leadership excellence devotional - excerpt

8/10/2019 Leadership Excellence Devotional - Excerpt

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Busy leaders will find the insights in this devotional encouraging, instructive,

and uplifing. Im especially encouraged that all o the wisdom contained here

can be traced back to the timeless truths o Gods Word. Kudos to Pat Williams

or assembling such a useul resource.

J D/P, F F

I love every book that Pat Williams writes! Te Leadership Excellence Devotionalis

no different. Its packed with wisdom and leadership insights or a lietime.

G C/C-A, F & F

I have read many devotional books and written a ew mysel, but when this onearrived, it so captured me that I finished it that day. No matter your calling in

liesports, business, ministry, politics, getting an educationthe material in

these pages will enrich you, equip you, and help motivate you to do your job and

serve the Lord with joy and efficiency.

W W. W/A F P M

C, C

Im ascinated with outstanding leaders and what makes them great. Pat Williams

new book o leadership teachings should be a lietime companion or leaders in all

fields. Tis book has given me a huge lif and will do the same or you.

C B/NBA A, ESPN

Pat Williams has put together a treasure trove o leadership principles in thiswonderul new book. My advice is to read this book regularly, reflectively, and

reactively. It will make a huge difference in your lie.

K M/H W B C, B U


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Who better to help us craf a game plan or our busy lives than Pat Williams?

He spent orty years studying leadership, building winning teams and organiza-

tions, and developing strategies. Te Leadership Excellence Devotionalis a must

addition to those o us who are attempting to live and lead at the mach 3 speed

o lie.

J S/P F, S L

U

I have read a ton o books on leadership and Pat Williams new book Te

Leadership Excellence Devotionalseems to have summarized them all in a con-

cise manner. Pat not only writes about leadership but is a beacon light to all ous as a true servant leader.

D B/L M B C, L

S U

I you are interested in being an excellent leader, read Pat Williams latest

book, Te Leadership Excellence Devotional. Pat includes anecdotes and prin-ciples you can apply in your everyday lie to get the best out o yoursel and

others. No matter how old you are or what you do in lie, this book will help

you grow as a person and a leader.

M J/H C, G S W

I love this book! Tese short stories are easy to read and very enlightening. I

read a lot o books on leadership but this is the most entertaining. Te quoteshit home with a clear message as to what lie and leadership are all about. I

will recommend it to all my riends.

J L/H B C, U M


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The LeadershipExcellence

DevotionalThe Seven Sides of Leadershipin Daily Life

P W J D

An Imprint of Bar bour Publishing, Inc.


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2013 by Pat Williams

Print ISBN 978-1-63058-655-3eBook Editions:

Adobe Digital Edition (.epub) 978-1-63409-064-3Kindle and MobiPocket Edition (.prc) 978-1-63409-065-0

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercialpurposes, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without written permission of thepublisher.

Churches and other noncommercial interests may reproduce portions of this book without theexpress written permission of Barbour Publishing, provided that the text does not exceed 500 wordsor 5 percent of the entire book, whichever is less, and that the text is not material quoted fromanother publisher. When reproducing text from this book, include the following credit line: FromTe Leadership Excellence Devotional by Pat Williams with Jim Denney, published by BarbourPublishing, Inc. Used by permission.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, NewInternational Version. . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by

permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked are from Te Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission.

All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked are taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1960,1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by Te Lockman Foundation. Used bypermission.

Scripture quotations marked are from HE MESSAGE. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Published by Shiloh Run Press, an imprint of Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville,Ohio 44683, www.shilohrunpress.com.

Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblicalencouragement to the masses.

Publishers Association

Member of the

Evangelical Christian

Printed in the United States of America.


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o my twin grandsons,

eddy and Jack.

May they grow to become

leaders of excellence.


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FOREWORD

Once again, a book by Pat Williams that stretches and challenges me. Pathas a unique way o reminding us o things we tend to orget, or some-times neglect. Tose things that can make the difference between good, better,

and best. Pat is like creamhe always rises to the top. He reuses to let his read-

ers settle or second-best thinking and leading.

Te Leadership Excellence Devotional: Te Seven Sides of Leadership in Daily

Lifeis a valuable book to add to your library. Pat systemizes a lietime o leader-ship lessons, allowing us to glean nuggets o wisdom rom one o the greatest

leaders and motivators I know. Tese seven sides o leadership are essentials or

any leader.

