News flash! You don’t have to be in charge (have authority), in order to lead. You don’t need a title to make a difference. All you need is the right intentions and the right insights and you can make a difference in your organization.

I am sure if you look at the organizations that you are associated with, you will find that most of the people inside are not in charge than those with authority (decision makers). More than likely you have been called to carry someone else’s vision, execute on decisions you haven’t made and expected to serve cheerfully.

Take a look closer at your organizations and I am sure you will find that there’s a subset of a few individuals. Some young, some older, who in spite of the fact that they don’t have the title of CEO, Owner, Pastor; they are influential regardless of not being “In Charge”.

Are these individuals special, are they just good at sucking up to the boss, or is it something else? I believe this group of individuals understand the concept of Leading Up.

Leading up is the ability to influence authority without having authority. Another way to look at leading up is the term “upward leadership“. I love what author Michael Useem, says about upward leadership, “Leadership has always required more than a downward touch: It needs to come from below as well as from the top, and leaders today must reach up as never before.”

Upward leadership is just as important to the success of an organization as downward leadership. Regardless if you are not the boss, new on staff, or if you’re young it’s important to understand that your perspective matters.

In your role on the frontlines, you see what your leader doesn’t see. You see problems before they make its way up to leadership. They can’t fix what they don’t see so now you have the ability to “reach up” and provide solutions to help the organization.

You don’t need authority to make a difference. Leading up is how you leverage your influence when you are not in charge. However, leading up could be a bit risky. If your intentions and motives are wrong it could hurt you.

I want to share with you three ways that you can lead up and make a difference in your organization the right way.

Leading up is the ability to influence authority without having authority.
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3 Ways To Lead Up

Know Your Role

If you want to be over people as a leader, you must first learn to be under leadership. Right now you maybe second in command or at the bottom of the organization chart. You may not be in charge of everything but you are in charge of something.

Owning what you are in charge of (your responsibilities) and making it better is how you earn influence and make your organization succeed.

You are a valuable part to the success of your leader and the organization. Carrying someone else’s vision requires that you buy into that vision. When you see how your role can help the organization succeed, it’s easier to show initiative and get things done in spite of having authority.

When others see you thriving in your current role, it makes it easier to see you moving into your next role. Regardless of your position, learn to lead yourself first. Have a positive attitude, a can do spirit that looks not to just highlight problems but to also submit solutions.

Be great where you are, help others succeed around you and before you know it, leadership will be looking to you for input. Leading up is a skill that you must continuously develop. Your ability to lead up today impacts your ability to move up tomorrow.

Your ability to lead up today impacts your ability to move up tomorrow.
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Find A Need

Making your leader better is a sure way to influence authority. You lead up by serving up. How can you make those above you better? Is there a strength you have that is a weakness for them? That’s a great place for you to serve them in. The best way to serve your organization is to find a need and fill it.

People remember those who help them the most. The more you add value, the more you fill needs, the more likely those in authority will listen to your ideas and insights. Get to know what’s important to the organization and leadership, find a need that you can fill and do it with excellence.

Sometimes you have to be willing to do what others won’t do to earn the opportunity to influence those above you. Influence equals access. The more influence you can earn by adding value to your leader, the more access you will have with your leader. If you want to gain influence with authority, lighten your leader’s load.

If you want to gain influence with authority, lighten your leader’s load.
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Honor Authority

Not only does influence give you access, honor gives you access to. When leadership knows that you honor them, it’s easier for them to trust you and give you access. Honoring gives you permission to speak up, say more and bring up issues that will be more receptive by leadership.

All authority has been given by God (Romans 13:1-2), including at the workplace. Submission to authority is an aspect of true honor. When we dishonor what God has established, we also cheat ourselves out of His blessing.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you allow leadership to cause you to break the law or sin. Hopefully, those above you have your best interest in mind, operate with integrity and is also adding value to you.

You can disagree with a decision by leadership and still honor leadership. You might find yourself not honoring your leader, you should consider going somewhere else if this is the case. If you don’t honor authority, don’t expect leadership to be influenced by you.

