Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit--Craig Groeschel--How To Become a Leader People Love to Follow

(Here at the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit to learn how to become a better leader to get more Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes to children around the world.)  Here's the first talk by Craig Groeschel--

It’s my honor today to welcome leaders from around the world—130 countries in 60 different languages. 

We are gathered today to help one another become leaders that people love to follow. We believe when the leader gets better everyone gets better. 

You might say, “I’m not really a leader.” But leadership is simply influence.  You have the capacity to be a strong leader. If you are a parent, a friend, a new employee—you can be a leader. You don’t have to be in charge to lead. You don’t have to have a title to lead.

profound humilty + furious resolve=good leaders  We can learn from each other. Everyone is welcome here. I only ask we show respect to one another today.

We’re going to say some prayers and sing some songs but I ask you to be respectful and open.

We will strive for excellence—giving our best and demanding the best from others. We will apologize when we get it wrong. We will speak up for those who have no voice. And we will get better, because when the leader gets better everyone gets better. At the end of our time together your vision will be stronger; your heart for people and God will be Stronger.

Let me ask you a question. How many of you have ever worked for a leader that you love? If your boss is here raise your hand high! 

In my first real job in sales I had a sales manager who would yell at us and then hug us. He said he did it because he loved us and it didn’t make me feel safe.

Then I went to work for a man I trusted and I would do anything for him. I felt valued and trusted.

A poll of 4,000 leaders when asked how they could improve…they said they need to get better at finances and technology.  The pollsters then interviewed their employees and asked them what their leaders needed to improve on and the employees said they needed to be better at leadership and emotional intelligence.

Leadership—Where are you taking me?

Emotional Intelligence—How are you treating me?

How do you become a leader everyone wants to follow (not that everyone loves.)  You may be popular if you’re respected but you will never be respected if you are only popular.

What are the 3 feelings you experience under great leadership?

--you feel valued

--you feel inspired

--you feel empowered—someone trusts you and believes in you

How do we as leaders create an environment where team members feel valued, inspired, and empowered?

What qualities do you need to be a leader others love to follow

1) A heart to care—you will never be a leader others love to follow if you don’t truly love people.  

Summarized in these 4 words: 

--I notice.

--You matter.

Good employees don’t leave bad organizations; they leave bad supervisors. The number one reason people leave is because they don’t feel valued.

--Appreciate more than you think you should. Then double it!!

I started giving ‘knuckle bumps’ to employees that we called a ‘gold star’ and I started getting notes from the spouses of employees thanking me.  Say, show, and write your appreciation.  Never rob them of the blessing of knowing you care.

Focus on the others. You-Centered leadership.  Some leaders will make you think they are important but the best help you know YOU are important.

2)  A Passion to inspire—inspire comes from “in spirit” inspiring is more of a pulling out of them what is already inside of them.  Employees who describe themselves as “inspired” are more than twice as productive as those who call themselves

--charismatic speeches are only one tool to inspire others—not the most important tool. Found 33 different attitudes of leaders that inspire.  (Bain Inspiration Leadership Model) – work to find the unique qualities your leaders have that would inspire others ie. optimistic outlook; posture of humility; consistent follow-through; generous with recognition; consistent empathy;

One quality stands above the rest—Centered Leader

What is a Centered Leader?—secure, stable, confident, fully engaged, internal values in alignment with their external behavior, guided by values, driven by purpose, obsessed by mission

Bain Research—all you need is 1-2 well-developed strengths to inspire

--When passion meets inspiration an obsession is born

3) Willingness to Empower—The best leaders unleash higher performance through empowerment and not command and control.  If you think you need to control everything you are the one in the way of progress. You can have CONTROL or you can have GROWTH but you can’t have BOTH.  It’s important what we give to them and how we give it.  We don’t just want to delegate tasks, because when we do that we’re creating followers.  Instead, we want to delegate authority so we create leaders. 

--How do we do this?  As leaders we make only the decisions that only we can make and delegate the rest deeper into the organization.  The better you become as a leader the fewer decisions you make.  Start making only 25% of the decisions you are making now.  The strength of an organization is reflected by how deep into it people have the ability to say yes.

--You have to trust people where they are; The best way you can find out if you can trust someone is to trust them.  If you don’t trust your team you are either too controlling or you have the wrong people. Either way the problem is yours to solve.

Let me talk about the qualities of Jesus as a leader.

Heart to care—Jesus loved to sit next to the worst of the worst. He reached out to those that religion rejected. He spoke truth and love.

Passion to inspire—He said I came to serve not to be served. This is humility and resolve. He cast vision—I am come that you could have life and life to the full.

Willingness to empower—He selected people everyone else overlooked; he trained them, gave them feedback, trusted them, let them mess up, coached them and let them get better. He gave them authority to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

Great Commission—told them the assignment but trusted them with the ‘how’

4) Courage to be real, transparent, vulnerable, humble & confident even when you’re scared to death.

People aren’t looking for a leader who is perfect but one who is real and vulnerable. You don’t have to be like somebody else, you don’t have to be smart or perfect, but you do have to be real. People would rather follow a leader who is real than one who is always right.