Alex Hoffer

Lessons Learned from Self-Inflicted Adversity

Leadership

It was late in the day, three days before Christmas. I left the office to run an errand for Sarah and then go home to pack for our trip the next day to see her parents. 2021 had been a challenging year, so I was relieved to have made it to the finish line. 

Then my phone rang. Our Director of Operations, Jim, wanted me to visit one of our future leaders the next day. Jim had offered this person an exciting new opportunity inside our business, so he wanted me to meet them and see if I could close the deal before Christmas. 

Admittedly, this “ask” excited me. It made me feel needed and matched my strengths. The only issue, however, was that I was going to be on the road early the next morning. I asked Jim if I could email the person instead? Jim replied that while a face-to-face conversation would be preferred, an email may be enough to push this over the finish line. I agreed and assured Jim that I would craft the email as soon as I got home that day — late in the day of what turned out to be my last official workday of 2021. 

After getting home, I told Sarah and the kids that I needed a little alone time in my home office. Closing the door, I could still hear my kids running around as they were excited to be leaving for Christmas the following morning! I told myself that I just needed to compose a quick email and be done. After all, I reminded myself, I am good at this. 

So I began writing. I was rather direct. This person is an upcoming leader in our company, and I felt strongly that this move would be positive. I encouraged them to distinguish themselves over others at their level by taking this opportunity. I told them that it would position them as a future leader in the company. After reviewing my email a few times and softening the tone, I hit send. It was time to pack. 

I did not hear back from my email until the first Sunday of the New Year. The response I received was a rather direct reply and did not offer much hope of the person taking the opportunity. The following day, they turned it down.

Adversity Lessons Learned

At this point in the post, you might be wondering why I am sharing this story? There are several reasons. 

First, in the context of this month’s theme of adversity, there is arguably no worse adversity than the kind you bring on yourself. Upon reflection, I wrote that email in a state of fatigue and emotional exhaustion. I was also prideful. I felt that I could “close the deal,” and that ego had come through in the email. And so we are clear, I am responsible for choosing to write the email. I own this mistake. 

Second, email was a terrible choice for this communication; I should have opted for the face-to-face discussion Jim requested. The situation could have easily waited until January 3rd. This was another poor decision on my part. 

Third, I am sharing this story because of the very direct response I got back. As Jim said when I shared it with him, it was a gutsy response. And it really was! It ticked me off. But turnabout is fair play. In hindsight, I’m sure that my email ticked them off — so, what did I expect in return? But there’s more to it than that. Do I want a team that feels like they can lay it all out to me? Or do I want a team that complies with what I say, no matter what? The answer is that I want a team that tells me EVERYTHING. Period. 

Finally, I am sharing this because regardless of everything — that I came off too strongly, that email was a poor form of communication, and that I want our team members to feel comfortable being open and honest with me —  I still think the person should have taken the opportunity! 

Avoiding Adversity ≠ Avoiding Disagreement

The point I am trying to make here is that two people can disagree about a new idea and still be together. In other words, there are no repercussions for disagreement. Dog houses are reserved for the backyard and the National Football League. They do not belong on a cohesive team. 

Admittedly, this was a humbling lesson for me to end 2021 with. I share it with you here in the hopes that you can learn from my missteps and avoid your own self-inflicted adversity.

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Battling the Yips in Golf and Life

Personal Growth

Last summer, I participated in a golf tournament at my local club and failed. While I hit the ball well, I had a severe case of the putting yips. If you golf, you know that you aren’t supposed to talk about the yips — the nervousness that causes one to miss a putt — but I take ownership of what I experienced. The golf tournament was not that big of a deal, yet my body indicated that it was a huge deal. My hands shook, and even short putts were treacherous. 

Having played competitive golf in the past, my experience was surprising. And it was also embarrassing. While I learned later in the fall that there was a medical explanation for what I experienced — a lack of B12 due to the acid reflux medicine I was taking — the experience left me with feelings of shame and embarrassment. I remember driving home with a barrage of negative self-talk in my head that I am too embarrassed to share here and asking myself, “Isn’t this supposed to be fun?” 

My weekend golf adversity might seem different from the adversity one faces during the work week. Yet, in my mind, at that particular moment, it seemed the same — it felt like a big deal. Granted, it should not have been a big deal because I do not make my living playing professional golf. But that is not how the mind works; the mind makes things that one cares about a big deal. 

