Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit--John Maxwell

(At the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit for some leadership training to help our Operation Christmas Child team.)

Here John Maxwell shares what all leaders have in common...

All leaders see more than others see and they see before others see.

Fast is faster than it’s ever been and forward is shorter.  In the 1980s there weren’t any leadership book; there were management books. Leadership books started in the early 90s.  The question is: if it’s that way, how do we see more and how do we see before?

Let’s just think of getting started first. How Do I increase my “more and before”?

1)   Know that there is more “More and More Before” out there (Think Abundance) – creativity and flexibility. If you don’t think there’s an answer you will quit. Flexibility means there’s probably more than one answer.  As I’m older I have less certainty. The things I’m certain about, though, I am MORE certain about than ever. I’m certain that if we think abundance that there is more and before in front of us.

2)   Develop a process for finding more “More & More Before” – action process with 5 steps (test, fail, learn, improve, reenter)

3)   Put yourself in places & with people who will inspire you to see more “More & More Before.”—the GLS over the years has helped me learn so much.

4)   Intentionally grow every day so you will have capacity for more “More & More Before.”  If you’re still excited about what you did 5 years ago you’re not growing.. I talked to my 96-year-old father last week and he said, “Son, my best years are still ahead of me.” My father is going to live until he dies and not the other way around.

5)   Always have a vision gap that requires you to need “More More & More Before” – vision gap is the space between what you are doing and what you could be doing. 

How do we fill the vision gap?

1)   Ask God to send you the right people (and pray that you will become a better person)

2)   Ask God to do for you what you cannot do for yourself (Ephesians 3:20 from The Message)—this leaves God room—the ceiling of my potential is the floor of God room.  He wants to do in you and me a God room work. One of my mentors said, “Do something so big that people who know you will says that is beyond his ability and only God can do that.”