My answer is always the same: Write It Down. Always. What do I mean?

1. never show up to a meeting without a pen and a notebook. My preference is a sharpie and a moleskine notebook. But doesn’t matter whether it’s a legal pad or a Red Big Chief pencil, Or your iphone or laptop. ALWAYS show up to a meeting ready to record thoughts, ideas, takeaways, and action items. I tell my team this all the time, whether we are having a group meeting or individual meetings.

2. carry a pen and notebook with you wherever you go. If you have a thought, write it down. Remember a task that needs to be completed while in your office, capture it in an email or in a running to do list on your desktop or in Evernote. In the car?…. capture it on your iphone audio memo or on a dictation machine. Great ideas seem to always hit us at random times. But always make sure it is captured somewhere. Always.

3. create a system for organizing your ideas and thoughts. I did a blog post a while back about this entitled The Way I Get Things Done. Highlighting how and where I capture ideas and the way I organize them on my computer and in different email folders and notebooks.

BONUS thought: One of the most important, if not THE most important person in the room during a brainstorming or creative session is the notetaker. And if you don’t have a notetaker for these meetings, find one. Don’t have another meeting without one. It has to be someone who is really good at listening, filtering, and capturing. It CAN’T be someone who is actively engaged in the creative or brainstorming elements.

By doing these things, it frees you up to have energy to be creative, think outside the box, dream, and ultimately have a list that works and a way to keep a running account of what items are on your list to get done.

True Authenticity might be the hardest thing for us to do as leaders. Deep down, we constantly want to be someone else, act like someone else, talk like our favorite speaker, pray like our favorite pastor, be funny like the guy who is always making everyone laugh. You get the point. We are wired to improve, get better, constantly change, and keep moving.

We wear the same clothes, memorize the same lines, tuck our shirts in the same way, tilt our hat similarly, drink the same coffee, watch the same TV shows, and somehow think that someday we’ll be just like the other leaders we admire and try to emulate.

It’s difficult to find contentment in the real you. The struggle between where you are and where you want to be. Between the now and the then, the starting point vs the finish line. It’s a constant tension. But reality is, ultimately at some point the real you will always appear. It has to. And it should.

So spend time working on the real you vs. someone else. Everyone around you needs the real you.

We all have leaders that we work with, for and around. And every leader I know values being honored and respected. Honor is a really big thing. And incredibly important as it relates to being part of a team.

Here are some ways to honor your leaders:

1. Pray – a huge one. Pray for wisdom, for clarity, for compassion and for a clear vision for your leaders.

2. Encourage- lift your leaders up in public, and critique them in private. Tell them how you appreciate them. Consistently. Write them a note. Pour into them.

3. Confront- if you see something out of whack, tell them. Most leaders crave input and feedback, so give it to them. Push back on their ideas and convictions when appropriate. Confrontation works best though when encouragement and service and trust have been given freely for a long time. Confront in moderation.

4. Serve- be willing to carry the load. Get things done. Deliver more than you were asked to do. Be action oriented.

5. Trust- incredibly important. Follow them. Put stock in the fact that they have your best interests in mind. Fight against sarcasm and cynicism.

6. Understand- know what drives them, what motivates them, and also what frustrates them. Lean into the things that motivate them, and avoid the things that frustrate them.

7. Protect- always have their back. Stand up for them. If you hear something negative, fight it.

8. Release- give your leader permission to lead you. Lean in. Have a posture of humility, respect, and openness to follow them. Open hearts and open minds, vs closed thoughts, arms crossed, and a made up mind.

We had planned to have Reggie Joiner sing with this group, but without my knowledge, Lanny Donoho and Reggie and Jeff Shinabarger turned the tables and surprised me by asking (actually forcing) me to sing with the group. But as many of you know, if I have a chance to sing in public, regardless of what song or genre of music, I’m in!

Enjoy my One Shining Moment!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Join Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel for a one day leadership event focused on the topic of Creating Healthy Organizational Culture. This practical leadership experience includes 4 sessions of content, Q and A, dynamic music, and a full day of practical insight from two of the principal voices on leadership in the Church today.

Whether you are a pastor, non profit leader, business professional, or entrepreneur, the leadership principles of Organizational Culture taught by Andy and Craig in this unique format apply to all of us. So pastors- bring your business leaders with you! And for the first 500 to register, there will be a special Night of Worship following the One Day event with the North Point Music band, so make sure and sign up for that special session when registering.