Golf Scores and Self-Worth

Let me pause and explain why golf is so important to me. The first thing I think about when I think about golf is my dad. My dad was an accomplished amateur golfer: First-Team All-American at Purdue, US Mid-Amateur Champion, Walker-Cup winning team participant, and Masters invitee. Did I mention he worked full time as well? 

On the other hand, I had a largely successful four-year stint in high school golf, but got entirely burned out by the end of my senior year. So instead of pursuing golf in college — I had the opportunity to walk on at Purdue or pursue scholarships at smaller schools — I stopped golfing entirely. For the next several years, I barely played. I eventually picked the game back up in my mid-20s, almost out of compulsion. I was headed into sales and was advised (not by my dad, but by others) that I should play golf. I still had some talent, so it became a “thing” to do. 

Since then, I have somewhat redeveloped a love for the game. I say “somewhat” because I still derive too much of my self-worth from what I shoot — hence my shaky hands in a somewhat meaningless country club weekend tournament. Let’s be honest, no one cares who wins that tournament, so it’s foolish I got so worked up over it! It is even more foolish to think my dad would evaluate my game and be embarrassed that I didn’t make a much-needed five-foot putt. To be fair to him, he has NEVER voiced or acted in a way that should lead me to think that. But it is buried somewhere deep in my subconscious, perhaps because I surmise that is what others think when they see it happen. 

When Golf Isn’t Just Golf

If you are still with me, is it clear in what I’ve shared that there is more than golf going on? This is why golf can lead me to a feeling of the blues in the middle of the summer. Adversity can come there, at work, and everywhere else. To be human is to be full of adversity. 

So, where do we go from here? The day this happened last summer. When I returned home, no one else was there, and I could feel myself growing really mad. I was angry that I allowed myself to be overcome by emotions on the golf course. Then I said to myself aloud, “Alex, you can be mad all you want. You can be embarrassed. You can feel like a piece of s**** (I told you my self-talk was not healthy!) You can ruin this whole day if you want. Or you can pick yourself back up and keep going on.” 

I know it sounds melodramatic. I am not proud that the above deals with a golf event. But, I am being real here. Reality was kicking my butt. 

Overcoming Adversity

I then remembered a few keys to overcoming adversity that always help me. If you have stuck with me until now, here is your payoff. These will help you the next time you feel like you are succumbing to your adverse situation. 

  • Simplify: I always need to remember to simplify things when adversity arises. This feels counterintuitive, especially in golf. The day my putting went whacko, I tried multiple grips, focused on different routines, etc. I was doomed from the start! I putt best when I think least.

    Similarly, when relational conflicts arise at work, I am at my worst when I analyze every aspect of the conflict and get “technical.” I perform better when I simplify things and see the big picture. In relational disputes, I do this by prioritizing the relationship over being right.
  • Take Action: After identifying what I need to simplify, I determine what action I need to take. I ask myself, “What is the next best thing I need to do?” In relational conflicts, this may mean affirming the relationship over the dispute. In my golf example, this meant going back to the golf course and practicing putting.
  • Continue: Pastor Craig Groeschel has said, “Successful people do consistently what other people do occasionally.” His statement is an affirming belief that I can rally around. Crag’s statement jibes with me because it reminds me that no matter how large my failure feels in the moment, I can continue to show up and get better.

Just sharing my putting yips experience in this post gives it less power over my future. I commit to continuing to show up, working on my putting and the rest of the game, while recognizing that my golf score is only one aspect of my life — and NOT where I derive my self-worth. Nor does it have any impact on my dad’s view of me.

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The Way to Win the “Blame Game”? Don’t Play

Leadership

There is something magical about playoff atmospheres in professional sports. Every play matters. Every shift of momentum can be the difference between winning and losing. With everything on the line, every integral detail matters. That is, until the game is decided. Only one team wins their last game in the end. So for most, the season ends with a humbling defeat. All the dreams, hopes, and energy put forth are gone. 

Having experienced this kind of failure, I can attest it is painful to its core. But, it is part of the process. 

While I would like to say that business and life are different from professional sports, they are not in this regard: Failure and adversity happen. 

February may be the most appropriate month of the year to take a deeper look at adversity. Here in Illinois, February (and the cold winter weather that accompanies it) can seem like it will last forever; it almost feels permanent. Adversity can often feel like that too — like it’s permanent, with no end in sight. 

