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On a recent episode of The Craig And Greg Show, Greg and I talked about the importance of leadership habits. In this particular clip, Greg asks me about my most important leadership habits.
God made you uniquely YOU! You have been made on purpose and for a purpose. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
“The wise recognize before the fight that adversity will come and therefore are not surprised by it. The wise recognize in the fight that adversity is a formidable foe and thus steel themselves for a long, hard struggle to the death. The wise recognize after winning a fight that the war is not over and so never let down their guard nor release their weapons.” —Dick Brogden, in Proverbs: Amplified and Applied
Astronomers have discovered planet-sized objects that are puzzling the best minds. In fact, they have had to create a new category for these objects: Jupiter Mass Binary Objects (JuMBOs). What is baffling the brightest minds is that these planets don’t orbit a star but appear to be gravitationally bound to other JuMBOs. My favorite line is this one: “The new phenomenon challenges current frameworks explaining how stars and planets form within nebula, with astrophysicists claiming such objects should not exist.” There is at least one who isn’t baffled: The One who created JuMBOs along with everything else in our universe.
T.M. Moore is in the midst of a series of posts about the Christian and the government. They are excellent! Here is just a short sample—“The Christian understands that government is a servant of God for good, and that God, therefore, must define the terms of goodness by which a government fulfills its appointed task. As Paul reminds us, the Law of God is holy and righteous and good (Romans 7:12). It is important, therefore, that Christians understand the Law of God and consider the best ways of bringing its influence to bear in the arena of public policy. … Public policy is not about what governments can do, but what they should do, that is, if they are to fulfill their callings as God’s servants for good. When it comes to applying the Law of God to public policy, Christians must make this first principle foundational in the logic with which they approach the work of influencing and shaping public policy.”
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.” —Mahatma Gandhi
Leaders are naturally wired to be either confident or humble. Both kinds of leaders need to remain coachable. Greg and I unpacked this idea on this episode of The Craig And Greg Show, and I also discuss it in greater depth in my book Shepherd Leadership.
Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.
Criticism is baked into leadership. Any change you make, whether good or bad, will be met with some level of criticism either internally or externally. Other times, you’ll be in the position of having to express criticism of a decision someone on your team made.
Navigating criticism in a productive way can be tricky, but luckily Greg and I are here to help! In this episode, we discuss how the right kind of criticism can be empowering for your organization.
[0:27] Leaders will always be criticized, even for the good things they have done.
[1:30] Leaders need both humility and confidence to process criticism in a healthy way.
[4:18] Is criticism different than an assessment? It seems like the word “critic” has been hijacked in a negative way.
[6:00] Defensiveness doesn’t help leaders, but we do need to protect ourselves.
[8:27] How do we give constructive criticism without putting others on the defensive?
[10:22] Why is it hard for people to receive criticism?
[12:55] How should we give feedback to others so that it will be received well?
[16:15] Is there a correlation between criticism and coachability?
[19:57] Let’s remember that many of our teammates have had negative interactions with a critical
leader, so we have to change the climate.
[21:28] What happens if a teammate won’t receive any feedback at all?
[23:20] Greg shares an insightful quote from Winston Churchill.
[25:26] As always, leaders have to go first!
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Questions engage people more than statements do. Check out the full conversation Greg and I had on The Craig And Greg Show. I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
“In America, we have a tendency to worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship.” —Lenny Esposito
“Young people are told, ‘You’ve got plenty of time, live a little, first,’ as if life ends after the wedding. The truth about marriage, however, is that it is, statistically, the single best predictor of long-term happiness. Making this even more important to understand is that for at least the last 20 years now, Americans have been steadily getting less happy.” Here’s how John Stonestreet shares this report from the University of Chicago.
T.M. Moore shared an interesting component of early-colonial American lawmaking: “Peruse the civil codes of the American colonies and you will discover a curious phenomenon. Frequently, colonial legislators drafted their civil codes by looking to the Old Testament Law of God.”
Dr. Tim Clarey said, “The global Flood also answers why dinosaurs were still alive and flourishing until the end of the Cretaceous. At that moment in the Flood, they were likely trying to stay on the highest ground available as waters encroached closer, week by week. As the dry land rapidly disappeared, many species herded together. This explains why varied types of dinosaurs were buried together at the end of the Cretaceous. The Flood’s tsunami-like waves eventually crashed over the remaining dinosaurs and entombed them in what’s called Upper Cretaceous strata.” Check out more evidence for the Flood that is recorded in the Book of Genesis.
