Top Twelve Trends in Leadership Today

Here are some key trends happening in Leadership today. 

1. Authenticity rules- Transparency, vulnerability, honesty and full disclosure are in.

2. The rise of the Free Agent and the "Gig" economy- it's now a "free agent" nation. Around 35% of the current workforce is self employed or project based, and that is only going to grow. 

3. Connection of identity, calling, vocation and assignment- Leaders want to connect purpose with passion, and are not willing to stay in a role or organization just "because" anymore.  

4. Digital and Social Media Power and domination- Social media is now one of the most important parts of a leaders influence. 

5. The rise of the tribe and network- Community is crucial, and relationships win. There is tremendous power in the people you're on the journey with. The tribe rules and leads. 

6. Reverse mentoring- younger is now mentoring the older as it relates to technology, open source, social media and digital engagement. 

7. Content is a commodity- Move towards free in all areas. Which puts a premium on the experience. 

8. Decline of hierarchy- organizations are becoming flatter, which puts more accountability in the hands of each employee.

9. Succession happening at every level- Transitions are crucial, and as the boomers continue to hand off the reigns to Gen X and Y, healthy succession is crucial. 

10. Mobile team- people want to, and are, working from anywhere and everywhere. Which again puts more accountability on the results, and less on "office hours."

11. Influence is everywhere- everyone has influence, because creating influence has never been so readily available to anyone at anytime. 

12. Collaboration is in- Open source and generosity are key currencies in making things happen and getting things done. 

My NEW book H3 LEADERSHIP releases TODAY

H3 Leadership: Be Humble. Stay Hungry. Always Hustle. officially releases TODAY!

Excited to get this book into the hands, hearts, minds and souls of thousands upon thousands of leaders around the world.

That includes you! I hope the book is personal, applicable, practical, inspiring, challenging and easy to implement into your own personal leadership journey.

You can buy it here.

The book outlines and breaks down the 20 Key Habits that all great leaders have in common, built around the 3 pillars and my own leadership mantra of HUMBLE, HUNGRY, and HUSTLE. If your leadership journey is just beginning, or you have been walking in it for years, this book is tailored made to help you be a better leader now, and ultimately guide you to the finish line well.

And, as a special bonus::: anyone who purchases the book this week, from September 22-27, scan and send your receipt to h3leadership@gmail.com and you'll receive over $100 of extra leadership resources for FREE, all for simply purchasing the book during release week from any outlet.

If you're interested in purchasing 5 or even 10 copies of the book, there are way more goodies for you. Check them out. 

Thanks for being on this journey with me. I believe together we can be a force for good. Change makers all raising the tide of leadership. Impacting our generation. Let's do this!

Again, you can purchase here! 

5 Points on Decision Making as a Leader

Leaders are decision makers. Period. Whatever the time of year and season of life, lots of decisions are probably on your desk or in your to do list waiting to be pushed forward. It's something we must do. Constantly.

So here a few thoughts on making decisions:

1. Understand that it's part of your job. Making decisions as a leader is normal and ordinary and required. It's why you are a leader. Embrace it.

2. Sleep on the big ones. For big decisions, always sleep on them. The extra time will allow your decision to be made without the spontaneous emotion that comes with a spontaneous response.

3. Know your values. As Roy Disney stated, "It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are." Many times indecision occurs because of lack of clarity on vision and values. Values are foundational and must be in place in order to move the organization forward.

4. Understand the context. Do your homework and make sure you are informed. Plus be aware of the situation- in the case of a good/bad decision, those are pretty easy. In the case of a better/best decision, those take a bit more time to push forward and get to a final decision. Different decisions require different levels of involvement, awareness, and information.

5. Just do it. Create a culture of action in your organization. Many leaders quickly become overwhelmed with several decisions in front of them and then unintentionally paralyze the organization by avoiding them all. Create a system of action that demands completion and execution, and ultimately your system/culture will demand decisions from you.

Young Influencers List, August Edition

Here you go, the August edition of the Young Influencers List.

1. Britt Nilsson- former bachelorette, aspiring actress, and World Vision sponsor advocate and spokesperson.

2. Todd Adkins- director of Leadership at LifeWay, co-host of the 5 Leadership Questions Podcast, and keeper of Ministry Grid.

3. Drew Bodine- worship leader at Central Christian Church in Las Vegas.

4. Eric Brown and Taylor Jones- co-founders of Whiteboard, an interactive branding agency in Chattanooga.

5. Annie Brooks- Colorado based photog, artist and creative designer, and the other part of the duo of Brumley and Wells wedding photography.

6. Lance Villio- Nashville based executive director of Q Ideas.

7. Rich Perez- pastor of Christ Crucified Fellowship in NYC.

Avoiding a BIG Land Mine for Leaders

Leaders: Who are you accountable to?

1. Who speaks truth into your life? Your spouse? Your best friend? Your boss? Your co-workers? Your small group?

2. Who has the right to honestly tell you when you are wrong, and make sure you stay in touch with reality?

3. Who is asking you the difficult questions that everyone else around you may be thinking but don't want to bring up?

4. Do you have someone, or a group of people, who will challenge you, tell you when you are wrong, confront you on the tough issues, and make your aware of areas where you might be missing the mark?

If not, figure this out. Quick. If you are surrounded by only yes people, you're probably unaware of things that could be jeopardizing your leadership. This is a major land mine for leaders.

We all have dysfunctions. Every leader does. But our healthy response to our own dysfunctions depends on how much we let others "in" and give them full access to pushing back and kicking us in the tail if we are off base.

For many leaders, the greatest threat to our influence right now is our tendency to read our own press clippings, and continually put a "wall" up around us that protects us from any kind of honest feedback.

Don't do this. Avoid the temptation to "remove" yourself from healthy accountability. Refuse the impulse to start surrounding yourself with people who are there only to protect you from reality. Insulation itself is not bad, but too much of it will allow reality deprivation to set in, which can be costly.

We need people around us who will tell us what we don't want to hear, when we don't want to hear it. Identify these people in your life, and give them full access to keeping you in check.

So, my question to you.... who is this in your life?