The most wonderful time of the year

It’s that time of year again – the “most wonderful time of the year”! It is my favourite time of the year, I admit. There’s happiness in the air, this expectation of celebration and good things. There’s the relief of having made it this far and anticipation of new beginnings in the new year. There's Christmas carols to sing, Christmas cards to send, and of course gifts to give and receive. 

This year, I am adding a new item to the list that is making the season even more exciting. I learnt from John Maxwell that it is also a good time to start planning for the year ahead. In his book “The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth” he mentions that his favourite time of the year is the week after Christmas. It is then that he sits and evaluates the past year and plans for the coming year.

I cannot promise that I will sit still in the week after Christmas long enough to comprehensively plan my 2020, given that that time is set aside to catch up with family and friends, so I am starting early. I have learnt over the past year that improvement does not happen by accident. If I want each of my subsequent years to be better than the last one, I cannot wait for the 31^st of December to make some dopamine fuelled, half-hearted new year’s resolutions that will probably not see the end of January.

I attended a Straight Forward Financial Growth session on November 30^th, which has given me a framework on which to build my year’s financial plan. I am reviewing my schedule to allocate ample time to spend time with God, to exercise, to rest, to study and grow and to build relationships. Life is busy as the year winds down but I am finding time to at least lay out the various frameworks that I will then flesh out during the holiday.

My 2020 will definitely be better than 2019, and my 2021 even better still, so help me God.

 

Next year I will run in the MTN marathon

Every year in November, I tell myself, “I will run in the MTN Marathon next year”. And every next year that comes, I tell myself “next year”.

The MTN Kampala Marathon is a yearly event that occurs in Kampala, sponsored by Uganda’s largest telecom company and attracting tens of thousands of participants, from professional runners to those just out to have a good time. The number of participants has steadily increased from 1500 when it first started in the mid 2000's to more than 25,000 in this year’s event. There are different causes each year. This year the proceeds are to go towards the improvement of maternal health. 

So, every year, at the start of November the marathon fever kicks in, with catchy ads on TV and radio, calling people to buy kits and register. And it is only then that I remember I had promised myself that I would run in the marathon that year. Of course I sigh and promise myself “next year”.

I could be like the greater number of entrants that simply wake up that Sunday morning, with an exercise history of minimum-to-none over the last 12 months and jump onto the track for the fun of it. Or I could choose to be one of those that hears the ads and get psyched up, does a crush gym course trying to get in shape and then shows up on Marathon Sunday.

But I don't like to do something unless I can do it well. And I know that a marathon cannot be successfully run without proper preparation. By proper I mean steady, consistent endurance training over several months. That includes (majorly) running. Running to build a rhythm, running to master breathing, running to build endurance, running, running, running. But running of any sort holds no allure for me. My idea of a workout is Zumba, Aerobics or a spin class, none of which can get me marathon ready.

Then there’s the issue of time. It is an excuse, I know. If I really want it I will make the time for it, but I have so far convinced myself that I do not really have the time to be running around. I could think of so many “more constructive” things I could be doing in that time. 

But this year, like all the years before, I told myself I would run in the MTN Marathon next year. I know I need to want to run in the marathon so bad that I will make the time for training. I need to find an infallible reason why I want to run the marathon. I need to find a coach or motivator – someone to drag me out of bed on Saturday mornings and check up on my running program for the week. Otherwise November 2020 will come around and I will go “Next year I will run in the MTN marathon”. Anyone offering to help me out?

Where is the line?

Recently I was walking through the parking lot of a certain institution towards the gate. Ahead of me walked a young man who I would not have noticed, had it not been for a brief interaction between him and a uniformed man I assume was a gateman or security guard.

So Young Man walked towards the gate and Mr Uniform approached him nonchalantly, not quite approaching but walking in the same general direction. As the two drew abreast of each other, their hands came close together for the briefest of moments and something passed from Young Man’s hand to Mr Uniform’s. Neither acknowledged the other, neither broke stride. Mr Uniform continued towards the gate and opened it. Young Man veered off to the right, unlocked one of several bodas parked there and rode out of the parking lot.

I only noticed this exchange because it happened right in front of me. It was so perfectly executed – like the scenes in the movies where the mole hands over company secrets to the other side – I would have applauded it had it not been for the questions it raised in my mind.

Most likely story behind what I had witnessed was that Young Man had to come into this place but was afraid to leave his bike outside and so Mr Uniform had allowed him to park it just within the gate for a fee, the payment of which I had just witnessed.

Maybe there was nothing untoward in the exchange. But if that was the case why had it been done so secretively? Of course one could argue that Mr Uniform was helping Young Man safe guard his source of livelihood, and Young Man was showing his gratitude.

Let’s broaden the scope a bit: Imagine Mr Uniform was not a guard at the gate of a public institution where anybody walks in and out. Imagine instead he was a security guard at a research facility, or a lawyer, a judge, a minister, a doctor, a pastor, a headmaster, or anybody else in a “position of power”.  Or Imagine Young Man was not a Boda Rider looking for safe haven for his bike, but a criminal, a businessman, an investor, a student, a spy, a patient, anybody else trying to get a “service”. Imagine the same furtive exchange happening, not in open parking lots but in “halls of power”. What if it was not a small note passed between hands but wads of notes passed in leather cases?

Where does one draw the line? Is it about the amount of money handed over, or the people involved in the transaction? Is it about the place, or the deed done? How does one measure what kind of deed requires what kind and amount of payment? At what point does this "extra payment for services rendered" change from simply gratitude to bribery or extortion? Does anyone know?