Showing honor where you are today will result in others honoring you when you are in authority someday. Honor gives you the access to be able to make the deposits and withdrawals with your leader; lead up. Let your words about your leaders be of good report. I love how Pastor Andy Stanley puts it, “Honor publicly results in influence privately.”

Honor publicly results in influence privately. -Andy Stanley
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Again, leading up is influencing authority without having authority. Upward leadership gives you the ability to impact your leader and organization positively. Leading up is a skill that you must continuously develop, practice and execute.

To influence those in power you must lead up by serving up, being great where you are and giving honor to those in authority. People will follow a leader with a heart faster than a leader with a title.

Share an example how you’ve lead up with your leader. 

The post LEVERAGING INFLUENCE WHEN YOU LACK AUTHORITY appeared first on Steve Messam.

Leadership development doesn’t happen overnight, it’s developed over a lifetime. Let that sink in. It’s easy to be misled when you see the success of someone today, not knowing what they went through yesterday. That’s because leadership is a daily process, it’s not accomplished in a day.

Many of us are guilty of rushing the process. I know I am guilty of wanting tomorrow’s results today, without going through yesterday’s grind to get there. Are you guilty of rushing the leadership process?

Overnight Success

There are no shortcuts in leadership. You have to put in the work to reap the success. You have to be willing to invest in yourself if you desire to add value to others.

It takes time, to grow as a leader. Unfortunately, most people aren’t willing to go through the process but still want instant results.

It’s important to understand that overnight success doesn’t happen overnight. Overnight success is the result of intentional daily grind.

Overnight success is the result of intentional daily grind.
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Want to be a great leader? You have to be willing to sacrifice, commit and invest the time and effort it will take to develop as a leader.  If you don’t sacrifice for what you want, what you want becomes the sacrifice.

I want to share with you three concepts to help you embrace the process as you grow as a leader. As the saying goes, you have to pay the cost to be the boss. What you do on a consistent and disciplined basis will lead to your success.

If you don’t sacrifice for what you want, what you want becomes the sacrifice. -Unknown
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Slow Cook

The problem today is that too many leaders want to be microwaved and not slowed cooked. Leadership development is more like a crock pot than a microwave.

You have to be willing to marinate today so you can sizzle tomorrow. The longer you develop, the more prepared you will be to lead. A great leader is never done developing. You’re always looking for ways to get better.

Recently my wife purchased a Kitchen Aid Classic Mixer for my Anniversary present, to satisfy my new baking hobby. I’ve gotten pretty good at baking cakes but I didn’t start off that way. I had a tendency of taking the cake out before it was done baking (rushing).

If you have baked a cake before, you know that to test and see if it’s ready you stick a fork in it. It smelled ready, it even looked ready but it wasn’t. That’s because you can look like your ready on the outside but on the inside your not.

You don’t want to be taken out of the oven to early. When those you lead stick you with their forks, you want to make sure that what comes out of you adds value and doesn’t cause a mess.

Leadership development is more like a crock pot than a microwave.
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Law of Process

In his best-selling book, “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership“, John Maxwell in The Law of Process states, “Leadership develops daily, not in a day.” He observed that “Champions don’t become champions in the ring, they are merely recognized there.”

Your daily routine, daily preparations will reveal if you are rushing the leadership process. You can have all the talent and potential in the world but if you cheat the process in the dark, you will get exposed under the lights.

When your time comes, you have to be ready to lead. Continuously commit to investing in your learning. A leaders learning never ends, it’s an ongoing process. Strive to get better each day.

Leadership develops daily, not in a day. -John Maxwell
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Seed Time Harvest

I’m a systems guy and God has given us the seed time & harvest system that produces (Gen 8:22). A seed is designed to multiply, the harvest is always greater than the seed & there is no harvest without a seed.

I’m not just talking about corn, apples & watermelons. This applies to leadership as well. A farmer doesn’t sow a seed and reap his harvest the next day; it takes time then the harvest. As a leader, you sow seeds of sacrifices today so in time you can reap harvests of success tomorrow.

It takes a long period of time to lead well. You must be faithful in your daily interactions with those you lead and investing daily in yourself. Patience is a virtue, don’t rush the seeds you have sown.

