No one wants to feel invisible as they pass through life, yet we often get the impression that others see us as little more than a statistic. Our resume ends up in a pile, our performance review goes into a file, and like everyone else we get a raise every once in a while. We’re referred to as applicants, employees, or human resources, and we sense our individuality being somewhat buried.
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No one wants to feel invisible as they pass through life, yet we often get the impression that others see us as little more than a statistic. Our resume ends up in a pile, our performance review goes into a file, and like everyone else we get a raise every once in a while. We’re referred to as applicants, employees, or human resources, and we sense our individuality being somewhat buried.
Jack Welch called this feeling of anonymity “being in the pile,” and he recommended thinking as the means of escape. Most people go with the flow, doing what’s asked of them but not much more. In Welch’s estimation, the key to elevating yourself in business is to go above and beyond expectations whenever you’re asked a question or given an assignment. As he writes,
If you understand that the question is only the beginning, you will get out of the pile fast, because 99.9 percent of all employees are in the pile because they don’t think. If you understand this principle, you will always be given more critical questions to answer. And in time, you will be the one giving out the questions to others!
In this lesson, I’d like to offer five practical steps to help you think your way to the top.
1. Find a place to think your thoughts.
Today’s work environments are incredibly fast-paced and fraught with pressing demands. Unless you’re intentional about getting away from the rattle and hum of day-to-day operations, you’ll be sucked into a vortex of thoughtless hyperactivity. The first step to getting out of the pile is giving yourself permission to disconnect. You have to get away from the daily barrage of information by retreating to a space free of interruptions. Initially, scheduling time to think will feel incredibly unproductive. However, you’ll quickly gain perspective which enables you to work smarter and more strategically.
2. Find a place to shape your thoughts.
In their infancy most ideas are fuzzy, flabby, and fanciful. Firstly, our thoughts initially are unclear. As a leader, challenge yourself to translate your gut intuitions or inklings into distinct ideas which you can plainly articulate to your team.
Secondly, new ideas never come fully formed. They need a workout to tighten them up and to get them into shape. As a leader, your job is to submit ideas to a fitness test by asking a battery of questions. Does the idea proceed from reliable assumptions? Does the idea align with the values and vision of the organization? Does the idea make sense given the structure and strengths of the organization?
Thirdly, thoughts spring into existence in the realm of possibility. However, to be useful they must undergo tests of practicality. For instance, how would the idea actually take shape in your organization? What would it cost to pursue? How long would it take to implement?
3. Find a place to stretch your thoughts.
Throughout my career, some of my best thinking has been done by others. Oftentimes my ideas start out small until my team gets ahold of them and finds ways to stretch them to their maximum potential. Isolated leaders never obtain as much influence as those who surround themselves with an inner circle of creative, intelligent advisors.
4. Find a place to land your thoughts.
Before an idea can make an impact, it must make the descent from your head to your hands. In other words, the thought must come out of thin air and take on a concrete existence. The number one question to ask when landing or implementing an idea is: Who will own it? That is, who will champion the idea and push it forward? In addition to the logistics of landing the idea, a leader relationally must prepare the way for the idea to touch down safely. Practically, this means winning the support of key decision-makers and communicating clearly with those most likely to be affected by the idea’s implementation.
5. Find a place to fly your thoughts.
If you wanted to fly an airplane, you would begin by taking lessons from a pilot. Likewise, to fly an idea, you first need to learn from a pilot or trial run. Testing your idea on a small scale exposes its weaknesses before a major launch. Sometimes the flaws are fixable, and the idea can be reworked.
On rare occasions, you may even have an idea that tests out brilliantly on the first attempt. However, other ideas, though theoretically solid, are not feasible in real life and ought to be scrapped. A trial run confirms that an idea which sounds impressive can actually withstand the challenges of real-world application.
John Maxwell grew up in the 1950s in the small Midwestern city of Circleville, Ohio. John's earliest childhood memory is of knowing that he would someday be a pastor. He professed faith in Christ at the age of three, and reaffirmed that commitment when he was 13. At age 17, John began preparing for the ministry. He attended Circleville Bible College, earning his bachelor's degree in 1969. In June of that same year, he married his sweetheart, Margaret, and moved to tiny Hillham, Indiana, where he began his first pastorate.
While serving in his second church, Maxwell began to study the correlation between leadership effectiveness and ministry effectiveness. On July 4, 1976, while preaching at a service commemorating America's bicentennial, John sensed that God was calling him into a ministry to pastors. Within days after that event, pastors began to contact him, asking for his assistance in nurturing their churches. Over the next four years, on an informal basis, John helped scores of fellow pastors. Then, in 1980, he was asked to become Executive Director of Evangelism for the Wesleyan denomination.
Though his time at Wesleyan headquarters was productive, John soon realized that his deeper desire was to help pastors from numerous denominations. He knew that desire would be unfulfilled if he were to stay at denominational headquarters. As a result, in 1981 John accepted the call to return to the pastorate, this time at Skyline Wesleyan Church in the San Diego, California area. But he did so with the church's blessing to pursue his vision. The Skyline congregation allowed him to continue mentoring and assisting pastors even as he led them to new levels.
In 1985, as he continued to equip and encourage other pastors, John took the next crucial step in leadership development. He founded a new company called INJOY and created the INJOY Life Club, featuring a monthly tape for leaders. The fledging operation, established in the corner of a garage, was soon bursting at the seams. The INJOY Life Club tapes were received with great enthusiasm, and the number of subscriptions quickly increased from hundreds to thousands. Simultaneously, the demand for other resources and seminars exploded. Pastors from coast to coast were responding, and their desire for help was even greater than John had anticipated.
As the years passed, INJOY began demanding more and more of John's time. In 1995, he resigned from his position as senior pastor at Skyline following a very fruitful 14-year tenure. The church had tripled in size and its lay ministry involvement had increased ten-fold. Dr. Maxwell is in great demand today as a speaker. Through his bestselling books, audio and video resources, and major conferences, he communicates directly with more than one million people every year. He is frequently asked to speak for organizations such as Promise Keepers and Focus on the Family, but his greatest joy and desire is to help pastors become better leaders.
Because the need for leadership development knows no borders, John established EQUIP, a non-profit organization which trains leaders in urban communities, academic institutions, and within international organizations. EQUIP is also spearheading a movement which has enlisted more than one million pastoral prayer partners who covenant to pray specifically for those who shepherd God's flock.
John continues to seek new opportunities to help churches and church leaders. He knows that one thing is constant: the only hope for the world is salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ, who gives life abundantly.