Frontview Mirror - Patience In Sports

As we head into the weekend, I am thinking a lot about patience in sports. The Atlanta Hawks at 10-2 have the NBA's best record. What impresses me about the Hawks as how they have given their team to mature and develop. They have stuck with Josh Smith, Mike Bibby, Marvin Williams, and Head Coach Mike Woodson and are now reaping the benefits. This makes me also think of the Michigan Wolverines and Head Coach Rich Rodriguez. After two years, his future is unknown even though he had install a new system and get the players to operate within that system. I am not a Rodriguez fan and lacks even rudamentary people skills but they need to give him at least 5 years. Other thoughts:

• With no great college games, look for the top Heisman candidates to put up big numbers against inferior competition. I am not a fan of this award being a lifetime achievement honor and Tim Tebow has not been the team's best player. That award would go to Carlos Dunlap or Joe Haden. Therefore, my top 3 "2009" Heisman candidates are C.J. Spiller, Mark Ingram, and the best college football player, Ndamukong Suh.
• I would love a +1 college playoff this year. Your going to get your SEC match-up in Alabama and Florida but a Texas-TCU game would be awesome!
• How can you not enjoy Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. With 17 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions, Favre at 40 years old is the NFL's leading passer with a 107.5 rating. Stay young Brett and keep throwing deep to Sidney Rice!
• Speaking of the Vikings, Percy Harvin is amazing!
• Have you realized that the Cincinnati Bengals have swept both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. Assistant Coach Mike Zimmerman has taken the defense to a new level.
• I am fascinated by the resurgence of Vince Young and the Tennessee Titans. I was never a fan of his since he scored a 12 on his Wunderlic Test but along with Chris Johnson, he has energized this team.
• I am loving Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski on MNF.
• Sarah Palin is a ratings machine. Don't believe me, ask Hannity, O'Reily, and yes even Oprah.
• I am seeing 2012 tomorrow with my wife. I think she is setting me up for a serious "chick flick".
• I'm watching Season 4 of The Unit on dvd. What was CBS thinking canceling that show?
• I can't wait for the Cleveland Browns vs Detroit Lions. Okay, I'm kidding...unless the NHL is on.

Finally, I can't wait to post lesson 3 of Leadership Capacity tomorrow. Having a great time writing those insights.

Increasing Your Capacity and Slump Proofing Your Leadership Part 2

One of the greatest enemies of future success is....past success. Our natural default mode as leaders is to enjoy the fruits of our labor too long and become content. What made you successful today will not make you successful tomorrow. Ironically an incorrect personal evaluation of and response to current success can actually reduce your capacity. For church and business leaders to increase their capacity, after they have dealt with The Treasure Question, they must now answer The Satisfaction Question which states "Do I Think I Can Get Better?"

Peyton Manning has more passing yards (48,500) and touchdowns (353) by the age of 33 than any quarterback in the NFL's 90-year history. However, in this his 11th season, Manning's 69.7% completion rate and 319.1 yards passing per game are the highest in his career. Why? Certainly experience helps but many players' performance depreciates over time. There is something more.

Deep in your heart, if you are successful, do you honestly, honestly feel you need to and have to get better? Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone and do a proper analysis of your leadership, relational, and occupational skills? This is tough because subconsciously we all remember the growing pains of our youth. And anyway, aren't we happy with anything? We are, but we also can pervert gratefulness to the point that satisfaction becomes the enemy to the expansion of our capacity.

Peyton Manning understands this. "To understand why he hasn't struggled" Tony Dungy says "you have to understand the way his mind works. It drives him every day that the offense will be better, not just as good as it was." Former teammate Qadry Ismail says "He wants to squeeze out every ounce of talent he has and pour it into the art of quarterbacking, being the absolute best quarterback who has ever played."

Years ago, I frequently never gave my best. What I gave, most people were impressed with, and that was good enough. One weekend, however, I went to a men's retreat at Berry College in Rome, GA and participated in a ropes course. I had to climb a rock wall and only went so far up. I quit when it got too tough. That was a defining moment in my life. On that day in 1999 I decided I would never give less than my best, and praise God, to this day I can honestly say that as a leader, I have always left it all on the field and continually tried to get better. The growth in my life and the success I have achieved have been exponentially higher since that moment.

Here are a few practical things every leader can do to get better:

1. Always be reading good books. Expand your mind with new thoughts.
2. Listen and talk to leaders who bigger, stronger, and faster than you are. They will stretch you.
3. Every year, develop a personal growth plan. Pick an area of your life to grow and develop in.
4. Always know what your clients or people in your church are dealing with and what questions they are asking. This will make you "others focused" and always remember, we can't take people where we haven't gone ourselves. Nothing is worse than answering questions people are no longer asking.
5. Finally, when you feel tired or what you're working on is no longer easy, press into the assignment and work through the process. You will find you have more than enough energy and skill to address the need and subsequently find your confidence and capacity increased.

The Treasure Question. The Satisfaction Question. Are you starting to know what it takes to increase your capacity? Is your mind telling you things you need to stopr or start doing? Great - you are now ready to move to Part 3, The Information Question which states "Am I A Continual Learner?" Look for it on Saturday.

Increasing Your Capacity and Slump Proofing Your Leadership Part 1

Recently, I was in a conversation with a leader I greatly admire and he talked about the difference in "horsepower" between various leaders. What he was saying is that there is varying levels of capacity that individual leaders have. It got me thinking and asking myself "What is my capacity? Are there people who think I don't possess the horsepower needed to accomplish an assignment? Are they right? And if so, can I increase my capacity?" After weeks of study, I think you can.

Last week, I read an article by Peter King of Sports Illustrated on Peyton Manning. From that article, I have extracted 10 Questions that all leaders must deal with when addressing their individual capacity and personal growth. I feel these are so important that I am only going to release one at a time over the next 30 days. I hope you enjoy these posts but more important, I hope they are helpful in allowing you to reach your full redemptive potential. Let's get started with Question #1:

The Treasure Question which asks Do I Love What I Do? All other questions flow from this one. Luke 12:34 states "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." The industry that I'm in applies this verse to money, but it also has application elsewhere. If you love your leadership assignment, you will work extra hours joyfully. You will work weekends and always be checking your Blackberry. You'll come in early and stay let. You will study your chosen topic more. Books, blog posts, and podcasts will be a normal part of your life. And most telling, you will have a great attitude around the office.

As my friend Joe Sangl says "I don't have a job. I'm on a crusade!" Peyton Manning is on a crusade to be the best quarterback ever. He runs summer passing camps. The day after the 2009 NFL draft, he was working with first round pick Donald Brown the following morning at 8:00 AM. He is constantly re-working the game plan and doing game time adjustments. Every Thursday after practice, Peyton spends 90 extra minutes watching game film with WR Austin Collie. Peyton's love of the game is obvious.

Now let's answer the question - Do You Love What You Do? If you have to think about the answer, let me help you...you don't. You might like the compensation, benefits, perks, location, or your co-workers. But you don't love it. Here's another test - show me your calendar and your check book, and I'll tell you where your treasure is.

Pastor, leader, friend, please know this - Regardless of your myriad of skills, you will never reach your full capacity in something you don't love and doesn't capture your heart. Also, correctly answering The Treasure Question does not guarantee reaching full capacity. However, not loving what you do will ensure you cannot reach your capacity.

Please check back on Thursday as we deal with the second question all leaders must ask: The Satisfaction Question which states Do I Think I Can Better?