Many Parts, One Body - Part Two

This post is a continuation of this one. 

While shared consciousness is the starting point as one works to build a team of teams, it does not end there. The different teams might be aware of what each is doing or meant to do but if the power to act on the information is still centralised, there will be delayed execution that can lead to poor overall outcomes. If this goes on too long people lose morale and get frustrated with their inability to act. As the flow of information becomes free for all, the ability to act on that information needs to also be decentralised. This is termed as empowered execution. Gen Stanley describes empowerment as the decentralisation of decision making authority, and studies have shown it improves employee satisfaction as well as creates intrinsic task motivation.

Unlike the era of scientific management whereby almost every possible outcome could be predicted and a solution planned in advance, the complexity of life today increasingly requires the ability of employees to make on spot decisions when faced with unanticipated situations. As a leader I should become more comfortable with sharing power; I need to accept that divergences from plan inevitably happen, and equip those I lead to respond and take action when this happens. Empowerment does not simply involve pushing the decision making authority to the periphery of the organisation. The people to whom the authority is handed should be in position to make the right decisions. This requires careful nurturing overtime, as well as free sharing of information such that whoever has to make the call has the right training and context. Otherwise, it ends in chaos. I do this through regular trainings on policies and standard operating procedures. In order to foster empowered execution, the leader needs to spend time with those he leads, talking them through the thought process on decisions and then asking them to make the call. 

When those I lead give feedback on decisions made and I publicly acknowledge and applaud those decisions, others are encouraged to also start making decisions. Full accountability and high visibility is necessary, with those I lead letting me know what is being done but this is not to encourage me to meddle and micromanage. Challenges with empowered execution include lower level leaders trying to hoard authority at their level or partners questioning decisions that subordinates have made. As a leader establishing empowered execution, I need to build a nurturing environment that allows growth of other leaders as opposed to being the central source of directives.

Empowerment without context results in chaos. People can only be expected to make the right decisions after they have all the information in order to act in context. Shared consciousness therefore needs to be established before the introduction of empowered execution in my journey towards building a team of teams. Shared consciousness is powerful but is not enough; appreciating the big picture will give rise to commonality of purpose but the group will still fall short of its potential, if those informed are not empowered to act. In conclusion, both the provision of sufficient information to all concerned parties and the nurturing and authorisation of all parties to decide and act on the information provided are essential to the successful creation of a team of teams.

Many Parts, One Body - Part One

During the late 19^th century and for most of the 20th century, management of enterprises was based on planning and prediction. At the time, the majority of people subscribed to the scientific management model whereby if you knew the rules and inputs, you could predict the output and even manipulate it. The emphasis was on efficiency and specialisation whereby individuals just needed to know and perfect their bit of the process, with next to no clue of what happens before or after the product moves past them. Managers planned and made decisions while workers simply executed as commanded. Information flow was bottom up and decisions flowed from the top downwards. 

In the latter half of the 20^th century, with advances in technology leading to greater connectivity and information transfer happening at faster speeds, it soon became obvious that this form of management was quickly becoming obsolete. The emerging interconnectivity of the world made collaboration not just necessary but essential for survival. In order to remain relevant and make discoveries useful for the times in which they found themselves, people, organisations and enterprises had to work together with others far removed from themselves, not only in terms of location, but also in trade and expertise. This was usually challenging because different teams were being asked to work together towards a desired outcome.

Within a team, the elements that bind the team together and ensure success include trust among team members, common purpose, shared awareness as well as individuals being empowered to act. When different teams are asked to work together, there is the risk of each distinct team regarding its role in isolation. The blanks between teams cause the breakdown of a collaboration and communication. Just like in scientific management whereby each worker did not know what happened before or after him, the teams only know their piece of the whole. This results in information or produce from one team that is late, not very useful or out of context for the next.  Between teams, there is usually an attitude of “The other guys suck”, such that there arises competition between the different teams as each works to outshine the other teams. This is ultimately counterproductive as the goal of each team is to place themselves in a favourable light, and achieve their team’s goal, not the overall goal. Bringing it home, I oversee a team of health personnel that include nurses, doctors, midwives as well as data technicians. They usually gang up based on their educational qualification and information flow remains within these arbitrary teams, yet we are all working towards a common project goal.

The only way to successfully get different teams working towards the same goal is through building a team of teams. As I work to build a cohesive team out of my different teams, I need to master two fundamental processes: shared consciousness and empowered execution.

If a team of individuals is to succeed while working towards a common goal, each team member should know their role, but also that of each of the different team members. In that way they each execute their part with the overall picture in mind, at all times aware of how their actions affect the actions and output of other members of the team. This commonality of purpose in a team needs to be scaled up while one attempts to build a team of teams. For functionality to be maintained in an environment that is increasingly more interdependent, every team must be allowed to see the big picture ie the interaction between all moving parts of the machine. Each distinct team, while carrying out their specific role needs to know how that role affects the ability of the other teams to carry out their roles and its impact on the overall goal. This is shared consciousness. The teams cannot do this without knowing what the other teams are about.

One way in which I can foster this commonality of purpose across my teams is by removing the blinders on each team, ensuring information flow between teams. This can best be achieved through regularly scheduled meetings involving members of each of the different teams where all can hear what is happening in each team and as such get an idea of how the other teams tie in with their own. We currently do this through daily morning meetings with out-going and incoming shift staff, as well as monthly full team meetings.

