There can be a limit to how much you can gain from reading and interpreting the Bible on your own. But when you do so in community with people, you might discover much more within the pages of God’s Word.

Here’s h ow the Holy Spirit can help you can interpret the Bible as part of a community of believers:

Look through new lenses. The various “interpretive lenses” (biases) that each person has shape the way they interpret the Bible.  Be aware of your own biases that lead you to emphasize certain conclusions and assertions, while discounting or ignoring other possibilities.  Some of these may include the lenses of:

• “Syste mic theology” (your organized system of belief) which may lead you to try to fit Scripture into your existing beliefs rather than letting Scripture shape your beliefs),
• “Science and the scientific method,” which may lead you to try to force all Scripture to fit the criteria of scientific facts and rejecting that which goes beyond that into the realm of faith,
• “Rights and causes,” which may lead you to read Scripture to affirm and ordain your way of life and the causes you stand for – making God all about what you want, without noticing His call to you to change,
• “Success and growth,” which may lead you to assume that your faith should lead to greater wealth and push you to manipulate Scripture to justify a materialistic lifestyle,
• “Nationalism and sentimentality,” which may lead you to trivialize Scripture’s scope by reducing its cosmic and transcendent message to one that supports national ideas (such as: “America is God’s favored nation”) or sentimental concepts (such as “People used to fear God in the good old days”),
• “Moralism and heroism,” which may lead you to reduce Scripture to simply a collection of moral principles and heroic characters rather than noticing God’s redemptive work in the midst of great human failure, and
• “Tribal loyalty,” which may lead you to place limits on Scripture to try to make it align only with your particular church denomination’s perspective

When you read and discuss the Bible within a community of other people, you can break out of your biases and look through new lenses at Scripture’s meaning.

Let the words come off the page and shape your life. Keep in mind that God’s Word is alive and dynamic, not dead and stagnant.  It has the power to change you as you read, discuss, interpret, and apply it with others.  Approach the Bible as canon by remembering that its stories don’t fit neatly together and therefore must be studied well.  Respect its catholicity by remembering that many generations of people have read and interpreted it throughout history, and your culture and context differs from theirs.  Learn how to practice and embody Scripture’s messages in your own community well.

Pursue reconciliation with others. You need to reconcile relationships with other people in your community so you all can be free to interpret the Bible together well.  Be willing to forgive and serve each other while relying on God’s love working through you daily.  Then you won’t have unnecessary barriers standing in the way of discovering Scripture’s meaning together.

Let Scripture take on a voice of its own as you listen together. Discussing what meanings of you hears in Scripture as you listen to it in community helps expand and deepen your interpretation.  The Bible passage can become a prayer for all of you, connecting you with each other and God.

Discover something new about familiar texts. The diversity of responses to familiar Scripture texts in community brings fresh layers of meaning to your attention.  Together, you all can apply those Bible passages in new ways, as well.

Take on controversial issues. Don’t hesitate to broach conversations with others about biblical topics that generate controversy.  Open and honest dialogue about issues such as homosexuality can help everyone involved wrestle thoughtfully and prayerfully with God’s Word.

Give people plenty of opportunities to participate. Schedule a series of conversation sessions each week to invite everyone in your church community to discuss biblical perspectives on the week’s sermon, timely articles, and anything else that’s currently impacting your community.  Give people the chance to speak about how their own experiences may relate to the topic you’re discussing.  Learn from other people’s unique perspectives on Scripture (such as hearing someone who was once abused discuss injustice, or hearing a poor person discuss poverty).  Hold each other accountable to speak in loving ways, and ask thoughtful and respectful questions.

Move beyond ethics to changed lives. Encourage each other to see how the Bible offers much more than just simple ethical principles to follow.  As you interpret it together, you’ll find out how God is working in complex ways in each person’s life to transform them from the inside out.

