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This text was used as background in information in one of my communication classes in my undergraduate experience. We didn't read the whole book, just excerpts in class. Communication is something that we all do and as leaders we need to be keenly aware of how we communicate. I think good communication can motivate and energize people so that they can be the best people that they can be. As a pastor who speaks from the pulpit, I know that every little movement and word affects the message I am communicating. I feel this text can show us as leaders how we need to manage our communication.

A Leadership Blog Tag line is "Building a Community of Leaders"

This is a promising site, so I thought I'd share.

I read about this conference in Christian Century (April 5, 2011) a leadership conference about failing, recovering, learning from mistakes, and community reassurance.  It's being held in a failed church that is now a bar!

Todd Sears had been openly gay as a student at Duke University in Durham, N.C. So he didn't expect the need to be secretive about being "out" after he graduated in 1998 to work on Wall Street. But soon after he started his entry-level job as a financial analyst for an investment bank, he heard someone at a nearby desk say a derogatory word toward gays. He soon learned the traditional Wall Street work environment, with its stereotypically rigid culture, was anything but welcoming to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. He conceived of the idea of gathering the major Wall Street banks in an event for the LGBT community and 10 years later he finally pulled it off.

A gesture of friendship for my Christian (especially Methodist) friends in Leadership, but also I think this is a good leadership model of using new media and technology to send out a very old message, and also of adding a substantial level of communication by signing as well as speaking the message. And as a bishop, of course, we are looking at a religious leader in action. Happy Easter, all.

A helpful reminder about e-mail (and, perhaps, moodle posting) communication for leaders/administrators

I don't know, Debbie. I think addressing someone on email by their first name followed by a colon (or not) isn't stiff and cold. I think starting an email with no salutation is cold. (Different strokes for different folks, perhaps.)

I think I agree with you, Judy, or at least I appreciate your reflection of different strokes. My sense is that it differs depending on a whole lot of variables, including sender, reader, topic, and so much more. For example, when someone who doesn't know me is asking for something from me, I tend to respond better to an e-mail that begins with "Dear Dr. Creamer" and then is well written and somewhat formal (but not too long). On the other hand, if it's someone I know sending me something like a brief piece of information, simply including my name (at the beginning with, or without, a colon, or in the first line) is more than sufficient. And when it's the introduction to a forwarded message ("Saw this and thought you'd appreciate it") or a quick reminder ("Just to follow up on what I just told you in the hallway, our meeting will be Tuesday at 2"), I wouldn't need (or expect) my name to be there at all. Maybe what I most appreciate from this post, then, is the reminder to be thoughtful about not just what we say but how we say it, particularly in a space like e-mail that can so easily carry misunderstandings.

Some best practices of professional leaders of companies with happy employees: -Focus on the mission. Teach For America urges all staffers to spend time in classrooms to see how they make a difference. -Communicate openly. At Dreamworks, Katzenberg blogs frequently for the entire staff. -At Zappo, senior employees receive no benefits that aren't also given to junior hires.

I found this to be interesting and feel conflicted as I read it. I once did a final paper on research I gathered on leaders of the 60's and 70's in the communal movement in this country. I traveled to many and interviewed people and the issue of innappropriate sexual activity did not escape them either.

These are often on the conservative side, but some are very usable for mainstream churches and they are free.

not a good name, but a site worth checking out

Had dinner here last night. Owner had a problem with one server. Had a quiet talk with her at the bar, his back to the customers. She protested but he persisted, quietly, gently. She ended up hugging him and going back to work. The genial atmosphere communicated authentic leadership to me. Also, interesting to note how business are using social media as this cafe does in lieu of a harder to manage website.

This young man is a visionary leader. A boy with a dream and the open-mindedness to see what could be. As we travel through all of the amzaing, rhyming ways that this fellow will change this space we are challenged as a reader with what we can see and do beyond our own walls. Although the intended audience is most likely children, adults alike can gain perspective, be challenged, and appreciate the places that we can go when we let our mind wonder.

There are a few books that Dr Seuss wrote for adults and this sounds like one of them. The other that comes to mind is the Butter Battle Book before the fall of Communism. Thanks for posting it. I will check it out.

Interesting column about the UMC, young pastors, new church plants and the future.

Vivian, Loved this article! I have been thinking more and more about what our future looks like, what the future of worship and church community will be - obviously we need to be looking at "re-thinking" what church really is. I loved ths: "John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, was quoted as saying: "The world is my parish." He did not say "the people that show up to this particular building on a Sunday are my parish." I am feeling led to begin to vision what it looks like to see the WORLD as our parish and really stop worrying so much about the building and get out in our neighborhoods and BE church. Thanks for sharing! Sandy

As both parties head into a week of negotiations on the federal budget, it strikes me that the language and actions of leaders have a real impact on those they lead. How can one hold firmly to principles while retaining open lines of communication? As we seek to lead our churches or non-profit organizations, and especially as we seek to act in ways that are just and allow those who are marginalized a seat at the table of power, it seems to me that we are most likely to succeed when we speak with respect to and about all involved.