Self-discipline and perseverance are qualities you will have to sow to resist the urge to rush the process. Your harvest is waiting on the other side of the time it will require for you to develop, prepare, train, and mature into the leader you are called to be.

A leader sows seeds of sacrifices today, to reap harvests of success tomorrow.
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Remember there are no shortcuts to leadership. A leader is in it for the long haul, not shortcuts. The longer you develop in the leadership crock pot the more prepared you will be to lead. Leadership develops daily, not in a day.

Trust the process, invest in yourself and sow seeds of sacrifice today to reap success tomorrow. Leadership doesn’t develop overnight. It’s developed throughout life. Enjoy the journey!

Do you struggle with rushing your leadership development? 

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It amazes me how some people can actually see the same thing physically but have a different perspective on it mentally. I believe it’s because there’s a difference between our eyesight and our mindsight. What you see (vision), plays a key role in your success.

When you think about vision, think about these two definitions. The first one is the sense of being able to use your eyes to see – eyesight.  The second definition is to envision/anticipate that which will or may come to be – mindsight.

One you can actually see with your physical eyes, the other you can see with your mental eyes. It’s not really here yet but you can picture it, you can envision it with you mental eyes.

Having the right perspective on both sights – your mindsight and your eyesight – will help you achieve your goals as well as give you the motivation to keep things in proper perspective and not sweat the small stuff.

Don’t let what you see with you eyes, discourage you from pursuing what you see with your mind.
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3 Ways Big Picture Perspective Leads To Success

1. See It

Our first point is, see it. You have to see the big picture with your mind, regardless of what you see with your eyes. This is why some people see the same thing physically but have different perspective mentally. Consider this for example.

You have three workers all doing the same job, constructing a building. Each worker was asked the same question, “What is that you’re building?” Worker one responded by saying, “I’m laying bricks on top of each other, that’s my job.”

Worker number two responded, “I’m building a wall.” He’s actually laying bricks, but his perspective isn’t laying bricks but building a wall.

Finally, worker number three answered, “I’m building a cathedral.” Here he is laying the same bricks as the others but his perspective is seeing a cathedral.

You have to see the big picture with your mind, regardless of what you see with your eyes.
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Mindsight vs Eyesight

Let’s break down this mindsight versus eyesight or big picture perspective versus small picture perspective.

Your eyesight, or small picture perspective, is driven by things that are happening around you or outside of you, your outer-self. Your mindsight, big picture perspective, that’s driven by what’s inside of you, your inner-self.

Eyesight sees the raw materials, it sees the lumber, cement, nails, hammer, all of the raw materials. Your mindsight sees the finished product, it see the cathedral, it sees your dream home. Mindsight is your ability to see the finished product mentally before you can see it physically.

Mindsight is your ability to see the finished product mentally before you can see it physically.
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Just in case you didn’t know, you have God-given raw materials on the inside of you. If you see things from the proper perspective you can turn what may seem like broken pieces (eyesight) to your masterpiece (mindsight).

But, how do you get what you see physically with your eyesight to align with what you see mentally with your mindsight?

2. Write It

Point number two is to write it. You have to capture the vision and keep it up front. Writing down your vision helps you bridge your mindsight (mental vision) to your eyesight (physical vision).

As a Wisdom Chaser, I’m chasing wisdom from all places, whether it’s on social media, books, movies, interactions, you name it. One book I keep in heavy rotation when it comes to wisdom is the Bible.

Over 2,500 years ago there was a Hebrew prophet by the name of Habakkuk, who said to “write the vision, make it plain on tablets.” You didn’t know folks had iPads back then…just kidding, but back then they had these tablets which were stones that they wrote words on.

Physical Reminder

You need to write down your visions. Put them in places that you see routinely like your bathroom mirror, car dashboard or maybe on the refrigerator. It’s always great to have that physical reminder to reinforce your vision.

Maybe you need a different type of physical reminder other than words like many athletes use, pictures. Use visual reminders or visual metaphors, like a picture of a house, a car, or an object that serves as a reminder of what you’re working hard for.

Having that visual reminder, writing down your vision is going to help you stay focused and not sweat the small things, to help you bridge that mindsight (mental vision) to your eyesight (physical vision).

