Do you lack the confidence about the effectiveness of your leadership?  Are you constantly looking back to see if anyone is following you?  I’m sure you’ve heard the Afghan proverb, “If you think you’re leading but no one is following you, you are simply taking a walk.”  People want to be led by people who are about something real!  People want to know that what you stand for matters!  They listen to what you say and measure it against what you do.  So how does a leader communicate what you are all about?  It’s not easy but I think Mike Figliuolo can get you started.  His book, “One Piece of Paper,can go a long way for the leader who is finding their way through the maze of leadership.  I have never read a leadership book that has raised my confidence like One Piece of Paper.  It teaches a practical method for identifying a leadership philosophy and the importance of communicating it to your team.   True leadership requires teaching others how to grow.  Other “leadership” and “self-help” books offer valuable information for personal growth, but they lack a process that raises the thinking beyond the leader.  Since reading One Piece of Paper I feel empowered because it offers a roadmap with which I can help my people understand my approach to leadership.

I have been in pastoral ministry for 22 years.  Some may even consider my career a successful one.  I remain, however, on the quest for developing leaders in a way that creates an excellent team in order to foster authentic spiritual growth.   I have followed the steps outlined by Figliuolo, I have written my maxims, I have documented the parallel stories and I feel pretty good about it.  If Figliuolo is right, and I believe he is, my people will respond in such a way that will create the team environment for which I am searching.   I’m going into a new church with a method that clearly depicts what my team can expect from me and what I expect of them.

Figliuolo is confident that living our maxims “will help you make better decisions and choices.”  He suggests that living our maxims “will keep you on track to reach your goals, and they will guide your behaviors along the way.”  I love it!  It’s exciting!  With this approach I feel like I can build an unstoppable team!