Te truths contained here are game-changers. In a world looking or easy

answers and a quick climb up the ladder o success, Pat gives us the long up-

ward view. Tese truths are clearly and concisely laid out. Tis is the kind obook we need in the ast-paced world in which we live. Its a book or people

on the go, who need to slow down and think through how they are leading. Its

a book or people wanting to go to the next level, to make sure they are climb-

ing the right ladder. Its a book or seasoned leaders who can easily orget

oundational principles while looking or the next new thing.

Te powerul quotes and stories in this book will be used over and over

again. I plan to purchase multiple copies or up and coming leaders as well

as copies or all our staff. We all can use the legacy lessons Pat gives us in this

amazingly simple, yet proound book.

M C

S. P, S C, A, G

E P, S P


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INTRODUCTION

Building a Leadership Legacy, Day by Day

At age seven, I knew I wanted to be a baseball player. I spent countlesshours at Shibe Park, cheering or Philadelphias two major league teams,the Phillies and the As. While studying the intricacies o the game, I became

aware at an early age o the importance o leadershipthe role o the catcher as

an on-field player-coach, the leadership roles o the manager and base coaches,

the executive leadership o the general manager and the owner.

My closest boyhood riend was Ruly Carpenter, whose ather, Bob

Carpenter, Jr., owned the Phillies. (In later years, rom 1972 to 1981, Ruly him-

sel became principal owner.) My connection to the Carpenter amily gave me

entre to the behind-the-scenes world o proessional baseball and a deeper

understanding o leadership in the sports world.From my school years through my career as a sports executive, I have lived

and breathed leadership. Ive become personally acquainted with many o the

top leaders in sports, business, entertainment, the military, government, and

religion.

When I moved to Florida to begin building the dream called the Orlando

Magic, the issue o leadership took on a whole new depth o meaningand asense o urgency. Many people told me it was impossible to build an NBA ex-

pansion team in a town that had no pro sports tradition.

But I remembered that people had told Walt Disney the things he wanted

to do were impossible, tooand right here in Orlando were people who had

worked alongside Disney as he built Disneyland in the 1950s. So I talked to

every top Disney executive in Orlando and gleaned thousands o leadership

insights.


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10 INTRODUCTION

As I began speaking and writing on leadership, I systematized all the lead-

ership lessons I had learned over a lietime. I discovered that the essence o

leadership can be divided into seven categories, or sides, o leadership: Vision,

Communication, People Skills, Character, Competence, Boldness, A Serving

Heart.

Shiloh Run Press recently invited me to pour my lietime o leadership in-

sights into a book called Leadership Excellence: Te Seven Sides of Leadership for

the wenty-first Century. Ten they asked me to write the book you hold in your

hands, Te Leadership Excellence Devotional: Te Seven Sides of Leadership in Daily

Life.One o the serendipitous eatures o the Seven Sides o Leadership is the

numberseventhe perect number o principles or a daily study. In the course o

a week, you can walk through each o the Seven Sides o Leadership. You can have

Vision Sunday, ollowed by Communication Monday, People Skills uesday,

Character Wednesday, Competence Tursday, Boldness Friday, and A Serving

Heart Saturday.You can start each day inspired and motivated to reach or the next level o

influence as a leader. What better way to build your leadership legacy?

As you live out these leadership principles, I hope youll call or write me. (My

contact inormation is in the back o the book.) ell me how these leadership in-

sights are affecting your lie and career. Im eager to hear rom you.

God bless you on your leadership journey.


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13THESEVENSIDESOFLEADERSHIP

A New Leadership Adventure

Earn your leadership every day.M J

Iwas exposed to great leaders throughout my early sports career, as both a playerand an executive. In 1986, when I arrived in Orlando to build an NBA expan-sion team rom the ground up, I committed mysel to an intensive study o leader-

ship principles. Being in Orlando, I also got to explore the leadership traditions o

the Walt Disney Company.

In the course o my research, I realized all o the precepts o leadership excel-

lence could be distilled into seven principles I call the Seven Sides o Leadership.

Tese principles are ageless and universal. Tey were true in the golden age o

King Solomon, and they are still true in the Internet Age. Tese seven princi-

ples have been proven by great generals rom Alexander the Great to Norman

Schwarzkop, great business leaders such as Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos, and greatreligious leaders like Billy Graham and Pope John Paul II.

As we begin our journey, consider the Seven Sides o Leadership: Vision,

Communication, People Skills, Character, Competence, Boldness, and A Serving

Heart. Which are you strong in? Which do you need to study and master?