During the next few weeks, I’ll offer some thoughts on overcoming adversity, but for now, let me start by saying this: to overcome adversity, we must first accept it. 

This may sound elementary, but it is not. 

Leaders Take Responsibility

When a football team loses a hard-fought playoff game, its coaches (or leaders) need to take responsibility for the loss, regardless of others factors. Looking for outside sources to blame leaves one in denial and opens the door to an unproductive, never-ending game of “what if.” 

“What if the referee had made the right call?”

“What if it didn’t rain during the 4th quarter?”

“What if the other team’s star player hadn’t recovered in time?”

Some fan bases have grown comfortable with this kind of reasoning. And let’s be honest — sometimes referees make bad calls, the weather doesn’t cooperate, or the lineup is different than anticipated. 

But, all of this “what if” misses the point that winners don’t blame others. Winners only become winners by accepting the loss and overcoming the adversity the loss brings with it. 

In my observation, many business leaders can easily see when professional athletes fall into the “blame game” mindset. But what happens when the shoe is on the other foot — their own? Who gets the blame when their company’s performance is abysmal? And what about when their company’s sales and profits are a fraction of what they used to be — whose fault is that? 

In the last two years, I have heard leaders point to Trump, Biden, COVID-19, and numerous other factors, from bad salespeople to unmotivated millennials, as the reason for their business’ decline. These excuses lead to denial and the “what if” game. It’s not productive, nor the kind of approach a winner takes. 

Accept the Loss

With that in mind, let me be clear: any lack of success at Hoffer Plastics has been MY doing. And because I share leadership with my sisters, it’s their doing as well. The point is that I will not blame our salespeople, our operations people, or anyone else I have the pleasure of leading. I will blame the bald guy I look at in the mirror each morning. 

I own it. 

Accepting adversity is the only way one can deal with adversity. Like a frigid February morning, it is not pleasant, but it is reality. 

The good news is that accepting the loss helps you take the first step to overcome it. You are no longer in denial because you are acknowledging that it exists. You can take stock, reflect, and make countless changes to come back better. 

But only if you take ownership of it.

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Overcoming the Sunday Night Blues

Personal Growth

Have you noticed that weather predictions are more extreme than they used to be? Living outside Chicago, it is common for meteorologists to predict that just about every winter storm will be the “storm of the season” these days. Yet, many of the dire predictions turn out to be wrong. 

It seemed like things were the exact opposite when I was growing up. While there was the occasional dire prediction, most of the time meteorologists predicted only a “dusting” of snow. Yet, many of the 2-3 inch predictions turned out to be 8-12 inches of snow, with wind and dangerously low temperatures! To be fair to meteorologists, it is best for us to be prepared for the worst when it comes to the weather — it is much easier to adapt to milder conditions than it is to quickly ramp up to deal with conditions that were harsher than we anticipated. 

All of these predictions and forecasting got me thinking about a topic unrelated to the weather: my weekly schedule. I have discovered that I often do the same thing meteorologists do when I forecast the upcoming week: regardless of what the calendar says, my mind tends to prepare for a “storm.” By late Sunday afternoon, I begin to feel my heart rate quicken and tension starts building in my body. I start feeling the Sunday night blues.

It is hard to accurately describe the feeling. Is it anxiety? Nervousness? Or simply anticipation? Medically speaking, I do not know. What I do know is that I do not dread going back to work. Nor am I worried about what might or might not happen. I do, however, feel a rush of cortisol (known as the “stress hormone”) and find it hard to wind down on Sunday evening. This often leads to me having difficulty getting to sleep on Sunday nights. 

Can you relate to anything I am describing above? If so, here are a few thoughts that may help you beat the Sunday night suffering. There are a few specific things that I am going to do to have better Sunday nights in 2022. 

  • First of all, like the weather, the more I allow myself to fixate on what I am feeling, the worse it tends to become. This is counterintuitive because, as humans, we tend to want to think about and then resolve problems. However, fixating on or even trying to resolve the tension I feel typically just revs up my adrenaline.

