The Make It Happen Moment ® Talent Plus

October 5, 2012

Gary J. Borgstede The Make It Happen Moment ® , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

Quote: “At any given time, we must be willing to give up all we have in order to become all we can be!” – John C. Maxwell

One afternoon while my children and I were at a state park near our home celebrating with our church the sending of a missionary friend to India, we were told that there was an eagle’s nest in the park with little eaglets.  Intrigued by the possibility of seeing real eagles in their natural habitat, my children and I walked over to the identified lookout post and began to watch for them.  With the help of some binoculars provided by a professional bird watcher, we were able to spot the eagles and observe their elegant flight patterns in, out, and around their nestled home high up in one of the treetops.

One thing that I’ve recently learned about eagles is that when it becomes time for their eaglets to leave the safety of their nests and learn to fly, the momma eagle begins to pull out all of the cushioned particles of the nest to make it prickly and uncomfortable.  Additionally, she will take the eaglets in her grasp, fly high into the air, and then drop the eaglets toward the ground.  Then right before they hit the ground – if they aren’t flying yet – she will swiftly fly underneath and pick them up under her wings.  This routine will be repeated until each little eaglet learns how to safely fly on their own. Wow!

As a leader, have you ever felt like the safety zone of your comfortable nests with people, places, and positions were being made prickly and uncomfortable because it was time for you to take flight into new realms of faith, promise, and purpose in God?  If you have, then like a little eaglet, you know what it feels like when the Lord calls you to leave the safety of the nest and completely trust Him until you learn how to fly in the good future He has planned for you.  And unfortunately, it doesn’t matter how much gifting and talent that you and I may have been given at birth, if we don’t exercise those gifts and talents with faith in God, the Giver of those gifts, we will never learn how to properly fly into the great destiny that God has uniquely planned for each of us as leaders.

In fact, do you know that it is impossible to please God without faith? Hebrews 11:6 states, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him [God], for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”  Furthermore, John 15:5 states, “I [Jesus] am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” Therefore, regardless of our talent and gifts from God, it is clear from the Bible that we will never fully step into our true destiny unless we trust the Lord completely with our entire lives and abide in the shelter of His wings. Like eagles, leaders are created to fly; however, leaders of righteousness in God are created to fly in the abiding presence of the Lord as they put their total and complete trust in the shelter of His wings. With a spirit of faith and excellence, lead as an eagle of righteousness in God with a heart like King David expressed toward the Lord in Psalms 61:4 stating, “I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.”

The Make It Happen Risk-Taking Value: “Make It Happen” People Take Calculated Risks In The Pursuit Of Excellence!

Have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Edited by The Make It Happen Moment ® Editorial Team

The Make It Happen Moment ® Talent Plus Copyright 2010, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint The Make It Happen Moment ® Talent Plus, 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 Make It Happen Moment ® By The Book

September 21, 2012

Gary J. Borgstede The Make It Happen Moment ® , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Quote: “Life doesn’t reward what you know; it rewards what you do with what you know!” – Dave Anderson

In June 2010 I formed a cycling team to participate in Race Across America, the world’s toughest bicycle race – 3,005 miles from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland. Our team’s mission was to finish well and support the fight against childhood obesity through corporate sponsorships. As you might imagine, this extreme ultra-endurance cycling event was no easy challenge. With one rider on the road at all times, we rode non-stop day and night across 14 states, through the mountains of Colorado and West Virginia, the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, the wheat and cornfields of Kansas and Missouri, and the large and small cities of America.

To successfully complete the journey, we were given an all-encompassing route book that charted our course to 54 officially designated time stations from start to finish. Included in the route book were maps with elevation profiles to each successive time station and directions noted at precisely accurate mileage markers on the odometer. It was remarkable how well the directions in the route book accurately directed us to turn left or right at just the precise odometer readings. Consequently, without the route book, our 8-person team and 6 crew members would have not known when and where to turn on the route nor would we have ever made it to the finish line in 6 days, 14 hours, and 55 minutes as the 5th place team in our division.

As a rookie team, one of our biggest concerns was how we were going to find our way and arrive at each time station without getting lost. With the race over and gaining the first-hand knowledge and experience of a RAAM team finisher, our team can attest to the supreme accuracy of the route book that we were given by race officials and would definitely assert that the path would be painstakingly difficult to follow at best without the help of the route book. 

