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.

As I enter this new week, I find that I have many competing priorities and most of them feel like they need to get done immediately.  There are times when it seems that it all needs to get done, but often times I get lost in trying to make the decision of what to do first.  (Guess I need to read Steven Covey’s “First Things First” again…).   Yes, I know that I need to focus on the most important things and not necessarily just what seems most urgent.  I sometimes however,  need help knowing which is which because that often changes from week to week.

Our Lord is once again waiting and wondering why I don’t just ask Him about it.   He sees the big picture as opposed to our perspective of not even seeing the next step and will most willingly be our guide if we would just submit to his leadership.   Our plans should be His plans, therefore, we are most likely out of step with His will if we don’t seek Him in regards to our priorities.

Hopefully you will take some time today at the beginning of another super busy work week and step back to ask for His direction and for His clarity.  As the day/week progresses this constant seeking of guidance will make a huge difference in how you get it all done this week.  You will most likely look back at the end of the week and see that somehow you accomplished much more than you thought you would AND you will realize where your help came from.

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.  Luke 12:31

As I observed many of these people trying to get out of here yesterday, it made me think about the challenges that go with jobs requiring constant business travel.  I know this may be fun or exciting for some, especially at the beginning, but most report this wears off quickly and they would love to be able to stay home.  The constant travel hassles, hotel life and being away from friends and family really take their toll over time.  Often times we find ourselves in uncomfortable situations with constant temptation to let down our guard when traveling.  I have talked to several over the years that gave in to those temptations and ended up terribly regretting what it cost them.

Most of you probably know someone who headed out on the road yesterday or this morning.  Pray for these co-workers and for the situations they may encounter this week.  It would probably be a tremendous encouragement to them if you texted or emailed them a note letting them know that they are in your prayers today.  Most likely they never got a message like that and it may be just what they need to get through another business trip this week.

Do you know how this woman keeps her balance? She maintains her balance by looking not at her feet, but at the other end of the line!

When I first started driving, I would exhaust myself trying to stay in my lane. I was constantly adjusting the car in relation to the center line. But then my Dad told me to not look at the center line, but far down the road and trust myself to make the adjustments needed. I can still remember the revelation that was to my daughter when she was learning to drive.

It’s the same for us in keeping balance in our lives:  when we have our eyes on the end — where we want to arrive — then we begin to automatically make small adjustments all day long to keep on track.  Sure, the occasional squirrel will dart into the road and we’ll have to make some sudden course adjustments, but we know where we want to return.

Balance can be a tricky business, but when we’re sure of our center of gravity, and our end goal, then adjustments start to become automatic.

WorkMatters is the original brainchild of Tom Frase. He is a 20 year veteran of the advertising industry, and an ordained Methodist Pastor. He’s been there done that…he gets it.

I have experienced this feeling so many times in my life and work that I think I have allowed myself to be deceived into almost thinking that if  I am NOT feeling this way, then I must not be DOING enough.  What a crock!  Jesus does not want us to live perpetually in this state which is entirely inconsistent with the teachings of the Prince of PEACE.

The only way I have found my way out of this state is giving up the illusion that I am in control of hardly anything.  Only through prayer am I able to mysteriously let go of the worry and anxiety that so often accompanies these times of feeling overwhelmed.  I don’t really understand how it works, I just KNOW that it does.

If you are feeling overwhelmed at work today, stop for a moment and give it to Jesus.  Lay it in His hands and he will gladly accept it and you will not only experience a sense of relief, but often times you will experience insight and new directions that, if you will be honest, you know could only have come from the Lord.

I love how Philippians 4:6-7 is stated in The Message.  It says, “Don’t fret or worry.  Instead of worrying, pray…….Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good will come and settle you down.  It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry as the center of your life.

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

When I was employed out in the marketplace more where most of you are, it certainly was not something that was routinely done.  I was fortunate enough however, to work with a couple of Christian bosses along the way that included me in some early morning, before work prayer times.   Every couple of weeks we would get to the office early, before most others arrived, we would close the door to his office or conference room and spend thirty minutes or so together praying for our work.  It was such a blessing and even though things did not always go our way, it just felt good to pray about them.  There is no doubt in my mind that God wired us in such a way that when pray, we are doing one of the things we were designed to do.  That is why it always feels like the right thing to do.

Maybe you could find a few like minded people at work and commit to starting the work week off in prayer.  If not, you can at least be more intentional about praying for your meetings, for the people God will allow to cross your path as well as other work matters.

Let me encourage those who are in positions of leadership to organize opportunities from time to time for your team to pray together.  It can be a tremendous opportunity for growth and blessings for all concerned.

Paul taught us in Ephesians 6:18 to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayer and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always praying.”

“All occasions” sounds to me like it could include those occasions when I am at work!