Embrace hospitality. Read and discuss the Bible over meals at each other’s homes whenever possible.  As you open your lives up more to each other, you’ll find that you’ll be able to open yourself up more to God, as well.  Share each other’s stories and how those stories relate to the Scripture you’re interpreting.  Your various perspectives will expand the text’s meaning for you all.

Learn to give your best to your mission. When you discuss Scripture with others, you must learn to let go of defensive attitudes and be willing to let others motivate, encourage, and hold you accountable as you live out your God-given mission.  Listen to the call to pursue something more important than your own concerns.  Offer your life to God by serving others in your community and beyond.

Use your imagination. Encourage each other to discover new perspectives on Scripture texts that pull you into seeing God, each other, and life in fresh ways.  Suspend the rules of rational thought and detach yourselves from cultural norms to free yourselves to be creative when discussing the possible meanings of various passages.  Look forward to what you’ll learn together as you use the imagination God gave you to get deeper into the Bible’s stories.

Adapted from Free for All: Rediscovering the Bible in Community, copyright 2009 by Tim Conder and Daniel Rhodes.  Published by Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Mich., www.bakerbooks.com.
Tim Conder is a founding member of Emergent Village, the founding pastor of emerging church plant Emmaus Way in Raleigh/Durham, and the author of The Church in Transition. Conder lives in North Carolina.
Daniel Rhodes is a pastor at Emmaus Way and a ThD student at Duke Divinity School. Rhodes lives in North Carolina.

Original publication date: January 18, 2010

To reach the upcoming leadership generations, Franklin advises three steps:

Connect service with leadership. Franklin exemplifies this with a picture of an upside-down pyramid. “Lead from the bottom up. Serve those who follow you.”

Connect personal development to leadership. Franklin says everyone serves as a leader at some point in their lives, so learning leadership skills benefits everyone. “Help young leaders see how leadership is a personal need,” he adds.

Connect change to leaders. Franklin says, “Change happens through movements, and movements happen because someone takes a stand. Leaders take a stand because they have a better vision of tomorrow. We are those leaders because we have a vision of a better tomorrow in Christ.”

Doug Franklin, from a guest blog post on MacLakeOnline.com, 4/8/10

Michael Hyatt spends hours of his life in meetings and has created a list of what he calls “AMBs” (Annoying Meeting Behaviors). He graciously listed them recently on his blog, saying that “none of these by themselves are that bothersome. But when you combine three or four of them in the same meeting, it can test the patience of Job.” Consider your own behavior in ministry or church staff meetings and see if you can learn anything from Hyatt’s insight below:

1. Late arrival. Hyatt says this behavior wastes time, forces the group to start the meeting over, and “screams, ‘I’m disorganized!’” about the perpetrator. Make sure to show up to meetings on time.
2. Taking phone calls. Calling this the most obnoxious behavior on his list, Hyatt advises meeting members to courteously excuse themselves and step out of the meeting to answer a call, waiting until they are out the door to actually answer it.
3. Checking e-mail. Similar to taking a phone call, this projects to the others in the meeting that you have something more important to do than pay attention. “Leave your laptop in your office unless you need it for a presentation…and resist the urge to pull out the Blackberry or iPhone every five minutes to check your messages.”
4. Engaging in side conversation. Good meetings have only one conversation happening at a time; side conversations are distracting and can prevent the meeting leader from maintaining full control. “If you must follow-up with someone,” Hyatt says, “write yourself a note and do it after the meeting.”
5. Not taking notes. This behavior says, “There’s nothing going on in this meeting worth remembering.”
6. Talking too much. Make sure you’re allowing others to speak, and refrain from commenting on absolutely everything that’s said.
7. Interrupting others. “The worst form of this is the person who randomly changes the subject,” says Hyatt. Wait until the person talking is finished before you interject.
8. Not coming prepared. People notice when someone comes unprepared to a meeting. The meeting members expect you to contribute to it; “if you don’t, people assume you haven’t done your homework,” says Hyatt.
9. Chasing rabbits. “The sooner you get through your agenda, the sooner you can get back to your office to get some real work done,” reminds Hyatt. “Stay focused! You can do it!”
10. Not speaking up. Hyatt encourages leaders to “speak up or bow out.” Don’t just sit quietly throughout the whole meeting; offer something of use to others.

