Build a Culture of Courage

 

Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the commitment to overcome it. Courage doesn’t mean you’re not afraid; it means you battle against your fear and confront it. Courage push confronts resist the impulse to shy away from the things that stir up your innermost anxieties. Courage is required and must be a constant. It’s tiny pieces of fear all glued together.

The lives of great Christian leaders teach us that those who follow a God-sized calling need God-sized courage. Abraham left his home to journey to a place he wasn’t even sure existed. Moses overcame his speech impediment to lead the people of Israel to freedom. Joshua faced doubters who feared the promised land was too difficult to conquer. Gideon led an army of only three hundred to defeat an army of thousands.

Daniel and Esther displayed tremendous courage in the face of death. Nehemiah overcame fierce opposition to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in fifty-two days. Jesus faced the cross and triumphed over death. Paul penned parts of the New Testament while nurturing wounds in prison; and nearly every apostle preached the gospel until being martyred.

Here are some helpful tips for building a culture of courage in your organization:

Set scary standards. Your level of excellence and expectation for your product or service or experience should almost be something that is nearly unattainable. Safe goals are set by safe leaders with safe visions. Give your people a goal that scares them, and you’ll produce leaders who know what it means to overcome fear.
Allow for failure. The road to success is many times put together through multiple failures. Allow for and even encourage your team to fail as they attempt to succeed.
Reward innovation. Innovation requires taking risks. And bold risks create bold team members. Rewarding innovation will challenge your team to grow in their roles.
Pursue the right opportunities. Not every risk is a good one. Be disciplined. Aggressively pursue a few things that make sense. Say no often.
Learn to delegate. This is one of the most courageous things a leader can do. Entrusting others with important tasks requires letting go and relinquishing control. Liberally pass responsibility and authority to your team. If you want your team to be courageous, give them the chance to lead.

From YouVersion.

Later,

Pat.

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Be Who You Are

 

Many leaders today feel great pressure to succeed, and as a result, create and accept a pseudo self. The pseudo version of them that hides their warts and magnifies their best traits. Unfortunately, those who know us best and even those who simply work with us every day see right through this. They recognize our true self and know we’re not embracing that person. We won’t reach our full potential by investing energy into creating false versions of ourselves.

Here are some best practices I’ve found helpful to cultivate the essential leadership trait of authenticity:

Practice self-awareness. Before you can release your true self you have to recognize your true self. Too many people refuse to accept and even name their weaknesses, struggles, and pitfalls. As a result, they accept a version of themselves they believe others will like better. Understand who you really are.
Question yourself. I encourage leaders to evaluate their self-acceptance with honest questions: Whose attention do you crave? Are you chasing the approval of friends, colleagues, and customers? What is it you don’t like about yourself, and how can that shortcoming also be a strength? Self-diagnosis can lead to self-discovery, which is the only path to authenticity.
Move from self-promotion to storytelling. I can appreciate the effort made by individuals in the public eye to shape their personal brands. But I also worry about the effects this can have on living an authentic life. If you want to be a changemaker, begin to see public outlets as places for sharing your personal story.
Resist the urge to create a digital alter ego. Refuse to hide behind a website or Facebook page. Instead, adopt the mindset of Claire Diaz Ortiz, social innovation director for Twitter: “Social media is not just about being connected. It’s about being transparent, intimate, and honest.”
Learn to laugh at yourself. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Instead, grow comfortable enough with who you are to laugh and laugh often. When you are able to accept and even chuckle at your blunders and mess-ups, others will too. And this common experience will help you bond with them.
Build a support network. Beware of the temptation to surround yourself with flatterers who only tell you what you want to hear. Keep honest people in your life that can help you stay grounded and keep from thinking you’ve arrived.
Be interested over interesting. Be more concerned with listening instead of talking. Focus on others, not yourself

From YouVersion

Devotional

Will everything be okay?

What’s the recipe for terror? Well, make the setting a stormy sea in the predawn night, then mix in a ghost striding across the water toward your boat—that would scare even seasoned fishermen who’ve “seen it all.” And it did. When we are terrified of something, we’re fully convinced that everything will not be okay. And here Jesus not only enters into his disciples’ fear, he causes it. His answer to their terror is subtly profound and important for us to grasp—he does not explain himself; he reveals himself. “It’s all right, I am here! Don’t be afraid.” Our assurance that everything in life will be okay has nothing to do with optimistic explanations about outcomes; it has everything to do with the presence of Jesus in the midst of our fear. And more than quelling our fears, he will invite us to walk into them, always with him right by our side.

 

Matthew 14:22‭-‬33 ESV

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And Peter answered him, “Lord if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

 

God Bless you,

Later,

Pat.

Devotional

What is right and wrong?

Jesus encounters a government official whose son is sick. The man asks Jesus to heal his son, and Jesus responds by asking, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?” Elsewhere in the Gospels, the Pharisees and teachers of the law ask Jesus to show them a miraculous sign—they want him to remove all doubt from the question. But Jesus calls them “evil” and “faithless” because of it (Matthew 12:38-45). Jesus came to re-establish a trusting, faithful relationship with God’s beloved children. But children who fold their arms and stamp their feet, demanding miraculous signs as a foundation for their trust, have missed something that is true of every relationship.

If your love is based on performance and not a commitment to your beloved’s heart, then it is no love at all. It’s wrong to treat our relationship with God like a business transaction—if you do this, then I’ll do this—because God is interested in restoring intimacy of the deepest kind with us. Demanding that God perform for us to win our love is wrong; trusting him because we’ve “tasted and seen” his heart is right.

From YouVersion

God Bless you,

Later

Pat.