Category Archives: leadership

The Every Day Leader: The Heart of the Matter

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At the heart of who we are, the message is the same no matter where we live, the color of our skin, our backgrounds, our social standing, or our financial standing. We as humans really want to know from the rest of the world and from those around us:

Do we matter?

Does someone care about us?

This simple yet profound point was driven home to me not to long ago when I recently helped one of our clients. This gentleman comes to seek our assistance at least once a week. While it’s a struggle for him to get out of the car,  he still comes. He comes not necessarily for what we have to offer in material things, but he comes seeking the companionship, to be acknowledged, and to know that someone cares about him. I have seen the loneliness in his eyes; I know he has no family and no real friends. I have heard him wonder out loud if God has abandoned him.  He is no different from many others I have known over the years.  Does my life count?  Does anyone care?  Where is God anyway?

If as business owners, nonprofit directors, and leaders what if we intentionally made an effort to do everything with this message that people do matter?  If we truly lived and lead like this, would our lives and those around us look differently?  Would our businesses or organizations look differently?

People matter more than:

 Tasks

Processes

Life issues

The high stresses of the job

The deadlines

 

As leaders we don’t have the choice to say that I will put people first WHEN the business is successful or the organization has reached its goals.   We have to decide in the beginning that people matter, that they matter more than anything we will do in this life. When we choose to put that kind of emphasis on people and relationships we will soon see that it is in those moments that our own lives begin to take on a whole new meaning.

The little things we do today can and will leave a lasting impact…

 May we NEVER forget that EVERY MOMENT matters!

 

The Every Day Leader: Sparrow Leadership Principles

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Spring has finally arrived in the Great Peach State of Georgia! Oh to wake up to birds singing, there seems to be nothing better in the entire world! This is indeed a true refresher to the soul after a long winter. Some how that first month of spring seems to be the most appreciated of the season.

I recently stepped out into the black abyss, my garage, and decided to tackle a few things that were in disarray. As I swept the leaves and pine straw away, I reached up to clean the same mess from the shelves. I was wondering what those kids had been up to now?!

Just as I was about to knock the pine straw and leaves to the garage floor, I looked a bit closer at the mess, and there I saw it… this organized mess had a pattern to it. A deliberate pattern, as if each piece of the mess had been carefully placed. As I peered at it, I saw that this “mess” was no other than a little home to some new “neighbors” a family of birds had moved right in and made themselves comfortable on my garage shelf. This explained the sudden uptick in bird traffic I had seen recently coming and going in the garage.

I thought about the strategically located nest and how it was the perfect place: safe, dry, warm, out of danger, camouflaged, and yet there was just one thing wrong with this picture… they never realized they would not have access to their quaint little home all the time. How awful for their little one’s had they not been able to get to them.

As leaders, how many times have we had tunnel vision? Have we built the perfect system or service and yet failed to consider who would use it? How many times have we focused on our bottom line and forgot to value our staff that really makes things happen?

It is so easy to lose sight of the big picture; to get bogged down in the details of life and business, customers and products that we miss the reason we are doing what we are doing and why we do it.

May we as leaders always be quick to appreciate those who came along with us on the journey, quick to look beyond our surroundings and see what lies ahead, quick to protect those in our care, and always look for ways to make our “nest” stronger, more connected, and keep it out of danger. This can be done through hiring the right people, instilling an atmosphere that does not tolerate gossip, valuing employees, doing everything with integrity and excellence, and building a bridge of trust with every customer.