Empowerment (part 2 of 2)

Only secure leaders are able to give themselves away. Mark Twain once remarked that, “Great things can happen when you don’t care who gets the credit.” Some take that a step farther. They believe that great things can happen only when you give the credit to others. They are the empowerers. Leadership must be based on goodwill. It means wholehearted commitment to helping followers. It is men of heart who are so helpful that they, in effect, do away with the need of their jobs. Leaders like that are never out of a job and never out of followers. Strange as it sounds, great leaders gain authority by giving it away. Abraham Lincoln is a great example of this. Although he was often accused of having stretched the power of the Executive Office, he based his power upon the empowerment of others. He could not have commanded so much executive power had he not built up a base of empowered leaders who wholeheartedly supported him. This is clearly demonstrated in his empowerment of his general during the Civil War, despite his own strong opinions on how the war should be conducted. He gave others credit for the victories and took full responsibility for the “opportunities missed”. Leaders, such as Lincoln, take the blame for failure and give others the credit for success. Consequently, a key to empowering others is a high belief in people. Empowerment is powerful, not only for the person being developed, but also for the mentor. Enlarging others makes you larger. It helps others achieve what they could not have done on their own. It makes them a better leader. That is the impact of the Principle of Empowerment. Do you or of someone you know struggle with empowerment? Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com

Barriers to Empowerment

People’s capacity to achieve is often determined by their leader’s ability to empower. The empowerment leadership model shifts away from positional power. With the empowerment model, all the people are given leadership roles so they can contribute to their fullest capacity. Only empowered people can reach their potential. When a leader can’t or won’ empower others, he creates barriers within the organization that people cannot overcome. If the barriers remain long enough, then the people give up, or they move to another organization where they can maximize their potential. Leaders frequently violate the Principle of Empowerment for the following reasons: 1. Desire for Job Security: The primary enemy of empowerment is the desire for job security. A weak leader worries that if he helps his subordinates, he will become dispensable. The paradox is that the only way to make yourself indispensable is to make yourself dispensable. In other words, if you are able to continually empower others and help them develop so that they become capable of taking over your job, you will become so valuable to the organization that you become indispensable. 2. Resistance to Change: Nobel Prize winning author John Steinbeck once stated, “It is the nature of man as he grows older to protest against change, particularly change for the better.” By its very nature, empowerment brings constant change because it encourages people to grow and innovate. Stated another way, a leader may occasionally have to “kill his own baby.” Change is the price of progress. 3. Lack of Self-Worth: Many people gain their personal value and esteem from their work or their position. Threaten to change either of them, and you threaten their self-worth. But to those who have confidence in themselves, change is a stimulus because they believe one person can make a difference and influence what goes on around them. These people are the doers and motivators. They are also empowerers. The best leaders have a rock-solid sense of self-worth.

A Promise to My Children

I came across this recently and loved it. I think it summarizes how a lot of us parents feel: As long as I live, I am your parent first and your friend second. I will stalk you, flip out on you, lecture you, drive you insane, be your worst nightmare, and hunt you down like a bloodhound when needed – because I LOVE YOU! When you understand that, I will know that you have become a responsible adult. You will NEVER find someone who loves, prays, cares, and worries about you MORE than I do! If you don’t think you hate me at least once in your life – I am not doing my job properly. Love, Your Mon & Dad

A New Year’s Resolution (part 2 of 2)

I do not say that I have already won the race or have already reached perfection. But I am pressing on, striving to lay hold of the prize for which also Christ has laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not imagine that I have yet laid hold of it. But this one thing I do - forgetting everything which is past and stretching forward to what lies in front of me, with my eyes fixed on the goal I push on to secure the prize of God’s heavenward call in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 Continued from yesterday’s blog… But like any New Year’s resolution, this will not be easy. Studies show it usually takes less than 10 days to break a New Year’s resolution! Anything of value is almost always difficult to achieve. We must be persistent. As the passage above states, we must “press on toward the goal” through our victories and our failures. We must discipline ourselves to do the things we need to do when we need to do them, so the day will come when we will be able to do the things we want to do when we want to do them. And what will be the reward for our efforts? The passage promises we will “secure the prize of God’s heavenward call.” What does that mean? I think it means several things. Obviously, it means that we will secure heavenly rewards. But I believe there are earthly rewards we will be blessed with as well. First, by impacting the lives of others we leave a lasting legacy here on earth. One clear example is the impact we can have on our own children – messengers we send into a time we will not visit ourselves. But this impact is not only reserved for our children, but also (as stated earlier) for anyone we come into contact with at work, in our neighborhoods, at home, and at church. Second, and perhaps less palpable, is the impact it has on our own life. The process of forgetting what lies behind and pressing on to what lies ahead is a better way to live and transforms us into better human beings as we practice this way of life. As you begin this New Year, focus on forgetting the past and moving on to fulfill a purpose that will outlive you. Do you have a vision for the purpose God has called you to? Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com