Writing down your vision helps you bridge your mindsight (mental vision) to your eyesight (physical vision).
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So you wrote it down – now what? I’m going to go back to my friend Habakkuk and finish his quote. He said, “Write the vision, make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.”(Hab 2:2)

3. Chase It

The third and final point is to chase it. Always remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. You have to run with endurance, it’s not a one and done thing. It’s something you’re going to have to work towards on a continual basis.

Don’t run aimlessly. That’s why you write it down, that’s why you have those reminders to keep it in front so you can continue to push forward. Chasing is an intentional action towards a purpose, towards a vision.

You have to be willing to put in the work that’s required to accomplish your big picture dream. I can remember training as an athlete, the pain, the sweat, and the discomfort. I didn’t like all of the running, drills, and reps, but I saw the big picture. I knew it was preparing me to chase after that cathedral, that win, that championship.

That’s what it’s going to take for you to accomplish your big picture dream. You need to stay up late, wake up early, put in the extra time, make the sacrifices. I’ll tell you this, it may not seem like it’s fair, you may be uncomfortable, but it sure will be worth it!

Delayed Gratification

Here’s the big takeaway with chase it. Delayed gratification, not instant satisfaction. Instant satisfaction is only temporary, but delayed gratification is a lasting reward. You have to put in the work. Chasing after your big picture dream may seem like a never ending race.

It’s important to note that delayed does not mean denied. Keep the faith, because faith is what you hope for through your actions, through chasing. For faith without chasing, it’s dead. You have to have faith.

Delayed doesn’t mean denied. Keep the faith.
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Here’s what delayed gratification will give you. Today you’re laying bricks, tomorrow you’re enjoying your cathedral. Today you are buffing plates, but tomorrow you’re enjoying your own establishment. Today you may be riding the bench or second string, but tomorrow you will be leading your team.

See the big picture. Write it down. Chase after it. Don’t run away from your big picture, run after it!

If you have a big picture dream that you’ve envisioned take the next step and write it down in the comments below. 

The post THE SURPRISING POWER OF YOUR MINDSIGHT appeared first on Steve Messam.

During my football days, I had many coaches tell me, whether it was before a game or before my studies too, “Get your mind right.” What they were really saying was something needs to happen in my mind first, in order for me to have success on the field or in life. Mindset is truly a game changer.

One key reason why some people don’t achieve their dreams is because they want changed results without changing their mindset first. You can have all the talent and skills in the world but if your mental game (mindset) isn’t right, you won’t succeed.

Having a positive mindset is a requirement for good results, success. There is essentially a 1:1 ratio between the quality of one’s thinking to the quality of their results. Good thoughts produce good results.

James Allen, author of “As a Man Thinketh” wrote, “Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results.” You will never get an apple tree from an orange seed.

As John Maxwell has stated, “If you don’t like the crop (results) you are reaping, you need to change the seed (thinking) you are sowing!” You reap what you sow therefore, I want to challenge you to sow a positive mindset.

There are three key things we will focus on when we think about our mindset.

Good thoughts produce good results.
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3 Ways Your Mindset Can Lead To Success

1. Receive It

Unload The Negative

Our first key focus is to receive it. I believe that if you renew your mind the rest of you; your beliefs, body, and behaviors will follow. But in order to receive you have to make room for positive results by getting rid of negative thoughts.

What are you feeding your mind? Who are some of the people and some of the things that you listen to, that you’re watching? What are some of the external influences impacting the way you think on a daily basis? External influences can play a key role in killing your dreams.

External influences aren’t the only culprit to killing dreams, are you killing your dreams with your own internal negative thoughts? Maybe something negative someone has spoken into your life in the past, is spinning a lot on your internal record player?

I believe that those negative thoughts that you’ve received whether it be external or internal can be replaced with positive things by tuning into different programs. Listening to different podcasts or reading different books to feed you mind with things that are going to help build you up and not tear you down.

Renew your mind and the rest of you; your beliefs, body, and behaviors will follow.
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Advocates Over Adversaries

Surround yourself with advocates and not adversaries. Think of it as supporters and not haters. Maybe even think of them as believers and not doubters.

People pour into us each and every day, whether it’s spiritual leaders, bosses, teachers, parents or whoever they may be. You need to make sure you surround yourself with people who have your best interests in mind.

