[blockquote text=’I spend several hours each week in my home office to think, read, and write. In addition to the weekly leadership blog post and podcast, I would like to connect with you on a more personal level to share books, stories, quotes, and principles that have recently impacted me. I hope it will encourage you on your journey of growth and discovery.
– Wes Saade, M.D.’ text_color=’#ffffff’ width=’95’ line_height=’undefined’ background_color=’#aaaaaa’ border_color=’#dba400′ show_quote_icon=’no’ quote_icon_color=’#dba400′]
Welcome to my office!? I hope you?ve had a wonderful week!
Last week, I was privileged to attend John Maxwell’s?Exchange?leadership conference. ?He and Pastor Bill Hybels imparted great wisdom from their years of leadership experience. Pastor Hybels is the founding pastor of Willow Creek Community Church?and the author of several best selling books. This was the first time I had ever heard him speak, and I found him to be a passionate person who really understands leadership. This is my picture with him below.? I am dedicating a portion of this blog to share with you my top three take-aways from the conference.
Lessons I learned last week:
1.????? Culture eats vision for lunch. 
Dr. Maxwell shared this true maxim. You can have an amazing vision, however if the culture of the organization cannot support change, cannot foster creativity, or does not have healthy teamwork, a vision will not get you anywhere.? So how do you change your culture? Slowly, but it has to come from the top leadership. It cannot be a Human Resources side-show.
2.????? Write a leadership journal.
I have never heard this concept before, but it really appealed to me. Bill Hybels practices this discipline and expects all those on his leadership team to do the same. He said he writes in his leadership journal a few times a week. In it he reflects on what he is doing right or wrong and what he wants to work on and improve. He said this journal ?chronicles his leadership odyssey.? During certain leadership meetings, he will ask his team to ?pull out their leadership journal? and share from it with the team.
3.????? Every vision tests the mettle of every leader.
So true. Bill Hybels spoke about this point. He said that visions are holy commodities; we should not let go of them because of fear. Visions are given to us to make a difference in our world, and we need to honor them. However, we also need to remember that when you bring a vision to the table, your resolve, your character, and your mettle as a leader is most often tested. The question is?will you stand firm?
Book I Read This Week:
Necessary Endings by Dr. Henry Cloud
In this important book, Dr. Cloud focuses on a core issue of leadership: How do you get yourself to end certain relationships that do not align with your values and goals? And how do you execute those endings?
I believe the vast majority of leaders struggle in this area, and at least most can use some help in thinking about this issue in a healthy way. While several books talk about this issue in passing, Necessary Endings is one of the few books I have come across that deals with it in depth. This is not a human resources book with a lot of ?how to?s.? Rather it delves deep into the psychology of why we don?t end relationships that we should.
I met Dr. Henry Cloud at a conference a few years ago, and I was impressed with his ideas then. He is the author of the well-known book Boundaries.
This book is 232 pages. It is well written and flows well. I highly recommend it to anyone in leadership. You can buy it on Amazon here.
It is a pleasure to share with you each week, in particular what I learned last week at John Maxwell’s?Exchange?leadership conference. I invite you to share what you are learning in the comments section below.
Your friend,
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