In some instances, a leader can also make use of embedding members from one team in another for a period of time. This gives the host team the opportunity to interact with and put a face to the other team, fostering relationship and building trust. Lateral bonds between teams are thus strengthened, enhancing the collaboration between teams that is required to increase chances of success. Given the widely varied duties members of my different teams are permitted to perform, this might not be very possible, but in the meantime the use of common space and regular meetings fosters the inter-team interaction and collaboration.

...To be continued...

Of Strings and Stretching

I dabbled with playing the guitar when I was younger and the sound of one skilfully played is one of my favourite things in the world.I dabbled with playing the guitar when I was younger and the sound of one skilfully played is one of my favourite things in the world. 

I picked up something interesting during that time. See, each time you pick up a guitar to play, you check if the strings are in tune with each other and other instruments. More often than not, they are out of tune, loosened by repeated strumming or some other mechanism.

To ensure the best sound is produced, the player will need to turn the knobs that hold the strings, in effect tightening the strings. I bet if the guitar could speak it would be screaming about how “…that is painful…why does anything have to change…things are fine just the way they are…” and so forth. 

And yet when the tuning is done, and a single strum produces that perfect A11/E … it sighs blissfully thinking “This is what I was made for.”

We, like a guitar, will occasionally have some loose strings that are in need of tightening if we are to produce the perfect note in God’s on—going melody. The tuning more often than not is uncomfortable, painful even, but rest assured that when it’s over the output will be beautiful. 

In defence of employment

The rhetoric these days revolves around self-employment. A lot of what we read or listen to seems to say “quit your job”, “have a side hustle”, “working for someone else will not make you rich” and many such sentiments. I have been blessed with a job since I left formal education, so maybe I am brainwashed but I would like to expound on the beauty of employment that you hardly hear anyone speak about.

First and foremost, employment is a blessing that so many long for. In a country with steadily rising rates of unemployment, I cannot take for granted the fact that I’ve had a steady income for the past so many years. It is a blessing I regularly thank God for.

Employment helps one learn a number of things that can be used if they eventually go into self-employment. Take for example the regularity of work hours. Having to rise at a set time every workday can condition one to this habit that they can then maintain even when they are their own boss.

Accountability, meeting deadlines and transparency are other things one can learn at their workplace that they can later use. Depending on one’s attitude towards these disciplines, they can either shun them as stressors or use them to grow into better versions of themselves.

One can also learn how to work with other people, whether peers, superiors or subordinates. One can study a hard boss and learn how not to treat their own employees. One can learn how to interact with all sorts of characters in a free environment.

The pay from employment can be saved for a rainy day or future investments. Salary can also be used to start and run a side hustle. Many people have business ideas but amassing starting capital is a challenge and an offset. Having a stream of income that can be channelled into a fledgling enterprise before it becomes self-sustaining can help it get up to speed faster.

Depending on the field of employment, one can have opportunities to build connections with influential people in their field that could prove useful if they eventually choose to strike out on their own.

All in all, employment is not the evil that some people paint it to be. It is a blessing that one can use to better themselves and the world around them if one uses it right.

And God said…

It is said that the Bible is God’s Word to Humanity, but the diversity in religions and doctrines that claim to all be reading the same Word has had me querying the authenticity of this statement. If it’s one God speaking, shouldn’t there be one message we are all hearing? How can I be sure who is right, who is wrong and whether I’m reading the Bible right?  The scriptural texts were written over 2000 years ago in a land and culture far removed from mine today, so it is often that I ask myself whether what I am reading in the bible actually applies to me, a girl in Uganda in the 21st Century.

Some say that the bible should be read plainly and argue against interpreting the scriptures, but from simple observation of the world around us, it is clear that everyone’s “plain” differs. A good understanding of the true “plain meaning” of scripture requires good interpretation of the scriptures. But how do I know that I am interpreting well? Reading Fee and Stuart’s How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, I am encouraged that there is a method to the madness of trying to hear what God is saying to me through these words that were written centuries ago.

Good interpretation means that I am seeking to get to the true meaning of the text. As I read the bible I should first of all be trying to understand what the writer at that time was saying to the people at that time. It is not right to assign my own meaning to the text that is not what the text originally meant. I should not be trying to find some unique revelation that no one has ever come up with before. Trying to do this usually indicates that I am prideful (trying to show myself better than others), I misunderstand spirituality (thinking that the more “hidden truths” I discover in the scriptures, the more spiritual I am) or I am trying to find a biblical backing for a given bias. All of this usually leads to wrong interpretation of bible text.

Good interpretation of Biblical text is of utmost importance if I’m to benefit fully from my Bible study. But why is this so hard to do? For a start, as I read anything, I am subconsciously assigning meaning to what I am reading based on my culture, my experiences, preconceived notions or previously heard interpretations. This can all cause me to read into a text what the original writer did not intend for it to say.

God’s Word to me today was first of all God’s Word to those people those many centuries ago. If I am to hear what God is saying to me today through His Word, I need to first of all understand what He was saying to those first hearers then, and why. After understanding what God was saying to the original hearers back then, I then have the additional task of applying that message to the here and now. My starting point in interpreting scripture should be in finding out what the original message was to the original hearers. The process of discovering, through systematic study, the original meaning of a scripture is referred to as “exegesis”. It might not be easy at the start since I am used to automatically adding some (usually poorly informed) historical background to what I read but as I get used to doing it, it should become second nature and make my reading and studying of scripture more exciting, with better results.

