Podcast Episode 83 Transcript

Welcome to another episode of Equipped for Purpose. Today we are focused on leader development, and more specifically on understanding and laying the foundation for where we are going with developing leaders.

Robert H. Mounce says,

One of the first lessons of effective leadership is the importance of setting priorities. Not only must things be done right (management) but the right things must be done (leadership). People reveal by their priorities what is genuinely important in their lives.

I took this to heart because it is something I’ve talked about before here, and something that I will continue to talk about; priorities. I want in my life to be doing things right, but more significantly, I want to be doing the right things. I want this for you as well. This podcast is about developing you to establish strong foundations. It’s that simple, it’s why I coach leaders.

What you will observe is that each week I am rotating between the pillars of discipleship and leadership. That means that every other week we will be going over the twenty-one different areas I have outlined in this specific leadership development program. I am not going to go through all of the topics we will cover because I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much information from the start. I say that this breaks into two parts.

In my passion to see disciples and leaders be equipped, developed, and empowered, I created a program to help with that. I want to walk through that program and begin to look at some of the significant areas of leadership character that could use development in all of us. Each of these episodes is a facet of a leader that I believe shapes our actions, but will also leave a legacy of creating the next generation of disciples and leaders.

Part 1 (the first half of this series) focuses on you the leader improving yourself, then improving the individuals you lead, and then forming those people into a team. The aim of part one is to see you develop and be confident in your leadership, be equipped with an ability to create future leaders and a cohesive team, as well as feel empowered knowing that your leadership abilities are establishing strong foundations for success.

Part 2 (the second half of the twenty-one topics) will focus on the larger vantage point of leadership. Where part one was more of a boots-on-the-ground or tactical level of leadership, part two will be about stepping back to be able to lead in the capacity of understanding what it means to make strategic decisions, or those choices that look at vision and how you lead a team to seeing that vision become reality.

From a big-picture perspective, that’s where we are going, and what you can expect to get out of this podcast for about half of 2025, specifically as it pertains to leadership.

Discovering Distinctiveness

With that, let’s discuss the first section titled Discovering Distinctiveness. There are four specific points of emphasis that we’ll cover under the heading of Discovering Distinctiveness. We’ll discuss those points in a minute, but they are the points of emphasis that we’ll discuss specifically related to leadership in coming episodes.

This is a setup episode so you can see the trajectory of what’s coming, I know this episode is a bit longer in setup than I would prefer, but this is necessary to understand where we are headed. I prefer to keep these episodes relatively short, first, to honor your time, but also so you’ll be able to take immediate action. If you are bombarded with too much at one time it’s difficult to see actionable steps to take. I know this is going to be a little longer, but I believe it will be worth it.

What is discovering distinctiveness? We all have natural abilities, those things we are gifted with. But, really understanding how our giftedness is an asset can be difficult to see, and sometimes more difficult to put into practice. Criticality of self is the hurdle that must be cleared if we are going to see the desired results of you discovering your distinctiveness as a leader. We have to remember that we aren’t always going to make great and timely decisions, and we won’t always say the right thing or take the perfect action. You shouldn’t wait for perfection.

Winston Churchill is credited with saying…

“Perfection is the enemy of progress.”

Voltaire is quoted as saying…

“The perfect is the enemy of the good.”

In discovering your distinctiveness as a leader, you must embrace the concept of failing forward. We must take action, and waiting for perfection isn’t an option. We must understand who we are as leaders so we can make timely decisions, and take action regardless of how imperfect it may feel.

What’s all about? Getting to a point where you take imperfect action and learn from the results regardless of what the result is. In failure, leaders continue to move forward, but they learn valuable lessons that are significant to future success.

I know that may have felt like a bit of a tangent, but it’s necessary to look at it because we will often shy away from those things that make us stand out as a leader. That isn’t something we should do, we should be leveraging every gift given to us. In that shying away we aren’t bringing our full selves to the table, and when we hold back everyone around us misses out.

