Last week, I attended the memorial service of Chuck Miller, one of the founders of The Leadership Institute, a ministry with which I’ve had the privilege to serve for several years.  Anyone who knew Chuck knew him for his ability to turn any moment into a lesson that would draw us into further dependence on Jesus.  It’s Chuck that brought home the lesson of Pitcher / Cup, Saucer / Plate, the idea that we must first remember that we are God’s people before we go and do His work (see an article I co-wrote about this very topic utilizing Chuck’s metaphor).

It would be an understatement to say that the events around my attending of Chuck’s service would be a training ground for this very concept.  I had hoped to fly into southern California for the service and fly back to northern California that night.  I’ve done a quick turnaround trip like that before, so why not again?   I left my home in the wee hours of the morning for one of Sacramento’s first flights into Orange County’s Santa Ana Airport.

Arrival.  A quick breakfast.  And news that my flight home was cancelled.

Options were standby on very full flights out of other LA airports that night or flying confirmed out of Orange County the next morning.  Confirmed is better than standby, particularly when you could extend your car rental an extra day.  Even more so when your parents were excited to have you over for dinner, and you could catch up with your grandma, aunt and uncle who were coming, too.  A perfect reminder that I am a person of God before I go do His work, enjoying meaningful conversations with those whom I love.

The next morning, in preparing to get to the airport, I heard that my flight was delayed yet another 3 hours.

Another pot of coffee made.

And more unhurried interaction with my parents.  Sitting and talking just the three of us as we are often unable to do so.  Finally on my flight, a fellow passenger and I agreed that the delays God gives us are opportunities to look for what He is doing and calling us to.

Driving home, my phone alerted me to one more delay, a 90-minute traffic jam.  The I-5 corridor between Sacramento to the Redding area where I live had flooded the little town of Willows, nearly shutting down both northbound and southbound sides of the highway.

Yet this slowing provided opportunities to get out of the car and meet the man in front of me from Lodoga (real place) or the woman trying to get to Chico (thanks, lady, for the piece of gum!), and to enjoy the surreal scenes of almond groves flooded with water (pictured, above) and rice paddies all green with beautiful blue sky.  As I was stuck there in my car, it was yet another reminder—a retreat—that I am God’s person before I am His agent.

While not at first glance, my two days of travel really was a retreat.  A time of interacting with the people and the Person I love, of slowing down, and of taking time to remember what is and who are really important.  Of remembering that even in our own plans, it’s the Lord Who directs them (Proverbs 16:9).

Thanks, Chuck, for the reminder, and for the life you lived with this mindset always at the forefront.

If there’s a tenet of ministry that I’ve appreciated over my years in the non-profit sector, it’s the idea that all of us, whether we like it or not, are leaders.  Because all of us have some area of influence over others.

This idea is so important because we often forget that we do indeed influence others, even when we’re not meaning to.  We are each in a place of leading.  It’s just a matter of whether we want to deliberately set out to do it right or not.

I appreciated hearing from bestselling author, coach, and speaker John C. Maxwell (pictured, above) at this summer’s Global Leadership Summit on this very topic, on what he called The One Thing to Get Right.

What’s the “one thing”?

It’s remembering our position as leaders.  It’s remembering, in Maxwell’s words, that “leaders lift.  But when the leadership is bad, everything falls.”

And we’ve all seen it.  We’ve seen what happens when leaders forget to lift.  We’ve even done it.  The rest of the team feels down.  Discouraged.  Left out.  Not a good thing!  So, how do we move into a position of lifting with our God-given sphere so that you can move to where God is calling your team?

Maxwell encourages us to intentionally add value to people.  Each day and every day.  Sit in their shoes.  Find out what is important from their perspective.  Be consistent and willfully caring of those in your charge.

There are three questions that followers want to know from their leaders:

• “Do you like me?” which looks to our care and compassion
• “Can you help me?” which looks to our competence
• “Can I trust you?” which looks to our character

Taking a look at the news today, we can easily see that we are in a vacuum of leadership.  People ask these three questions, directly and indirectly, as they meet new friends at church, or a new colleague or boss in a job, or as they size up political candidates.

Clearly, it is a hard journey to be a wise and valued leader.  But it’s not impossible.

Try these five things Maxwell recommended that we can do each day to add value to people:

1. Value people.  Pause for a moment and reflect on how you value people.  Do your colleagues know how you value them?  Have you verbalized it?
2. Think of ways to add value to people. As you look toward your day today, think about who you will see.  Prayerfully list 2 or 3 ways you can add value to them today.
3. Look for ways to add value to people. Don’t just think about it, do it!
4. Go from knowing how to add value to doing it.  At the end of the day, ask yourself how you did to add value to people that day.
5. Encourage others to add value to people.  Are you helping create a culture at home, at church and / or at work where all are valued, not just those you interact with closely?

Being intentional in our leadership is difficult, but in adding value to others, we can take the first step in helping our places of influence thrive.  And as we work toward bringing value to others, we create a more cohesive team in the process.