This careful systematic study should be employed for every scriptural text read. If I do exegesis selectively, I run a risk of reading my own meanings into a text, thereby making the scriptures say something other than what God really said. The challenge with doing a good exegesis is that it requires me to know a lot of things that might not be readily available to me such as the biblical languages, the backgrounds against which each book was written and how to determine the original text if the copies have variations. As I try to do exegesis, I need to consult several good experts because some of the so-called experts are simply secondary sources quoting other secondary sources. But even without all these skills I should be able to do a good exegesis using my own skills and the help of a few other resources. The basic tools I require for a good book by book exegesis are: a good bible dictionary, a good bible handbook, a good bible translation and good bible commentaries.

In order to do a good exegesis, I need to learn how to carefully read the scripture and ask of it the right questions. The two basic classes of questions I need to ask of the text are questions of context and those of content. Questions of context are further subdivided into historical and literary context.

Historical context has a number of aspects which are all important for the understanding of a given book. These include the culture and time of the author and those to whom the book was originally addressed, as well as the occasion for which the book was written. Knowing the prevailing political, cultural and even geographical circumstances around each book will enhance my meaningful reading and therefore improve my understanding of it. To help with this, I need to have among my tools a good Bible dictionary. Understanding the occasion or purpose of each book is a very important aspect of historical context. I need to know what was happening at the time of writing, whether in Israel, the church or the life of the writer, that called for the writing of that particular text. This is more important in some books such as the Epistles than in say the wisdom books of the Old Testament. Answers to the questions concerning the occasion of the book are usually found within the book itself if one reads carefully.

Literary context simply means that a given scriptural text does not stand alone. A word in a scripture only has meaning in a sentence and this usually has meaning in relation to the sentences that go before and after it. I need to try to trace the author’s thought process, to understand what he is saying and why, and this cannot be done by taking each text as a stand-alone. I need to be able to identify paragraphs, lines or sections that denote changes in topic or emphasis by the author. This is usually aided by a good translation that clearly denotes these paragraphs.

The other type of question I need to ask and seek answers for as I study scriptural text, are the questions of content. This has to do with the meanings of words, their grammatical relationships in sentences and the choice of the original text when the manuscripts have different readings. The answers to these questions around meaning require outside help and the quality of my answers will usually be dependent on the quality of the source.

After a good exegesis through which I have appreciated what God’s original message was to the original hearers, I will then have the additional task of applying that message to today. This process of seeking contemporary relevance of ancient texts is referred to as “hermeneutics”. However, this should not be my first step in studying the bible even though I live in the “here and now” because good hermeneutics are dependent on solid exegesis. Without the control of exegesis, a lot of room is left for subjectivity whereby anything goes. A lot of the cultic or questionable preaching that is going around today is based on people improperly interpreting scripture, simply because contemporary meaning is attributed to the text without the control of a good exegesis.  Hermeneutics is not as straightforward as we would like and there is a lot of disagreement on the matter but one of the rules of thumb Fee and Stuart giving is “A text cannot mean what it never meant” that is to say, the true meaning of the biblical text for me is what God originally intended it to mean when it was first spoken. This therefore brings me to the conclusion that in order to be sure that I am reading and applying the Word of God correctly, I need to carry out a good exegesis first.

Fueled by Appreciation

I was recently asked to lead the Missional Community (equivalent of Cell or Small Group) that I am part of for a while. Shortly after I had accepted, I was asked to attend an MC Leaders’ Hangout planned for Saturday 6^th July. Now I jealously guard my Saturdays since they are practically the only oasis of calm in the crazy whirlwind of activity that my life currently is. I reserve Saturday for house chores, Me time and social engagements that are neither work- nor church-related.

So I viewed this hangout as an intrusion on my time and told my leader that if I attended I would either arrive late or leave early. She graciously accepted and I grudgingly signed up to attend. Come Saturday 6^th, I dragged myself out of bed early and set out, half asleep, all the time thinking about the different things I needed to work on and at what point in the endless talks I would excuse myself and escape.

I arrived at Worship Harvest Naalya a little later than the scheduled starting time and as I left my car I heard the Welcoming Committee ululating for the person who had gone before me. This did not help my mood. I was quite determined to not enjoy myself. Besides, 9am was too early on a Saturday morning to have this much noise going!!

I got to the entrance and two location leaders were there sounding very happy to see me, cheering, dancing and holding placards with some uplifting messages. I found myself smiling in spite of myself. I received huge hugs and felt my resolve to not be happy start to melt away. At the next point was my location leader whose placard had the words “…heroes and heroines…”. Another big hug. Up the steps I continued and I met more location leaders, all cheering and dancing, offering wide smiles and huge hugs. There was a red carpet and well decorated tables … and breakfast!! Thankfully I arrived before the vuvuzelas were brought out. Shortly after I found my seat, the welcome noise rose a notch higher as little vuvuzelas joined the mix. The looks on the faces of those still arriving were hilarious. They displayed varying degrees of shock as they made their way down the red carpet amidst the joyously loud location leaders.

After breakfast, there was a music session followed by a powerful prayer session. The details are for another day. Simply put, I was awake, energised and optimistic by the time we got to the sharing of the Word. The teaching was on point and practical and the response sessions helped to cement whatever had been shared. There was an award session whereby my MC was one of those commended for an amazing frontier engagement. That was the icing on the cake!!

