Encouragement and Strength

Many people see an encourager as someone who is weak. You see this especially in the corporate world when leadership is often looked at as a top-down, "do as I say not as I do" chain of command. However, real leadership understands that without front line people no job or goals will be accomplished.

A leader must be an encourager. A leader shows strength as he encourages his or her team. Being an encourager doesn't mean that you're a pushover, it means just the opposite. Using the power of encouragement in leadership means that goals will be set, pursued, and accomplished. The leader must encourage team members to stay on task. The leader must assure the team members that any obstacle can be overcome. The days of barking out orders and doing nothing as a leader are over. People want to see authentic leaders get their hands dirty in the trenches with them.

Some of the most inspirational documentaries I have ever watched were about the training of the elite Special Forces that serve our country. One particular documentary showed a soldier in training struggling with claustrophobia. The soldier was required to lay on his back and push himself through a tunnel with his feet while at the same time being covered with muddy water. The soldier froze with fear. To help this soldier overcome the obstacle, the leader got down alongside the soldier and together they pushed through the tunnel to emerge victorious on the other side. In the same way, by harnessing the power of encouragement you as a leader bring strength to the organization.

Here are some things to keep in mind concerning encouragement and strength:

• Encouragement Is A Sign of Strength - When the leader encourages, he shows true strength.
• Encouragement Is A Sign of Courage - When the leader harnesses encouragement he demonstrates courage because he comes alongside his team and shows them there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
• Encouragement Is A Sign of Vision - When a leader encourages, he demonstrates vision. Encouraging his team shows that he believes the goal in front of the team is going to be accomplished.
• Encouragement Is A Sign of Integrity - When the leader encourages his team, he demonstrates a willingness to have vision and to implement that vision. Implementing vision is a sign of integrity.

I want to encourage you to harness the power of encouragement. If you are a leader, speak words of life to your team. Build your team with words of encouragement and with demonstrations of appreciation. When you do, you will lead with an understanding that your goals will become reality.

Be Encouraged,
Rick

Encouragement and Perseverance

Have you ever just wanted to quit? Maybe a difficult circumstance or even difficult people have caused you to feel like throwing in the towel. Perseverance depends on being encouraged. There are times when people or circumstances create fear, anxiety, and frustration. When this happens the temptation is to quit but the power of encouragement feeds perseverance. When you encourage somebody you help them to persevere, which in turn brings incredible results!

When you harness encouragement to help somebody persevere, new levels of achievement are created. The power of an encouraging word pushes people past discouragement. Encouraging words help people to overcome and press on. Webster’s dictionary defines perseverance as “continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.”

The power of encouragement pushes people past their failures and opposition to achieve success in spite of all the difficulties. In leadership, encouragement is an asset not a weakness. People at all levels of leadership should learn how to encourage. Encouragement empowers others.

Think of the following as you lead others to persevere:

• Encouragement Motivates - Encouragement motivates people to push past boundaries that normally would prevent them from achieving their goals.
• Encouragement Empowers - Encouragement empowers people to take control of the negative circumstance and turn it around. It empowers people to move beyond the norm.
• Encouragement Fosters Perseverance - Every leader will lead people through the land of perseverance. There will be difficult times and what looks like impossible odds. The power of encouragement fosters perseverance so that whatever lay before us can be overcome.
• Encouragement Fosters Courage - The power of encouragement fosters courage. It takes courage to face a difficult circumstance and to overcome fear, frustration and anxiety. It is the power of encouragement that fosters the courage to develop, dream, and succeed.
• Encouragement Renders Results - When you lead a team you have to be the encourager. You must help those that follow believe that the critical circumstance can be overcome. It may take out-of-the-box thinking. It may take new ways of looking at things. When you harness the power of encouragement you lead others and organizations to new places.

You will meet people who need to persevere. I challenge you to encourage perseverance. If you are leading an organization you are responsible for that organization persevering. Whatever the circumstance, harness the power of encouragement to open doors of possibilities.

Be Encouraged,

Rick

Encouragement and Freedom

Did you know that using the gift of encouragement brings freedom? There are many things that hold us captive in life and so many things pressing into our life that rob us of our joy. The power of encouragement creates freedom for both the one who gives the encouragement and for the one who receives encouragement.

Negativity surrounds us all the time and speaks into our life constantly. What if we harnessed all that negativity and packaged it into intermittent words of encouragement? I once had a part-time job as a chat facilitator. It's a customer service job that deals with negativity much of the time. My job was to type instructions to front line customer service agents that are receiving phone calls. What they often feel is negativity from both the customer and from the company. I decided to harness the power of encouragement and post encouraging phrases in the chat room while our customer service agents received calls.

What happened next was a surprise. I really didn't think anyone would pay attention. I posted simple things like “You guys rock!” and I started receiving chat messages back like, “Thank you! Very few people tell us that! You rock too!”  It's amazing - when you use the power of encouragement to free yourself from negativity it also frees everyone around you. It's like a bird being released from a cage.

Here are some reasons why practicing encouragement is such a freeing experience:

• You Are Set Free from Negativity - If we're not careful, we can become agents of negativity simply by association. I've always been told we are no more effective than those we put around us. You will draw positive people by being encouraging and positive yourself.
• You Set Others Free from Negativity - By harnessing the power of encouragement and using it in everyday life you're able to set the pace for others to follow.
• You Are Set Free From the Norm - What if somebody makes fun of you for being an encourager? So what! Go against the grain! Speak positive words to everyone you meet! Swim against the current of negativity and emerge gifting others with the power of encouragement.
• You Are Set Free from Discouragement – Negativity is the source of much of the discouragement that we feel in our lives.  It can stem from negative experiences, negative words from others, or a pattern of negativity you've set for yourself. I hate feeling discouraged! I want to be free from discouragement as much as possible so I can see the path in front of me.
• You Are Set Free to See True Potential - I don't like being around people that put others down. I believe that in leadership we must be trained to see the potential in every person. Everyone has something to offer that is positive. When I harness the power of encouragement I am set free to see true potential in everyone.

Be empowered today to give the gift of encouragement to others around you. You will be excited to see how new paths develop for the person you're speaking life into, and for yourself as well.

Be Encouraged,

Rick