    So, the first thing I do is simply acknowledge exactly what I am feeling. I know this may sound strange, but I simply say to myself, “I feel you, adrenaline.” By accepting its presence, I leave behind denial. And by acknowledging the feeling, I can also get past any shame I feel about having the feeling. Shame is often the subtle voice in my head that says I should not get anxious about work because leaders should always have their emotions under control. THIS IS A LIE! Feeling and controlling emotions are two separate things. All humans experience emotions; acknowledging them can be the first step to gaining better control over them. Like the snow in January, emotions are simply part of the human journey. 
  • Next, I have begun using my mind as a weapon. One of the most impactful books I read in 2021 was Craig Groeschel’s Winning the War in Your Mind. In it, Craig encourages readers to write out positive declarations that retrain the brain to think differently.

    At first, this sounded crazy to me. But then I remembered something from my past that humbled me: I wrote out a positive declaration of how I wanted to play golf during my senior year of high school, and I read it before every round I played that year. I have no record of what it is on it, and I can’t remember 20+ years later, but I would pay someone a LOT of money for a copy of it since that was the best golf I ever played in my life. In fact, that season, I overcame the inevitable valleys to any golf season more productively than I had before or since. This is the power of the brain thinking positively!
  • The third thing I do when unpleasant emotions arise is practice gratitude. While gratitude is often cited as a key to perspective gathering, I have found that I usually need it the most when I least feel like practicing it. For me, this usually starts with gritted teeth. As an example, here is how I might practice gratitude when these feelings arise on a Sunday night and I cannot sleep: 


“Thank you, Lord, that I am alive to feel the adrenaline that is present. I feel other emotions as well. Thank you for life! Thank you that I have a job to go to tomorrow morning. Thank you that our business has been sustained (by You!) during this pandemic. All the meetings, tasks, and conversations ahead are good in the long term, even if they don’t feel like it today. They are good because I am alive, have work, and it is meaningful work to do. I cannot control when I go to sleep, so I will lay here be grateful regardless.”

Notice that my example of gratitude was both a positive declaration and an acknowledgment of what I was feeling. 

My hope is that by acknowledging your feelings, creating positive declarations, and practicing gratitude, you will be able to combat unpleasant emotions that come on Sunday or any other day. Some days will bring rain or snow, while others will bring the warm sun. To be someone worth following, we have to be the kind of people that accept whatever comes our way, maintaining perspective and an attitude of gratitude.

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Goals Worth Living For

Personal Growth

This month’s theme is intentional living, and so far I have written about how time can be your enemy and how you can decipher where to go in ‘22. Today, I’ll cover another aspect of intentional living: Setting goals.

Careful readers of this blog might have noticed that last week I shared that I create quarterly goals in pursuit of my overarching vision for the year. I will repeat that this is what I do, but it is not what this post is about. 

Rather, this post is about getting REAL about your long-term future. 

Did you notice I capitalized the word REAL? 

These are not the goals you are “supposed” to make. 

These are not the goals you think others would want you to make. 

These are not goals given to you by well-meaning people in your life. 

These are REAL goals.

These are YOUR goals. 

I know this sounds super cheesy. But, these are the kind of goals that are deep within your heart. 

Trust me, they are (still) there. 

I know that the last two years have been filled with so much stuff that your heart may feel callused and cold. Or is that just me? 

Honestly, it was me until a Friday morning in December. With the aid of some good coffee, a closed door, and quiet, I asked myself a simple yet profound question: 

What are the REAL goals that exist deep in my heart? 

I turned to a blank page in my notebook, took a deep breath, and began writing. 

About an hour later, I had 20 goals on the paper. They were the kind of goals that came to my mind immediately. In other words, they were not premeditated. Nor were they ones that I thought I “should” write down. 

They were simply real. 

For example: 

  • I want to be known as a Christ-follower that lives according to God’s word.
  • I want to have the best marriage with Sarah possible. 
  • I want to have healthy friendships with our kids when they are adults. 
  • I want to be known as someone that is ruthlessly generous. 
  • I want to live my full allotment of years so that I impact my GREAT grandchildren’s lives. 
  • I want to help lead Hoffer Plastics to 10X growth during my time here — for those on our team, I can share figures! 
  • I want to help set up family governance that ensures G4 and G5 success at Hoffer Plastics. 

This is a sampling of seven of my goals. Notice that they are aspirational in nature. They are heart goals, meaning they might not check off every aspect of the S.M.A.R.T. Goal framework. But they are inspirational and real. 

They are the kind of goals WORTH LIVING FOR. 

Here is what I know: the road ahead will not get any easier for you or me. There is no such thing as “normal” until events change again and you refer to whatever this is as “normal.” 

Read that last line again. 

Time is short. 

Live intentionally. 