Long story short, I stayed till the end and even lingered for a while after we had been dismissed. I believe the feeling of being refreshed I had at the end of the day was due to more than just great teaching and insightful discussions. I was uplifted by the appreciation showered upon us by our leaders. A lot was shared that I will long remember, not because I have not heard it before but because of the setting in which it was presented: one of honour and appreciation and saying “You are heroes and heroines…you are doing a great job…we greatly appreciate you and we are cheering you on.” There are lessons I learnt from the day that had nothing to do with MCs or anything that was shared.

Thank you Worship Harvest Location Leaders. You embody true servant leadership and I am honoured to be a part of this awesome movement.

Your environment determines your growth

About a year ago, I planted a few succulents. It’s a hobby I was dabbling in, hoping it would grow into an income stream. That has not happened yet but that’s a story for another day.

I had picked up random leaves and sprouts from a friend who had plenty and scattered these odds and ends on a bit of cleared earth to grow as I figured out where to plant them. Eventually I bought three sizeable decorative clay pots to transplant them into. However, the three pots were not enough for all my little plants, so I spray painted some old blue-band tubs to act as extra pots. By the time of the transplant, all the seedlings were about the same size, say 5-10cm in diameter. I set them in their new homes and left them to themselves. That’s the beauty of succulents; they are low maintenance.

Over time I discovered something interesting. Although all the plants had got the same soil mix, and were placed in the same area therefore receiving the same amount of rain and sun, the plants in the larger pots were soon twice, then thrice the size of the ones in the smaller plastic tubs. The size of the pots was determining the size of the plants.

Just like these succulents, our environment will determine the extent of our growth. There is only so far one can grow in a small restricted environment. JC Maxwell described his experience of this as being a medium sized fish in a very small pond. He realised he needed to leave that comfortable space where he was close to the top of the food chain and move to a larger pond where he was relatively smaller, with more space to grow.

Luckily for us, unlike the plants, we can change our environment when we realise it is limiting our growth in some way. Most times this calls for moving away from the comfortable and familiar into new spaces. It is uncomfortable and it is scary but in the end it pays off, allowing us to reach our fullest potential in a way we never would have in the smaller environment.

...on creating environments...

Lately I’ve been really stressed over loads of different things. In a bid to release this stress, I considered retail shopping but eventually opted for a trip to a spa. Besides, I had developed strange muscle and joint pains that I figured could benefit from a massage.

 So I call up this place I’d never been before and show up, all strung tight and anxious. I arrived and the receptionist welcomed me in a calm low voice, listened to my queries about the services offered and answered all my questions politely. The air smelled fragrant and the staff were polite but nothing had really made an impression on my mood yet.

All that changed as soon as I followed one of the staff through the next door. The hall was dimly lit by fragrant candles, with soothing music playing softly. There were a number of staff and clients but all were talking in hushed tones and walking softly. The few rooms whose doors stood open displayed massage tables overlaid with pristine white sheets sprinkled with petals. Displayed on the walls, well-chosen artwork held inspiring and uplifting sayings.

I had only taken a few steps down the hallway when I realised the greater part of my tension had already melted away. I was not yet out of my street clothes but was already feeling much better. As I changed, a funny thought ran through my mind “I wonder how these people would inform each other of a fire”.

But close on the heels of that thought was another more sobering one that stayed with me throughout my visit. Clearly these people had gone to great lengths to create an environment that fostered relaxation. Beyond the lighting and fragrances, the staff were trained to talk, to walk with measured steps and to display calm.

That really got me thinking: What kind of environment(s) am I creating? At home? At work? Does my environment foster what I claim to stand for or to believe in? When someone comes into my environment, do they immediately perceive my values or do they have to first spend hours listening to me? Even without digging very deep, I knew the answer was a resounding “NO.”

A lot of work remains to be done.

Fearless 2019: The Five Capital Analysis

I spent the greater part of last week in an environment(s) that stretched my mind and heart and will stretch my actions for a long time to come. The Fearless Summit is something that I probably would never have attended had it not been a requirement for the Harvest Institute. However, now that I have been to one, I am quite sure I will attend many others in the years to come. 

There was something profound to learn from each individual speaker and session, it would take ages to talk about every single one. But by way of an overall evaluation, here’s a sneak peek of what I picked up last week.

Spiritually: I definitely made a reconnection with God that I felt had been lacking for some time. The atmosphere of worship was amazing and all the speakers kept pointing us back to God, to prayer, to fellowship, to a deeper walk, to the Bible. It was reaffirmed for me that the Church is the hope of the world, and since God is on our side we should boldly step into those spheres we usually shy away from, and carry the light within to those very places of darkness we shun.

Relationally: I got to spend quality time with amazing people. Old friendships were cemented by the shared experience of travel and conference. My hosts were old friends and it made the stay so much better having a good landing place, not having to worry about meals and not having to be on my “best behaviour”…HAHA. New friendships were forged that will definitely last a long time. 

Physically: I got much needed time away from the routine and although the days were full, I got to rest. I did not check emails and the high charges for roaming ensured that I was hardly online so I could get away from the distraction of social media and concentrate on the moment. Since I lived in the estate just adjacent to the venue, I got in some physical exercise by walking to and fro, and cimbing two flights of stairs to the apartment.