Do you know that a business team needs a supremely accurate route book as well to help chart their course and successfully achieve their business mission in the marketplace? In the same way that I can attest first hand to the supreme accuracy of the Race Across America route book as a certified RAAM team finisher, I can also attest first hand to the Supreme accuracy of the Word of God in helping business leaders to successfully achieve their business missions as a business leader who loves the Lord and has personally built many teams on the “can do” principles of the Word of God.  Psalms 119:105 states, “Your word [the Bible] is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path”; therefore, we can trust that the Bible will provide supremely accurate directions for every aspect of our lives including our businesses.

On the other hand, a business team that tries to achieve its business mission without the precise and accurate directions found in the Word of God is like a RAAM team trying to complete the Race Across America without the precise and accurate directions found in the RAAM route book…painstakingly difficult indeed.  Proverbs 14:12 states, “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death” and Proverbs 16:9 states, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” As business leaders with a spirit of wisdom and excellence, let us diligently seek the way of the Lord found in His Word and follow His path as we trust Him to direct our steps in business and lead us on a tremendously rewarding faith journey in the marketplace!

The Make It Happen Professionalism Value: “Make It Happen” People Are Professionals!

Have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Edited by The Make It Happen Moment ® Editorial Team

The Make It Happen Moment ® By The Book Copyright 2010, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint The Make It Happen Moment ® By The Book, 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.

Doing Life And Leadership With Others

October 19, 2011

Gary J. Borgstede Leadership Insights , , , 1 Comment

Long-journey

John Maxwell teaches the Leadership Gold lesson that people who start with you, seldom finish with you and I have found this to be true.  In fact, as a leader building teams and doing life with people for more than 20 years, I have learned that there are at least 3 types of people we will likely encounter on the journey of life and leadership. 

1)      People Who Are Going To Leave You No Matter What

The first type of person is someone who will start the journey with you, but decide to leave you and never return. Often times, when such a person decides to depart from us, we can feel rejected and hurt, especially if we have genuinely invested ourselves in the relationship.   In studying this type of relational dynamic within my own leadership, I have discovered that there are going to be some people who for whatever reason do not have the same vision and values that I have for building a team and doing life together. This means that their head (vision) and their heart (values) are not with me and there is nothing I can do that will be able to change that fact.  Therefore, even though their departure may hurt deeply, it is inevitable, so I must embrace it and move forward on the journey of life and leadership. For this reason, I have learned to never chase people who do not care to do life and leadership with me.  Instead, I simply trust the Lord to bring the right life partners into my life and leadership.

Among the Lord’s disciples, Judas was an example of this type of person on the journey of life and leadership with Jesus.  In John 6:64-67 the Bible records, “’But there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, ‘Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.’ From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.”

2)      People Who Will Leave You But Decide To Come Back No Matter What

This second type of person is someone who starts the journey with you, but somewhere along the way, they become weak in their convictions and make the decision to leave you.  However, once they have departed for greener grasses and realize that the grass is not greener in their new place, they are willing to do whatever it takes to come back and complete the journey with you. When this situation happens, I believe it is a function of the person’s head (vision) for building a team and doing life together being aligned with you, but for some reason, their heart (values) are weakly aligned with you until they experience the fruit of weak values in a different place.  Once someone like this type of person realizes that they made a poor decision in leaving, they become humbled by their circumstance and are willing to do whatever it takes to build a team and do life together based on a strong foundation of aligned values with you.  Through their experience, their head and their heart become fully aligned with you; therefore, their hands will be able to build with you for the long journey.  As leaders, we would be wise to make room for people who have left us to come back with a change of heart because they could potentially come back as one of your most loyal, dedicated, life building partners. 

Among the Lord’s disciples, Peter was an example of this type of person on the journey of life and leadership with Jesus.  In John 21:17 the Bible records, “He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed My sheep.’”

3)      People Who Will Never Leave You And Will Remain With You No Matter What

This third type of person starts the journey with you and remains with you to the end. A person such as this fully believes in where you are going and is wholly convicted to go there with you.  Because their head (vision) and their heart (values) are completely aligned with yours from the beginning, they will faithfully build alongside you and always be there with you during the ups and downs of life. When you have people like this to build and do life together, they are like a friend that sticks closer than a brother and you can trust them with the most intimate aspects of your life.

Among the Lord’s disciples, John was an example of this type of person on the journey of life and leadership with Jesus.  In John 19:25-27 the Bible records, “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved [John] standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.”