A New Year’s Resolution (part 1 of 2)

I do not say that I have already won the race or have already reached perfection. But I am pressing on, striving to lay hold of the prize for which also Christ has laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not imagine that I have yet laid hold of it. But this one thing I do - forgetting everything which is past and stretching forward to what lies in front of me, with my eyes fixed on the goal I push on to secure the prize of God’s heavenward call in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 Tom Peters, the famous business author, calls it “sticking to the knitting”. Knowing your core mission/vision, and focusing all your efforts on it – without getting distracted. There are two parts to this: not dwelling on the past, and reaching ahead to achieve the mission and vision of the future. The past can bog us down in two distinctively different ways. Some of us feel ashamed by failures in our personal lives or in business, and our minds are haunted by those memories. Every decision we make is colored by our grief or the fear that we’ll make the same mistakes again. Others of us, though, live in past glories. We’ve enjoyed stunning successes, but instead of using our gains as a foundation for future growth, we keep reliving those memories. It has been said, “The day our memories become larger than our dreams is the day our soul begins to shrink.” Living in the past, whether failed of successful, takes our lives out of focus. In the passage above Paul says, “Forget the past (good or bad) and move on.” But in which direction should we move? We should reach forward to fulfill the mission and vision God has for us. Paul encourages us to uncover and embrace a God-sized cause, one that has a positive impact on people and expands his Kingdom (this will leave a lasting legacy). At its most basic, this is loving God by loving others. We can show other our love for God by how well we love others (e.g., sacrificially helping them). This can be done at work, in our neighborhoods, and at home, as well as at church. What are some past failures or successes you need to leave behind? Is there a God-sized cause that has gripped your heart? Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com

Making New Year's Resolutions & Setting Goals

It's almost January again – and time to set new goals (or dust off the old ones) and show how we live lives of being intentional. We set our intentions mainly through clear goals, but how can we decide our direction while following God? How did Jesus manage this tension? The presence of God is vital. Moses had no intention of going anywhere unless God went too. Let’s not set foot into January, into that business deal, into the new relationship, the new business partnership, into that super program, without knowing that God goes with us and before us. Why? Because nothing else sets us apart like the presence of God. Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33:15-16) Ask for goals you can pray for. Nehemiah prayed for 3 months before asking the king for what he needed to rebuild Jerusalem. What if we asked God for goals that we will be comfortable asking Him to accomplish? I find that several outcomes I have worked for change when I ask God to fulfill them. What kind of fruit have you been cultivated to produce in 2013? Do you struggle with setting goals and achieving them? Perhaps your New Year's resolution needs to include getting some professional help in this area. Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com

Last Chance to Get a Great Deal on Coaching Services!

As previously announced, I must raise the fees for my coaching services at the end of the year. So this is the last chance to get in at the old rates which are about 40% below the competitive market rate before there is a substantial increase in the cost of my services. From a personal standpoint, if you suffer from any of the following I can help you: 1. Do you feel your talents are not well utilized and you’re not as productive as you would like to be? 2. Do you need more time in the day or do you need better work/life balance? 3. Do you lack well-documented long-term goals that you consistently achieve? 4. Is there room for improvement in your relationships with your spouse, children, supervisor, and/or co-workers? 5. Do you have difficulty influencing and motivating others to your way of thinking? 6. Does your life lack purpose and meaning; are you disappointed in the way it is turning out? 7. Would you like to see a change in any of the following aspects of your life: personal, family, vocation, faith, or community service? 8. Are you a young person needing assistance figuring out what career path to take that will be not only professional rewarding, but also personally fulfilling, and what decisions need to be made to pursue that career path? From a business standpoint, if any of the following describe your organization I can also help you: 1. Due to a growing or shrinking market are there changes required in your vision, strategies, initiatives, operating plans, processes and systems? Does the change require realignment of one of more of these with the others? 2. Do you have professionals in your organization that can manage but not lead? 3. Do you have employees that are great at executing tasks, but don’t relate well to others? 4. Do you have professionals that are great individual performers but need to improve as team players? 5. Do you have employees whose skills don’t seem to match the job they’re expected to perform? 6. Do you have professionals that need help managing their time well and/or setting the right priorities? 7. Do you have employees that seem to have most of the right skill sets, but still have trouble adapting to change or “getting the job done”? 8. Do you have professionals that unfortunately may need to leave your organization and move on? In general, I can be of significant assistance for any person or business, going through, or about to go through, a significant transition. Simply call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. But act fast before the rates increase!

