3 Things Leaders Do That We All Should Too

**Note:  The outline and principles I am sharing today come directly from Pastor Craig Groeschel on a leadership talk he gave.  I highly suggest his books and leadership podcast!  You can find him here.

What makes a great leader great?

For that matter, what makes a great man great?

These are things I often think about and pursue and think we all should too.  As you've heard before and is wise to consider:  find out what successful people are doing (that you'd like to do too) and then do what they do!

For much of my life, this has been my approach and it is certainly the approach I take with my online Fight Club and men's ministry, called Get In The Fight: find successful men and do what they're doing.

We're going to do that together in this blog post and learn about 3 things that Pastor Groeschel says great leaders do.  As you will see, I believe that all men should do these too.

1. Define what winning looks like

In baseball, everybody knows what a win looks like.  How do we know?  Because there is a large scoreboard that everyone can see that keeps track of how many runs are scored throughout the game.  At the end of the game, whichever team has scored the most points wins the contest.

Recognizing along the way if you are - or aren't - winning the game is easy to understand.

Sadly, for most of us regular dudes out here living our lives and going about our day-to-day lives, we simply have no clue what winning is defined as for us.

In the new year, we often spend a few minutes contemplating such issues but its almost always too vague. 

"Get in better shape."

"Become a better husband."

"Grow in knowledge."

But what do those statements even mean?  Those are really just wishes - not clearly defined wins.

Clearly defined goals would be more like: "Lose 8 pounds by June 1st."  Or, "Date my wife once a month and write here kind notes each week to show my appreciation." Or, "Read 1 chapter of a new book each day."

You get the point, I hope.  To become the man that God meant for you to be, you'll need to start by clearly defining what you want to achieve and state those "wins" in clearly defined terms.

2. Decrease your distractions

This is a biggie and we all should recognize it quickly.

We are utterly distracted each and every day.  It's hard not to be!  According to one researcher, the average person touches their cell phone around 3,000 times per day!  Think about the absurdity of that.  Those who are on the obsessive side of the scale reportedly do so more than 5,000 times per day.

Unsurprisingly, we are distracted beyond our capability to focus and do our best.

To become better, stronger men, we must recognize what distractions are in our way and not just throw up our hands in defeat.  Instead, we need to create new habits and create doable plans to take on this big issue and win in areas of our lives that matter most.

Here's why:  you'll never make a BIG impact if you're constantly pulled away by every small distraction.

Read that last sentence again and maybe memorize it for future use.

You can't be your best when you're attention is pulled in too many directions.  Let's face it, most of the directions we're being pulled in aren't noble or worthy of our time.  Social media is an obviously big contributor to this, but so also are the annoying notifications that "ding" at you when an email has showed up or a text has come through.  Then there's kids coming in to your room when you're trying to get something done so they can ask you something that's "really important!" - like where mom put the cereal they like or what the plans are later.  

You get the point.  We're distracted by a million different things and its hurting our ability to be great.  Make some time today, then, to identify where your distractions are most likely coming from and make a plan to decrease the distance between you and them.  Do whatever it takes!

3. Focus on the process - not the results

I don't know about you, but this is a hard one for me.  I am a results-oriented guy and I like to see progress being made.  But some of this is detrimental to my overall life and goals.  As Pastor Groeschel said, "Results don't create results.  Actions do."

So, that's where we need to shift our focus and energy to - the actions we'll take to reach our goals.

Once you've done step #1 above and clearly defined your goals and then you've created space and distance from your distractions that are keeping you from reaching them, the next step is to put all of your attention and focus on your process.

Ask yourself:  What is the process that could best help me achieve my goals and get me where I want to go?

Once you've spent some time identifying that, you simply need to do some trial and error and then obsessively do the process over and over. 

Guess what will happen when you do this?  The results will show up!

But what if the results you get from your process aren't exactly what you wanted them to be?  (Good question!)

Answer:  refine the process or change the goals!

If you're not getting the results you want then those are the two areas to think long and hard about.  You either have the wrong goals or the wrong process.  Pray, think, and re-do both, if necessary, and you'll find your way and be one step closer to greatness.

These 3 things are what many great leaders do.  Do them yourself and see what results from it.  My guess is that you'll grow, learn a lot, and become more of the man that God meant for you to be along the way!

Great leaders love to be around other great men.  That's what The Fight Club is all about!  

Learn more about it here - and join today!