The Craig And Greg Show: Leading Difficult Peers

March 30, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.

No need to call anyone out, but when I say “difficult peer” at least one person probably comes to mind right away, right? So what’s the solution: ignore them, scream, tear your hair out? Greg and I think there’s a better solution. In this episode, we walk through how we’ve dealt with difficult peers in the past and give actionable advice on how your leadership and coaching can help them improve.

  • [0:16] We are continuing our series about leading difficult people from wherever you are in your organization. 
  • [1:24] Our goal as leaders should be to figure out why a particular peer is so difficult to work with.
  • [2:00] A warning about the least productive thing you can do when you are frustrated with a coworker.
  • [3:44] A great example from Jesus for those striving to be servant leaders.
  • [5:17] Some questions to ask ourselves to determine if our difficult teammates are coachable.
  • [7:31] We need to learn the best ways to communicate with our teammates.
  • [9:18] Where does mistrust play a role in these difficult situations?
  • [13:13] Leaders at every level need to learn the art of diplomacy.
  • [15:02] Where does defeatism come into play?
  • [17:03] A shepherd’s heart must be cultivated for us to lead well—especially leading difficult peers.
  • [18:45] “When you’re ready” is a great posture for a leader, but it must be lived out.

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.

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All In

March 29, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 

A mark of a godly leader is one who goes all-in right from the beginning.

Here are the biblical passages I referenced in this video—Hebrews 11:8; 1 Kings 19:21; Daniel 1:8; Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 2:14.

This is part 69 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

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Links & Quotes

March 25, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

There is something very important that mature leaders need to remind themselves of so that they can help emerging leaders become successful. You can watch out this full conversation about mulligans and do-overs on the most recent episode of The Craig and Greg Show. Be sure to check out all of my videos on my YouTube channel.

In my sermon on Sunday, I talked about the sovereignty of God over world affairs and world leaders. This is a great reminder from John Newton:

Merat Sultan was born in the shah of Iran’s palace in 1876. He became the chief of police and of the army in Tabriz, Iran. When the Russians invaded and occupied that area, they made plans to execute Sultan. How he escaped actually led him to a relationship with Jesus as Sultan became a Christian. Check out this fascinating story from the website Praying For Muslims. I would also urge you to check out their weekly prayer guide.

My wife and I are reading through the He Gets Us devotional series on YouVersion. I love this picture of Jesus that comes from He Gets Us #3: Questions Jesus Asked—

“No voice. No contribution. No significance. No meaning.

“Invisible.

“That’s the way many women probably felt at the time Jesus lived. And every person with an illness—cancer, leprosy, epilepsy, mental disabilities—every one of those people were marginalized. In Jesus’ day, what careers were on the lowest rung of the corporate ladder?—fishermen and shepherds. Yet when you read every account of Jesus, who do you see Him hanging around? Fishermen, shepherds, women, and people dealing with health issues.

“Jesus wanted it that way. He took every opportunity He had to bring people in from the fringes and give them His full attention. He saw them. He listened to them. He loved them in ways they’ve never been loved before. They had never experienced anything like it.”

T.M. Moore wrote, “We are becoming so accustomed to the forsaking of traditional values, the undermining and fragmenting of long-established institutions, and the breakdown of morality and civility that we can begin to think that these conditions are the new normal, the best we can hope for in an age in flight from God. Everywhere we look in our day, the prophetic words of William Butler Yeats, in his 1919 poem, ‘The Second Coming,’ seem to be coming true: ‘Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;/Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world./The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere/the ceremony of innocence is drowned.’ But the appearances, which press upon us daily, are only a matter of perspective.” Check out the rest of his post.

When things are going well, how can we talk about our success in a way that glorifies God? John Piper had a thoughtful answer to a businessman who asked how he could talk about the success of his business and make God look great while he was doing so.

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The Craig And Greg Show: Mulligan! Embrace Do-Overs

March 16, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.

I am not a very good golfer, so when Greg and I hit the course together Greg is generous enough to give me a mulligan—sometimes a lot of them! In the same way, we as leaders need to be willing to give our team members chances to learn from and improve upon their mistakes. In this episode, we discuss how embracing a “mulligan culture” in your organization helps everyone grow and thrive.

