By: Russell Chun on March 16, 2023
In the movie “Shrek,” the ogre Shrek has an interesting dialogue with the donkey. He describes himself as person with layers – essentially an onion. Walker’s book, Leading out of Who You Are[1], is a bit like peeling away at the layers of one’s leadership personality over time. Like an onion. Residing with the “comb…
By: Becca Hald on March 16, 2023
I am a big Disney fan. I love watching Disney movies. Disneyland is my happy place. I know. You are shocked. Mulan ranks in my top ten favorite Disney animated films. It tells the story of a young woman who, in order to save her father’s life, takes his place in a draft, taking on…
By: Sara Taylor Lattimore on March 16, 2023
Peter Northouse wrote the Book Leadership. This book is an in-depth look at the theory and practice of leadership. It is filled with case studies and research round the various aspects of leadership. There is too much to cover in one blog post, so this blog I will focus on chapter 13, Followership. Leaders Require…
By: Troy Rappold on March 16, 2023
The Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz had a brain all along—he just needed to put it into practice. So too every one of us has a second brain at our disposal—we just need to put it into practice so we can experience just how creative and brilliant we really are. In Tiago Forte’s book,…
By: Adam Harris on March 15, 2023
A few weeks ago, I attended a community luncheon that revolved around mental health awareness. The goal was to break stigmas around psychological and emotional health issues and provide more resources for churches in our area. During the event, some pastors and members in the community shared their experiences of rejection and shame for experiencing…
By: Esther Edwards on March 15, 2023
My one-minute gaze into Nelson Mandela’s prison cell had a profound impact on me. That neatly folded prison blanket represented the dailyness of Mandela’s life for 27 years. The consequence of not folding a blanket to perfection in the prisons he was kept in would produce a severe beating. A leader who had already…
By: Roy Gruber on March 15, 2023
I enjoy the show Jeopardy. A series of questions and answers covers a broad spectrum of topics. I tend to do well in answering questions in some categories, such as Sports, Geography, and the Bible. I do poorly in other areas like Opera, Poets, and Art. The answers to questions need to come to mind…
By: Eric Basye on March 15, 2023
Tiago Forte, the author of Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life, is a first-generation Californian born to Brazilian and Filipino parents. Inspired by his personal journey, as a young man he suffered an unknown illness. He was functionally incapacitated, had a terrible memory, and could not engage in everyday…
By: Andy Hale on March 15, 2023
The big day had arrived. It was a big deal. My parents had ordered a multivolume set of Encyclopedia Britannica from a door salesman. They opened box upon box upon box. The large black books were gorgeous, numbering 32, and filled the room with that new book smell. The year was 1987. It’s hard to imagine that…
By: Kally Elliott on March 15, 2023
“Our task, as human beings, as human leaders, is…to grow up, to learn, through the experiences we are given, who we are – what it means to be courageous, what it is to serve, what it is to be loved and to love, what it is to be real, what it is to be fully…
By: Pam Lau on March 15, 2023
“Am I really what others say of me? Or am I only what I know of myself? . . .Who Am I? This one or the other? Am I this one today and tomorrow another? Am I both at once? Before others a hypocrite and in my own eyes a pitiful, whimpering weakling? . .…
By: David Beavis on March 15, 2023
A Familiar Leadership Maxim It has been said that if you are a leader, but no one is following you, then you’re not a leader. You’re just going for a walk. This leadership maxim would align with the definition of leadership according to Peter G. Northouse in his book Leadership: Theory and Practice.[1] “Leadership…
By: Jenny Dooley on March 15, 2023
My missionary career began as a 23-year-old new wife and mother with a fresh university degree in hand. My dream to minister overseas came sooner than imagined. While excited to be heading to Jakarta, Indonesia, I lacked confidence that I was prepared for the work ahead. Nothing magically changed on the 36-hour journey between Seattle…
By: Greg McMullen on March 14, 2023
Intro Peter Northouse book on Leadership: Theory and Practice is an amazing book on Leadership. After reading this book my head is spinning and I feel as if there is many different ways one can lead. Comparing to the Spiritual Gifts in 1st Corinthians 12 we can come to the conclusion that the most important…
By: Tim Clark on March 13, 2023
“The showman gives you front row to his heart. The showman prays his heartache will chart. Making a spectacle of falling apart is just the start of the show…” (from the song “The Showman” by U2). The congregation I serve includes actors, musicians, athletes, and other “known” people. Over the years that I’ve pastored here,…
By: Jennifer Vernam on March 13, 2023
Reading through Leading Out of Who You Are,[1] the behaviors of the “defended” leader (Staging, Power, and Control) made a lot of sense to me. As did the various shapes of ego which relate to our childhood experiences of trust. Learning about the types of egos, and how they impact our leadership practices set my…
By: Travis Vaughn on March 13, 2023
This past week was one of those weeks where I thought to myself: It would be easier to just be in the background. Maybe even hanging out, for a year or two, on the beach with our twenty-something-year-old kids, “free” from the warp and woof of serving in an organizational leadership role. “Were things really…
By: Noel Liemam on March 12, 2023
Bruce Lee, the Asian American-born actor, was known by many as an amazing martial artist. But not only that, but he was also a profound thinker. “He left behind seven volumes of writings on everything from quantum physics to philosophy” [1]. Mr. Lee developed a martial technique called “jeet kune do,” which resulted from his…
By: Daron George on March 12, 2023
Agarwal’s book provides a comprehensive and insightful exploration of the concept of unconscious bias and its impact on individuals and society. Drawing on insights from neuroscience, psychology, and sociology, Agarwal offers a nuanced analysis of how unconscious bias manifests in various domains, including race, gender, age, and social class. The book is divided into two…
By: Laura Fleetwood on March 12, 2023
Understanding the forces that shape human behavior is a key element of emotional intelligence, strong relationships and successful leadership. In the book Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias, Dr. Pragya Agarwal offers an insightful look at how our behavior is influenced by unconscious bias. Drawing on a wide range of research from psychology to neuroscience, Agarwal shows…