Start by spending a few minutes this week dreaming about what you want to accomplish with the time you have left. 

Just be REAL. 

And then live it. 

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Greeting 2022 With New Hope

Leadership

When I think of a new year, I think of fresh snow in a nature preserve. There are no footprints in the snow. Standing at the edge of the trail, the options of where you can head are endless. The surrounding area is still, and oddly peaceful. Hope is felt deep within, despite winter’s fury. 

Taking the first step takes some courage. But you step out nonetheless. The feeling of your boot disappearing into the snow travels up your spine. As you step forward, you hear the crunching of the snow. Off you go…But, where to? 

That is the question, isn’t it? 

Where to in ‘22? 

Intentional living can easily be defeated by daily obligations. The buzz of the phone can even tempt the hiker to abandon the trail and head back home. A bummer it might be, but they will have time for a hike some other snowy morning — so they think. But soon spring will come, then summer, and then winter. 

Another year. 

What happened to ‘22? 

This is why we start back at the beginning, before any interruptions and demands. We have to be intentional about where we are going in ‘22.

Intentionality is different than “resolution.” Resolutions often revolve around the cessation of some activity. For example, I “resolve” to stop eating sweets. Intentionality is grander. In the example above, it is the desire to live healthily and the actions required to do so. A “resolution” to stop eating sweets might be a tactic, but it isn’t the foundation. The point is that a grand destination is needed for the “hike” to be worthwhile. 

Similarly, I have found year-long goals difficult to maintain. Instead, I have used Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Planner for the past several years. It has helped me create 90-day goals that I review weekly. 90-day goals are akin to signposts along the “hike.” They let me know if I am headed in the right direction. They also help me get back on course when I stray. 

Yet, 90-day goals are only good when used to measure how they position you for some ultimate destination.

So, we have come full circle back to intentionality. What guiding question can we use to chart out our course?   

I propose the following: 

What is the one thing you want to be known for by year’s end? 

Admittedly, there are variations to this question that you can use. But, I am using the one above and encourage you to do the same. Whatever you come up with needs to be simple enough for you to write on a small index card so that you can carry it around all year. Simplicity will drive action. 

Since this is my post, I will show you how this is done by answering the question myself. 

“In 2022 I want to be known as someone that brings LIGHT where darkness exists.” 

I know that sounds lofty. 

Some of you may have even rolled your eyes. 

I am okay if you did. 

Here is how this works: 

I want to bring light to my marriage. 

I want to bring light to my kids’ lives. 

I want to bring light to those I lead at work. 

I want to bring light to my sibling relationships at work. 

I want to bring light to my local church. 

I want to bring light to my friendships. 

The 90-day goal possibilities are endless. 

Don’t think this applies to leadership in manufacturing? Here are some potential examples of how this can translate to work: 

Goal Idea: Help my direct reports identify their Working Genius and help them organize their tasks so that they operate inside their genius. 

Goal Idea: Continue to meet with members of the leadership development team to coach, encourage, and equip them for future opportunities. 

Goal Idea: Meet with Senior Leaders at customers to build relationships, share best practices, and express gratitude. 

All three of these goal ideas are work-related and inspired by my intention stated above.  

In conclusion, I have arrived here after traveling two years’ worth of trails that have been too dark. They have weighed me down, at times even tempting me to give up. 

But, as I take the first step in ‘22, I want to take it with renewed hope. 

I will bring light to darkness wherever I go in ‘22. 

To that end, I will be intentional about bringing encouragement and hope to these posts. 

Now, go decide where you are headed in ‘22. 

It is the only way to ensure you will get there. 

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Choose To See The Sun

Personal Growth

It is a cold, sunny November morning as I write these words. It will be January before this post is published. Another month, another year. 

Three things are on my mind as I contemplate 2022:

  1. I write these words precisely one year after our friend’s daughter lost her battle to cancer. 
  1. I write these words two weeks after attending a conference where one of the exhibitors did not get out of bed in the morning. 
  1. I write these words as I enter my fifth decade. 

Time moves quickly. And there are no guarantees we, or those we love, will be here tomorrow. 

Time will march on nevertheless. 

So, the question then becomes, what are we going to do? Are we going to celebrate because “life is short but sweet for certain?” Are we to hunker down and do work that matters? Or, are we to leverage the time we have with the people we love? 

Yes. 

I point out the brevity of life to invite you to contemplate what matters. 

