Such is the case with the end of school! For those of us that have children, it signals the beginning of summer. Children or not, ready or not, summer is coming for all of us!

I read a great blog post recently from Shrinking the Camel and it reminded me how important is for all of us that work in the marketplace to engineer some fun into our summers! Our work definitely has seasons, it has peaks and valleys…but the summer time is always such a great time to laugh, to relax, to reconnect.

This summer let’s:

1. Laugh – most of us are way too serious. Especially about our work. I am a chief offender here. Let’s be more intentional to find opportunities to laugh at work and at home.
2. Relax – find windows of time to chill. At work that could be a “no agenda” lunch with a coworker. At home it could be a nap, or a walk with your spouse or a friend, or maybe … you fill in blanks.
3. Reconnect - what has the busyness of your life taken you away from that you really need to reconnect to? Reading a book? A friend? Church? A small group? A mentor?

WorkMatters is hosting three sites this year, two in northwest Arkansas and one at WorkMatters Marietta (GA). Over 2,200 leaders will participate in our WorkMatters Leadercasts! We are so excited and so blessed to be used by God in this powerful way to help build more purposeful leaders. And, we are grateful to be able to partner with such a humble and excellent organization as GiANT Impact, who delivers the Leadercast. Here is Sam’s message:

I wanted to let you know how grateful we have been for the prayers all of you have offered over these past couple of weeks.  It is such a comfort to know that others are lifting us up in prayer during this  busy time. 

It’s  hard to believe that all these months of work will come together tomorrow.  We have exceeded last year’s ticket sales now in Rogers, Ar and have surpassed our goal for ticket sales in your first year of hosting the Leadercast in Fayetteville, Ar.  We have more volunteers (100) than ever before serving and have had incredible Leadership teams helping us in so many ways.  It’s good to pause for just a moment in the middle of the crazy busy details of the Leadercast and reflect on all that God has allowed us to accomplish.

WorkMatters has a location in Marietta, Georgia as well that is hosting the Leadercast.  They have blown the roof off their goals as well and are now “standing room only” with well over 500 in attendance.  Praise God!!

If you would just continue to pray today for all the many details to come together for all locations, especially for our brand new location in Fayetteville and our friends in Marietta, Ga we would be grateful.  Please pray that some will experience life change and will draw closer to the Father as a result of attending tomorrow.

We are very excited about tomorrow and truly looking forward to a great day!

Today, there are more than 4.1 million secretaries and administrative assistants working in the United States, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, and 8.9 million people working in various administrative support roles. More than 475,000 administrative professionals are employed in Canada. Millions more administrative professionals work in offices all over the world.

If you are an Administrative Assistant…THANK YOU! I have found in my years in the marketplace that a talented “Admin” has an enormous impact on an organization. As a general rule, Administrative Assistants are smart, organized, have a servant heart, have good communication skills, know how to say no, can manage multiple projects simultaneously, and most of all they are trustworthy and of strong integrity.

WorkMatters would like to honor one Administrative Professional today by donating one ticket to our May 4 WorkMatters Leadercast here in northwest Arkansas! Be the first to send us an email and we will be honored to make that happen.

If you work with an Administrative Assistant, here are a few tips to say thank you:

1. Simply walk up to their desk and tell them how grateful you are for the important work they do.
2. Nothing says thank you like a DaySpring or Hallmark card or e-card!
3. Give them an inspirational book with a personal note written on the inside cover.
4. Take them to a thank you lunch with their boss/es.
5. Providing training opportunities (like the Leadercast) through continuing education, self-study materials, or seminars.

Administrative Professionals…your work matters!

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people.    Ephesians 6:7

This is a story of a leader who found himself in what most people described as a “no-win” situation. Jeff Long had an employee on his team who was an incredible performer. He had achieved almost superstar status from his “customers”. Revenue was at an all-time high largely due to this employee.  The national buzz was off the charts and the future looked even brighter than the past. This is a story that  we often see in the marketplace, isn’t it? As the leader, what do you do?  The only thing riding on the decision is the psyche of a state, a potential national championship and the near-term future of the University of Arkansas.

