Category: Leadership

[Training Boys to be Future Leaders Summary] Pulling It All Together. I’ve covered seven different characteristics J. Oswald Sanders considers essential to leadership: Discipline, Vision, Wisdom, Decision, Courage, Humility, and Integrity and Sincerity. We’ve discussed how you can train your boys to reach these goals. These thoughts focus on parents, but apply to coaches or other leaders, too. You must add one additional ingredient to make an impact on any young man’s life. You must care about him and his training. If you don’t show it, he won’t own it. No matter how exhausted you are at the end of… Continue reading

Leadership Essential #7 – Integrity and Sincerity The Integrity Issue If you interact with anyone without integrity, you will understand quickly that you cannot trust them. The boy lacking integrity will tell you one thing and do another. Then, even when caught in the act, they will lie or try to explain away what they have done. They will not be honest. Could you work with an employee like this? Would this be a model boy to use as an example? I would say a resounding “No” in both cases. What Are Integrity and Sincerity? Integrity has several definitions. The… Continue reading

Leadership Essential #6 – Humility What Does Humble Look Like? (AKA – I Didn’t Build That) Humbleness is the result of understanding that all we are and do is part of a master-plan. Not one of us is the ultimate architect, but each is a steward of all he has been given. All human achievements come not through the one person, but the efforts of those under that individual’s authority. All authority emanates from God any man must shoulder authority given to him with submissive obedience and self-sacrifice to his Creator. Dying to Self. Boys must learn that no matter… Continue reading

{Courage} Training Boys to be Future Leaders, Part 6 Courage is… Oswald Sanders provides an insightful definition. Courage is “that quality of mind which enables men to encounter danger or difficulty with firmness, or without fear or depression of spirits.” Fail Forward. No, that’s not a typo. Sometimes, instead of failing and falling backward, your boy needs to fall, or rather, fail forward. It’s a mindset—a positive spin on what’s commonly seen as a negative result. Look for progress. Most failure is not final. Boys tend to be natural explorers with their mind, heart, body, or soul. But you can… Continue reading

{Decision} Training Boys to be Future Leaders, Part 5 The Mark of a True Leader. We’ve learned about teaching boys discipline, vision, and wisdom. These are all foundation stones for the next facet of leadership—decision. “When all the facts are in, swift and clear decision is the mark of a true leader.” J. Oswald Sanders Despite the consequences, the will of the crowd, the objections of those with less information or understanding, the leader stands for the harder right, not the easier wrong. We see this in many of the great leaders in the Bible and in world leaders. But… Continue reading

{Wisdom} Training Boys to be Future Leaders, Part 4 What is true and right? The third essential leadership characteristic for boys is wisdom. According to Dictionary.com, “wisdom is knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action.” How do we teach our boys wisdom when their immediate concerns are about friends, sports, girls, or the latest, hottest car? Wisdom is often caught, not taught. Human knowledge, facts and history, can be taught. Taking action in specific situations, or a variety of them, can be taught or trained. But wisdom entails applying knowledge rightly in new… Continue reading

{Vision} Training Boys to be Future Leaders, Part 3 What do you see? The second essential leadership characteristic for boys is vision. Vision is looking beyond the current situation to a future goal or end-state. In order to see in this fashion, your boy must move from the concrete world around him to the abstract world of concepts and visualization of the future. Imagination plays a significant role in the development of a new vision. When I was young, my Mom and Dad encouraged me to think, create, and play. Parents have a great impact on a boy’s ability to… Continue reading

{Discipline} Training Boys to be Future Leaders, Part 2 Am I Raising a Boy or a Future Man? Parents often focus on raising boys and not on raising a mature man. However, the end result desired in this process is a man capable of handling the world’s challenges, not a boy unable to cope. To reach this goal, your boy must take on responsibilities that will make him a man. External discipline will help develop internal control. Teach younger boys to put away toys, clean rooms, and help with chores (inside and outside the house). Be creative and make learning… Continue reading

Introduction Who’s In Control? The media controls our minds and our lives. True or false? Unfortunately, for many this is a true statement. But it doesn’t have to be true for you or your children. A leader, a mature man or woman, can take charge of the media and all other factors in their lives. Spiritual Leadership Using J. Oswald Sanders book, Spiritual Leadership, I’ll spend time laying out his time-honored principles and how we can apply them to the raising of our boys in today’s complex environment. Why not girls? Do the principles apply to them as well? Of… Continue reading