Happy Thanksgiving & a Special Announcement

I want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving! God has truly blessed us in so many ways this year - we have much to be thankful for. I pray that each of you have a truly blessed and restful time with family and friends, as well as safe journeys if you are traveling. My business has grown much faster than expected, praise God! Lives are being transformed every day. I look forward to every single coaching session because I am witnessing God at work first-hand. God is indeed good. Do you know someone who is unhappy or unfulfilled with their present job? Someone who is feeling over-worked and stressed? Perhaps someone who is planning a vocational transition or who has been forced into unemployment? Maybe it’s someone going through a personal transition? Someone struggling with a relationship management issue at home or at work? Or maybe someone who needs to strengthen their leadership skills? I can provide many client success stories. In addition, my coaching services are provided at a very reasonable rate and are a month-to-month process (so there is no long-term commitment). And your satisfaction is guaranteed or you get your money refunded so there is absolutely no risk. I also provide a streamlined version of my coaching process for young people who are struggling with getting direction and traction in their life (e.g., identifying the best career path that is both professionally rewarding as well as personally fulfilling). My rates will be increasing on the first of the year and I have additional capacity right now to take on more clients. None of my new clients who start before the end of December, will be affected by the rate increase. So now is the time to make a change in your own life, the life of one you love, or to encourage a friend who needs help. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. Once again – Happy Thanksgiving! Your Brother In Christ, Curtis Life Planning & Leadership Development www.truthatlife.com 248-396-6255 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

What Should We Be Thankful For?

I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Phillipians 4:12-13) Many Christian families have a good tradition in their homes where they start counting their blessings as the holiday approaches: the things they are thankful to God for. It is a good tradition, and we do need to learn to be thankful to God. But unfortunately this tradition does not fully reflect the heart attitude that we need to nurture in our children. It is always good to be thankful to our God for our blessings, but we need to remember that the Scripture calls us to be thankful in everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18, Philippians 4:6), and this at times includes even difficult circumstances. Apostle Peter, for example, writing to the early Christians suffering from immense persecution, concluded his letter with exhortation and encouragement, saying that their circumstances should be viewed as an evidence of the true grace of God (1 Peter 5:12), and thus it was the reason for rejoicing! Sometimes we might not understand the reasons behind difficult trials that come upon us, but it does not mean that we can not be thankful in those times. So, how do we teach our children to be thankful for anything and everything? It is a long process, but it starts with helping your child to understand the sovereignty of God in our lives and teaching your child to be content in all circumstances trusting that God's will for those who love Him is always good. Teach your child godly contentment and you will raise a heart that overflows with thankfulness. Happy Thanksgiving! Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com

Three Keys to Surviving Difficult Times

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:11-12 How do you maintain the proper perspective when life is getting you down? When the storms of life are raging all around you and it seems like things are going progressively from bad to worse? When your dreams have all evaporated? There are three keys to survival. The first key: Be joyful in hope. Hope is the strong expectation of God’s deliberate action. It’s not wishing; it’s confident believing. And with that confidence, our hearts are lifted as we anticipate God’s divine work to accomplish His will in our lives. It has been said, “Most people who fail to accomplish their dreams fail not from ability but from a lack of commitment and belief.” The second key is patience in affliction. Difficulties are a part of life. We are fallen people living in a fallen world. Beyond that, God “prunes” fruitful believers so that we will bear even more fruit. Pruning hurts! When we experience problems, our natural reaction is to try to get out of them as quickly as possible, but that is not how God wants us to respond. Whether He takes us out of them or through them, God wants us to look to Him for wisdom and strength during difficulty so that our faith grows stronger. Unfulfilled expectations, unforeseen difficulties, and waiting for God’s answers can make us want to give up, but the third key is to continue praying with resolve. In difficult times, our prayers deepen and take on a new sense of urgency and earnestness. And if it gets worse, if the delay continues, we should stop asking and start listening, which may be the lesson God wanted to teach us all along. Which of these keys do you need to focus on right now? Which is a strength in your life? Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com