A good case could be made for forgiveness with discipline. Let’s keep the train on the tracks. Let’s do what most other leaders do. Let’s do what the “world” tells us to do. That is NOT what Jeff Long chose to do.

I have included the full press conference here. If you haven’t seen it, please take time to watch it. You will be amazed. If you have seen it, I encourage you to watch it again. But this time, watch it with your leadership eyes. Go to school on what you see here from a courageous leader.

Here’s a sampling of the leadership lessons I learned:

1. Integrity - Doing the right thing, is never the wrong thing.
2. Wisdom and Courage - have the wisdom to know what to do, and the courage to do it.
3. Compassion - his heart is deeply connected to the mission. He hurt for everyone who lost in this situation (especially the players).
4. Details - a great leader is willing to understand and execute.
5. Decisiveness - his assuredness created a persuasive confidence in the masses.
6. Vision - communicating the future state with confidence creates emotion and commitment.
7. Choices - as leaders we face them everyday. Are we willing to do the right thing no matter what the outcome?
8. Excuses – it was never about Jeff Long. You can only imagine the turmoil he went through. 
9. Passion - do we really care about the mission and purpose of our work? 
10. Influence - last…our work is a platform for influence. Jeff Long made the hard choice. The by-product is an impact in thousands of peoples lives that you can have honor and integrity.

Some of us seem to be born with more humility than others. Some of us have great mothers or fathers that modeled humility. But most of us get out in the world, especially out in the marketplace…and humility doesn’t seem to win. It doesn’t seem to get promoted. It doesn’t seem to get talked about or noticed.

So pride drives until we GET humbled. Then, we begin to open our eyes. We develop a vision for a greater purpose for our lives and our work. The Bible begins to show us that humility has value!

Our friends at Catalyst have shared some great ideas on working to become a humble leader. If you are intrigued with these ideas, click over and read the Catablog for the details.

10 ATTRIBUTES OF A HUMBLE LEADER

1. Dangerous trust
2. Sincere investment
3. Gentle, but strong
4. Readily admits mistakes
5. Forgives easily
6. Quickly diverts attention
7. Remains thankful
8. Recognizes limitations
9. Shares authority
10. Invites feedback

Nine years ago I made a choice. I chose to attend a leadership simulcast at my church. I did it because I love to learn and grow as a leader. I was VP of Sales/Marketing at J.B. Hunt Transport in northwest Arkansas and I needed all of the leadership wisdom and insight I could get. What I didn’t realize was that God had a bigger agenda for me that day.

At the close of the leadership simulcast, an announcement was made. A new marketplace ministry, focused on bridging the gap between faith and work,  was launched. Approximately 18 months later, I became the first employee of this new non-profit organization called WorkMatters!

Since that day, WorkMatters has remained committed to this ONE DAY of leadership development. Because we believe that this one day can make an impact in your life and in the lives of those you work with.

Welcome to the 9th annual WorkMatters Chick-fil-A Leadercast. If you have attended before, you know that the 10 speakers are extraordinary leaders.

Yes…ONE DAY can change (and will) change your life. I hope you will take advantage of this rare opportunity for you and your team. It will likely be the best investment you will make this year.

          If that is our perspective, we are surrendering half of our lives                     to the landfill. 

One of our WorkMatters Seven Pillars of Faith at Work  is CALLING. This is the idea of aligning our God-given gifts and skills and passions with our work. But why should we care? How about this:

1. We spend half our lives working. Shouldn’t it have purpose and meaning?
2. Work is hard. Many of us are dissatisfied and frustrated.
3. God cares about our work!

Let’s clarify what Calling is. As human beings, we are called into a personal relationship with Jesus. Then as believers, He calls us all to “go and make disciples of all nations”. This is a universal Calling which applies equally to all of us.

