John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, once defined leadership in these terms: ”If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

That’s a great definition.  You’ve probably heard that leadership is influence (thanks to John Maxwell).  That’s true.  If you’re not influencing someone, you’re not leading them.  Take Maxwell’s definition and through it in the blender with President Adam’s definition — and you have a really good definition of leadership.

Ask yourself the following questions …

• Do the people I lead dream bigger dreams than before?
• Do the people I lead show a desire to learn more than before?
• Do the people I lead do more on their own initiative, without my prompting?
• Do the people I lead become better leaders?

Here’s why many leaders will struggle with these questions: for them, leadership isn’t about those they lead — it’s about themselves.  Production-oriented leaders may still have influence (and by definition still be a leader), but they may be failing to harness the power of inspiration.

The power of inspiration enables a team to go further than a production-mindset allows.  Teams that are dreaming more, learning more, doing more, and becoming more will accomplish more.

Adams’ definition of leadership applies across many landscapes.  Parenting, coaching, pastoring, managing, mentoring.

If you applied the four questions above to your key relationships, how would they change?

For those who remember, boxing legend Muhammad Ali never lacked for bravado.  On many occasions, he would say of himself, “I am the greatest!”

Once while flying to a fight, Ali refused to buckle his seatbelt despite being told many times.  The flight attendant kept insisting, but Ali said, “Superman don’t need no seatbelt.”  Finally, the fast-thinking attendant replied, “Superman don’t need no plane.”

Ali buckled his seatbelt.

Muhammad Ali experienced an attitude adjustment.

For those of us who have given our lives to Christ, the cross offers us a different way of looking at life:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

“If you give in to “just this once,” based on a marginal-cost analysis, you’ll regret where you end up. That’s the lesson I learned: it’s easier to hold to your principles 100 percent of the time than it is to hold to them 98 percent of the time. The boundary—your personal moral line—is powerful because you don’t cross it; if you have justified doing it once, there’s nothing to stop you doing it again.”

– Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School

A black hole is a “region of space-time where gravity is so strong that nothing that enters the region, not even light, can escape” (Wikipedia).

Black holes are the enemies of good ideas.

A father can become a black hole if he puts down every suggestion.  Children want to be affirmed, to feel valued.  No one wants to be constantly put-down.  The easiest way to avoid a put-down?  Offer no suggestions.

A boss can become a black hole if he or she believes every good idea must originate with them.  Employees who offer ideas only to see them dry up or go unused will eventually stop offering ideas.

A friend can become a black hole if they treat opinions with sarcasm.  Not every opinion is equal.  Not every opinion is correct.  But every opinion is personal, even the most hair-brained idea.  Sarcasm communicates a lack of appreciation — not just for the opinion, but for the person.

A black hole is anything that shuts down the production of good ideas.  The question for any leader, father, or friend is this: am I creating the kind of environment where good ideas go to die?

Yesterday, Forbes Online had a great article about serial entrepreneurs — those men and women who love to start things.  It’s part of a series on entrepreneurship.  If you’re a church planter, I’d encourage you to read the entire series.  Here are the three characteristics they highlighted.

Serial Entrepreneurs:

• Believe that talented and motivated teams are the entrepreneur’s most valuable asset. They know that the persistence, expertise, ideas, and foolishness that they went though on their journey are all required.
• Tend to ask more questions and make fewer assertions.
• Often realize that the chase itself is the reward.

Are you a serial entrepreneur or church planter?

Several times in the New Testament we hear the phrase (or a variation), “come to your senses.”  The prodigal son “came to his senses” (Luke 15:17).  In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul writes “come back to your senses as you ought” (v. 34).

It’s an interesting phrase. It could literally read, “Come back to your right mind.”

In other words, there are right minds and wrong minds.  Right ways of thinking and harmful ways of thinking.  There are times when we are thinking straight, and other times when our thinking is clouded and foggy.