As I build teams and do life with others, my personal prayer is that I will build and do life with people just like Jesus did – as a friend that sticks closer than a brother – with my head and my heart fully aligned with other brothers and sisters in Christ for the kingdom mission at hand. May it be the same for all people who are called disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ because in John 13:35, the Lord says, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” By the grace, strength, and love of Christ in each of us, we can do it!

Thank you and have a blessed make-it-happen day!

Question:  Can you identify and describe a 4th type of person on the journey of life and leadership NOT mentioned in this post?

Doing Life And Leadership Copyright 2011, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint the leadership article, Doing Life And Leadership With Others, 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 Make It Happen Moment ® Irresistible Idea

August 23, 2011

Gary J. Borgstede The Make It Happen Moment ® , , , , , , Leave a comment

ideas

Image by Sean MacEntee via Flickr

Quote: “God’s vision – His big idea – is Heaven coming to Earth!” – Myles Munroe

Sitting in an executive meeting with our CEO one afternoon, he shared a delightful aspect of his vision for the kind of culture he desired for our leadership team to create in our healthcare organization. “We need to create the kind of company that says ‘hi’ to one another,” he emphasized.  “If we can’t do the simple things really well, like warmly greeting each other, then how can we expect to do the really big things well, like saving people’s lives?”  As I left that meeting, I knew that our CEO was right.  We needed to begin engaging our culture in a way that would infect it with such common courtesy and kindness towards others that our organization would be irresistibly different.  So I went back to my own leadership team to enlist their support for such straightforward culture changing action.

In my management meeting, I declared, “Our CEO says that we need to create a company that says ‘hi’ to one another. I agree with him.”  A leader sitting across the table from me responded, “Hum, you tell 50 percent of the people ‘hi’ in this building and they won’t tell you ‘hi’ back!”  Astonished, I questioned him, “You mean to tell me that you can tell 50 percent of the people ‘hi’ in this building and they won’t tell you ‘hi’ back?”  And the young lady sitting next to me says, “Yeah, and one of them is you…”  Totally surprised, I responded, “Me??”  With everyone laughing at this point, she says, “Yeah, I’m in the elevator with you all the time and you hardly even know I’m there.”  Laughing with the others, I genuinely plea to her, “Well, I don’t want to be like that, so please don’t let me do that again.” And so it was through that honest feedback that I began to sincerely change, becoming respectfully conscious of others, and warmly greeting them with a simple, courteous,  kind – “Hi, good morning, good afternoon” – greeting.

Do you know that God has the same kind of delightful vision for His kingdom…on earth?  He desires for His people to do the simple things of the kingdom really well and by doing so, infect the popular culture on earth with the irresistible culture of His kingdom as it is in heaven.  Matthew 25:37-40 states, “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”  So then, I believe the Lord has the same kind of question of His people on earth as my CEO had of our leadership team.  How can we do the big things of the kingdom really well, like winning souls, if we don’t spend the time to do the little things really well, like feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the prisoners, giving drink to the thirsty, providing shelter for the homeless, and even saying “hi” to one another?  With a spirit of commitment and generosity, let us diligently seek to change the earth and its cultures by doing the simple things of the kingdom really well – simply loving others as ourselves!

The Make It Happen Service Enthusiasm Value: “Make It Happen” People Are Service Enthusiasts!

Have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Edited by The Make It Happen Moment ® Editorial Team

The Make It Happen Moment ® Irresistible Idea Copyright 2009, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint The Make It Happen Moment ® Irresistible Idea, 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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The Make It Happen Journey Chapter 1 and 2

August 18, 2011

Gary J. Borgstede Peek Inside My Books , , , , , , Leave a comment

Chapter 1: The Corporate Mindless Robot Factory

Have you ever worked for a company where people, most commonly referred to as “employees,” merely follow instructions dictated by their bosses? In such companies, the working environment is often reduced to a factory of mindless robots that becomes devoid of vision, values, creativity, and innovation. Not surprisingly, performance stagnates and becomes mediocre. And it is simply because the corporate leadership has failed to provide the people inside the company with an environment that inspires them to do more than just their job descriptions and what their bosses tell them to do. Unfortunately, this kind of environment is far too common in corporate America. However, there is a way for people with courage to make a difference and change the corporate mindless robot factory into a corporate Make It Happen adventure land. But to do it, one must embark upon the…Make It Happen Journey.