Sometimes true advocates are going to tell you the truth and not everything that you want to hear. That’s completely okay.

Surround yourself with people who have your best interests in mind.
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Reject The Negative

Unloading the negative is all about getting the negative out of you. Rejecting the negative is all about keeping it out of you. Think of it as a filter system.

Just like a fish tank has a filter system to ensure the water is at a level the fish can survive and removes the waste to make sure that the fish don’t get sick, you need to have a mental filter system.

Ask yourself, “Is this going to help me improve and grow or not?” If it is, receive it. If it’s not, reject it. The next time you get constructive feedback from different people in your life, it may hurt, it may not be what you want to hear. If it’s something that can help you, receive it. If not, reject it.

2. Believe It

Head To Heart

It doesn’t stop at receiving it and thinking it. Now you have to believe it. You have to be able to receive it in your mind before you can believe it in your heart. How can you believe something that you can’t receive?

Ideas don’t necessarily lead to change, beliefs do. You may have had ideas of becoming a doctor or a lawyer, but your beliefs didn’t quite match up to those thoughts. Maybe you believed that you didn’t have the financial support or resources, you were not smart enough, or what have you.

Ideas don’t necessarily lead to change, beliefs do.
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Belief Impacts Behavior

Your beliefs need to match your ideas. A good example is a guy who tells himself he wants to be the heavyweight champion of the world with boxing. If his idea of being a boxer matches his beliefs – he believes that he’s going to be a champion – you’re going to see a behavior change.

He’s going to do some things that he wasn’t doing in the past. He’s going to make sacrifices, train like crazy, stop hanging out or doing certain things (let eating certain foods) that he would be doing if he wasn’t training to be heavyweight champion.

To truly say that you believe something, your belief should impact your behavior. Or another way to look at it is your behavior should reflect your belief. Ideas alone won’t get you change. Your ideas have to match your belief, which motivates you to make the change.

To be a champion, your behavior should reflect your belief.
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3. Achieve it

Application Is Key

Now that you have it in your mind and believe it in your heart, let’s focus on the final point which is “achieve” it. We’re going to borrow some wise words from the guru himself from Star Wars, the great Yoda. “Do or do not, there is no try.”

This is where application comes in. Knowledge is internal, it’s what you know, but wisdom is external, it’s what you show. “Application” is the key. It’s going to take applying the right habits, behaviors, and beliefs to fuel your positive mindset into success.

So you receive it, you believe it, now you’re going to achieve it!

Do or do not, there is no try. -Yoda
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Power Of The Will

The great Colonel Sanders from KFC heard over 1,000 no’s before he got his first yes to get his recipe approved to start a business, which we now know is a very successful franchise. It only took one yes. He had this belief in his idea of being a great business in the face of countless disappointments, his belief (mindset) and his willpower, drove him until he got that first yes.

When you truly believe in your ideas, willpower is what drives you to achieve it. That’s what you’re going to need in order to truly change the game with your mindset; willpower. Like the Colonel, when you believe in your dreams, failures are inevitable on your journey to success.

You will get some no’s, have some bumps, but you have to keep on pushing, keep on striving to achieve whatever it is that you want to achieve.

When you believe in your dreams, failures are inevitable on the road to success.
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Don’t Impress; Impact

When you are striving to achieve your dreams, having the right motives are important. You need to seek to impact others versus impressing them. You can’t please everybody. That’s something you just have to deal with.

Trying to impress folks causes us to put on an act. When you’re acting that only leads to temporary change because you’re only temporarily adapting or changing just to suit that situation.

But, when you’re impacting people, when you’re serving people, that leads to permanent change. That is what we’re seeking when we talk about this whole mindset game changer. We want to not just impact our lives, we want to impact those who are around us too.

Seek to impact others, not to impress them.
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In order to change the game, you have to get your mind right. Replace the negative thoughts with positive thoughts; receive it. Make sure that your behavior matches what you think of yourself; believe it.

At the end of the day, it’s either do or do not, there is no try. Let your willpower push you to impact others and not focus on impressing them; achieve it.

What are some positive reinforcements you are finding your mind with? Please feel free to comment below.