There has been a lot of STUFF infecting the limited time you and I have the past two years. 

Political divisiveness. 

COVID-19 commentary.

Mandates. 

News. 

Social Media.

Entertainment. 

Alcohol.

Drugs.

Consumerism. 

The list goes on. 

No lecture forthcoming. But, what jumps out to you? Has any of the above robbed you of the necessary headspace to live intentionally and well? 

What is important but not a priority? 

What is both unimportant and emotionally taxing? 

Do any offer a positive ROI on energy spent? 

No lecture. I trust you to decide. 

I have discovered that most of the items I have gotten worked up about are not worth getting worked up about. Further, most of the “fixes” do not offer the ROI required.

And I have discovered that time marches on regardless. 

So, here I am back on that November morning. I’m aware of the brevity of life. I am aware of the pain around me. I am aware that the clock is ticking for me too. 

I feel alive. 

I feel hopeful. 

Scroll back to the top. What did you notice in the first sentence? November? Cold? 

Or, did you notice that the sun was shining? 

The sun is shining.

It is still November, which means it gets dark too early in these parts of the country. 

It is cold, which is self-explanatory. 

So, 2/3 of the equation is negative. 

I am seeing the sun regardless. 

Are you? 

The clock is ticking. So, this month I am going to share thoughts on intentional living. Whether it is our individual lives or our leadership lives, intentional living is paramount in its importance. 

Intentionality starts with setting a direction. 

Next week I will dive into that. 

In the interim, choose to see the sun.

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Take a Moment to Reset

Personal Growth

This is the first post of a New Year. A Happy New Year, if you choose for it to be. 

This month I will share thoughts about the importance of intentional living, how to decipher where to go in the New Year, and how to discover what your real goals are. But first, I want to invite you to reset. 

Yes, reset. 

Isn’t it American of us to blow past the holidays, celebrate the New Year, jot down a few resolutions, and keep going? 

I am type-A plus, so make no mistake that this blog will MOVE this year — emphasis included! 

But, not yet. 

We need to take stock first. 

To that end, here are some guiding questions:

What is the most important thing you accomplished in 2021? 

What are you most proud of? 

What course correction do you need to make in regards to how you lead yourself? 

What did you learn? 

How will you use what you learned to live differently in ‘22? 

I could easily write more questions, but I want to keep them manageable in length. My invitation is to STOP. Before you resolve to go forward, understand the road you have traveled to get to where you are currently. 

To be someone worth following, you need a clear understanding of yourself. Without that, you cannot positively influence other people well because you, yourself, are lost. 

To get you started, I will model these questions. As you will see, the answers do not have to be long. They just have to be authentic. 

My answers: 

What is the most important thing you accomplished in 2021? 

My marriage with Sarah is as strong or stronger than it was going into the COVID pandemic. This is the most important human relationship I have, and I am proud of where we are. Praise God! 

What are you most proud of? 

I am most proud of how I showed up for my kids’ events in the midst of an extremely busy year at the office. This was not true pre-COVID, but I have intentionally shifted some things to prioritize this limited time with them. I am proud of this. 

What course correction do you need to make in regards to how you lead yourself? 

This will go hand-in-hand with what I learned below, but I need to be more gracious to myself. There have been too many anxious Sunday nights (post coming later in the month on this), and I have wasted too much energy on non-consequential things. 

What did you learn? 

One lesson I learned over and over this year was that my leadership flows out of my abundance, meaning I cannot give what I do not possess. This sounds lofty, so allow me to unpack it. What I mean is that I cannot give love to others when it is lacking inside myself. When I am stressed, anxious, and bogged down by extraneous issues, I am not a good leader of others. Therefore, I need to pay attention to the limits I have as a leader. I need to rest. I need to practice detachment from the non-consequential things. I do not have to have an opinion of everything. Instead, I need to be centered in Christ, whole, and content in Him. I need to live with the realization that in “this world, there will be trouble. But take heart! I (Jesus) have overcome the world” (John 16:33). This world IS messed up (emphasis mine). So, I have to be detached from the reality of its messiness and focused on my mission. When I operate this way, I have the power of God to bear all circumstances.  

How will you use what you learned to live differently in ‘22? 

