Generally, I stick with things that work. When I find a pair of shoes I like, I buy 7 or 8 pairs so I have a new pair for several years to come. I mean who needs the headache of finding new ones all the time? I have a well-organized closet with a cache of particular items that I have deemed perfect fits for me. Items like 9 of the same toothbrushes, 3 pair of the exact same gloves, fourteen pair of my go-to lip balm, twenty-three moleskin notebooks, a case of mechanical pencils (0.9 mm lead thickness), and 3 boxes of the exact same black ink ballpoint pens.
My wife tells people I’m “special” but that’s her Southern way of calling me “weird.” You should know that if someone says “Bless your heart” in the South, that isn’t a good thing. In fact, it’s a type of cuss word, and you’ve just been insulted. My wife’s comments aside, some could argue I have a dysfunction. Personally, I just feel that with so much uncertainty in this crazy world, I think it’s wise to stick with a few proven performers. It’s the same bent to stay with what works that excites me about attending The Global Leadership Summit each summer with my staff. It never disappoints.
Now before I explain the impact it’s had on me, my staff and our church, let me acknowledge a few things. I am indeed a fan of Willow Creek and Bill Hybels. I know it’s uncool in some trendy Christian circles to actually like something big or successful. Sometimes, I feel we give too much authority to cynicism and discount the fan. When did being positive become so uncool? Well, I’m a lot of things but cool and unbiased isn’t any of them. Consequently, I would make a really bad journalist. When I was presented with the honor of interviewing Bill Hybels, I found this as an opportunity to stretch myself in a new area only to find that I have no ability to take notes and hold a real conversation. I was really bad at this. It took no time before I started asking questions that had nothing to do with Bill and The Summit and instead, began to use the time to extract wisdom for my own leadership challenges. Yeah, pretty uncool for you but it really helped me, and so let’s chalk it up as a win for leaders everywhere. Okay?
Alright, now that we have disclaimers out of the way and everyone knows where I stand, let’s dig in.
It was during this recent interview with Bill Hybels that I was able to hear his heart about The Global Leadership Summit and what he felt was its future and some highlights from past Summits. I was also a little curious to find out if the heat about Leadership was as white hot as it looks like from the back of an auditorium. I wanted to find out if his involvement in the GLS would continue since he and Willow Creek Church are actively looking for his successor. And I was not disappointed. Two seconds into the conversation, Bill made it clear that the GLS would remain a passion of his for years to come.
Now I’ve met my fair share of leaders on brief sit downs, but few have spoken with such force right out of the gate. He had his feet up and was leaned back, but that was the only sign of any relaxation. When Bill talks about leadership, he sounds more like a freight train than a leader. I’m not sure about his age, but his passion and ideas seem as young and energized as ever.
Like I said earlier, I’m not a skilled interviewer, so I often got more caught up in the conversation than I should have. Yes, I did take pages of notes, but I wasn’t really worried about losing information because my trusted copilot, Cortland, was recording the whole thing on his iPhone. Of course, after the interview on our way home, Cortland dropped his iPhone in the toilet in the Chicago Midway Airport. I’ve seen Cortland play basketball, and trust me, he couldn’t win at Horse, but here he was giving me the play-by-play of how he made an unbelievable 3-point play and flushed Bill. Look, I like Bill . . . but not enough to dig that phone out.
On the plane ride home, I began to panic a little. After paging through what I did write down, I realized that for almost eighteen years I had been shaped by all the things I had just heard. In many ways, sitting down with Bill was just a reminder of what he has done for years. Bill and the GLS have smashed an environment of leadership and developing at the church until it has changed or culture. For example, when I asked Bill about his personal favorite talks from past Summit Conferences, he mentioned the interview he did with Jack Welch. The Summit was where I actually heard about Jack Welch for the first time. I personally have found his books to be eye-opening and essential brass tacks in leadership. One of the best leadership quotes I ever heard came from Jack when he said, “Before you’re a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” I have carried that into all facets of my leadership life.
