Leadership – The Doug Ellingsworth Blog

Somebody’s Got To Have A Vision!

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on February 24, 2020

Leadership and personality styles are hot topics these days. Do a web search for either, and you’ll get a zillion sales pages and a dozen free invitations to discover your own style.

Groups and teams are a big deal, too. And they should be. Get a team motivated in the right direction and you can accomplish more than you’d imagined.

But groups and teams can never discover nor cast vision like an inspired individual can.

By nature, groups compromise until they reach a consensus. The group may like two ideas John has, three that Sherry presents, and one that Henry offers. String them all together and you’ve got a nice, warm package. But not a white-hot blaze that ignites anybody’s soul.

God gave Noah the vision for the ark, and Abraham the vision of a city. They both did pretty well. God gave Moses the vision to lead Israel into the Promise Land, and he got the idea to put together a committee of twelve to help him get there. Forty years later, two of the twelve finally made it in. The other ten, and most of their peers, died in the wilderness. The group smothered the vision.

Leadership/Uncategorized

The Three Responsible For Your Success

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on February 18, 2020

Looking for success? Have dreams you wish would come true? Studies show that only 8% of people who set goals each new year actually reach them. You’ll probably just keep on looking and wishing — unless you identify the three people who can make it happen, and make them get to work.

So, who are these three people? They’re people you already know. You know them quite well, actually. And, believe it or not, you are already their boss. They are always available and always on call, but they do nothing until you insist.

Okay, it’s really not three different people, but it’s three very different forms of one person: YOU! Whether you realize it or not, you do have these three fellows living inside you. How you control and maneuver them will influence your future more than anything else you will ever do.

Leadership/Ministry

Timothy A. Dugas (1949-2018)

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on September 11, 2018

I was born a dozen miles up the San Joaquin Valley from the Bible college where Tim Dugas’ dad, Paul, taught for several years, so the various names of the Dugas clan have been familiar for as long as I can remember. My father and grandfather both held the Dugas brothers, Paul and Phillip, in high regard, so I grew up with a generous dose of respect for the whole bunch. I guess that’s why I felt a little proud and important in July of 1980 when Tim Dugas spent a couple of hours on the sweltering Oklahoma District Campground telling me all the reasons why I needed to go to Christian Life College. He’d recently returned to Stockton himself, and, following in his father’s footsteps, was now part of the teaching and leadership team. A few weeks later, I loaded my clothes and my new stereo into my white diesel pickup, and headed west to claim all that Brother Dugas had promised was waiting for me.

He was working in the print shop when I arrived a week before classes were to start. He walked to the dorm with me and showed me all my options: lots of small, barren rooms with bunk beds crammed inside, and a common shower room conveniently located right in the middle – whose showers I would soon discover worked better than the drains. He didn’t tell me which room to choose, but he did lead me to a larger room at the very end of the hall and said, “If I was moving in, here’s where I’d stay.” I took his gentle “hint.” He walked back to the print shop, and I transferred all the boxes from the white pickup truck to that big room at the end of the hall.

Leadership/Living

Christian Essentials, Part One

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on March 7, 2017

Why does the faith of so many Christians waver? Why does their commitment run hot and cold?

A little of the blame rests on us preachers. For the past thirty years, we have feverishly responded to every person’s criticism of the church. Every time someone said they thought we were ugly, we smeared on more eye shadow hoping that would make them like us.

People said they didn’t like coming to churches that looked like churches so we built buildings that look like hotel lobbies attached to warehouses.

They said our sermons were too demanding and the preacher sounded angry, so we got rid of the pulpit and bought a three-legged stool and an iPad so we could just sit and talk about relevant stuff on Sundays.