On the Make It Happen Journey, positive attitudes reign supreme and optimism abounds. Vision is the motivating force behind every action. Service enthusiasm is the only acceptable mode of operation. High expectations define the standards of excellence. Innovation and calculated risk-taking are the fuel that powers adventure. Bold planning provides the road map to every treasure. Performance measurements are always used to light the paths. Exciting celebrations are orchestrated for every accomplishment. And lastly, people are the catalysts that make all of it happen. As the journey progresses, people are transformed from mere mindless robot employees into Make It Happen people with passion and zeal for the services and products they create. The Make It Happen Journey is an adventure where only leaders with courage and a strong desire to make a difference should enter, because once you do, there is no way out and no turning back!

Helen Keller stated, “Life is an adventure, or nothing at all.”1 If Helen Keller, in her deafness and blindness, could approach all of the challenges and adversities in her life with such a positive attitude and turn life into an adventure, then a leader in corporate America, with enough vision and capability to evaluate and assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of their business environment, most definitely ought to be able to turn work life into an adventure for themselves and their team. If not, perhaps the leader does not fully appreciate the value that his or her company brings to life. A leader who is blind in this fashion unfortunately does not fully understand the difference he or she can make in the lives of customers and, more importantly, the lives of team members. As a result, work for them and for their people sadly becomes nothing more than just a job and a paycheck.

Leaders who fully appreciate the services and products their companies create know their work is so much more than just a job with a paycheck. Leaders who believe in their company and themselves take their work and their leadership responsibility so seriously that they consistently bring commitment, enthusiasm, and passion to work. With such leadership qualities, they have the ability and potential to create an exciting adventure for their teams by maximizing strengths, minimizing weaknesses, exploiting opportunities, and diminishing threats within their internal as well as external business environments. And when leaders combine commitment, enthusiasm, and passion with a set of universal Make It Happen Team Values, they can create a Make It Happen adventure in their company that could last a lifetime.

So, read on, and learn how you, too, can create a Make It Happen adventure for your team with a culture of empowerment that unleashes each person’s extraordinary God-given potential to make a difference in life. With a spirit of wisdom and excellence, you can play a pivotal role in revolutionizing the way business is done both in your company and the next generation of business leaders, through the Make It Happen Team Values shared in this book.

Chapter 2: The Make It Happen Adventure Begins

The Make It Happen Journey begins with a person who possesses an aptitude for leadership, growth, and development, who travels their life journey with character, and who serves others with passion and commitment. A person who decides to embark upon the Make It Happen Journey and the adventures beyond must transform himself or herself from being just an employee, manager, or executive by choosing to embrace their leadership responsibilities with a positive Make It Happen attitude and possessing a leadership vision inspired by Make It Happen Team Values.

Generally speaking, anyone in an organization can choose to lead their team on the Make It Happen Journey as a Chief Make It Happen Leader as long as they are respected as a leader with a positive attitude and possess a strong desire to make a positive difference in the lives of people. Additionally, a Chief Make It Happen Leader—also known as a CMIHL—must wholeheartedly believe in, foster, support, and live Make It Happen Team Values each and every day as the leader of their respective team.

William Ouchi, in his book, Theory Z, states, “That small spark of desire to change typically comes from a key person who cares sufficiently about the organization to invest the time, energy, and risk in taking leadership. A manager who chooses to lead his or her department, division, or company in a new direction can produce sufficient trust and sufficient incentive for change to sustain the process for some period, perhaps a year. If during this period, some signs of progress can be discerned by the followers, then the process of change will become self sustaining.”1 Leading a team as a Chief Make It Happen Leader is all about a personal desire to move an organization in a new positive direction. To do so, a Chief Make It Happen Leader must have the personal commitment and fortitude to persevere long enough for the people on the team to begin truly believing in Make It Happen Team Values such that the journey, with all its adventure, becomes self-perpetuating. This takes a significant investment in time, energy, and leadership because belief in Make It Happen Team Values can only grow at the pace of one person, one encounter at a time.

Please leave a comment below and share these 2 FREE chapters of The Make It Happen Journey with your friends and colleagues! Many thanks and blessings!

To purchase a copy of The Make It Happen Journey, please Click Here.

