So here was Day Two of the SEU Leadership Forum: Craig Groeschel, Marcus Buckingham, Erwin McManus, and Gen. Colin Powell. Today was simply awesome. Each one of them exceeded my expectations. I don’t consider myself easily impressed, but I really was blown away today. It is a rare day at a conference when you don’t believe there was any wasted space whatsoever.
Groeschel killed it on limitations and innovation in leadership. Erwin McManus did one of the best presentations I’ve ever heard from him on Mosaic’s Leadership Matrix, and General Powell was way better on servant leadership and trust than I expected. Today, my favorite by far though was Marcus Buckingham who wrote, Now, Discover Your Strengths and Go Put Your Strengths to Work. He’s connected to the StrengthsFinder Assessment from his work at Gallop and now has his own gig.
His presentation was mostly focused on his more recent book Go Put Your Strengths to Work, but like Lencioni he really surprised me by integrating servant leadership into his presentation with some depth and by really demonstrating passion and compassion for the individual souls out there who are not able or unable to live out of their God given dignity and ability. It would be hard to convey in words what was resonating so deeply with me from his presentation, but I left with a strong sense that leaders have a responsibility to tap into the God given strengths of their people. That is nothing new, but the motivation he argues for in doing this is what really was powerful for me.
We don’t try to empower people to live out of their strengths in order to massage people’s egos, immaturity, or vanity. We don’t try to empower people to live out of their strengths to generate more profit or productivity from them. We try to empower people to live out of their God-given strengths because those strengths are an expression of the humanity and dignity of each person. Empowering people to live out of their strengths for this reason is a manifestation of other-centered, loving, servant leadership.
As leaders we have the opportunity to help others live out the very best version of themselves. While data supports that this leads to greater productivity and bottom lines, it also is leadership that respects the dignity and personhood of the followers and that serves them in stewardship and love. It really has gotten me thinking through the Strengths arena on a new level. I liked some of his stuff before, but saw it in many ways as another personality assessment and tool for greater effectiveness in the workplace. I’m now seeing the opportunities for truly respectful and human leadership that is truly honoring of the dignity and soul of each person under their charge. It gives me chills to think about the possibilities.
I’m not totally sure where to go from here, but I plan on thinking more about the implications of this for the leadership arenas of coaching and stewardship.