Financially: I definitely spent money but it was within budget. I saw many attractive things but to control my spending I listed down whatever caught my fancy (and its cost) and then reviewed the list later to see whether it fit in budget and I still wanted it. I even had money left over to give! That’s definitely a first while traveling. I picked up on some business ideas that I am going to follow through…watch this space!!

Intellectually: My mind was renewed on so many levels. Being in an environment as excellent as Mavuno Hill City does stuff to the mind. New ideas, new approaches to old challenges, new options….all of these were flooding into my mind from the minute I set my foot in the place and have continued to bombard me since.

Fearless Summit 2019 has not left me the same and I believe these changes it has wrought in me will carry on to influence every person I meet, every place I go and every situation I face.

He called me beautiful

I think I have a good face and on a good day I could call myself pretty, but it’s very rarely that I have placed myself in the “beautiful” category.

Now I have struggled with adult acne for the past five or so years and it has left its mark, both on my skin and on my self-image. Earlier this year, I began to see a dermatologist (again) and started on a treatment regimen that first seemed to help but then my skin reverted to its “normal” state and got progressively worse. 

A generalised break-out maybe would not be so bad but couple that with a dose of compulsive skin picking and you have a royal mess. For the past month, my face has been a study in pustules, papules, sores and scars, and my self-confidence has taken a serious hit.

So, imagine the lift to my spirit when, in the midst of all that, someone calls me “beautiful”? He was a total stranger. I am usually reserved and wary of strangers, so such conversations usually last five minutes tops. But he called me “beautiful.” Needless to say, the conversation lasted almost two hours, and I believe that out of a simple compliment given off-handedly, a lasting friendship has been born.

Resource Mobilisation: A Mark Of A Good Leader

Bill Hybels, in his book “Courageous Leadership” asserts that the local church is the hope of the world. The world today is going through troubled times and although there are man-made systems in place to attempt to make the world function, they cannot get to the heart of the matter where the real transformation needs to happen, which is the human heart. Transformation of the human heart can only be brought about by a revelation of the love of Jesus Christ. The responsibility of revealing this love to the world has been entrusted to the church. There is an abundance of gifts within the church that could more than meet the world’s needs but without proper leadership, the church will remain powerless at best or become obsolete. For the church to rise to the challenge, it is mandatory for those within the church who are blessed with the spiritual gift of leadership to build this gift up to the greatest level possible. Bill goes on to describe various aspects of church leadership but the one that I related to the most is the Resource Challenge.

It is of utmost importance for church leaders to have gigantic, awe-inspiring visions, but the reach and impact of the church will only go as far as its resources allow. As a member of the leadership team at one of Worship Harvest’s thirteen locations, I have experienced this first hand. We have a long list of great things we must achieve, people to reach, serve and impact but we do not have the monetary resources to match. It is frustrating and disheartening. The task of resource mobilisation falls chiefly on the church leader(s), in our case the location leader and leadership team.

There is an uncomfortable but necessary learning curve to the mobilisation of resources for the work of ministry. The trying times when the ministry is one giving away from closing down increases my reliance on God and helps me experience first-hand His faithfulness. It helps me grow deeper roots, to learn extravagant generosity and to become a better steward. It also brings out the creative side as I think of creative ways to raise the much needed resources.

Instead of giving in to the temptation to give up, I need to learn some fundamental truths about kingdom resources. The first of these is: God is the ultimate resource supplier. I can rest in the assurance that God wants the church resourced even more than I do. Keeping this at the forefront will keep me from using manipulative ways to get people to give, and increases my dependence and faith in God. The second truth is that people are willing to give under the right circumstances. This truth guides me against coercing people into giving, but rather towards instructing people in the grace of giving as well as the knowledge of financial management, which will make them better stewards of the resources God has given them and also more cheerful givers. The third truth is that funding ministry proves the character of a leader like no other challenge. I have to work at overcoming the resource challenge to the best of my ability, knowing that its success or failure reflects on my character.

Bill Hybels also gives a few principles that he believes leaders can use to raise and allocate resources for the purpose of ministry.

Just like in the secular world, within the church there is very little teaching about money. A number of leaders work on the assumption that people inherently know about giving in church, which is not the case. With this assumption, we admonish the congregations for their perceived lack of generosity, or come up with manipulative ways in which to wrench the much needed resources out of their “sticky fingers”. The correct way to go about this is to first of all educate the congregation on what the scriptures say about money. People need to know that in itself, money is not evil and that the blessing of God usually has a manifestation of monetary increase. They also need to know that money, like all else, is a resource from God of which we are simply stewards; we are expected to manage this resource in ways that benefit the world around us, which includes giving towards the local church that resources us. Teachings around tithe, offertory, first fruits and other kinds of giving need to be scheduled and taught with properly interpreted scriptural backing.

Secondly, we leaders may assume the congregation is stingy and not willing to give, yet it is simply a case of being uninformed about the needs of the church. As said earlier, people love to give under the right circumstances and one way of ensuring the right circumstances is by being completely transparent about the church cash flows. This includes money collected during worship services and other avenues, and expenditures that the church has. If money is constantly being collected, and more is always being asked for without telling people how much has been collected and where it has gone, it leads to suspicion which quickly dries up the resource tap. People want to know, if simply to rest assured that they have not become unscrupulous individual’s income stream; they deserve to know, since they work for this money and have a myriad of needs and wants they could spend it on; and they can't help unless they know the extent of the need within the church.

