Our team discussed this post from Seth Godin in staff meeting a few years ago, and I ran across this again today and thought I’d share it.

A Manifesto for Small Teams Doing Important Work

We are always under tight deadlines, because time is our most valuable asset.
If you make a promise, set a date. No date, no promise.
If you set a date, meet it.
If you can’t make a date, tell us early and often. Plan B well prepared is a better strategy than hope.
Clean up your own mess.
Clean up other people’s messes.
Over-communicate.
Question premises and strategy.
Don’t question goodwill, effort or intent.
“I’ll know it when I see it,” is not a professional thing to say. Describing and discussing in the abstract is what we do.
Big projects are not nearly as important as scary commitments.
If what you’re working on right now doesn’t matter to the mission, help someone else with their work.
Make mistakes, own them, fix them, share the learning....

If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.

– Richard Tirendi

“Say something brilliant sounding,” I thought to myself. I can’t tell you how many times, sitting in a meeting with other people, that I thought that exact thing. It’s almost like that’s our young egoic brains trying to justify our existence for others, by proving just how smart we are.

I’ve come to a place in my journey where I think one of the death nails of growth & success in leadership is this unhealthy need to be the smartest person in the room. By very definition, a leader has to work with others to accomplish the mission – but it’s hard to truly aspire to great leadership and maintain the belief that you’re the smartest person in the room. It’s all too easy to move from we to me… and then it’s not leadership, is it? If I’m regularly the smartest person in the room, then I’m probably...

Is it possible to invest relationally in your staff and still have a productive team? 

John Atkinson, long-time pastor, coach, and consultant, thinks you can, and he contends that your total outputs over time will actually be greater than they would if you simply give them tasks.

Join Rob & Larry as they talk with John about what Relational Leadership is, how to get started, and the impact it can make on you and your team.

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All of you leaders have had another leader leave your organization. The way they leave and the way the organization responds will determine the health and vitality during the time of transition.

This week we discuss some practical tips to making the transition better for your team or tribe. :

• Stay connected with your community
• Celebrate "wins" often
• Delegate what you can
• Let some things go strategically
• Keep your tank full (personal health)
• Take care of others around you
• Take time to dream

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On the path of leadership, spiritual development and health is often overlooked and left by the wayside. 

Eric Nevins is the host of the popular Halfway There Podcast (with over 175,000 downloads) and who holds an MDiv  from Denver Seminary. 

We had the chance to sit down in our studio in Denver and have a great conversation about what a spiritual director is, why leaders can use one, and how to find one.

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Brittany Borseth is an entrepreneur and life harder. Join for a great conversation about her journey and the steps that helped push through to a place of personal and financial freedom. Follow Brittany's path from chaos to control and debt to financial freedom through these great steps: 

• Recognize the chaos in your life
• Prioritize personal self care
• Pour into your personal growth
• Creating and tracking vision for yourself

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Stress is on the mind of most leaders.  We usually talk about how to reduce it or avoid it. This week we dive into how to think of stress as a part of a cycle of development that can make you stronger and healthier when balanced with recovery activities. Join Rob and Larry for a great discussion about how to turn stress into strength.

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As a leader, you are so invested in what you are doing, when something goes wrong, something gets hard or something hurts, the pain is deep.

Regardless of which face pain takes in your life, it can paralyze you. Jump into this week’s episode to hear Charity walk through a better framework for thinking about and dealing with pain in our lives and leadership.

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Creative work requires time, space and understanding to produce. If you want the type of creativity that moves your organization and community forward, you have to be able to lead creative teams well. Ben Thomas is an incredible songwriter who has served as a creative director for non-profit organizations. He brings us his unique perspective on the challenges and rewards of leading creative teams and accomplishing creative work.

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Larry dives into the difficult topic of how to have hard conversation with someone you lead.  Walking through a clear process to prepare and conduct these conversations with a deep consideration for all of the parties in the conversations.

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