The post WHY A POSITIVE MINDSET IS GOOD FOR YOUR SUCCESS appeared first on Steve Messam.

Tell me if you’ve heard this before about the path to success, “If it was easy then everyone would be doing it”? Generally speaking, many of us start off on the right path in life but for some reason, we veer off the path and can’t quite seem to stay on the path to success. I believe it’s due to the lack of setting boundaries.

There’s a story of a broad/wide road and a narrow way. The broad and wide road leads to destruction, leads to failure, and so many people are on this road because it’s the easy route.

Then there are only a select few people who decides to take the narrow way that leads to life, that leads to success. This road is more difficult. The key difference between the broad road and the narrow way are boundaries.

Staying on the narrow way won’t be easy but it will be worth it.
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On your way to work or whenever you’re traveling, you’ve probably noticed those iron and wooden railings on the side of the road. Guardrails are a system designed to keep you from straying into dangerous or off-limit areas. I would like for you to look at boundaries as your internal guardrails.

On the path to success, it is important that you establish your own mental guardrails which should serve as warning signs to keep you from getting into those dangerous or off-limit areas that lead to failure and not, success.

In the best-selling book “Boundaries“, Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend states that boundaries are personal property lines that define who you are and who you are not, and influence all areas of your life.

I want to push you to create your own mental guardrails to help you establish behaviors and principles to protect you from unnecessary long-term physical, emotional, financial or professional pain or setbacks in the future.

2 Reasons to Set Boundaries

1. Protection

Guard Your Heart

Sometimes we like to flirt with danger, getting as close to the line as possible. It’s important that we take the advice of a Hebrew proverb that says, “guard your heart with all diligence.” (Pro 4:23) Your heart is your will, emotions, feelings and your mind. What are you letting in? What are you releasing out?

Maybe you have had the unfortunate experience of crashing into a guardrail on the road. Yes, it probably left some damage and you probably had some temporary pain, but just imagine if that guardrail wasn’t there and you veered off a cliff or into a canal.

That’s the importance of having these mental guardrails, it’s for your protection. It protects your heart.

It’s important to understand that boundaries are not walls. Think of them as fences because fences have gates. Boundaries help you keep the good in and the bad out. Let’s face it, you’ve made mistakes, had failures, and you’re probably holding in a lot of bad emotions and experiences.

Open the gates and let the bad out and let the good in as you stay laser focused on that narrow way to success.

There’s protection when you set boundaries in your life.
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2. Direction

Burdens & Loads

Our second point is direction, dealing with others within boundaries. We are responsible to others and for ourselves. The Apostle Paul once said that we are to carry, share, and support each other’s burdens (Gal 6:2). He also said that each one should carry their own load (Gal 6:5).

There’s a big difference between burdens and loads. The Greek word for burden means excessive or overloaded burden. Think of a boulder, there’s no way we should be carrying a boulder each day.

For example, a burden could be a tragedy, crisis, or maybe a major loss in your life or someone else life. You should be helping or having someone else help you carry that burden. On the flip side, the Greek word for “load” is a daily responsibility. Picture a backpack.

Obviously, it’s easier to carry a backpack every day versus a boulder. Setting boundaries always require that you take responsibility for your own backpack, your own actions, thoughts, and behaviors.

Support Network

When creating your boundaries it’s important to always have a support network to help you with your boulders/burdens, or to help others with their burdens. Setting and maintaining boundaries is hard work, not overwork.

It’s extremely important that you have a work-life balance because overworking on your daily load can lead to burnout, and burnout is just a one-way ticket to that broad road to failure.

We can’t trust ourselves to know when our boundaries are being violated. -Melody Beattie

Also, you have to put some teeth behind your guardrails, you have to backup your boundaries with consequences for yourself as well as others who step out of bounds. You have to learn how to say “no” when other people try to pass their loads on you; freeloaders.

Setting boundaries mean saying no to freeloaders.
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You can’t be all things to all people. It takes discipline, self-control and wisdom to know what you should and shouldn’t be doing. You can’t carry everybody’s load and you shouldn’t carry your burdens alone.