However, as we work at feeding back to the congregation the income and expenditure of the church, we should keep it as simple as possible. Too much information can overwhelm the recipients, and the resultant confusion can also fuel suspicion, resulting in reduced giving. Information given should be easily understood by the least knowledgeable, with an encouragement and an avenue to seek detail for those that might want to. In this I appreciate Worship Harvest’s insistence on tithe numbers and open book policy for accounts.

Another resource principle worth mastering is that of Strategic Discipling. In every congregation there are certain individuals who are more affluent and potentially a greater channel of resources towards the church. Many church leaders are unsure how to approach these people both generally and specifically in regards to giving. We either steer clear of them to shield our own insecurities, avoid them in order to “maintain impartiality between the haves and have-nots” or suck up to them in a bid to benefit, first for ourselves then for the church. Bill advises meeting these people and challenging them to join in the work of building God’s kingdom. Just like with any other individual, they should be led to Christ, helped to grow spiritually, encouraged to join a small group and helped to discover their spiritual gift so that they are fully plugged into the local church. While all this is ongoing, they should be reminded of Jesus’ admonition that “to whom much is given, much is required.” Like the spiritual gift of leadership, there is a spiritual gift of giving and if these affluent individuals are gifted that way, they should be encouraged to exercise that gift fully by earning as much as they can and managing it well so as to have as much as possible to give towards God’s work. It is our responsibility to have this conversation with these people, but also to stay faithful to our own gifting as an encouragement to them to do the same.

The last resource principle is about vision. Simply put, people want to give towards a grand vision of world transformation, not simply to everyday mundane activities. It is our responsibility to passionately paint an inspiring picture that will stir people to give willingly towards what they believe is causing significant impact. That means it is our responsibility to have this grand vision in the first place. Through our vision, we must remind people that they are giving to something bigger than themselves, with far reaching eternal significance.

Bill stated: The church will never reach her full redemptive potential until a river of financial resources starts flowing in her direction. It is my responsibility as a member of the leadership team of a church to create this river and manage it accordingly. I need to grow in my ability to mobilise and manage huge amounts of resources for the huge task we have of reaching the world with the message of the redemptive love of Jesus.

Levels of Leadership and their Laws

When I joined Harvest Institute for the Leadership Course at the beginning of this year, I quickly came to realize that my idea of leadership was very flawed.   Reading John Maxwell’s The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and 5 Levels of Leadership, I am scared because there is so much to do, but encouraged because there is a formula that I can follow, to become a better leader.

Positional leadership, whereby someone takes up a leadership position is what I previously believed defined leadership, but I am now learning that this is simply Level 1, the starting point.

The first law applicable here is the Law of Sacrifice. In order to progress, I need to let go of some things. I need to sacrifice my need for leadership to be all about me. I have to give up my beliefs of entitlement, demanding respect, ordering people around and having my needs met, in order to grow.

Following on this is the Law of the Lid: My leadership skills will determine how effective I am as a leader. If I take position as the ultimate achievement, I will not seek to grow in skill, and so limit my level of effectiveness.

The Laws of Process and Navigation encourage and spur me on to becoming a better leader. As I recognize my need to grow, I should not look for short cuts but should commit to making the necessary changes daily, consistently and habitually. Almost anyone can be given or voted to a leadership position but I need to be intentional in my growth as a leader so that I’m better placed to help others successfully navigate what lies ahead.

To leave Level 1, I need to move from having people follow my position, to having people allow me to lead. This is Level 2: Permission.

The Law of the Lid still applies here. I am naturally more result- than relationship-oriented, so I need to raise the lid on my relationship ability by being intentional about building relationships with the people I lead. 

“Leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less” according to the Law of Influence. I will find it very hard to influence people if I have no relationship with them. How do I build these relationships? People relate better with someone who adds to them, and this is where the Law of Addition comes in. I need to lift people up and serve them, not myself. The Law of Buy-in also ties in here. People follow the person first, then the vision. When people see that I am looking out for their interests and not my own, they let me lead more willingly.

Relationships, the basis of Level 2, are built on trust. This is what the Law of Solid Ground is about. People want to know that their leader will work to fulfill whatever promises they make. A great determinant of trust is whether my actions match my words. If people see me model the same values I ask of them, they will trust me and do as asked. This is where the Law of the Picture comes in.  

According to the Law of Magnetism, I attract people who are most like me. As I build relationships, I should check myself first to see whether I am the kind of person I want to attract, and make the necessary changes. The Law of the Inner Circle ties in here. Are the ones growing closest to me people who can propel me to greatness? I need to identify “inner circle” people and prioritize these relationships but also work at making myself the kind of person those people would be attracted to.

At Level 2, I need to relate with people beyond the leadership space, as whole individuals with complex lives. This is the Law of Connection. This tells them I am interested in them as human beings and not just as means to an end, and makes them more willing to let me lead.

Whether it’s an organization, movement, team, or other kind of entity being led, it must have goals and targets. The purpose of building relationships is to have people working towards the goals of the entity willingly, not out of coercion. If goals are not being met, it doesn’t matter how relational I am; I will not be considered a good leader. I need to reach Level 3: Production. A Level 3 leader makes things happen.

Some of the laws mentioned previously apply here. Take the Law of the Lid: am I skilled enough to produce results, or am I holding my team back? Do I need to upgrade my vocational skills? The Law of Navigation too: I need to develop to the level that I can guide my team through anticipated challenges and have contingency plans for unpleasant surprises in order to deliver results safely, with no excuses. By the Law of the Picture, I need to model winning habits that my team can imitate in order to start and keep winning. And according to the Law of Magnetism, if I am producing results, I will attract more results producers like myself, making the team even more productive.