Hyatt says all these annoying meeting behaviors stem from a lack of respect for the others. “How much more productive could we make our meetings if we all showed one another respect and eliminated these behaviors?”

From a blog post by Michael Hyatt, MichaelHyatt.com
Filed under: Church, Leadership ]]> http://efilio.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/10-annoying-meeting-behaviors/feed/ 0 efilio http://efilio.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/leading-discipleship-formation-for-mission-in-the-love-of-christ/ http://efilio.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/leading-discipleship-formation-for-mission-in-the-love-of-christ/#comments Tue, 15 Jun 2010 06:34:47 +0000 efilio http://efilio.wordpress.com/?p=128 ]]>

I am very blessed to have a friend and fellow Union High School of Manila 76 batch mate who have shown genuine       concern and love to the church he ministered.  He is a layman but have done so much that he deserves none the less to be called minister of the gospel.  I am referring to my dear friend and classmate Earl Canlas of the Methodist Church.

I am going to post some very important concerns on leadership that Mr. Earl Canlas has written and posted in Facebook.   Earl has given me permission to post his writings.  He wrote, ” I am writing for the renewal of churches. Go on, Gene. I have pledged this year to flex all that I can to bring this force of renewal to all levels, to all circles, and all churches that will find use for these posts”.

To all my friends and Unida pilgrims, I am inviting you to come on board to be with me on the road less traveled.

Leading Discipleship Formation for Mission in the Love of Christ

It seems like a dead end. Why is the church that we grew up in not growing as good as it should? Pews are getting to be less filled on Sundays. Something isn’t being done in our churches.

Less and less lay persons are involved in active witnessing ministries. And Sunday preaching is a shot in the dark. Nobody is sure what the preacher is talking about and what it means to living our witness to others and society as brothers and sisters in Christ. In many churches, meeting about the latest problem under church council discussion just continues the old divisions among the members. So what’s new?

How do we go about developing leadership and discipleship formation for mission? How does this express the basic power of the love of Christ that makes the churches truly church and real body of Christ, not the usual political church fronts? Questions…questions…questions…and more questions. And it is rightly asked in our churches because we can see that something other than that which is vital to its life and part in Jesus’ mission and ministry is regularly happening. Where is this all leading to? And would anybody explain who is in charge?

From Values 101 & Church Leaders 101 – Post No.5 written by Earl Canlas

More than 2,000 years ago, Hippocrates identified and described four human psychological temperaments: Dominant, Influential, Steady and Compliant. Ken Buist, founder of Personal Transformation, a U.K.-based HR consulting firm, has extensively studied the relationship between temperament and trust between leaders and their followers:

Dominant leaders perceive themselves as trustworthy and principled in their approach to people and problems. Followers can usually rely on them to make good on their promises. However, since dominant people are not often warm, open or transparent, many struggle to trust them. Followers become suspicious of their true motives and fear the dominant leader will take advantage of them.

Influential leaders see themselves as trustworthy because they genuinely love people and make generous promises—with every intention of keeping them. But because such a “people-person” can be easily distracted, this leadership type may get sidetracked and fail to follow-through on his or her promises. This can weaken the trust of their followers. Influential leaders are also people-pleasers and tend to trust others injudiciously, especially those with a similar temperament.

Steady leaders are conscientious, and they value relationships highly. It can be important to them to not let others down. While they desire to please others, they can find it difficult to be honest and sometimes mislead their followers as a result. When their followers begin to doubt they’ve been told the full story, their trust can be broken. Steady leaders also tend to withhold their own trust until a relationship has developed, and a situation of broken trust can make them cautious of offering trust again.

Compliant leaders pride themselves in doing things correctly and feel duty-bound to honor their promises. They do not easily betray confidences. But they can seem aloof to followers, which can make it difficult for followers to trust them. Compliant leaders can also tend to sound pessimistic, needing reassurance and reliable facts before they will offer trust themselves.

