Leadership Development Archives | Freedom To Lead International

Storying Your Data – Part 2

By Rick Sessoms on March 30, 2020 / 2020 Blog Series, Leadership Development, Leading with Story / Leave a comment

You can read Part 1 here Organizations in virtually every sector have access to data that can offer an advantage for developing new products, helping coworkers reach their potential, and improving customer experience. Companies on average manage three times more data than they did five years ago. Many organizational leaders devote valuable time diving into these pools of data searching for patterns, problems, or potential opportunities. This analytical work can be energizing when it reveals

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Storying Your Data – Part 1

By Rick Sessoms on March 16, 2020 / 2020 Blog Series, Leadership Development, Leading with Story / Leave a comment

The organization I lead generates a bunch of data. We provide leadership development in under-resourced populations, so we have data about the number of leaders that are engaged in our programs. We have data about the number of events we conduct each quarter. We have cool data about the impact of our services on leaders. But when we began telling “Jairus’ story” to our stakeholders, the data has found a voice. Stories Attach Meaning to

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Leading with Excellence in Babylon

By Rick Sessoms on March 2, 2020 / 2020 Blog Series, Leadership Development, Missions / Leave a comment

This is Part 5 of our 2020 Blog Series. You can read the previous posts here. At times the grind of leadership can seem futile. One that could attest to that reality would have been the Old Testament prophet Daniel. He had every right to wallow in self-pity, thinking that his life and leadership were a waste. The Sunday School conception of Daniel’s days was like a continuous prime time flick of hanging out

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A Gospel of Work

By Rick Sessoms on February 17, 2020 / 2020 Blog Series, Leadership Development, Missions / Leave a comment

This is Part 4 of a Multi-Blog Series. You can read the previous posts here. The biblical idea of the “gospel” is more than simply the individual salvation of men and women. Rather, the gospel impacts everything, including our work. This more robust idea of the gospel can be seen through a four-chapter biblical narrative: (1) Creation, (2) Fall, (3) Redemption, and (4) Fulfillment. Chapter 1: Creation In the first chapter of Genesis, the

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Trajectory is Critical

By Rick Sessoms on February 3, 2020 / 2020 Blog Series, Leadership Development, Leading with Story / Leave a comment

This is Part 3 of a Multi-Blog Series. You can read Part 1 and Part 2. “One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.” About 600 million people heard these words live from Neil Armstrong when he stepped for the first time onto the surface of the moon. As the iconic news anchor Walter Cronkite narrated this historic moment over CBS News on July 20, 1969, grainy images transmitted over television screens

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The Literacy Conversation – Part 2

By Michelle Sessoms on July 8, 2019 / Leadership Development / Leave a comment

In last week’s post we were talking about what I have been perceiving all these years about two camps of people – literate and nonliterate – when the discussion of orality is had. I thought that mission groups were saying that orality works for the nonliterate and not necessarily for literate “book cultures.” I asked if that was really what the orality movement was saying. Because if that is really what people in the movement

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The Literacy Conversation – Part 1

By Michelle Sessoms on July 1, 2019 / Leadership Development, Leading with Story, Storycentric Learning / Leave a comment

I think I’ve been getting it wrong all these years. Since that time two millennia ago in Antioch when followers of the Way were first called Christians, the church has carried God’s mission to the world. Evangelism and discipleship methods have varied over the centuries and the local church’s involvement in the advancement of the kingdom of God has looked different from culture to culture and has changed with the times. During the last decade,

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The Year Ahead

By Michelle Sessoms on March 4, 2019 / Leadership Development / Leave a comment

As winter creeps slowly into spring, Freedom to Lead is also experiencing a new season. Our travel calendars are packed full from now until December. We are grateful for being able to continue what was birthed back in 2009. At the same time we wonder how to cover all the opportunities. New initiatives are being started and new dreams are being explored. 2019 is a year of possibility. This year Freedom to Lead will be

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Savoring New Stories that are Old Stories

By John Blausey on December 17, 2018 / Leadership Development / Leave a comment

Before Luke launches into Christmas, he issues a call to remember. Luke starts with a new story that is really a familiar story. It’s a story about a childless, old couple. Luke called them “righteous.” They were careful to follow all God’s commandments. They were good people, models of piety. But now they are old and childless. One day God sent his messenger, the angel Gabriel, to Zechariah, and scared the old man half to

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Will You Give Us a Seat at the Table?

By Chip DeWitt on December 11, 2018 / Leadership Development / Leave a comment

As we approach the Christmas holidays, we can’t help thinking back to our Thanksgiving. Uncle Ed likes white meat; cousin Megan dark meat. Oh yes, can’t forget the onion casserole. And we must remember to get a highchair for little Chrissy. Let’s not forget that Aunt Beth needs someone to pick her up. And we need to make the dining room table bigger. Where did we put those extension slats? It’s all so busy but so exciting

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Treasure in a Clay Jar

By Rick Sessoms on September 10, 2018 / Leadership Development, Leading with Story / Leave a comment

Frequently I ask people to name the leader who has personally influenced them the most. People typically respond describing leaders who are neither famous nor incredibly successful. In fact, they often talk about leaders who would not even be considered leaders by conventional definitions. Yet these leaders left an indelible mark. They bring to mind the Apostle Paul’s image of “treasure in jars of clay” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Common on the outside, but the content

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Remember Your Story

By Rick Sessoms on September 4, 2018 / Leadership Development / Leave a comment

The Discipline of Remembering Remember your leaders who spoke the Word of God to you – Hebrews 13:7a Since childhood, the churches I’ve attended emphasize “holy habits” that should be part of a Christian’s routine; bible reading, prayer, and deeds of compassion are always high on the list. However, the practice of remembering never seems to make the cut. That’s a mistake. Remembering our story of God’s faithfulness is essential to our present faith and

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Leadership Development