Loichinger Advantage

As I age I become less tolerant of those who blast their ego towards everyone around them.   Even worse, I have found myself pushing a message and decision into the face of people I admire and like.  I am not the best model all the time.  Who is?

Great question!  Those who believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ as their lord and savior have an obvious choice.  I have surrundered.  While there is no better model, I struggle because I fall short in every way, and at times, fall into a bit of dispair given our Lord’s perfect image and life.

While football season is upon us, today’s blog has little to do with the common expression we shared as kids in the park, setting up passing plays with our best friends.  Those were great times with great friends.

Skills & Behaviors

In this case, I am speaking to the heart of leadership - the perverbial peeling of the onion.  The most common development approaches I’ve been taught and used deal with the behavioral aspect of leadership.  These are the programs targeting skills like communication, that often offer up steps one through five.  First this, then that.  While sometimes helpful, we quickly learn that this approach has it’s shortcomings.  For instance, we quickly learn that one size does not fit all.  People are not machines.

How often have you heard the cliche, “A straight line is the most direct route from point A to point B?” 

Their are a few situations where this advice has worked out well for me - math, some decisions, etc.  There are times when linear is good.  There are other situations however, where our life experience is not best suited for that straight line.  Raising a family is definitely not a linear path, nor is one’s career.

There is no better day to initiate my faith & leadership blog than today - the day after Willow Creek’s 2009 Leadership Summit.  After two days of great presentations and insights, I have many perspectives to share.

First things first.  Is this new blog category worthy of consideration?  Will it appeal to leaders other than myself?  Can faith and leadership be voiced in the same sentence?  Will my career as an external consultant be jeopardized by my open statement of being a Christ follower? 

The Struggle