Ken Buist, Temperaments and Trust

The one predictable thing about change is that it is constant. As a result, leaders must be constant in their alertness to trends that may require them to implement change within their church or ministry. Here are five key trends impacting the church and church leaders in 2010.

Shifting demographics. Each new generations dreams of how they will be able to make a difference. This makes it vital that churches learn to nurture and involve younger congregants in their leadership. The next generation clearly prefers team dynamics over top-down leadership models. This makes it critical that Baby-Boomer leaders begin to step sideways and agree to share leadership opportunities at every level and phase of church operations. It is important to make this a genuine and intentional effort and not merely a cosmetic approach that the next generation will quickly see through and abandon.

Technological advances. Social-media technologies make it possible for churches to achieve greater exposure, but along with this new capability comes the requirement that church leadership learn to be to be comfortable giving more of their members an opportunity to provide input. Dialogue is going to happen, whether or not the leaders are participating in it; wise leaders understand the need to adapt the new generation’s preferred media choices in the leadership communication and decision-making process.

New ways to collaborate. New technologies also allow churches (and parachurch organizations) to eliminate geographical barriers. Now it is just as easy for individuals to work together when they are located one mile (or one thousand miles) apart as they can when both are in the same church or parish facility. Today, most people would rather team up with individuals with whom they share values rather than individuals are simply geographically convenient. In addition, these shared-values connections often become alliances, movements, networks, etc. Collaboration has become a fundamental value for the next generation, thus making isolation/independence seem obsolete.

Greater interest in service. Volunteerism resonates with the next generation, yet churches dare not lose sight of the fact that people serve for many different reasons. As much as possible, ministries should seek to tailor service and ministry opportunities to an individuals’ interests, gifts & talents. For many, serving is the key to discovering their individual gifting and calling.

Blurred lines between nonprofit and for-profit. It has become in vogue in the American culture to “do good,” whatever that may be interpreted to mean. The culture has embraced corporate social responsibility and justice mentality that may or may not have any spiritual substance. In some ways, it could mean a secularization of Christian service. These groups pose a challenge to the Church’s postmodern identity. Social justice and global environmental concerns aren’t just for rock stars anymore. Cynthia Ware writes in Digital Sanctuary, “For many young people, feeding and clothing the planet, eradicating stupid poverty, ending the slave trade, etc. are considered the outward works of their faith.”

Leaders who monitor and understand these trends are in a position to proactively lead their churches to more effectively instill and live out the Gospel before the next generation, better enabling them to take up the church leadership reins when the time comes.

Adapted from Cynthia Ware, “5 Trends Affecting Your Ministry in 2010,” Digital Sanctuary 11/14/09

Leadership was once about hard skills such as planning, finance, and business analysis. When command and control ruled the world, organization leaders were heroic rationalists who moved people around like pawns and fought like stags. When they spoke, the staff jumped.

Today, organizational leadership is increasingly concerned with soft skills—teamwork, communication, and motivation. Sadly for many top-level leaders, the soft skills remain the hardest to understand, let alone master.

Leadership in a modern organization is highly complex and increasingly difficult. Among the most crucial skills is the ability to capture your listener’s attention. Leaders of the future will also have to be emotionally efficient. They will promote variation rather than promoting people in their own likeness. They will encourage experimentation and enable people to learn from failure. They will build and develop people.

This may be too much to expect of one person. In the future, we will see more leadership groups rather than individual leaders. This change in emphasis from individuals towards groups has been charted by the leadership guru, Warren Bennis. In his work Organizing Genius, he concentrates on famous ground-breaking groups rather than individual leaders. “None of us is as smart as all of us,” says Professor Bennis. “The Lone Ranger is dead. Instead of the individual problem-solver, we have a new model for creative achievement. People like Steve Jobs or Walt Disney headed groups and found their own greatness in them.”

