Tough Choices

What a blessing it was today to be able to go to The Leadership Summit sponsored by Willow Creek with a couple men from our church. I went with the mentality of...what can I learn about leading? What I didn't know is how the conference would change my entire perspective and consequently future actions.

During the second session Carly Fiorina who was the president and cheif executive officer of HP for 6 years while landing herself on the cover of magazines being called America's most powerful woman, spoke directly to my heart. Carly wrote a book entitled, Tough Choices that is on Bill Hybel's top ten best leadership books and in the book she describes the ups and downs of being at the top.

Here are a few things that she wrote that challenged my though process:

Character Counts...Integrity Matters...Authenticity is everything! Do what your passionate about. Management and leadership are different. Management tells people what to do where as leadership inspires, encourages, challenges, it is about seeing & unlocking potential in others. There is a passion in what we do and there should be a dispassion in us as well. Being able to seperate ourselves enough from the issues of life to step back and see the truth. How true that proves to be in life. Knowing the answer is less important than asking the right questions. Motivation is key to success. People are afraid to try new things. It is key to give people a vision that is more compelling than their fears. All very important thoughts that she expressed today.

Three little words that were said convicted and shook me to my core. "NO MATTER WHAT!" Three simple words with so much meaning. For each one of us they mean something different. To remain true to ourselves, to remain true to God, to our spouse and our kids.

The higher up you go in leadership sometimes the lonelier it gets. It's great when you can work with a team that inspires and challenges you on a daily basis, but even in the midst of an incredible team you can sometimes still feel incredibly lonliness. When I am alone in my house I hear all the noises in the house and there is a fear that takes over. The same when you feel alone in life you hear all the noises around you as well but sometimes they come in the form of complaints, concerns, ridicules, questions and lies. What I have learned from great men around me is that staying silent is the greatest defense to your character. There is no sense in defending yourself or something, when there is no truth in it to begin with.

One final thought that God impressed upon my heart was, don't let other peoples' smaller view of you define who you are. In life we will disapoint, fail and not live up to other's expectations. We all face those moments when others will do the same to us. The key is to remember that no matter what, we are created in His image, for His purpose, and for His plan. Ultimately it does not matter what people think or say about us as long as we stay true to ourselves in Christ. Each one of us is faced with tough choices, those moments where we can compromise our character and integrity by choosing poorly, or we can be authentic and the "truth will set us free", becuase we chose "NO MATTER WHAT!"