  • [0:22] I explain what Greg gives me that is a huge blessing
  • [1:25] Leaders need to be gracious.
  • [2:56] What is the goal of mulligans?
  • [4:10] Mulligans can cost our business something. How do we calculate that?
  • [7:18] Success usually goes up with the mulligan attempt.
  • [9:54] Expect greater success in the second chances.
  • [11:04] Mulligans need to be given in a safe environment.
  • [13:06] Second chances and comeback stories are inspiring!
  • [14:31] Remember that people are the focal point of our mulligans.
  • [14:55] Greg shares about an unusual phobia with which many people struggle.
  • [16:50] An important reminder seasoned leaders need to share with emerging leaders.
  • [18:22] High-performing leaders make it look easy because of the mulligans other people gave them along the way.

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.

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The Danger Of Being Too Humble

February 28, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 

I had a great time on the Leading From Alignment podcast with Jim Wiegand and John Opalewski. 

These co-hosts wanted to discuss two back-to-back chapters in my book Shepherd Leadership where I talk about the balance between leading confidently and leading humbly. Most of us are wired to lean toward one of these poles, but godly leaders are learning how to find the healthy tension between them. 

In this part of our conversation, we talked about leaders who haven’t learned to add confidence to their humility.  

I’ll be sharing more clips from this Leading From Alignment interview soon, so please stay tuned. Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter is available in print or ebook, and in audiobook through either Audible or Apple. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

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Links & Quotes

February 25, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

I’m really excited for this! On March 9, I will be a guest on The Church Lobby podcast with Karl Vatters! Check it out wherever you get your podcasts.

T. M. Moore has been presenting an outstanding series of posts in the series To Stop The Lie. In his most recent post, he wrote, “Winds of false doctrine blow across the sails of the Church continuously, bringing lies against the ship of truth to drive it off its Kingdom course. Wafting in from worldly thinking, these false doctrines downplay the Word of God, make the needs of people rather than the glory of God the focal point of religion, introduce alien practices to worship and church life, and becalm the Body of Christ into complacency. Such lies must be exposed, deconstructed, and stopped.” Check out the post from which this quote came by clicking here, and then you can follow the thread to read the other posts in this series.

“We are more fulfilled when we are involved in something bigger than ourselves.” —John Glenn

NASA has a really cool interactive map that allows you to track the flight of asteroids and comets as they orbit around the sun. You can go forward or backward in time, zoom in or out, and angle the solar system to see the flights and orbits from a different perspective.

John Stonestreet has a good history lesson for us of past revivals on American soil, and the transformation that came about as a result. If you are a pastor and would like to join other pastors once per week for prayer for revival, please check out this prayer group.

Doug Clay has a reassuring post about the blessed hope Christians should have concerning Christ’s Second Coming. He writes, “Will Jesus return in 2023? That question stirs hope in some and anxiety in others. … The Rapture should calm anxious Christians rather than causing anxiety. No matter how bad things get, we know that our Blessed Hope is imminent!”

Too many people in leadership positions think that leadership means that others do things for them. In actuality, godly leaders view their elevated position as an opportunity to serve more—to do more things for more people. I dive deeper into this in my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter.

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The Craig And Greg Show: Keep Your Emotions Regulated

February 23, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.

As a leader, you will have to deal with very emotional situations from time to time. While you may not always have control over when these situations arise, you do have the ability to control your reaction to them. In this episode of The Craig and Greg Show, we discuss emotional regulation and how keeping your emotions managed can be a powerful tool for leaders.

  • [0:34] Well-regulated emotions are powerful.
  • [0:55] How do we keep emotions in check?
  • [2:52] Greg thinks of emotional regulation as a throttle.
  • [3:31] What are the messes created by unregulated emotion?
  • [5:59] The triggers of emotional response.
  • [8:35] We can’t control situations, but we can control our responses.
  • [9:06] The four categories of regulation.
  • [10:52] What should you look for to help you be more self-aware?
  • [13:25] Don’t give up how you feel.
  • [14:12] Self-awareness doesn’t come from a book, it takes practice and reflection.
  • [16:10] Slow down!
  • [16:40] Dis-regulated emotions hurt your ability to influence.
  • [18:34] I talk about servant leadership from my book Shepherd Leadership.
  • [19:05] How to improve your emotional regulation skills.
  • [22:48] I discuss the difference between responding and reacting.
  • [24:02] Greg says people are sensitive and the damage done can be lasting.
  • [25:27] Greg shares an insightful quote from Viktor Frankl.
  • [26:45] We would love to coach you if you need help with emotional regulation.