As a reminder, it’s extremely important that you establish these guardrails to keep you from straying into those dangerous and off limit areas, to stay on that narrow way to success. I can’t promise that it’s going to be easy. It’s going to take hard work, but it will be worth it.

Do you struggle with setting boundaries, if so which area in your life is the hardest? Please comment below.

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How important is “influence” to you as a leader? Do you find yourself more focus on attaining a fancy title or reaching a certain position? Leadership isn’t based on position or fancy titles. Leadership is Influence.

I had the privilege over 15 years ago to attend a conference where I heard one of the world’s leading experts on leadership, John Maxwell, talk about his bestselling book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

The second law, which is the law of influence, had a profound impact on my life. In that law, he dispelled a common myth by saying that leadership isn’t based on position or impressive titles. He summed up the definition of leadership as, “Leadership is influence, nothing more and nothing less.”

Leadership is influence, nothing more and nothing less. -John Maxwell
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There’s a leadership proverb that states, “He who thinks he leads but has no followers is only taking a walk.” If you were to look behind you, who is following you? Your spouse, kids, coworkers, colleagues? Maybe it’s students, congregants, or even teammates? What causes people to follow each other?

Another world leading expert, Ken Blanchard, author of the bestselling book The One Minute Manager, stated this, “The key to successful leadership today is influence.” There’s no getting around it, if you want to be a leader, you have to have influence.

The challenge for you as a leader is to not focus on what it will take to attain a position but what will it take to attract followers. As a leader, influence is critical not only in leading and impacting others but also in leading yourself.

The key to successful leadership today is influence. -Ken Blanchard
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2 Ways to Influence Yourself and Influence Others

1. Check Your Habits.

The first key point is to check your habits. We are creatures of habit and habits influence us. Influence flows inside out and there is no influence like the influence of habits. What drives you? What are your interests, your passions?

Your passions and your interests actually cause you to develop habits and routines to get you closer to your goals. Your passions and your interests also are huge motivators, but motivation alone will not get you to the leadership mountaintop.

Motivation points and focuses you there, but habits get you there. Another way to look at it is motivation gets you started, but your habits keep you going. While you’re checking your habits make sure that you break the bad ones and create some new ones.

In order to understand a new idea, new concept, new solution, you have to break old habits. The Apostle Paul once said, “Don’t let evil overcome you, but overcome evil by doing good. (Romans 12:21)” Let’s actually substitute the word evil with whatever old or bad habit that’s standing in your way.

Don’t let doubt, don’t let fear, don’t let negativity get the best of you, but get the best of whatever it is that is standing in your way to success as a leader, by doing good, by doing what is right, by creating new habits.

We lead ourselves by using our heads, our habits, our experiences, but we impact others by using our hearts. Which leads us to our second and final key point, which is to check your actions.

Motivation gets you started but your habits keep you going.
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2. Check Your Actions.

When leading and impacting others it is important to remember that it’s a heart thing, not a smart thing. I’m sure you would agree that for the most part, people don’t care what you know, they just want to know that you care.

Ben Franklin had this to say, “If you would persuade or influence, you must appeal to interests or passions rather than intellect.” As a leader, care more about helping people than you do, trying to impress people.

Care more about Helping people than Impressing people.
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A leader should touch their heart before they ask for their hand. Just like you have your own interests and passions, so do others. It’s your job, it’s your duty to connect with others passions and interests.

Leading by example is a great way to check your actions. The most powerful moral influence is an example. You develop your credibility with people by actually connecting and showing genuine interest through your actions, by sharing freely, by giving generously.

Pastor Chris Hodges, the author of the book Fresh Air,  has a saying that is a great example of how to lead by example, “Find a need and fill it. Find a hurt and heal it.” That’s leading by example.

In conclusion, I want to challenge you instead of focusing on a position or an impressive title to focus on being an influencer, because influencers make things happen. But here’s a warning; influence is earned, not given.

You earn it by actually touching other’s hearts, not showing them that you’re smart. God will give influence to those who use it to bless others and to honor him. One more thing. Your habits influence you, your actions influence others. Now go and change your world!

Your Habits influence you. Your Actions influence them.
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Who has influenced you the most in your leadership journey? Please comment below.