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The Make It Happen Journey by Gary Borgstede

Published by Excel Books

A Strang Company

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This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from the New King James Version of the Bible. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked The Message are from The Message: The Bible in Contemporary English, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Design Director: Bill Johnson

Cover design by: Justin Evans

Copyright © 2010 by Gary Borgstede

All rights reserved

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010926535

International Standard Book Number: 978-1-61638-168-4

First Edition 10 11 12 13 14 — 987654321

Printed in the United States of America

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The Make It Happen Factor Team Culture Survey

July 3, 2011

Gary J. Borgstede Coaching Corner , , , 1 Comment

Click Here

Dr. Sam Chand, world-renowned leadership guru, teaches that “a toxic culture will eat vision for lunch” meaning that any unhealthy culture in an organization will destroy the vision of an organization before it ever has the chance to be fulfilled. If this is true, and I believe it is, it is crucial for leaders to be able to assess and determine the strength of their organizational team culture to make it happen with wisdom and excellence serving others and solving problems that make a real difference in life. Teams that consistently make it happen in life for one another and their customers create a strong team culture where vision can flourish.   However, unless leaders have a simple tool to assess their team’s make it happen culture, many leaders can be like the captain of the Titanic – looking at the tip of the iceberg without really knowing what danger lurks under the surface.  The Make It Happen Factor Team Culture Survey is specifically designed to help equip leaders with a simple tool to assess and determine a team’s make it happen culture with each question being derived from the faith-based Make It Happen Team Values highlighted in The Make It Happen Journey written by Gary J. Borgstede, the President and Founder of The Make It Happen Learning Institute.

In his book, Good To Great, Jim Collins found in his research that “All good-to-great companies began the process of finding a path to greatness by confronting the brutal facts of their current reality.” Having the courage to take the Make It Happen Factor Team Culture Survey and honestly answer each question is the first step in confronting the brutal facts of your team culture and beginning the process of growing from good to great without losing hope for a better and brighter future for you and your team.  Unfortunately, without knowing the truthful state of your team’s culture to make it happen for others, it will be difficult to implement intentional strategies for building a make it happen team culture. However, with your leadership, your faith, and the Make It Happen Factor Team Culture Survey tool, you can help make it happen with your team!

To take the survey, please honestly answer the 12 questions below to assess your team’s Make It Happen Factor which will help indicate the faith-based strength of your team’s culture to make it happen with wisdom and excellence serving others and solving problems that make a real difference in life.  

You can also take the survey electronically by Clicking Here; however, you will need to circle your answers below in order to manually calculate your team’s overall Make It Happen Factor Score per the survey scoring instructions. (Note that individual survey responses will remain confidential) 

Team Culture Survey Questions

1.     The members of my team possess a positive attitude every day.

  • Strongly Agree
  • Agree
  • Neither Agree or Disagree
  • Disagree
  • Strongly Disagree

2.     The leaders on my team serve the members of my team with the greatest care and concern.

  • Strongly Agree
  • Agree
  • Neither Agree or Disagree
  • Disagree
  • Strongly Disagree

3.     Each person on my team serves our customers with great enthusiasm at all times.

  • Strongly Agree
  • Agree
  • Neither Agree or Disagree
  • Disagree
  • Strongly Disagree

4.     Each person on my team is committed to working hard and having fun at work.

  • Strongly Agree
  • Agree
  • Neither Agree or Disagree
  • Disagree
  • Strongly Disagree

5.     In the last month, the people on my team have abundantly celebrated the accomplishments of other individuals and teams.

  • Strongly Agree
  • Agree
  • Neither Agree or Disagree
  • Disagree
  • Strongly Disagree

6.     In the last week, each person on my team was able to learn and grow as a professional.

  • Strongly Agree
  • Agree
  • Neither Agree or Disagree
  • Disagree
  • Strongly Disagree

7.     The leaders and the people on my team are not afraid to take risks in the pursuit of excellence and innovation.

  • Strongly Agree
  • Agree
  • Neither Agree or Disagree
  • Disagree
  • Strongly Disagree

8.     The leaders and the people on my team create a safe environment of teamwork and mutual respect of differences.

  • Strongly Agree
  • Agree
  • Neither Agree or Disagree
  • Disagree
  • Strongly Disagree

9.     Each person on my team performs their work with the highest degree of professionalism.

  • Strongly Agree
  • Agree
  • Neither Agree or Disagree
  • Disagree
  • Strongly Disagree