Visit the Catalyst One Day Website to register to attend & get the best rates available! Use Rate Code FOB when registering to get tickets as low as $89.

Best rates end TODAY, Thursday, January 26, so register today to reserve your spot!

Then he became a building contractor, called in to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Through the story of the Old Testament book, we can discover a few of the leadership qualities that he possessed.

1. Compassion- when learning of the condition of the wall and of his people, Nehemiah wept.

2. Conviction- he understood that loyalty to his country and to his people in Jerusalem was paramount.

3. Courage- he stood alongside the builders of the wall to fight off enemies who wanted to bring them down. A shovel in one hand and a spear in the other.

4. Confrontation- Nehemiah called out those who were stealing from their brothers, and doling out debt without reason. He held them accountable, and directed them towards living right. Those whom he loved and admired he pushed towards righteous living.

5. Calling- he understood his role as the one who had been called to lead in rebuilding the wall, and correctly responded to that assignment when God prompted.

Here are some highlights from the interview with Chris, as captured by Brian Dodd originally in this post he did.

1. “We’re trying to navigate who’s in our church…Who’s at the core.”
2. “The church is not a physical building. The church is people.”
3. “It’s (leading worship) serious business because you’re dealing with people.”
4. “I’m trying to write the songs for the church. I’m not trying to write the next radio hit.”
5. “From cribs to the end of life we want one central theme in this church, the glory of Jesus Christ.”
6. “It’s the greatest mystery I’ve ever known.” – Paul McCartney on song writing.
7. “At the end of the day I am trying to write a response to God.”
8. “He (Louie Giglio) started building me up and believing in me, mentoring me…Everyone needs someone who believes in you.”
9. “The poorer you are, the richer in faith.”
10. “The biggest thing in planting a church is to listen…listen more than you talk…Leading with humility.”
11. “God gives different people different influence at different times.”
12. “What is going to change the world is a few. The few people will live and die for it.”
13. “When you’re becoming a band mate, you’re hiring a friend more than a musician.”
14. “Anyone who does leadership…. it’s so tough because you make decisions that affect a lot of people…Anyone who has a sense of care and compassion carries that.”
15. “It’s good that the pastor does not see the worship time as a warm-up for his message.”
16. “He (Giglio) is completely engaged with us.”
17. “When you get done (with your worship set), it’s not a time to sit in the green room.”
18. “Louie makes edits to what I’m thinking all the time.”
19. “At the end of the day, the pastor is the lead worshiper of the church. As a musician you have to put yourself under that.”
20. “You’re not going to change the church past where the pastor thinks it ought to go.”
21. “Will you give me simple songs God that people can sing?”
22. “Songwriting is not a weird or magical thing. It takes work and we take it very seriously. You don’t just sit down at a piano and start playing. You have to work at it. Same thing with writing songs.”
23. “I always pray that the Presence of God on these songs is what will connect with people.”
24. “You don’t just cruise through life by yourself. You have to have people all along the way that God has placed in your life to take you to the next step and help you understand what God has wired you to do.”

You can follow Chris on Twitter.

And I can’t wait for the new Passion 2012 Live Album that will release in March. If you were at Passion 2012 earlier this month, you had the chance to sing the songs that Chris, Christy Nockels, Matt Redman, Kristian Stanfill, and the rest of the Passion crew have written for the global Church and will soon be available to all.

- The Global Church is vibrant, colorful and alive. As a leader, you need to see it up close outside of the US to gain a proper perspective.

- Collaboration is on the rise. Especially in Churches and non-profit ministries. More and more leaders working together, sharing buildings, merging their services, sharing creative ideas, video sharing, pastors teaching in other churches, etc.

- Don’t spend a $1 worth of time on a 10 cent decision. Leaders have to invest their time, energy and resources where it’s most needed and valued in the organization.

- Without vision, people perish. So true in our country and around the world. Leaders need to step up and provide hope and a vision that is inspiring.

- When it comes to leaders I admire, the most common trait among them is courage. And a close runner-up is humility.

- Seasons of calling are just as important as life-long callings. And maybe more. Not everyone will necessarily have a true and specific life calling. You might have seasons of calling. That is okay.

- As a leader, you have to scale your vision appropriately. And especially those of us who are idea creators. We think every idea we have has a global reach. Not true. Your vision may be only for a city, or for a neighborhood. Scale it appropriately.