A brand new leadership adventure begins or youright now.

Moses said to the LORD, May the LORD, the God who gives breathto all living things, appoint someone over this community to go out

and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in,so the LORDs people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.

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14 THESEVENSIDESOFLEADERSHIP

Seven Sides in Perfect Balance

Leading like Jesus is not a technique. It is a transformation of the heart.J W. R

Jesus was the greatest leader who ever lived.Hitler and Stalin were great only in the annals o mass murder. Cyrus theGreat and Alexander the Great each conquered the known world o his timebut

both empires crumbled to dust. Jesus was great because He was totally good and be-

cause His kingdom continued to expand even afer He lef the world.

Jesus exhibited all Seven Sides o Leadership in perect balance. He was a

leader o VisionHis vision was the kingdom o heaven.

He was a master o Communication. He attracted crowds and taught deep

truth through simple stories. His Sermon on the Mount is the greatest speech

ever delivered.

Jesus was adept atPeople Skills. He empathized with people, loved them, andalways gave them exactly what they needed. He perectly epitomized Character

and every moral virtue.

Jesus personified Competence. No one ever taught, trained, delegated, or led

as competently as He did. He exemplified Boldness when debating His oppo-

nents, proclaiming His vision, and enduring the cross.

Above all, Jesus demonstrated A Serving Heart. He modeled servanthood

when He washed the disciples eetand when He hung on the cross. Te more

completely we build the Seven Sides o Leadership into our lives, the more

Christlike we will be as leaders.

Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servantalso will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

J :


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15THESEVENSIDESOFLEADERSHIP

Who Controls Your Future?

Te Bible teaches us to fear not.Tats a good starting point for any aspiring leader.

B B

Former Florida State ootball coach Bobby Bowden once told me, In morethan fify years o college coaching, I have held many jobs, but I never appliedor one o them. All o my coaching jobs were handed to me as the Lord Jesus

Christ led me through my career. All I did was trust Him. He did the rest.It takes a bold aith to say, Lord, You are in the drivers seat. ake control o

my lie. I leave it all in Your hands. As leaders, we tend to define leadership as being

in control. But Bobby Bowden describes a different kind o leadership that says,

Lord, You are in control.

Bowden traces his trusting attitude to the time he was diagnosed with rheu-

matic ever at age thirteen. He spent six months in the hospital and more thana year confined to his bed at home. He spent many hours listening to the radio,

especially Alabama ootball games on Saturday mornings.

In his book Called to Coach, Bowden recalls, I prayed to God and told Him

that i He healed me rom rheumatic ever, I would serve Him through ootball.1

God answered that prayer, and Bowden kept his promise.

Who controls your uture? Whos in the drivers seat o your leadership lie?

rust in the LORDwith all your heart and lean not onyour own understanding; in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.

P :


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16 VISION

Be a Tomorrow Thinker

Te only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.H K

InBe All You Can Be, John Maxwell offers this wise insight: Te poorest personin the world is not the person who doesnt have a nickel. Te poorest person inthe world is the one who doesnt have a vision. I you dont have a dreama goal

and a purpose in lieyoure never going to become what you could become. . . .

Successul people are motivated by a dream beyond them. Tey have a dream

that is bigger than themselves; they have something that constantly keeps them

going. Its out o their reach, and yet they believe that i they work hard enough,

they will someday hold that dream in their hands. . . . Unsuccessul people are only

motivated by today. Tey are not tomorrow thinkers.2

Te people John Maxwell calls tomorrow thinkers get the most out o ev-

ery day. By envisioning a bright tomorrow, they motivate themselves or todayschallenges. A vision has incredible power to ocus our thoughts and harness our

energies.

Dreams o tomorrow help us to persevere through adversity, endure criti-

cism, and finish strong. I you want to be a successul leader, post your vision

where everyone can see it. Make tomorrow appear so attractive and exciting that

people will go through walls to achieve it.

Te uture belongs to leaders o vision.

And the LORDanswered me: Write the vision;make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.

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17COMMUNICATION

Everybody Grab an Oar!

Te key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.K B

om Kelly managed the Minnesota wins rom 1986 to 2001, leading themto World Series titles in 1987 and 1991. Retired catcher im Laudnerbelieves the key to Kellys leadership success was communication. Afer one

disastrous road trip, the players boarded the team bus and the manager got up to

address the team.