When a person returns to their senses, they are returning to their right mind.  A change in behavior is often precipitated by a change in thinking.  Unless you change the way you think, you’ll likely stay in the same ruts.

When a person “makes no sense,” there is something out of alignment between their thoughts, words, or deeds.

What do you do that helps you return to your senses?

Yesterday afternoon, while driving home from a radio interview, I got word that Junior Seau had died.  The initial reports were saying it was a suicide; a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.  For those who don’t know, Junior Seau was an All-Pro linebacker for the San Diego Chargers for many years.

I never met Junior Seau, though we were once in the same room together (that is, if you consider Jack Murphy Stadium/Qualcomm one big room).  But his reputation and image were well-known and much loved in San Diego.

All deaths are tragic.  Every person who dies was someone’s son or daughter.  But if it’s true that Seau committed suicide, I have to wonder why.  Why would someone so well-loved and so active in the community get to the point of taking their own life?  One news report (in USA Today) said this came with “zero warning.”

These sorts of stories lead to all sorts of questions:

• What was missing?
• What could have been done?
• Where there any symptoms?

The truth is, every person is unique.  And yet, we are so much alike.  Every person shares the same basic needs: to be loved and accepted, to feel needed, and to have meaning behind what they do.

No one may have seen this coming — including Seau himself.

In their song, “War on Drugs,” the Barenaked Ladies have these words:

“Won’t it be dull when we rid ourselves \ Of all these demons haunting us \ To keep us company”

If you know someone who has demons haunting them, don’t be afraid to step in.  Speak up.  Confront them.  Love them.  Get them help.

If you’re battling a demon or two, please know this: you’re not alone.  There’s other company you can keep.

Junior Seau, 1969-2012

Over at the Gospel Coalition blog, I read a recent post by Paul Tripp about how one’s perspective on their ministry changes as they grow older.  In particular, I liked how he contrasted astronauts with archeologists.  I’ve included a snippet below.  I’d encourage you to read the entire post.

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The longer you’re in pastoral ministry, the more you move from being an astronaut to an archaeologist. When you’re young, you’re excitedly launching to worlds unknown. You have all of the major decisions of life and ministry before you, and you can spend your time assessing your potential and considering opportunities. It’s a time of exploration and discovery. It’s a time to go where you’ve never been before and do what you’ve never done. It’s a time to begin to use your training and gain experience.

But as you get older in ministry, you begin to look back at least as much as you look forward. As you look back, you tend to dig through the mound of the civilization that was your past life and ministry, looking for pottery shards of thoughts, desires, choices, actions, words, decisions, and relationships. You can’t help but assess how you have done with what you have been given.

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Because of the beauty of the Internet and six degrees of separation (clicking from Tim Spivey to Jim Martin to Ian Cron), I came across this great article by Ian Cron entitled “Is Jesus Just Background Music in Your Life?”

The article was inspired by a coffee shop conversation with a friend, Rob Mathes, who said this about the music playing in the background: ““When brilliant compositions are used for background music it desensitizes people to their genius.”

It’s an interesting article to read.

Has Jesus become background music in your life?

“The words influence and influenza are cousins.” — David Jeremiah

We are a contagious people and not just when it comes to germs and viruses and hand sanitizer.

Attitudes are contagious.  One sour person can sink an entire meeting.  A little grumpiness goes a long way.  On the other hand, a gentle answer to a harsh question can soften the atmosphere (that should be in the Bible!).

Vision is contagious.  I believe people are hungry for a higher purpose than Angry Birds or voting on American Idol.  A clearly articulated, passionate vision will spread — hopping from one carrier to another.

Morals (or lack of) are contagious.  Parents understand this.  It’s why we pray for our children to make good friends, to surround themselves with positive influences.  But what about at work?  When a leader lacks a moral compass, the moral temperature gets set at whatever degree is in the room and it is usually the lowest common denominator.  When you refuse to bend or twist or cut a corner, that sense of integrity becomes contagious.

Generosity is contagious.  So is compassion.  As well as kindness.

What else have you caught lately?