Professor Bennis provides a blueprint for the new model leader. “He or she is a pragmatic dreamer, a person with an original but attainable vision. Inevitably, the leader has to invent a style that suits the group. The standard models, especially command and control, simply don’t work. The heads of groups have to act decisively, but never arbitrarily. They have to make decisions without limiting the perceived autonomy of the other participants. Devising an atmosphere in which others can put a dent in the universe is the leader’s creative act.”

The role of the new model leader is ridden with contradictions. Paradox and uncertainty are increasingly at the heart of leading. Many leaders don’t like ambiguity, so they try to shape the environment to resolve the ambiguity. This may not be the best thing to do—the most effective leaders are flexible, responsive to new situations. If they are adept at hard skills, they surround themselves with people who are proficient with soft skills. They strike a balance.

The “leader as coach” is yet another phrase more often seen in business books than in the real world. Acting as a coach to a colleague is not something that comes easily to many senior-level leaders. It is increasingly common for executives to benefit from a mentoring relationship. They need to talk through decisions and to think through the impact of their behavior on others in the organization.

Today’s leaders regard leadership as drawing people and disparate parts of the organization together in ways that makes individuals and the organization more effective.

Adapted from Jonathan Farrington, What Leadership Was and What It Will Become 3/11/07

Both types stem from your natural “fight or flight” response in which the body automatically prepares you to run from or contend with an unusual or potentially threatening situation. This sets off a cascade of biochemical events:

• Your body starts churning out increased levels of two chief stress hormones: adrenaline and cortisol.
• Your heart races, increasing your pulse.
• Your muscles tense up.
• Your pupils dilate and your hearing becomes more acute

What is eustress for one person may be distress for another. For example, ask someone to give a speech to a thousand people. If that person is comfortable in front of an audience, she will see the chance as an exciting, positive experience (eustress). On the other hand, if someone who is shy is asked to speak before a group, he would view the chance as a source of distress. Whether you experience eustress or distress in any given situation depends largely on your attitude. To some, a situation is an opportunity (eustress); to others, a predicament (distress).

One point is certain, however: When eustress tips over into distress and goes unresolved, or if distress becomes chronic, there’s trouble. In fact, medical experts estimate that distress accounts for more than 90 percent of all illnesses and trips to the doctor.

Here’s a glimpse into what happens physiologically when distress goes unresolved:

• Distress gets under your skin. Hives, acne, itching, eczema and other skin disorders are caused or aggravated by chronic stress.
• Distress produces tension headaches. The most common of all headaches, tension headaches, occur when the muscles surrounding your skull go into painful spasms. Though not life-threatening, tension headaches are often a clear sign you are depressed or under pressure.
• Distress assaults your immune system. When you’re persistently stressed out, your body can’t metabolize stress hormones properly and they stick around, damaging your immune system.

Research shows that distress interferes with the function of “natural killer cells,” which help the body combat foreign invaders that cause disease. It also reduces the body’s production of interferon, a type of protein that fights viruses and boosts immunity – your body’s armor against illness.

Also, distress unleashes too much nerve growth factor, a chemical that tacks itself onto disease-fighting cells and prevents them from fighting infection.

• Distress is a heartbreaker. Everyday mental stresses such as tension, frustration and sadness may trigger myocardial ischemia – a lack of oxygen to the heart muscle. This condition increases the chance of heart attack.

Clearly, distress is hazardous to your health. It wrecks practically every body system. How well you cope with distress makes all the difference in your health and well-being. Here are some practical guidelines for handling distress that will help you minimize its potentially damaging health effects:

Fortify Yourself Nutritionally
Chronic distress robs your body of nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin B complex and protein. So, what’s a stressed-out body to do? First, make sure to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily, and eat some protein (fish, poultry, lean meats, legumes or low-fat dairy products) with every meal. Include several servings of whole grains each day too. Also, take a daily multi-vitamin/mineral/antioxidant supplement as nutritional insurance.