I have rewritten my Key Results Area (KRA) for 2022 to begin with, embracing my calling. It is clear to me that the future of work is human and that impacting humanity is work’s highest calling. As a Christ-follower, I am called to full-time ministry right where I am. This means that I need to lead in a way that uplifts, encourages, and dignifies others. What’s clear to me is that our business is successful due to the hard work of OTHERS. The best and highest use of my time is in encouraging, inspiring, and incentivizing their hard work. They are the indispensable ones. 

A note to the reader: Admittedly, not everyone shares my worldview, and I am okay with that. My covenant to you this year is that I will not hold back. What I wrote above is real.

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The Alarming Trend of Distrust

Leadership

There is an alarming trend that has taken root in our society. It is the distrust of pretty much everything. 

Think about how prevalent the lack of trust has become: 

Collectively we…

Do not trust the news. 

Do not trust medical authorities. 

Do not trust businesses. 

Do not trust churches. 

Do not trust government organizations. 

Do not trust Hollywood. 

Do not trust Facebook or other social media. 

Do not trust Wall Street, Silicon Valley, or any foreign power. 

We simply do not trust. 

Of course, there are some exceptions to what I listed above. I may trust a certain news site, a certain medical authority, etc., but this is largely based on my preferences and beliefs not based on authority. 

The overall trend can be summed as questioning just about everything about everything and everyone. 

I am not immune to this either. I recently slipped into an unhealthy questioning of an event going on at our local church. This was silly because I know the leaders there well and have served as a Trustee in the past (I only mention because the experience allowed me to see behind the “curtain”). My questions were basic and not unhealthy in themselves—let’s be clear that questioning can often be healthy. What was not healthy was that my questions came with cynicism. A cynic is someone who has negative opinions about other people and the things other people do. So, my questions came with an expectation that something negative was going on at church. The event came and went, and it was fantastic. None of my fears (cynicism) were realized. So, the only thing that went through my head walking to the car was that I should have trusted the church a little more prior to the event. 

This thought is worth sharing because I talk with a lot of leaders and most indicate that they are struggling with trust these days. Not only are they questioning everything mentioned in the list above, they are also questioning the motives of their people. After two years of anything but normal, there is almost a collective expectation that other people will let them down. 

None of this is healthy. Questioning everything is not sustainable in practice. The cost to relationships are probably higher than most expect. The return on the energy spent being cynical is almost always negative and what does the cynicism produce in the end? 

As we turn towards the end of 2021, I am starting to think that the greatest gift leaders can give others is the gift of positivity and perspective. At our core, leaders have to see out and up, meaning they have to look out on the horizon. In addition to this, leaders have to cast vision as to why going from where we are today, to where we need to go tomorrow, is both worthwhile and meaningful. The last two years have conditioned us to be sedentary and wait for normal to return, and ??? We don’t know, so we wait and often we get cynical (as I did above). Many are irritated, or so it seems. Therefore, it will take leaders to pull us out of the pit we are in. Yes, real, gutsy, vulnerable, leaders. Not the positional ones and definitely not the weak ones because this is hard work.  Only the ones that can clarify the difference between what REALLY matters, and what is only noise. The ones that do not react to everyone else, but rather have an inner-compass that keeps them grounded and moving forward. The ones that DO trust because they know the person, or organization’s track record. And, because they also realize that without trusting, there is no leading. No one follows someone that does not trust them in return. It is too simplistic to say that the problem we have can be characterized by a lack of leadership, but, a society filled with distrustful noise is exactly that, a society with no leadership. 

While I cannot speak for you, I am going to look into the mirror, take ownership for my piece, and work on leading others better in 2022 than I did in 2021. 

With a little more trust, a little more grace, perhaps, we can find a little more peace in the year to come. 

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The Power of “Why?”

Leadership

A few minutes ago I was having a conversation with one of our team members that I am building into and they said something that made my day.

They asked their boss, “why?”  

Why do we do that? Have we ever thought about doing it this way? What would happen if we eliminated that process? 

Questions like these are music to my ears. They are the symphony of improvement. 

This exchange reminded me that we need to hire more “five-year-olds” for our team. Or, the kinds of people that ask “why” about seven hundred times per day. It also reminded me that I don’t want to rupture the curiosity inside the three kids I go home to every night. 

“Because I said so,” is the home version of “because this is the way we have always done things” at work. 

Both sap curiosity. Both end the symphony. 

Curiosity leads to more questions. Questions lead to more insights. Insights lead to more improvements. Improvements lead back to the symphony. 

The sound of a living organization getting better… 

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