Leadership/Writing

Ten Notes For Communicators

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on February 22, 2017

Decide whether you want to deliver a speech or motivate your audience to take action. The two are not the same. You’ve got to choose one or the other. The first one is fairly easy to prepare for. The second? Not so much. It requires viewing life through another’s eyes, feeling their hurts, anticipating their struggles, and showing them the way out.
Talking and communicating are not synonymous. Just because you said it doesn’t mean everybody else got it. Too often, communicators build speeches that they like the sound of instead of preparing a message that appeals to the audience they will be addressing.
To communicate well, you must genuinely like people. Arrogance and snobbiness always bleed through.
Nobody cares what you think. Unless they’re part of a punchy comedy routine, your opinions get mighty tiresome after about thirty seconds. Give folks facts and principles they can apply and improve their lives. Be able to document everything you say. If you can’t prove it’s accurate, trash it.
Don’t wax eloquent on subjects you don’t know well. In one of my first sermons, I elaborated on the messiness of animal sacrifices and how the sheep must have reacted when the priests prepared them for the altar. After the service, I shook hands with an old man who looked me in the eye and said, “You don’t know much about sheep, do you?” That’s all he said, but that’s all it took. When you don’t know all the details, I recommend underselling.
Don’t milk another man’s cow. A few weeks ago, a bunch of us were listening to a preacher online. Midway through his sermon, my son opened YouTube and played a clip of a popular comedian. He and the preacher were telling the same stories. The same illustrations told in exactly the same way. The kids listening loved the comedian. The preacher became part of the joke. He still is.
Perception is reality. Your audience isn’t going to leave talking about what you said; they are going to go home talking about what they heard. Lessons on child training, for example, can sound like mocking ridicule to parents of wayward children. Presentation is just as important as content.
Don’t blame the audience for not getting your point. It’s your job to paint the picture for them. If there is a disconnect, it’s probably your fault.
Don’t talk down to your audience. Treat them like they are adults who have a healthy dose of good sense. Find common ground. Build a bridge. Make a connection. You don’t get bigger by making those around you smaller.
Be confident, but don’t be a jerk. If you have to keep reminding your audience of how tough and cool you are, well, you probably aren’t very tough or cool. Give it a rest. If you are tough, they will see it without you having to show them. If you aren’t, they will see right through all your posturing. Make it about them and not about you.

Leadership/Living

Don’t Forget Who You Are

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on February 2, 2017

The whole world sings the praises of Martin Luther King. This man, with dignity and poise, changed the face of America. His actions forced radical changes within our country, and did more for the fair treatment and honoring the civil rights of all Americans than just about any other individual.

If you want to force change, wouldn’t it make sense to follow his pattern? Especially if you are going to allude to his memory?

But, no. All these recent protestors, many who want to align their cause with his, don’t come close to protesting like he did.

Martin Luther King clearly articulated his cause. His passionate speeches ignited fires in the hearts of anyone who would listen. The only fires today’s protesters can ignite is when they are burning down somebody else’s car or business.

Family/Leadership

First Things First!

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on January 23, 2017

So, what went wrong in the Garden of Eden? Eve ate the fruit from the forbidden tree and ruined it for the rest of us, right?

Well, sorta but not exactly.

Read Genesis chapter one and you will see that, before God ever created Man, He designed him to be in charge. Your grandmother’s King James Bible called it taking dominion. Adam was to be the keeper of the garden. He was the boss of all the animals. Keep reading in Genesis and you will see that God even gave Adam the job of naming each animal.

God wanted Adam to know that he, Adam, was in charge of what went on in the garden.

Leadership

It’s Your Brain’s Fault!

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on January 18, 2017

Okay, I let you get through the last of the Christmas dinner leftovers and the first set of New Year resolution failures. Now it’s time to get back to the daily grind of just slugging it out.

All those books and online courses that promise to make you more productive and help you reach your life goals? They’re the same old set of common sense principles that have always made people successful gussied up to look like you can make it happen without breaking a sweat. The bottom line is: dreams only come true when sufficient labor is applied to them. Change only occurs when more force is applied to it than to the status quo.

So, put the book back on the shelf, log out of that how-to website, put your work clothes on, and get back to work.

Family/Leadership

Leadership At Christmas

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on December 27, 2016

face-skeptical-1527130-1279x878 Christmas thoughts are usually more about egg nog and reindeer than leadership, but my mind spun in a different direction today. Although the subject may not be be mentioned in any carols of the season, it does fit because it’s about life’s priorities and our attention to them.

How is it that we stress leadership development, but never develop as leaders?

Most leadership programs emphasize identifying your essential values: those things which give meaning to your life and work. Nearly every time, family and relationships come out among the top three or four values leaders identify.

Many companies pride themselves on being family-oriented. They boast of taking care of their own, of creating a work environment that enhances growth and openness and honesty.

Leadership

Election Night (Morning) Observations

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on November 10, 2016

Finally, it’s over. Donald Trump will be the next President of the United States.

I was one of the millions waiting up till the wee hours of the morning to see who would win. Here are a couple of observations.

When Trump and his family first walked into the hall after Hillary’s concession had been announced, their procession seemed a little Egyptian pharaohish at the beginning. The Donald walking slowly in front, the family lagging several feet behind as if they were afraid they didn’t have permission to be there. But once they got down the stairs and on the stage, all that changed.

Category: Leadership