Sweat it Out
Exercise, particularly the aerobic type, is one of the most effective ways to dissipate physical and emotional distress. It speeds up the body’s production of endorphins and relieves muscular tension brought on by distress and anxiety. In fact, numerous studies have shown that aerobic exercise can be an effective part of treatment for anxiety.

Have Fun
Research shows that people who pursue recreational activities on a regular basis are more satisfied with their lives and in better health. If you’re not having enough fun, sit down and list some fun, eustress-type activities you can integrate into your life – swimming, walking in the park, playing a sport, taking weekend trips, reading more novels and so forth. Then do them.

Talk it Out
Sometimes, resolving chronic stress may require more serious measures, such as seeing a counselor. A counselor won’t solve your stress problems, but he may help you identify strategies to cope with them and ultimately resolve the underlying issues perpetuating the distress. Or you may just want to pour your heart out to a friend. Just talking to someone you trust can make you feel much better.

Rearrange Your Life
Most people are overcommitted to their jobs and their day-to-day activities. Before long, life feels like it’s spinning out of control, and the result is distress. As writer Hans Seyle suggests, make life-choices that are most likely to provide you with eustress. This leads to feelings of fulfillment and victory and avoids the self-destructive distress of frustration and failure.

Get Some Perspective
Sometimes we catastrophize our thinking, turning the proverbial molehill into a mountain. Or we worry about situations we can’t control. Both mental approaches to life are immobilizing and unhealthy. They make the stress worse than it really is. The next time you find yourself mired in this type of thinking, ask yourself: What is the worst thing that can happen? How likely is that to occur? How much difference will this situation make in my life a year from now? Am I likely to even remember it? This personal pep talk puts a more positive spin on the situation

Get Enough Rest
If you’re an emotional basket-case, take it easy by getting more rest. During rest (including sleep), the body can heal injuries and infections, eliminate toxins and waste products, dissipate distress, replenish fuel stores in your muscle fibers and bloodstream, and restore energy. Rest also allow your immune system to recharge so you’re better protected from disease.

Nurture Your Soul
The Apostle Paul writes, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Replace distress and anxiety with prayer.

From “Christian Single” magazine, 2001-2009, LifeWay Christian Resources

By Hal Pettegrew

Stressed out by your church business meetings? Turn them into positive, team-building Kingdom work with these nine common-sense ideas.

1.  Publish the meeting agenda ahead of time.

• Make a printed agenda available the Sunday before a Wednesday business meeting, include it in your church’s e-mail newsletter and post it on your church Website.
• If your church family knows what will be discussed, they will be better prepared and more encouraged to participate.
• It will also demonstrate that church leaders are planning and there is nothing secretive about the meeting.
• Consider including in your policy manual limitations on items that can be brought to the floor that are not on the published agenda. This will prevent major surprise votes.

2.  Know the agenda well.

• Do not assume any motion will pass without discussion.
• Talk with the committee chairpersons who will be presenting motions.
• Be sure you know the “ins” and “outs” of each motion.

3.  Know where your people are and the underlying issues.

• Who are the primary stake-holders and leaders in your church?
• Who are the opinion-makers in the church?

4.  Set a positive tone.
You need to be comfortable in front of the church body and radiate a sense of positive self-confidence.

5.  Get outside help with controversial issues.
If you are working with a controversial subject (one that might cause a split in the life of the church) consider inviting an objective, outside person who has good up-front presence and is versed in Robert’s Rules of Order to chair the meeting (possibly your association moderator).

6.  Be familiar with Robert’s Rules of Order.
Take a copy with you to the meeting or have someone you can trust who might function as a parliamentarian. When used properly, Robert’s Rules can be very helpful in organizing the discussion.

7.  Present motions clearly and professionally.
This is almost as important as the content of the motion in terms of its acceptance. Use a variety of presentation methods such as handouts and PowerPoint. Anticipate questions that might be asked in the presentation of the motion. Sloppy presentations invite sloppy discussions.