Look, Kelly said, were all in this thing together. And i you cant find a

way to pull or your teammates, then you need to get off this bus. Were going

to have twenty-five guys on this ball club rowing the boat. So, everybody grab an

oar, because were all going to row the boat together. Were going to do this thing

together, someway, somehow.

Tat speech, Laudner said, was the defining moment o the season. . . .When we got home we started pulling or each other, and good things started

happening.3

Former wins pitcher George Frazier agrees. He recalls that Kelly didnt say

a lot, but when he spokeit was meaningul. Kellys grab an oar speech pulled

the team together and gave the wins a vision o who they were as a team. He

was the guy steering that boat, Frazier concludes, and we all just rode along with

himright to the World Series title.4

Great leaders invoke memorable word pictures and analogies to teach, in-

spire, and motivate. How can you improve your communication skills today?

Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables.

M :


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18 PEOPLESKILLS

A Checklist of People Skills

You can always find people with hard skills, but success or failure oftendepends on the softer people skills. Tese are more difficult to find.

E M. B

People skills are sometimes called sof skills, as opposed to such hard skills astechnical expertise. People skills have to do with maintaining positive, coopera-tive relationships with superiors, subordinates, and the public. Good people skills

are essential to good leadership. People skills include (but are not limited to):Self-control. In times o pressure and rustration, leaders with good people

skills control their emotions, especially anger. Tey fix problems, not blame.

Even-handedness. Leaders avoid office politics, actions, and tur wars. Tey

deal with difficult people in a constructive way.

Kindness. Leaders with people skills have compassion and empathy or the

eelings o others.Listening skills. Great leaders care enough to listen and learn.

olerance and acceptance. Leaders need to accept different opinions and per-

sonality types.

Ability to coach and mentor. Leaders with people skills are committed to

their ollowers growth as leaders.

Unselfishness. Leaders sacrifice their interests or others.

Loe. Te ability to love others is the most important people skill o all.

Every people skill is an extension o our commitment to love others.

Which people skills do you excel in? Which do you need to strengthen?

Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people,but love your neighbor as yourself.

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19CHARACTER

The Price of Maintaining Character

Without character, you cant have wisdom, in spite of competence.Without wisdom, you simply cant build and maintain an enduringinstitution, whether it be a marriage, a family, a team, or a company.

S R. C

Bill Lear was an inventor and businessman, best known or ounding the LearJet Corporation. Soon afer the introduction o the Lear business jet in 1963,two o them crashed. When investigators couldnt discover the cause, Lear or-dered the grounding o the other fify-five planes that had been solda move

that cost him many prospective buyers.

But Lear was committed to doing the right thing at any cost. Not willing to

risk the lie o a test pilot, he flew one o his own Lear Jets, simulating the condi-

tions under which the planes had crashed. He nearly met the ate o the previous

pilotsbut he succeeded in isolating and correcting the design flaw. He madethe correction in all fify-five planes at his own expense.

As Dave Kraf concluded in Leaders Who Last, it took Bill Lear two years

to rebuild the business. . . . He lost money and risked his own lie, but he never

compromised his character.5

What risks would you take, what price would you pay, to maintain your

character?

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness;and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control;

and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.

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20 COMPETENCE

What It Means to Be Competent

If you dont have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?J W

Competence is the ability to perorm a job properly and effectively; it comesrom a combination o personality traits, habits, training, and experience.Competent leaders know themselves well, both their strengths and limitations.

Tey ocus on what they do best and delegate the rest. Tey understand other peo-

ple and build cooperative relationships. Tey solve problems and resolve conflict.

As leaders, we should become competent in several dimensions:

Intellectually competent: open-minded and curious, imaginative and creative,

always reading, learning, and hungering or knowledge and wisdom.

Courageously competent: bold and decisive, willing to take prudent (not reck-

less) risks, willing to speak our minds and deend our values; persistent in the ace

o obstacles and opposition.Relationally competent: willing to love and orgive others, kind toward every-

one without discrimination, and ull o empathy and understanding.

Justly competent: air, impartial, and merciul.

Morally competent: setting an example o humility, sel-control, gratitude, a

strong work ethic, optimism, and aith in God.

Physically competent: good health, proper exercise and nutrition, and ad-

equate rest so we can lead with energy and vitality.

People who are competent in these dimensions will always be leaders.

Which o these competencies are your strengths? Which are your weaknesses?

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves,but our competence comes from God.

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leadership excellence devotional - excerpt

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