Leadership Summit

The speakers for the 2007 Willow Creek Leadership Summit have been announced. It looks like it will be an amazing week and I really would not want to miss it. This is the best all-around leadership conference out there.

I was reminiscing through my notes from the 2006 Summit. In session one, Bill Hybels talked about the “Life Cycle of a Leader” and gave some excellent principles on how to develop and sustain your leadership capacity over the course of a lifetime.

Here are some highlights from my notes:

- The earlier you begin leading, the more seasoned you are in the future. It is important to lead something (anything) in your twenties. Don’t just stand by and criticize, jump in, make a difference, take the lead.

- But, what do you really have to offer people in your twenties? experience? wisdom?

- The truth is that you really don’t have a lot to offer. But if you have a heart that is full on to God, a passion for him and his work, then you have all you need.

- When you are just starting out, a heart and passion for God is all you really need.

- Bill decided when he was in his early twenties that money, treasures or toys were not worthy of the investment of his one and only life.

- When you feel those feelings like, “I don’t want to make widgets all my life.” “I want to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, point people to God!”… DON”T EDIT THEM. Don’t think, “Well, I need to be responsible.”

- Take risks. Follow God! Get off the well-traveled path and follow those feelings God has placed inside of you.

- It is the wildness of your heart in your 20’s that will propel you on into the future as a leader.

- At some point you have to start adding skills to the passion you have to lead others. You have to stretch yourself, acquire new skills, to keep you chart going up.

- Read everything you can get your hands on when it comes to improving your leadership. This could be books, articles, or blogs.

- Go where leadership is taught. Keep going. One good thought will more than pay for your registration You can attend in person or purchase the DVD’s and often times download the sessions for free!

- Get around leaders who are better than you and ask great questions I love listening to podcasts where great leaders are interviewed, check out the Catalyst or Defining Moments podcasts.

- Keep leading something or you will lose your leadership edge.

Comments

[Tory]

Boy does that ring true! There is one things that sucks about leading in your 20's... you make a lot of mistakes and each one feels like it is the biggest and most devastating. Some day when I am in my 30's that is the place where perfection sets in... (sarcasm intended)

I think the self evaluation question is... Are you leading outside of your comfort zone and abilities? If yes, then keep on keeping on... if no, then what are you waiting for? Jump in the deep end. but make sure there is a life guard on duty.

[Paul Stewart]

Good thoughts Tory. It is a constant re-evaluation. In the ministry it is easy to put things on "cruise-control" and be content with the status quo. The difficult part is waking up every day and challenging yourself and everyone around you to go further, jump higher, run faster, or any other metephor you think works here. This takes a lot of energy and can be discouraging at times, that's why I think Bill had it right when he said "the wildness of your heart in your 20's will propel you on into the future as a leader." The bigger your vision, the harder you will work!