- Choose one or two ideas and execute on them fearlessly. If you try to execute on all of your ideas, you’ll probably not accomplish much. We each have to be focused on the execution of ideas, not just the creation of ideas.

- Finish meetings on time. Especially when you are meeting with someone one on one. Actually finish early.

- Every great organization has a few areas where they are incredibly picky and their standards are so high it becomes annoying. This is a good thing. Know the areas you are so passionate about that you are willing to be obnoxious and annoying on.

- Being remarkable and doing things with excellence is about being intentional. Being remarkable isn’t about being big. Or about things that are expensive. It’s about a mindset and a standard. It’s not about lots of money and a huge staff. In fact, many times as you grow, you lose the intensity required to be remarkable.

- Growth requires trimming. To go up we may have to give up. The things that were important 2-3 years ago may need to be changed or dropped within your organization. Leaders have to be able to make these kinds of decisions and push forward while cutting the fat.

- Ask twice as many questions as you give answers. Always. Listen way more than you talk. Being “quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger” (from James ch 1) is a good rule to live by.

- With influence and leadership comes power. And power can easily corrupt. Beware of it. Watch out for it. Have people in your life who will tell you what you don’t want to hear, but need to as a leader. Stay humble and hungry.

His current project, A NEW LITURGY, is one of the most unique, innovative and forward thinking MUSIC PROJECTS I’ve heard in a while. A totally different approach to how we engage in spiritual singing and worship through song, poetry, Scripture reading, and overall liturgy.

For me, I like to sing, pray, reflect, and recite Scripture in the car, in my office, running, on a plane, etc. A New Liturgy combines the disciplines of prayer, reading, liturgy, singing, reflection and praise, and makes it convenient to engage in all of these different spiritual disciplines through a Storyline that Aaron creates around certain topics and areas of focus. Such as Grace, Blessing, Love, Mercy, etc.

There are currently 3 different Liturgy projects available in the Series.

Liturgy No 1 is “God Is Love.” Here’s the way Aaron describes it:

“The idea that God loves EVERY ONE of his kids equally – no matter their history, nationality, beliefs, sins, strengths, etc – is profoundly moving to me. For nothing can separate us for the love of God…. And not only do I want to see myself as one of those deeply loved kids, I want to see every single other person I ever meet as my brother or sister, engulfed in God’s bottomless, paternal, and maternal LOVE.”

I’m a big fan of this project. Check it out. Go download it. Highly recommended.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I would figure out a way to make a connection with someone, and then arrange a meeting, phone call, breakfast, lunch, or coffee. Inevitably, this question would eventually come out in the conversation. I loved hearing it. It was the honest question.

Now I ask it. Not because I’m someone who deserves to ask it, but more because time is precious. When you are a leader and have a team and an organization to run, besides family and friends and all kinds of other things that require your attention, and there are people who want to spend time with you, you have to make choices. I understand now why all these folks were always asking me that question.

So next time you have a meeting or phone call or a lunch with someone who you respect and want to learn from and consider to be a key influencer, here are a few pointers on how to make sure they’ll want to talk to you the next time you call or want to meet:

1. Honor that person’s time. Find out how much time they have, and then stick to that. And actually wrap up sooner than what is expected.

2. Ask way more questions than you give answers. You’re not the expert, they are. So leverage the time and soak up their wisdom. Don’t use the time to share your story, unless the person truly wants to know.

3. Pay for it. If you are at breakfast or lunch or dinner, pay for the meal. I don’t care if you are meeting with Bill Gates, pay for it. It is a sign of respect. Even if you are a non-profit and trying to raise money, pay for the meal. Seriously.

4. Tell the person what the agenda is. If you are planning to ask them for money, tell them that. If you want a favor, tell them that. If you have a certain need you want to get their advice on, tell them that. If you have specific questions you want to ask and get their answers on, tell them those questions. Be upfront. Be honest. Be real and authentic.

5. Be prepared. Know everything you can about the person you are meeting with. Have 8-10 questions prepared for the conversation (more on this in a later post), plus several items of interest you will want to cover. Do your homework. The more you know about someone and have a good understanding of who they are and what their interests are, proves that you value and respect their time.

6. Write it down and follow up. Bring something to write with, and write down the good stuff. Also, based on questions you ask, figure out ways you can serve that person. If that person likes a certain coffee, send them a gift card. If that person likes a certain college team, make a connection about that team a month later. If you can make a connection for that person that will serve them, do it. If you want to create a long term value add friendship, you’ll need to be intentional around their likes and interests.