The post WHY INFLUENCE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR LEADERS appeared first on Steve Messam.

Have you ever wondered what’s the secret to success? I’ve read a lot of books, observed a lot of successful people, and I’ve actually come to the conclusion that there is really no secret to success. That success is actually wrapped up in a four letter word: WORK.

Legendary coach Vince Lombardi once said, “The only place where you find success before work is in the dictionary.”

Even if we go to the Bible and look in the First Book of Genesis 2:15, when God made Adam he placed him in the Garden of Eden and he told him to work it and to take care of it. That’s right, ladies, God gave man a J-O-B before he gave him a wifey.

The only place where you find success before work is in the dictionary. -Vince Lombardi
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Thomas Edison had it right and I am truly convinced that many leaders are missing the opportunity to reach success because it’s dressed in overalls and it looks like work.

I want to challenge you to implement what I’m calling the 3 Ds to Success: Discover, Develop & Drive. To help you reach your goals, to put in the work, and to reap your harvest; success in due season. As a leader, if you want to reach the fruits of success, you have to climb the tree called work!

If a leader wants to reach the fruits of success, you have to climb the tree called work.
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Work – 3 Ds to Success

1. Discover Your Why.

Our first D to success is discovering your why. Your why is your mental and internal springboard to success as a leader. Your “why” is more important than your “what”. When we focus too much on the what – job, career, studies – and not truly having a clear understanding of the reason, purpose, or the why – why you’re waking up, why you’re doing the things or sacrifices that you’re doing – it’s going to be much more difficult to actually chase after your what.

Another point to remember is that your why motivates you to go after your what. As a leader, your why is your mental picture of where you want to be, where you want your family, organization or team to be. Since your why isn’t here today, it’s going to take active faith for you to use your mental and your physical effort to make that thing manifest itself.

One thing I do is that I incorporate prayer as well. I actually pray like it all depends on God but then I work like it all depends on me. God is going to do his part to help you get to your why, but you’re going to have to do your part as well.

Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you. -St. Augustine
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2. Develop Your What.

The second D to success is to develop your what. Your what could be your job, career, studies, skills, gifts, talents, crafts…you name it. Nothing will work unless you do. Let’s face it, there’s no substitute for hard work. Let’s just say that hard work is a seed and that success is a harvest. Just like you can’t have a harvest without a seed, you can’t have success without hard work.

Let’s just say the why that you filled in your blank, was security or maybe even wealth. Here’s a Hebrew proverb that you probably want to note, “Being lazy will make you poor, but hard work will make you rich.” Proverbs 10:4

One key to a leader’s success as it relates to developing your what is to practice, practice, practice. Author Malcolm Gladwell, in his bestselling book Outliers actually highlighted the concept of the 10,000 hours rule, where he was able to determine after observing many successful and wealthy individuals like Bill Gates and The Beatles that it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become an expert.

Practice your skill. Strive for improvement. Monitor your performance. Evaluate your success and work on those areas that you’re not good at. Whether it takes you 100 hours or 10,000 hours, if you develop your what it will lead to success.

Hard work is the seed and Successes are the harvests. You can’t have success without hard work.
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3. Drive to Your Where.

The third and final D to success is to drive to your where. While you’re driving make sure you embrace the journey before your destination. The road to which success comes is some good old-fashioned effort. Work worth doing propels you to get to where you want to be, it gets you to your why.

The difference between try and triumph is a little “oomph” because a little “oomph” can make a big difference. If you want to reach the fruit you have to climb the tree. Success is dependent on effort.

On the road to success as a leader, remember that satisfaction lies in the effort before the attainment. You won’t be happy in the destination if you can’t be happy on the journey. I know there’s going to be ups and downs, bumps, detours, and missed exits, but enjoy the ride. It won’t be all smooth sailing, so if there isn’t any wind be prepared to row.

I leave you with this final word of encouragement. Let us not grow weary doing work, for in due season we will reap if we don’t give up Gal 6:9. Drive on, my fellow leaders!

The road to which success comes is some good old-fashioned effort.
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Have you discovered your why? If so please share it below in the comments.

The post THE SECRET TO SUCCESS THAT EVERY LEADER MUST KNOW appeared first on Steve Messam.