Traditions are part of the glue that holds a fan base together. They are built on from year to year as a program develops. In fact, any school, organization, or even country that wants to develop and secure a following comes up with traditions, logos, hand signals, flags, or other unifying trademarks that people can rally around.

No one is going to put rumble strips in your life for you. That is up to you. Your rumble strips may not be the same as mine, and mine may not be the same as yours. But everyone needs rumble strips.

Leaders who don’t have control of their calendars will constantly be spinning out in the dirt without making much progress. Life will seem frantic and harried, yet it will be difficult to pinpoint what they are actually getting done.

A leader who is successful at work but a failure at home is not a successful leader. The first test of leadership is your ability to love, lead, and care for those who are closest to you.

We live in a society that is geared to make you want what you don’t have. We are exposed to as many as five thousand advertising messages every single day. That number is increasing. And nearly every message’s aim is to show you something you don’t have but probably need.

When we are talking about volunteers or staff leaders, whom we have brought on the team to help others take steps, it is important that there aren’t any debilitating character flaws that will cause others to stumble.

You might say, “That borders on stalking!” And you’d be exactly right. Stalking. Creeping. Whatever you want to call it . . . do it! Your work is way too important to chance getting someone on the team who has character flaws you don’t know about.

I’ve learned a great deal watching the skillful handling of group interviews conducted by my coworkers. The following is a list of great questions you should consider asking your next job candidate:

Love is the selfless promotion of the growth of the other. The opposite of a generous leader is a selfish leader.

The creative and the leader can be focused on the same mission, yet so differently; they can be serving the same cause, yet often hold opposing views on how to call others to do the same. This may be the single most important relationship to navigate in any church or business. And unfortunately, most leaders never figure out how to make it work.

He hugged me twice.

Dad wasn’t a big hugger. It was usually a one-armed, awkward, sideways hug as I arrived or left from a visit. But last weekend he hugged me, full frontal, not once, but twice.

I could tell it really mattered to him that I came to visit to help them move into their new house in Iowa. We spent an afternoon building shelves in the garage…

When you are working with friends, it takes a much higher commitment to communication. Sometimes you have to say out loud, “Right now I’m wearing my leader hat. In a few minutes I’ll put my friend hat back on.” Sometimes I’ve said, “As your friend I would advise you in one way, but as your employer I would counsel you differently.”

Most executive leaders would say they have a team. But having a team and operating as a team are two different things.

There is nothing worse than working at an organization with a bad culture, and there is nothing better than working at an organization with a great culture. You wake up every day looking forward to getting back to work on the mission with people you enjoy being around.

It isn’t too uncommon for leaders to get bent out of shape when a mistake is made that costs the church money. It comes from a well-intentioned place of wanting to be wise stewards of the church resources. But it diminishes people and discourages innovation and appropriate risk.

A secure leader, one who listens to learn, creates a culture that is attractive and collaborative.

If you are in a culture where meetings feel like a waste of time, change the culture. How? One meeting at a time.

It takes discipline and integrity to go against popular opinion. But your team will give their best, be at their best, and perform their best when they believe you have their backs.

When you work at a church, it isn’t just a job. It’s not just about fulfilling a responsibility. It is also about doing life together. It is about being the church while you are leading the church. It is about having fun, working through conflict, accomplishing ministry, and yes, being highly effective in your job.

The right questions rely on the leader’s ability to communicate authentic interest in learning the answer. They come from a place of not knowing. The right questions are open-ended, carry the possibility of true discovery, and demonstrate a willingness to share and bestow credit.