But, we have a 2nd Calling…to do the work that God created us to do! In Jeremiah 1:5, God said, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

God has a job for us to do!

The question is, will we invest the time and effort to better understand our calling? Most people don’t. They are essentially stagnant until they feel forced to make a move or they are reactive to a phone call. We need to be proactive in understanding who we are, what our skills are and what brings us joy.

Seven Ideas to Discover Your Calling

1. Intimate relationship with God: pray, listen, wait, obey
2. Learn who you are
3. Step out of your comfort zone
4. Determine the difference between a great idea…and an assignment from God
5. Seek counsel
6. Beware of your Enemy
7. When its time…be courageous!

This should get you started. Don’t wait until you are forced to consider your calling. Invest some time now. Stay true to your current work. God has you there. Do it with Excellence. But spend some time on these seven ideas. It will change your life!

I love today’s blog post from Seth Godin! Especially this point…”Caring, it turns out, is a competitive advantage, and one that takes effort, not money.” One of our Core Values at WorkMatters is Excellence. It is also one of the Seven Pillars of Faith at Work. Excellence is so often found in the details. Enjoy Seth’s wisdom below:

Why are people generous? What makes someone want to give? Is it how they were raised? Or is it in their DNA? Is it because they have excess riches? Or is it a product of their heart?

I don’t pretend to know the answers to these questions, but I have experienced first hand the incredible blessings of generosity.

WorkMatters has been a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization for eight years. We have had the opportunity to help bridge the gap between faith and work for thousands of people largely due to the generosity of people in northwest Arkansas and across the US. Each year we faithfully share our vision and our needs…and you give. Each year we are challenged to live by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

On November 1, 2011 WorkMatters launched One Day at a Time to pray and work to raise $120,000 by December 31. Because of the faithfulness and generosity of many of you, we not only achieved the goal, we exceeded it!  We now begin 2012 with great confidence to continue to grow and impact more leaders through the marketplace.

Thank you! We are incredibly grateful for each of you who prayed and invested in this mission and vision.  Lives are being impacted, culture is changing.

2012 Challenge

I want to challenge you to make your faith at work a priority in 2012. Don’t compartmentalize your faith. Explore what it means to take whatever faith you feel you have, and live it equally in your work.

WorkMatters can be a powerful and valuable asset in your journey. Study the Seven Pillars of Faith at Work. Determine where you need to concentrate first. And let us know how WorkMatters can impact your life and work in 2012.

Blessed and excited,

David

Proverbs 11:24 – One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

I am reading Leadership is Dead: How Influence is Reviving It by Giant Impact CEO Jeremie Kubicek. Jeremie says “great leaders with true influence build relationships by serving the needs of those within their spheres of influence, even as they serve the needs of their businesses.”

It is the “even as they serve the needs of their businesses”  phrase that we should consider. There are certainly numerous opportunities for us to have influence in our personal lives. What about work? In the busy lives that we lead today, how can we be more intentional about influencing in the flow of our day at work?

Here are a few suggestions for you to consider.

1. Encourage – take the time to share with someone what you see in them. Their gifts, their skills. It doesn’t have to be a long discussion. It can follow a meeting where you simply pull that person aside and say, “you are really good at…”
2. Mentor – a big, sometimes scary word. That man or woman 5, 10, 20 years younger than you? Their watching. Show them the way. Maybe you can take them to lunch one day. Pour a little of what’s in your cup, in their cup.
3. Serve - we are pro’s at hiding when we are hurting, especially at work. When you see or hear that someone in your work is going through a difficult time, there is no greater time to serve. Maybe it is an encouraging private word. Maybe it’s an email. Maybe it’s a cup of coffee. Remember those people who came along side of you in your time of need? Now you can use your experience to serve another.

Lord, slow us down enough to notice. Plant the seed in us to be intentional with the influence that you give us, especially in our work. Amen

“You’re here to be light…If I make you light-bearers…shine! By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God…” Matthew 5:14-16