As a Level 3 leader what tangible results do me and my team have to show for all our “hard work”? This is where the Law of Priorities comes in. I need to guide myself and the team to concentrate efforts on things that give the greatest return for our investment.

People want to be on the winning team, so will more readily follow the person with a track record of winning. The Law of Respect and the Law of Victory work together here. A good measure of strength is one’s ability to deliver results. I need to make delivering results a habit, to be deemed a leader worth following, but also for the sake of team morale and individual betterment of the team members.

The joy of a win or the satisfaction of delivered results encourages the team, shows them that it is possible and encourages them to keep working hard towards the next goal. This is the Law of the Big MO. I need to lead my team to victory consistently in order to maintain morale and enhance production. I need to master the Law of Timing; to not only know what should be done, but also when it should be done in order to lead to victory.

After mastering Level 3, I will move on to People Development. A Level 4 leader concentrates on developing other leaders. By this, my influence will be multiplied. The Law of the Inner Circle applies here again. I should surround myself with others willing to grow in their leadership and mentor them accordingly.

The Law of Empowerment kicks in here. I will be willing to empower others to lead when I understand that raising other leaders will not minimize my own leadership. If I am the only one leading, growth will be much slower than if I train other leaders to do what I am doing. This is the Law of Explosive Growth. In training other leaders I in effect clone myself in them, giving them the ability to produce that many times what I am producing alone.

After Level 4 comes the Pinnacle. A Level 5 leader is training other leaders who are also training other leaders. At this level the leader’s influence and reputation reach beyond their area of expertise. They are consulted by people from all walks of life. The main law here is the Law of Legacy: The effects of a Pinnacle leader live on even after them.

The Law of Explosive Growth also applies here. My effect and influence will be confounded in exponential ways if I recreate myself and my abilities in other leaders who are doing the same in other leaders. Similarly, my influence will stretch beyond my field, influencing other spheres I would not have reached at a lower level. And by the Law of Influence, if I can influence outside my field I will have truly attained the highest level of leadership.

The Law of the Lid again applies here, backed up by the Law of Respect. People tend to follow leaders stronger than themselves, so Level 4 leaders need Level 5 leaders to follow. Therefore I have to raise my lid to Level 5 to allow others to attain Level 4 status.

The Law of Intuition and the Law of Timing work together here. At Level 5, I will have extensive experience to draw upon to seemingly automatically know when and how to lead.

In conclusion, the different laws correctly applied to the successive levels of leadership, will help me develop into the kind of leader God wants and my world needs.

Choosing Celebration: Celebrating Birthdays.

I recently heard a conversation between two workmates that I found quite surprising. The conversation went like this:

• Miss A: My phone is acting up. My birthday is around the corner; please get me a new phone for my birthday.
• Mr B: Birthday? What is a birthday?  What is the point of celebrating birthdays?

I was quite taken aback because celebrating birthdays has always been a given for me. When we were younger, my parents made it a point to celebrate the birthdays of the five children living in that house. There are two of us born two days apart in August, then the rest are November and two in December. So we would usually celebrate the August birthdays together and the end of year birthdays together. There would be cake and snacks and sweets and all the cousins and kids in the neighbourhood would be called to the party. There were definitely presents, though I do not recall most of them. My memories are of a happy time with friends and food. To date, when we meet old friends from way back, the conversation will usually drift fondly to those parties we had.

As we’ve grown up and scattered across the globe, it 

has become harder to meet for celebrations, but we do send cake, text, call… anything to show the celebrant that they are being thought of and celebrated. We will occasionally pull off a surprise party which is always well received. 

Listening to Mr B's views, I realised that celebrating birthdays is not as much a given for everyone as it was for me growing up. So I tried to win Mr B over to my school of thought with this line of reasoning. 

The thing is, time and life plod along steadily and it is possible to get to the end of say a year or five years and look back, and all you see is a mass of grey uneventfulness, probably interspersed with masses of black signifying times of loss and pain. Events that elicit strong emotions in us form stronger memories that last longer than those that do not cause any significant change to our emotional norm. Sad and hard times definitely carry strong negative emotions and so cause strong negative memories. On the flip side, good times are associated with happy memories.

It has been said that we should choose our celebrations because the tough times will choose themselves. Life can, and does throw us some serious curveballs that are usually unpredictable and hard to guard against. That they will come is a given. I think if we are not intentional about celebrating, it is possible to get to the end of the year, look back and see only grey and black. But if we are celebrating intentionally, that grey and black will be interspersed with bright colours here and there that cause us to sigh happily, say “It was a tough year, but there were some good times” and look to the future with optimism.

With responsibilities, schedules and interesting financial situations, it might be hard to find time and reason to celebrate, which is why I think celebrating birthdays is a good place to start. They happen at the same time each year, every year so can even be planned in advance.

And the celebration does not have to be celebrity style. Last year at work, some people decided to compile a list of birthdays in one of the departments. As one person’s birthday draws near, money is secretly collected and a cake and a few drinks purchased. In the afternoon, the birthday person is called, presented with their cake and for about 30 minutes, there is a mini celebration. The department is definitely a happier place partly because of this practice and it has spread to involve other departments as well.

Choose to celebrate. If you can’t find a reason or season, find a birthday and start with that.