People want to know how their work matters

Last updated on: August 20, 2016 at 3:23 pm By Guest Contributor

Many leaders think they don’t have the time to help others understand their work within the larger mission of an organization. But they do, and they should, writes a managing director at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity. This post first appeared at Faith and Leadership. By Nathan Kirkpatrick In many of the developmental programs at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity, we use a 360° instrument to provide our participants with feedback from their supervisors, direct reports and peers. For many... Read more

How is Your Halo?

Last updated on: August 16, 2016 at 6:26 pm By Guest Contributor

By Mike Coyner How is your halo? I don’t mean the circle of light surrounding your head, as displayed by many artists in the Middle Ages to identify saints of the Lord. No, I mean the “halo” in terms of your immediate physical surroundings – roughly one yard in each direction around you like a circle of influence. That area surrounding each one of us is so-designated by certain sports rules, including the previous NCAA football rule called “the halo... Read more

The Business Crisis Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Are Ignoring

Last updated on: August 12, 2016 at 5:46 pm By Guest Contributor

By Timothy Askew; reprinted from Inc. with the kind permission of Timothy Askew. American entrepreneurship may well be dying a slow and ignominious death. Last year, Leigh Buchanan, editor-at-large of Inc. Magazine, in an article titled “American Entrepreneurship Is Actually Vanishing,” quoted John Dearie, EVP for Policy at the Financial Services Forum as saying: “New businesses are disproportionately responsible for the innovation that drives productivity and economic growth, and they account for virtually all job creation….I would say, as a... Read more

Jesus did not command us to agree with one another; Jesus commanded us to love one another

Last updated on: August 10, 2016 at 3:53 pm By Guest Contributor

By Mike Coyner Sometimes you hear something, and you just want to say “A-ha!” I felt way that recently when I was a part of conversation with some of my judicatory colleagues here in Indiana. I heard Episcopal Bishop Cate Waynick say, “Jesus did not command us to agree with each other, Jesus commanded us to love one another.” Immediately I knew she was right, and her insight is so helpful in our current situation in our United Methodist Church... Read more

On not knowing what to say

Last updated on: August 10, 2016 at 3:41 pm By Guest Contributor

Christian leaders who are obligated to speak out on current events don’t have to join the media noise. Silence says more than punditry, writes a seminary professor. This post originally appeared at Faith & Leadership. By Jason Byassee It has been a while since the sickening week during which we watched the videos of two African-American men under arrest apparently executed by the arresting officers, and then 12 Dallas officers gunned down as they policed a protest against those shootings.... Read more

Productivity: 6 Tips for Getting (The Right) Stuff Done

Last updated on: August 8, 2016 at 5:56 pm By Jeff Haanen

There might be nothing so frustrating as working for an entire day, feeling exhausted when the day’s over – and getting nothing done. How is this possible? More than once, when scanning back through my day I’ve felt bewildered. I’m tired so I must have been productive, right? A phone call, a quick drop-in meeting, a few emails, driving off to a meeting, replying to a text, checking how my latest post did on Facebook. I barely get to the... Read more

Charleston entrepreneur writing new story for day laborers

Last updated on: August 5, 2016 at 9:01 am By Guest Contributor

Derek Snook’s social enterprise staffing company, In Every Story, pays higher wages, rewards reliability and hard work, and aims to transition workers to full-time jobs. This post originally appeared at Faith & Leadership. It’s 5:45 a.m. and still dark in Charleston, South Carolina, darker still in the shadows beneath Interstate 26, the main corridor into the low country’s booming hub. Despite the hour, a steady trickle of commuters is already moving on the freeway. But beneath the overpass, another group... Read more

The Conundrum of Introversion and Leadership

Last updated on: August 7, 2016 at 12:48 pm By Guest Contributor

By Timothy Askew; reprinted from Inc. with the kind permission of Timothy Askew. In her book Killosophy, poet and aphorist Criss Jami says, “Telling an introvert to go to a party is like telling a saint to go to hell.” I’m an introvert. I like to write. I like to read. I like to think. I like to listen to music alone. While I can network socially, I need down time afterwards to renew. I read a book called Quiet:... Read more

Who is My Neighbor? A Response to Racism

Last updated on: August 2, 2016 at 7:41 am By Guest Contributor

By Mike Coyner During the NCJ Conference last month, the candidates for bishop were asked in a forum sponsored by BMCR (Black Methodists for Church Renewal), “What question do you think we in the church have not yet asked or not yet fully answered?” Several of the candidates gave excellent answers, of course, and it helped us gain insights into them and their potential to serve as bishops. I found myself wondering which question I would have named, and I... Read more