Individual Faith Survey Questions

10.   I consistently read the Word of God on a daily basis.

  • Strongly Agree
  • Agree
  • Neither Agree or Disagree
  • Disagree
  • Strongly Disagree

11.   I pray for my leaders and my team members every day.

  • Strongly Agree
  • Agree
  • Neither Agree or Disagree
  • Disagree
  • Strongly Disagree

12.  I attend a church service and / or a church small group once each week.

  • Strongly Agree
  • Agree
  • Neither Agree or Disagree
  • Disagree
  • Strongly Disagree

Survey Scoring

No.  of Strongly Agree Answers:               ________  X  5  = ________

No.  of Agree Answers:                             ________  X  4  = ________

No.  of Neither Agree or Disagree:           ________  X  3  = ________

No.  of Disagree Answers:                        ________  X  2  = ________

No. of Strongly Disagree Answers:           ________  X  1  = ________

 

                              Add Totals To Get Grand Total:            ________

                              Divide Grand Total by 12 To Get

Your Make It Happen Factor Team Culture Survey Score:  ________

Understanding Your Make It Happen Factor Team Culture Survey Score

Ken Blanchard, best-selling author of One-Minute Manager and High Five Team, teaches that “Values are to be lived; not framed”, but unfortunately, far too many organizations just frame their values and never intentionally create a team culture where team members actually live their values.  The 12 questions of The Make It Happen Factor Team Culture Survey are specifically designed to assess the faith-based strength of a team’s culture to make it happen with wisdom and excellence by genuinely serving others and solving problems that make a real difference in life. This is done by assessing the strength of agreement within a team regarding specific questions related to faith perspective, servant leadership, and teamwork commitment. Regardless of the actual Make It Happen Factor score, the important thing for leaders to remember is that the score only serves as a barometer of the faith-based strength of a team’s make it happen culture which can always be strengthened when individual team member’s intentionally work together to foster, support, and live Make It Happen Team Values on a daily basis and improve their individual scores for each question.

Because the Word of God says in Mark 9:23 that “All things are possible to him who believes” and in Daniel 11:32 that “The people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits”, The Make It Happen Factor Survey Questions 1, 7, 10, and 12 are specifically designed to assess the level of faith perspective on a team. The higher the level of faith perspective on a team; the stronger the culture of the team to make it happen with a spirit of wisdom and excellence.  Additionally, Questions 10, 11, and 12 are specifically designed to assess each individual’s faith perspective because one person of faith can make a huge difference in helping a team to foster, support, and live the make-it-happen “can do” values of the kingdom of God as can be seen in the lives of many heroes of faith such as Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Joshua, Caleb, David, Nehemiah, Daniel, Esther, the apostle Paul, and many others.

Because the Word of God says in Matthew 23:11 that “He who is greatest among you shall be your servant”, The Make It Happen Factor Survey Questions 2, 3, 5, and 6 are specifically designed to assess the level of genuine servant leadership on a team.  The greater the level of genuine servant leadership on a team; the stronger the culture of the team to make it happen with a spirit of wisdom and excellence.

Because the Word of God states in Ecclesiastes 4:12 that “Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken” and also states in Leviticus 26:8 that “Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight”, The Make It Happen Factor Survey Questions 4, 8, 9, and 11 are specifically designed to assess the level of teamwork commitment on a team. The greater the level of teamwork commitment on a team; the stronger the culture of the team to make it happen with a spirit of wisdom and excellence.

In conclusion, teams that score the highest on The Make It Happen Factor Team Culture Survey in faith perspective, servant leadership, and teamwork commitment will have a stronger team culture to make it happen with wisdom and excellence than other teams because teams comprised of people with faith who genuinely serve others through committed teamwork will consistently make it happen serving others and solving problems that make a real difference in life!

If you have taken the Make It Happen Factor Team Culture Survey, please let me know by posting a comment below and I will enter your name for the chance to win a personal signed copy of The Make It Happen Journey for each member of your team (up to 12 members). Many blessings!  

The Make It Happen Factor Team Culture Survey Copyright 2011, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint The Make It Happen Factor Team Culture Survey, 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 Make It Happen Moment ® Iron To Iron

April 4, 2011

Gary J. Borgstede The Make It Happen Moment ® , , , Leave a comment

Bildbeschreibung: Faris Al-Sultan, Zieleinlauf...