That is unfortunate to see. I have held back when I should have been leading out of my fullness, and I hold those moments as lessons learned. I don’t hold them as regret or shame. Which is why I emphasize failing forward. Yes, in a specific moment, you may feel some embarrassment, but in reality, you are learning valuable lessons. These are lessons that you should hold tightly to because they come at a price.

I hope you’re tracking with me to say that in discovering your distinctiveness as a leader it’s vital for you to show up in the fullness of who you are and what you bring to the table. In looking at each of these areas under the heading of Discovering Distinctiveness, I am aiming to sharpen who you already are because the specific areas are all ones required of a leader, but could use development.

Discovering Distinctiveness Focal Points

Leader Identity

The first of the focal points is leader identity. This is about who you are as a leader. Your identity as a leader will impact every decision you make and every interaction you have. This is who you are at your core as a person and leader.

In looking at this we will dive into three distinct factors: 1) Who defines you (defining your source), 2) What is the definition (discovering your distinctiveness), and 3) What does that look like in practice(displaying your leadership)?

It’s fascinating that leaders don’t take the time to understand themselves and know what it is that they bring to the table. Knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are, in a true and honest sense, is a blessing that allows you to be equipped, developed, and empowered in greater ways. In addition, it allows you to then equip, develop, and empower others to bring their full potential to bear.

Understanding and applying your identity as a leader has a far-reaching impact beyond what will be immediately seen. We’ll get more into this in episode eighty-five, but know that when you know who you are and you show up in fullness, there is a significant effect on those you lead and the future of those people as leaders.

Mindset

Following that we will focus on mindset. Here we will look at mindsets that leaders often struggle with and the ramifications it has on those around the leader. We’ll discuss making changes to mindsets, and how sharing these shifts will influence those you are leading.

Your mindset, the way that you think about any situation or problem, can be a powerful tool. You can set yourself up for early success by viewing each challenge, or obstacle, as an opportunity to grow. However, if you choose to take a negative view, whine, and complain, you may break through obstacles but you will likely be in for a struggle.

You need to remember that as a leader people are looking to you for direction and response. It is up to you to show them the way to overcoming obstacles and challenges, therefore the mindset you take will be consequential.

Communication

Then we will discuss communication. How you communicate, how you best receive communication, actions to take to improve both giving and receiving communications.

Clear and effective communication is a must-have skill for leaders. So, why are there leaders that are poor communicators and are not willing to grow? It could be that no one has taken the time to challenge them to improve their communication.

Has anyone ever challenged you to improve both your written and oral communication skills? I want you to grow and become an effective and clear communicator so you never have to deal with the frustration of miscommunications that could have been prevented.

Conflict Resolution

We will close out the section on Discovering Distinctiveness by discussing conflict resolution. We’ll discuss goals and motivations in resolving conflict, outcomes, and experiences, and then a framework for knowing when conflict resolution is needed and how to go about it.

It’s essential and absolutely your place as a leader to resolve conflicts. Unfortunately, it seems inevitable that there will be friction and conflict between people. You as the leader should be compelled to bring a swift and healthy conclusion to the conflicts whether they are between you and someone else, or between people you are leading.

Beyond Discovering Distinctiveness

After we conclude our discussions of discovering distinctiveness, we will shift focus toward developing the people you are leading. We will break that out just like we did here and then get into it.

Summary

So that’s the first component of leader development, discovering distinctiveness, that we are going to focus on. Having said that I do have a couple of questions to get you started.

Challenge

Here are some questions that you can answer that will help you discover your distinctiveness.

1. What is distinctive about you as a leader?
   1. Even if you have seen this quality in others, or you believe others may possess the same quality, list it anyway. Your application of that distinctiveness may differ.
2. Do you believe you have been showing up in fullness for those you lead?
   1. This may be difficult to answer because if the answer is no that may be hard to look at. Don’t feel shame if the answer is no, there is always room for improvement as we grow and take on new challenges.

You’ll come to find that answering these questions is not a one-time event, you will go back to them again and again as you mature and grow.

If you are feeling bold, send me an email or a DM on social media and let me know what your answers are. I look forward to engaging with you.