8. Preface the meeting with prayer and Scripture.
Move the meeting toward the direction of the church as an organism, rather than the church as an institution. Set the tone for the meeting so it’s not just a business meeting like those of other organizations. Emphasize that this is a business meeting where God and God’s people are present. If at any time in the discussion you have the sense that feelings are getting out of control, take a break in the discussion, and then pray again.

9. Have as few business meetings as possible.
Many church business meetings are a waste of time. Meeting once a quarter would be sufficient in almost any church. As your church family embodies trust within itself, most business of your church can be delegated to other small work groups. These groups should operate within the bounds of the policies of the church and the annual church budget.

Give them freedom to do their work without having to get approval from the church for every jot and tittle. In between business meetings, make available on Sunday or in mailouts information about the work of the church. Consider occasional “information meetings” (no motions, no voting) to keep the church family informed of all the wonderful actions taking place in the life of the church.

Hal Pettegrew is associate pastor of church ministries at Walnut Street Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky.

2001-2009, LifeWay Christian Resources

Great advice comes from many sources. Here is advice from seven of the nation’s top leaders. Always remember to stay open, listen to everyone, but develop your own leadership style.

1. Leadership is about making things happen. If you want to make something happen with your life, do it. Perceived obstacles crumble against persistent desire. John Baldoni, author and leadership communication consultant, shared this advice from his father, a physician. He taught him the value of persistence. At the same time, his mother taught him compassion for others. Persistence for your cause should never be gained at the expense of others.

2. Listen and understand the issue, then lead. Time and time again we have all been told, “God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason,” or, as Stephen Covey puts it, “Seek to understand rather than be understood.” As a leader, listening first to the issue, then trying to coach, has been the most valuable advice that Cordia Harrington, President and CEO of Tennessee Bun Company has been given.

3. Answer the three questions everyone within your organization wants answers to. What the people of an organization want from their leader are answers to the following: Where are we going? How are we going to get there? What is my role? Kevin Nolan, President & Chief Executive Officer of Affinity Health Systems, Inc. believes the more clarity that can be added to each of the three questions, the better the result.

4. Master the goals that will allow you to work anywhere in today’s dynamic business world. Debbe Kennedy, President and Founder of Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies, shares this advice that has been instrumental in shaping her direction, future and achievements. While a young manager at IBM just promoted to her first staff assignment, one of her colleagues offered this advice. He mentioned that jobs, missions, titles, and organizations would come and go. He advised her not to focus her goals toward any of these, but instead learn to master the skills that will allow you to work anywhere. He was talking about four skills: The ability to develop an idea. Effectively plan for its implementation. Execute second-to-none. Achieve superior results time after time. So, forget what others do; work to be known for delivering excellence. It speaks for itself and it opens doors.

5. Be curious. Curiosity is a prerequisite to continuous improvement and even excellence. The person who gave Mary Jean Thornton, Former Travelers EVP, this advice urged her to study people, processes, and structures. He inspired her to be intellectually curious. He reminded her that making progress, in part, is based upon thinking. She has learned to apply this notion of intellectual curiosity by thinking about her organization’s future, understanding the present, and knowing and challenging herself to creatively move the people and the organization closer to its vision.

6. Listen to both sides of the argument. The most valuable advice Senator Brian P. Lees ever received came from his mentor, U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke III. He told him to listen to all different kinds of people and ideas. Listening only to those who share your background and opinions can be imprudent. It is important to respect your neighbors’ rights to their own views. Listening to and talking with a variety of people is essential not only to be a good leader in business, but to also be a valuable member within your community.

7. Prepare, prepare, prepare. If one has truly prepared and something goes wrong, the strength of the rest of what you’ve prepared for usually makes it something easier to handle without crisis and panic, says Dave Hixson, Amherst College Men’s Basketball Coach. The best advice he ever received: “Preparation is the science of winning.”

Adapted from Best Leadership Advice: Business Success Secrets from 7 Top Leaders by Paul Thornton, 6/26/09