Image via Wikipedia

Quote: “Leaders learn best from other leaders!” – Bill Hybels

So what do you get when you put together a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run, all in the same day?  It’s called an Ironman triathlon – an endurance race that challenges its participants to the very core of their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual condition as they press forward to the prize of finishing the race.  Knowing people whom have successfully crossed the finish line, I have learned from their experience that it takes months of training, discipline, and commitment to develop what it takes to stay the course and complete a well-designed training plan.  To better frame the training process, it is important to understand that it requires much more than a walk in the park a couple of times per week.  It takes months and sometimes years to develop the physical stamina, mental toughness, emotional strength, and spiritual foundation to even legitimately qualify as a participant.  Because of the athletic excellence required to complete an Ironman event, training with and learning from an Ironman whom has already successfully done it, can make all the difference for the person training for an Ironman triathlon. 

So you may be saying to yourself, who cares about this Ironman stuff anyway.  I have no desire to paddle a canoe 2.4 miles much less swim 2.4 miles and then do those other extreme things. Well that may be true; however, did you know that it is the same process to become a person of leadership excellence, as it is to become a person of athletic excellence?  Commitment, perseverance, discipline, self-control, recovery, training, development, time, all of the elements of Ironman training, are also part of the training process for becoming a person of leadership excellence in your community, business, and home.  Excellent leadership is not a spectator sport; therefore, to become an excellent leader, you must invest time and personally participate in the training and development process.  Entering the realm of leadership without a serious commitment to leadership training and development is as foolish as entering the Ironman without a serious commitment to athletic training and development. 

Proverbs 27:17 teaches “as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another”; therefore, to become a leader of Ironman quality, find a leader with a spirit of excellence, connect with them, and learn from them.  Finding the right leadership mentors can make all the difference for the person developing as an excellent leader.  Moreover, freely teaching others what you have been freely taught fulfills the Law of Greatness in the kingdom of God – esteeming others greater than yourself.  Therefore, with a spirit of humility and generosity, freely mentor people into greater heights of leadership excellence and become a great leader of leaders that unleashes the extraordinary potential of others to make a real difference in life!

The Make It Happen Training And Development Value: “Make It Happen” People Invest And Participate In Training And Development!

Have a blessed “Make It Happen” day!

Edited by The Make It Happen Moment ® Editorial Team

The Make It Happen Moment ® Iron To Iron Copyright 2006, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint The Make It Happen Moment ® Iron To Iron, 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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Building People – A Big Holy Awesome Goal

January 29, 2011

Gary J. Borgstede Leadership Insights , , 1 Comment

When I first joined the leadership team at Church of the King in Mandeville, Louisiana my Senior Pastor asked me a very important question. “Gary, what do we do at Church of the King?” Because I knew this was a very important question and I didn’t want to be the shortest tenured staff person ever on the leadership team, I was nervous as I carefully thought about my answer.  “We build people Pastor Steve”, I responded.  “That’s right Gary! We build people!” exclaimed Pastor Steve. “And I want you to help put in place the professional development processes needed for people to fulfill their potential on our team.”  And with that Big Holy Awesome Goal, I began to work with the members of our team to develop and implement a formal professional development process to support our corporate vision of reaching people and building lives, including the people on our staff.

Leadership Principle #1: Building People Requires Great Coaching Leaders  

Recently, I heard of the Vivian Maier story where a young man discovered that over the course of Vivian’s life, she had taken over 100,000 street pictures which were never developed. As I contemplated this true story, I wondered to myself why would someone take over 100,000 pictures and never share them with anyone.  Could it be that she was afraid of the critique from others?  I’m not sure, but it would not surprise me.  In fact, in the parable of the talents, there was a servant who hid his talents in the ground because he was afraid that his master would be a hard man of critique [Matt 25:24-25].  Or perhaps Vivian Maier suffered the experience of having someone in her life wound her in a way that caused her to never want to risk the vulnerability of sharing her most extraordinary gift and talent – capturing the authentic essence of street life through photography. Either way, it seems sad to me that she would live her whole life and never really share her talent for the benefit of others while she lived.