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Automatic habits are an integral part of our everyday lives. From driving a car to the way we tie our shoes, these habits help us all the time with very little thought. Of course, habits aren’t limited to these mundane tasks, we also form them in other areas, like our leadership. As a leader, it’s important to be self-reflective of our habits and make sure they are taking us in the direction we want to go. In this episode, Greg and I discuss how cultivating the right habits will help you flourish as a leader.
[0:19] Aristotle said excellence is a matter of our habits.
[1:27] Our habits are mostly automatic—both the good and the bad habits.
[3:10] How do we keep our habits healthy during chaotic times?
[5:54] What about coping habits—should a leader use them or avoid them?
[7:15] My most beneficial leadership habit.
[9:13] Time-wasters are habits too.
[10:37] When we make changes in our habits, they should be incremental changes.
[12:17] We need to know why we want to make the change in a habit. The “why” determines the “what” and the “how.”
[15:24] How do leaders sustain their healthy habits?
[16:33] How can leaders regain their list momentum of good habits?
[19:27] Leaders need to be aware of the pull of their unintentional habits.
[22:23] How do we get our habits to serve us?
[23:30] I share two vital habits all high-performing leaders need.
[24:56] Leaders need to develop “muscle memory” to keep their healthy habits serving them.
[26:27] Greg shares some important quotes about a leader’s habits.
Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and Apple.
Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.
If you said, “No,” are you sure? Sometimes micromanagement can come out of good intentions, or as we focus on a project, we as leaders can slide into it without even realizing it. In this episode, Greg and I discuss why micromanagement is bad for your leadership, how to identify if you’ve fallen into this trap, and, most importantly how to free yourself to soar into a place of macro-leadership.
[0:17] Greg and I break into song.
[0:38] Micromanagers stunt the growth of others in the organization.
[1:45] There is a difference between intense focus and micromanagement. How do we find those differences?
[3:44] A definitive quote about the destructive nature of micromanaging.
[6:05] Micromanagers create an unhealthy environment.
[6:47] The Craig And Greg Show audience is exceptionally intelligent!
[8:36] How do we know if we are unconsciously crossing the line into micromanagement?
[9:50] Micromanagement needs to give way to macro-leadership.
[11:16] Two more telltale phrases that micromanagers use.
[12:30] Greg helped a struggling leader break free from his micromanagement trap.
[14:07] The value of an “outsider’s” perspective can be huge!
[15:03] Greg shares some natural consequences for the entire organization of micromanagement.
[17:31] Characteristics of macro-leaders
[19:34] Greg shares two very sad stories of micromanagers who created problems in their company.
[21:50] Some final quotes to bring it home.
Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and Apple.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
All of us can benefit from having someone wise speak into our lives. That is the message of Sage Advice. Here is part 2 of my interview with the author of Sage Advice. Greg Heeres is my friend of 30+ years and my podcast partner on The Craig And Greg Show.
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Periodically, Greg and I like to revisit the topic of leadership builders and killers. In this episode, you get two leadership killers, as we tackle the two-headed monster of ignorance and arrogance.
[0:25] The two-headed monster that kills leadership potential.
[2:06] We are accepting bribes for our silence 😂
[2:23] Why are leaders held back by their ignorance?
[4:34] What happens when the followers sense that the leader above them is ignorant?
[6:22] What about when the leader admits a need for help?
[7:47] The toxicity of arrogance.
[9:32] Coachability is fed by humility. This is the leader’s litmus test.
[12:01] Our transparent leadership lessons are immensely helpful to our teammates.
[15:24] Greg shares a quote about this two-headed monster.
[17:35] We each share our personal examples of overcoming this monster.
[19:50] Sadly, many people who need the most help won’t seek it for themselves.
[21:07] If leaders are going to kill this two-headed monster, they have to stop talking and start listening.
[22:00] Know-it-alls are hard to cheer for, so successful leaders will have to eat some crow.
Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and Apple.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
On a recent episode of The Craig and Greg Show, Greg and I discussed the fears that can paralyze leaders. In this short clip, I talk about an acronym I learned years ago that has helped me tremendously in evaluating my fears.
Check out the full Craig And Greg Show episode on fear by clicking here.
Craig T. Owens 