An Artificial World
As you can see, my goal for these blog posts is to lead the next generation well. I want desperately to do that. If you share my passion for this goal, go with me on a journey over the next six Mondays, where we’ll attempt to understand the world in which this emerging generation (Generation Y) has grown up in,
A Generation of Paradox
I had the privilege of doing a webinar this afternoon for a great group of youth workers in Alaska. Part of our discussion was on the fact that today’s students represent a generation of paradox. Although many of them are advanced biologically, cognitively, and socially, they are often stunted in their emotional growth. Here are seven observations I’ve made: Paradox One: They
Time Can Be Your Best Employee
I met with Derek last week to talk over my results on the EQi, the Emotional Quotient Inventory. As a proctor, he helped me make sense of my scores, and where I had peaks and valleys in my emotional intelligence. One issue that surfaced three times in our conversation was time. He noticed I feel extremely urgent about time. I hate
Leading the Next Generation Well: Over-Served
We are in the age of the “Wanted Child.” Sixty years ago, Dr. Benjamin Spock told parents to allow kids to express themselves and build a strong self-esteem. Today, we have taken this to an extreme. These kids most assuredly have developed a strong self-esteem. According to a nationwide high school survey, over 80% believe they are very important people.
Do Faith and Leadership Contradict Each Other?
I realize I have lots of different people who read my blog posts -- some of whom faith is very important to them and others who would say faith is not an important part of their life. However, I think anyone will benefit from the issue I want to tackle here: Should being a person of faith (or should being
Leading the Next Generation Well: Over-Protected
This young generation has grown up with safety seats, safety belts and safety policies on everything. They can’t ride a bike without a helmet, and they stay inside for most of their childhood, in front of a screen. I call them “screenagers.” As parents, we don’t want them out of our sight. We feel we are protecting our future by
What Scares Me Most About Leaders and Followers Today
Over the last two years, "we the people" of the United States have become "up on arms" over the scandals on Wall Street. Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford swindled -- not millions -- but billions of dollars from folks who trusted them. On top of that, Americans scoffed at the bailout dollars given to automakers like Chrysler and GM. And
EQ and IQ in Students
It’s very sad, but very true. This past week, the sixth student fell from a hotel balcony in Panama City, Florida to his death, during spring break. Tragic. What grabbed my attention about these stories of high school and college students is this. In every case, the parents said: “But he was a really good kid. A very smart kid.”
Leading the Next Generation Well: Over-Connected
Last week I blogged about young people feeling overwhelmed. It leads to a second problem. Frequently, youth respond in one of two ways to being overwhelmed. One, they push back and get lost in a virtual world of Second Life and video games, or a social world of Facebook and texting. It’s a coping mechanism. They survive by escaping reality