In an interview, I heard Coach Tony Dungy share a bad experience that he once had with a poor coach when he was a young football player in high school. Being terribly discouraged with his coach, he made the decision to quit the team and never return to football; however, fortunately for him and us, his high school principal took a real interest in him.  So when the principal found out that Tony had quit the team, the principal took the time to speak with Tony and encourage him to never quit on account of someone else, but rather, get back in the game and do what he loved to do – playing football. Just imagine what may have never happened in Coach Tony’s life and ours if his principal didn’t take the time to care about him and be a real genuine life coach to him at a crucial point in his young developing life.  The world may have never seen Coach Tony Dungy become one of the best super bowl world champion football coaches of our time. How thankful we should be for great coaching leaders like Coach Tony Dungy’s principal and Coach Tony Dungy himself!

Leadership Principle #2: Building People Requires A Great Coaching Process

In his book, Becoming A Coaching Leader, Daniel Harkavy states that “Coaching leaders want great people to develop in great ways, and they want to be an integral part of the process.”  To me, that is exactly what it means to be a great coaching leader and is also the reason why it is so important for organizations to have a big holy awesome goal of sincerely developing people through an effective performance review process.  However, to have an effective performance review and people development process, the process must first begin with the establishment of goals and objectives – personal goals that support a person’s life plan and team goals that support their team’s strategic plan.

In Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Alice asks Cheshire Cat, “Can you tell me which way I should walk from here?” “Well, that depends a good deal on where you want to get to” said Cheshire Cat.  “I don’t much care where” said Alice.  “Then it doesn’t really matter which way you walk” said Cheshire Cat.  Without having to say much more, this little famous tale rings so true in our own lives when it comes to life planning and strategic planning.  If we don’t care where we are going, then it doesn’t really matter if we develop a plan to get there or not.  However, if we have a destiny and a purpose to fulfill in our lives and in our organizations, then it would be very wise to take the time to write down the vision and establish the necessary goals and objectives that will help us get there just as the Bible commands in Habakkuk 2:2.  Unfortunately though, most people don’t like to do this and therefore they don’t.

To me, it’s kind of like choosing to take the stairs or to take the escalators when going to another level in a department store.  I’m told that less than 10% of people will actually take the stairs when there are escalators available because people prefer to take the easy way to the top. When it comes to our goals, people are the same way because less than 10% of people will actually take the time to write down their goals and objectives that support their personal life plans and organizational strategic plans.  But unlike the case of taking the stairs or the escalators to the next level in a department store, there is no escalator or easy way to the top of the next level with our life purposes and our organizational missions.  Writing down our goals and objectives is actually part of the escalator that will take us to the next level and there isn’t really any other intentional practical way to do it.  In fact, it has been shown that people who write down their goals and objectives are much more likely to achieve their goals than those that do not develop such simple discipline and accountability.

Leadership Principle #3: Building People Requires Great Coaching Feedback

Therefore, in order for a person and a team to achieve their goals and objectives, leaders must be intentional about what they want to accomplish in any given year which is why we include a goal setting process for personal and team goals to be reviewed weekly, monthly, and annually through our reporting and professional development process.  To help us do this, we have created the following simple tools to facilitate an effective process:

1)      Goal Templates for Personal and Team Goals

2)      Annual Performance Review and Professional Development Plan Document

3)      Organizational Core Values and Team Values

As it relates to core values, Ken Blanchard teaches that “values are to be lived; not framed”, therefore, it is very important that an annual performance review and professional development process also include a component of review for behavioral alignment with an organization’s values.  In fact, if we don’t include the practical living out of our values in the coaching and development process, but rather only address the technical aspects of people’s personal growth and development, it would be as if we expected people to fly a plane with one wing.  It’s not until we have the courage as leaders to address people’s behavioral development in relationship to our values as well as their technical development in relationship to their job responsibilities that we actually help them grow and develop in a well-rounded way that empowers and equips them to achieve their fullest potential.

Leadership Principle #4: Building People Requires Great Coaching Love For People

And lastly, because Colossians 3:14 (CEV) states, “Love is more important than anything else and it ties everything else together”, we believe the fundamental purpose of any performance evaluation is to speak the truth in love in order to sincerely help people grow and develop.  It’s certainly not to give a pass or fail grade that values and devalues people through a numerical rating system, but rather, an effective life-giving performance evaluation offers the opportunity for great coaching leaders to provide genuine feedback that will help people learn, grow, and develop their extraordinary God-given potential to make a real difference in life.

Question: How does your organization help coach people in developing their extraordinary God-given potential to make a real difference in life?

Building People – A Big Holy Awesome Goal Copyright 2011, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint the leadership article, Building People – A Big Holy Awesome Goal, 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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