As the one year challenge to read a book a week hits the middle third, I’m finding myself increasingly thrilled when I read one that really excites me, and this one did.  Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands, by Nancy Ortberg, didn’t excite me because I finished it with a list of 5 things that every leader needs to do.  It excited me because I found moving stories and motivational lessons from an experienced leader who has a fantastic writing style.

If you’re a ministry or non-profit leader, you’ll find great encouragement in this book.  If you’re  a project manager who feels in over your head, you’ll find some practical tips embedded in the author’s stories that will help you catch your breath.  Even if you aren’t currently in a position of leadership, you’ll find Ortberg’s authenticity and humor refreshing.  There are plenty of scholarly and theory-driven books out there on leadership, but this one takes a fresh, conversational approach that absolutely delivers.

Throughout the book, the author shares examples of her successes and failures (you’ll find yourself appreciating those more than the first group!) from many different types of leadership positions, whether in ministry or business, and also is liberal in revealing the impact that numerous mentors have had in her life.  At many times in the book I made notes about which of these mentors would be the author of the next book I read based solely on the little that Ortberg revealed about her relationships with them.

Always one to take the road less traveled in her thinking, Ortberg seems to find the role of “outside the box devil’s advocate” a natural one.  She does a fantastic job pointing out the often overlooked “third option” in the sticky situations leaders find themselves in, and many of these will be what turns on the lightbulb in your mind about problems you may be facing right now in your leadership.

Of particular benefit to me was the chapter entitled “When to Worry,” which challenged the popular notion that everything is going well when there are no problems.  Always one to highlight the tension in leadership, Ortberg uses example after example to show how leaders need to worry when there isn’t conflict within the team or organization because conflict is what pushes us toward growth.  Not what you’d expect to read, but what a great observation.

Some other noteworthy highlights:

Good leaders make sure no one is overlooked.

Much of a vision’s power lies in what it taps into. Done well, vision connects to that part of us that desperately wants to be involved in something deeper, something with meaning and significance. Vision releases ongoing energy in individuals and organizations that perpetuates and fuels itself. Vision lifts heads, stirs souls, and taps hearts. It creates and fosters and strengthens and stimulates. It engages passion, which is a profound source of motivation. Vision brings out the best, where before, good enough was good enough.

Vision is a team sport. It is not a solo endeavor. Far too often, leaders present their vision to a group and then get confused when the progress seems slow or people are reluctant. Very few people are motivated when they are handed a vision. Most want to be part of determining and shaping that vision. And when you invite people to the table with you to do that, you deeply honor their dignity and the image of God embedded within them.

[The] intersection of vision and reality may be one of the greatest tests of leadership. It is having sober eyes and an optimistic spirit, and refusing to choose between the two.

This intersection of vision and reality may be one of the greatest tests of leadership. It is having sober eyes and an optimistic spirit, and refusing to choose between the two.

Probably about eleven times out of ten, the answer to your most burning leadership issue is to have the conversation.

Is the life you’re inviting others into, the life you’re leading?

Again, this book is challenging, but it is a must-read for anyone in leadership, and probably a must-read for anyone.  I highly recommend it and don’t think you’ll be sorry I did when you’re finished with it.

The man who does things makes mistakes, but he never makes the biggest mistake of all – doing nothing.
– Benjamin Franklin

First, this post is for my sister, not because she is actually a goat, but because she told me about goats in a tree and I think she’s done a pretty good job learning to be the goat in a tree. Now, onto the post, which will hopefully explain why I just called my sister a goat.

Yes, those are actual goats in a tree. No, this image hasn’t been retouched in Photoshop. Apparently goats in Morocco have the ability to climb up an down Argan trees in order to get food, which is a bit scarce in the desert country.  Now, as amazing as that is, I think it raises some interesting observations.

One, we need to learn how to navigate the difficult situations in our lives.  Surely, if goats can figure out how to climb trees in order to get the only food they can find, then we should be able to learn how to adapt our plans when we encounter difficulties. The expression “think outside the box” has most definitely been overused, but lots of times we feel stuck in bad situations because we can only think of the obvious solutions.  Picture it: a bunch of goats hanging out under a tree starving because they can’t find anything to eat because the only place they’ve ever found food was, well, where they’d always looked for it.  Finally a brave goat raises a hoof and boldly says to the goat group that they could always eat if they just climbed the tree they were dying under. Oh, the mocking bleats he must have heard from the other goats!  I bet the mocking grew louder at his first failed attempts to climb the tree, too, but at some point the mocking turned to cheering when they saw him in a tree eating!  The best solutions often come in the places we haven’t even looked yet.  Adapt your plans.  Let the stretching make you even more flexible, and see if you can find that unexpected fruit that you crave in an unexplored place.

Two, when we are willing to explore the unexplored, very often we’ll find that it yields amazing fruit.  As hard as this is to believe, the goats eat from the tree and as a result their droppings contain the kernels of the seeds which are then pressed by locals for oil.  The oil has many uses, but two of them are culinary and cosmetic.  So, the goats think outside the box, climb a tree, eat the fruit, poop out some seeds, and then people use the oil from those seeds for cooking and for smearing on their faces to look more beautiful.  Oh, and they also get richer, because a quarter-liter bottle of the oil sells for anywhere from $15-50.

The bottom line is obvious: we need to become the goat in a tree.  We need to stop looking at hopeless situations and start looking at situations for hope.  Like the boy who shoveled like crazy through a huge pile of horse manure because he knew that a pile that big had to lead to a horse, we need to plow our way through bad times knowing that the solution could be in the next place we look, or person we meet, or prayer we pray.

When we do that, we’ll often find others that think we’re crazy.  I mean, goats in a tree??  But if we’ll persevere, we’ll soon find that, not only are we eating, but we’re also finding fuel to help others around us.

So, take a cue from some crazy Moroccan goats, and go climb a tree.  You may be surprised at what you find in it.