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.

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Lessons Learned Through Difficulties

February 17, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 

Sometimes people say it would be nice to live a carefree, never-have-troubles life. But I think we would rob ourselves of so many lessons if we avoided all of the difficult things. 

I’m not saying to seek out things that are difficult, but instead of trying to get out of those difficult things, try to see what lessons you can get out of those difficult things. 

Check out a portion of the conversation Greg and I had about this on our leadership podcast. You can check out our full conversation by clicking here. 

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

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It’s Time To Write Another Book!

February 14, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

Thank you to my many friends who helped make Shepherd Leadership a reality! My first book would not have been published, and been such a blessing to so many Christian leaders, if it hadn’t been for such amazing people who helped me fund this project!

Shepherd Leadership opened the door for me to talk with so many pastors. In my conversations with them, I discovered how beat up so many of them were feeling. This began to stir in me the desire to write another book to help them out, which prompted the thought for yet another book.

The first book has the working title When Sheep Bite: How shepherds should respond to attacks and abandonment. This book will be presented in three sections:

  1. Cultivating a shepherd’s heart toward the sheep
  2. Handling the various bites and kicks that come from the sheep
  3. Staying faithful to God’s call to shepherd His flock under your care

The second book has a working title of Amen Indeed! This is a book of prayers for the variety of situations that pastors face. The first part of this book lists the different scenarios that call for prayer and then presents a prayer that is rooted in biblical texts. The second part of the book is a prayer for pastors for each Sunday of the year.

But in order to help these ministry leaders, I once again need some help from you. One of the lessons I learned from my first publishing experience is that a lot of money was spent on a publisher that could have gone toward getting the book out to more people. So this time I will be self-publishing these books. 

Would you consider being a sponsor of these books? 

  • For a donation of $35, you will get an advanced, pre-release copy of the ebook. You will be reading this book before anyone has it! [UPDATE: 1 sponsor at this level]
  • For a donation of $75, you will not only get the pre-release copy of the ebook but also an autographed copy of the pre-released print version of the book. [UPDATE: 2 sponsors at this level]
  • For a donation of $200 or more, you will get all of the above, AND you will have access to the opening paragraphs of each chapter as they are written, as well as some behind-the-scenes videos throughout this journey. [UPDATE: 3 sponsors at this level]

All of my supporters will receive immediate access to the audio version of the introduction to When Sheep Bite.

To support this project, please click here to be taken to PayPal.

Thank you in advance for helping me to help our pastors not just survive, but thrive in their ministries! 

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The Craig And Greg Show: Lead Up

February 9, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.

When we think about leadership, we often envision the people in organizationally designated leadership roles “leading down” to the people on their team. In this episode of The Craig And Greg Show, we flip the script, discussing how you can “lead up” to those above you and help your team achieve greater levels of success. 

  • [0:30] This is part 1 of a new series of periodic episodes of how to lead at all levels of your organization. 
  • [1:07] What is the real definition of a leader?
  • [1:55] You need different skills to lead up based on how receptive your leader is.
  • [3:31] Do you have the right tools to lead up, or do you need to fill your toolbox first?
  • [5:30] What happens when the leadership above you changes?
  • [6:35] There are two really important words when leading up: stewardship and accountability.
  • [7:59] “I told you so” doesn’t help you lead up, nor does withholding information from your up-leader.
  • [11:55] What are the best ways to talk to your up-leader?
  • [14:35] Everyone in the organization already knows when you have the good ideas, so you don’t have to announce it.
  • [15:05] How do you balance being proactive with being too aggressive?
  • [16:05] What lessons can you learn from working with your difficult up-leader?
  • [17:42] You shouldn’t try to “fix” your up-leader, but help your up-leader.
  • [19:34] I share how I kept my attitude in check with my difficult up-leader.
  • [22:00] Coaches can help you do what you’re already doing better than you’re currently doing it

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.

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