Expansion, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission. All other rights reserved.

Chemistry Development – Rx For Execution

January 27, 2013

Gary J. Borgstede Coaching Corner Chemistry, Execution, Leadership, Team Leave a comment

Execution

There are some things in life that just plain go together and if they didn’t…well, life wouldn’t be the same. Imagine life without the following combinations:

thunder and lightning
macaroni and cheese
shoes and socks
soap and water
salt and pepper
questions and answers
songs and dance
bread and butter
and for my Grandma Clara’s sake, let’s not forget…spaghetti and meatballs!

For the Italian record, I’m really not sure how anyone could even think about having spaghetti without the meatballs? I realize I’m being light-hearted at the moment; however, there really is something dynamic that happens when things that are meant to be together actually do go together. And it’s the same way with any team. When a team of people are meant to be together and they actually do go together, great things can happen with such a team.

Chemistry Development Fosters A Spirit Of Team Unity

In Ecclesiastes 4:12 the Bible states, “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” When a team has good chemistry, people on the team stand together which allows them to accomplish so much more than each person could accomplish working alone. In fact, the acronym for the word TEAM that I like best is – Together Everyone Achieves More. The truth is that good team chemistry fosters a spirit of team unity that can only be experienced when a team works together, stands together, and experiences team life together.

This does not necessarily mean that everyone must be clones of one another in order to have good team chemistry. No, I believe good team chemistry actually involves a sincere appreciation among team members for the real differences that each person brings to the team. God has created each of us with different strengths and talents which can be combined with other people’s strengths and talents to make any team stronger as a whole. Any wise investment advisor knows that there is strength in a diverse portfolio of investments. The same is true for a diverse portfolio of people on a team. Teams are strong because people on the team are created differently!

Developing Chemistry Maximizes Team Execution

In his writings, the apostle Paul teaches that the human body is the sum of all the individual parts of the body and that the body cannot function well without each different part working together. Specifically, in 1 Corinthians 12:14-21, he writes, “Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, ‘I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,’ that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, ‘I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,’ would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you.’ The head can’t say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you.’

Imagine how difficult it would be to write a letter or enjoy a bowl of soup if a person was without a thumb. Although the thumb is only a small part of the body, it has tremendous value to the overall effective execution of the body. When considering all of the people roles on a team, do you know that each person on the team is like the thumb to the body in their value to the team? A team missing one person with the right strengths may experience great difficulty in effectively executing as a team. Understanding this truth, team members must exercise diligent care in finding the right people with the right strengths to fill all of the right roles on a team.

To help teams effectively do this, I recommend the following 4 practical steps to developing team chemistry:

Include well-known personality and strength assessments in the talent recruitment process to gain a better understanding about the creative design of any new potential team member.
Conduct team interviews in the talent recruitment process to gain greater insights about the interpersonal dynamics of any new potential team member.
Assign an organizational mentor or sponsor to each new team member to assist them in learning the culture of the organization and help orient them to their role on the team.
Host team talent reviews on an annual basis for senior leadership to assess each team member’s role clarity, organizational impact, and developmental opportunities within the organization.

Thank you and have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Chemistry Development – Rx For Execution Copyright 2013, The Make It Happen Learning Institute. You have permission to reprint Chemistry Development – Rx For Execution, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission. All other rights reserved.

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Culture Development – Rx For Expansion

Chemistry Development – Rx For Execution

Gary J. Borgstede

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Gary J. Borgstede

Sign-up for The Make It Happen Moment ®!

Main Categories

My Leadership Books

Video Book Trailer

Recent Posts

Archived Posts

Charisma Media Publishing