{"id":33335,"date":"2023-10-11T11:47:55","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T18:47:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=33335"},"modified":"2023-10-11T11:47:55","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T18:47:55","slug":"thats-what-i-like-about-you-appreciation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/thats-what-i-like-about-you-appreciation\/","title":{"rendered":"That’s what I like about you: Appreciation"},"content":{"rendered":"

In <\/span>Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits for Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead<\/span><\/i> by Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder, they share how fast track thinking impacts leaders and building RARE leadership practices. In chapter 10 the authors propose different practices which will help a leader endure hardship well, one being the \u201cpractice of appreciation for fifteen minutes every day.\u201d [1] This habit requires finding a peaceful space to process thoughts. The authors emphasize the importance of \u201cpracticing these things when you are not overwhelmed in order to build a foundation to which you can return.\u201d[2] Most interestingly they make the connection between practicing appreciation \u201cin order to suffer well.\u201d[3] Discovering this practice of appreciation did not sound new, as I have come across this practice in other readings. I read through various resources to see if I might confirm this notion of being appreciative or grateful as a means of weathering hardship or growing as a leader. The results of my search confirm Warner and Wilders promotion of appreciation. In addition to sharing various texts in this blog, I will share highlights from what I heard from the leaders in my cohort while in Oxford. It was a privilege to hear from those in the DLGP program and where they are in their current leadership positions; many reflected on how grateful they are for where God has them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Celebrate<\/b><\/p>\n

Tom Camacho, in his book <\/span>Mining for Gold<\/span><\/i> underscores the importance of asking leaders in the early stages of coaching to find \u201cwhat they can celebrate about their current situation.\u201d[4]\u00a0 This helps provide a basis for talking about what God is doing and promotes having faith for what God might do in a leader\u2019s future. Finding what we can celebrate is another way of appreciating what we have.<\/span><\/p>\n

Oxford highlight: Deron shared how he stepped down from his pastoral role this past April and is trusting God for his future in ministry. One of the things he celebrated was his wife\u2019s excitement in making this step.\u00a0 I was surprised to hear that she had been praying for Deron to take this step. I admire Deron for his obedient faith and how he is celebrating his wife\u2019s support.<\/span><\/p>\n

Optimism<\/b><\/p>\n

Roy M. Oswald and Arland Jacobson in their book <\/span>The Emotional Intelligence of Jesus<\/span><\/i> emphasizes the need to exercise \u201cparts of the brain that deal with positive emotions,” and \u201cthe more positive emotion becomes the default way in which the brain functions-that is, the more it establishes a mode of optimism.\u201d[5]\u00a0 Having a practice of appreciation increases an optimistic outlook overall.<\/span><\/p>\n

Oxford highlight: Greg McMullen shared how he has made alterations to his food ministry in Washington and how this has allowed him to get more sleep and time with his family. I know this has been a loss of ministry but a positive gain for himself and his family. I appreciate Greg\u2019s outlook on this adjustment in his leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gratitude Journal<\/b><\/p>\n

Jules Glanzer in his book <\/span>The Sound of Leadership<\/span><\/i> proposes that gratitude is \u201ccentral to effective leadership.\u201d[6] He encourages a daily practice in keeping a \u201cgratitude journal\u201d where the emphasis is on \u201cwhat you have rather than what you do not have.\u201d [7]<\/span><\/p>\n

Oxford highlight: Becca has needed special medication for months and Caleb offered to have this medication mailed to him and agreed to bring them to the Advance. Becca was very grateful for Caleb\u2019s generous offer. Becca, in her appreciation, focused on how the meds were coming instead of the frustration in not having them in her possession.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mental Health Benefits<\/b><\/p>\n

Shawn Achor, in<\/span> The Happiness Advantage<\/span><\/i> reports psychologist Rober Emmons finding: \u201cstudies have shown that consistently grateful people are more energetic, emotionally intelligent, forgiving, and less likely to be depressed, anxious, or lonely.\u201d [8] The mental health benefits of being grateful are significant.<\/span><\/p>\n

Oxford highlight: Chad McSwain shared how he is progressing in his research, and I was surprised to find out that he had made a big change in the direction of his NPO. Despite this big shift, Chad has successfully recorded multiple podcasts. I was impressed with Chad\u2019s upbeat perspective on the work he was pursuing and what kind of stride he had taken even with the shift he had made in his research.<\/span><\/p>\n

I am impacted by the many books that reveal the great benefits of being grateful and I am impressed with the leaders in my cohort who demonstrated appreciation while in Oxford. I hope to put this Rare Leadership discipline into practice by starting a gratitude journal. I\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1] Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder,\u00a0 <\/span>Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits for Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead<\/span><\/i>, p.184<\/span><\/p>\n

[2] Ibid. p.184<\/span><\/p>\n

[3] Ibid. p.185<\/span><\/p>\n

[4] Tom Camacho, <\/span>Mining for Gold, p.62<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[5] Roy M. Oswald & Arland Jacobson, <\/span>The Emotional Intelligence of Jesus, p.63<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[6] Jules Glanzer, <\/span>The Sound of Leadership, p.61<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

[7] Ibid. p.61<\/span><\/p>\n

[8] Shawn Achor, <\/span>The Happiness Advantage, p.98<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Rare Leadership: 4 Uncommon Habits for Increasing Trust, Joy, and Engagement in the People You Lead by Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder, they share how fast track thinking impacts leaders and building RARE leadership practices. In chapter 10 the authors propose different practices which will help a leader endure hardship well, one being the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2854,2853,2417],"class_list":["post-33335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-jim-wilder","tag-marcus-warner","tag-rare-leadership","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33335"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33340,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33335\/revisions\/33340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}