Do you have 3 key words to describe your Leadership style?

There are lots of tests, assessments, seminars, conferences, training centers, and workbooks available today that are supposed to help you accurately identify and determine your leadership style. Many of these are very helpful, and very accurate. I've taken lots of them.

But someone asked me the other day, "With only three words, describe your leadership style." And with no hesitation, I immediately knew.

My answer: Hustle, Hungry, Humble.

Those three words have defined my leadership style for the last 20 years. I've seen this style manifested in all the different titles, roles, and leadership moments over the last several years.

In fact, those 3 words are so important to me, that my next leadership book is entitled H3 Leadership: Be Humble, Stay Hungry, Always Hustle. Releases on September 22, in about 2 months!

Obviously there is no right answer to the question, but we all must be diligent in defining, refining and living out our leadership style. A phrase that would describe my leadership style over the years: "work hard and play hard." Whatever we are doing, we give 110% and always want to deliver- an excellent result. Whether working on a brochure, programming, curriculum, or playing basketball or kickball at the office, the goal is to strive to be the best at everything we do. You must have tremendous passion for the work. Another phrase I think describes my style is "calm but intensely focused." Especially in environments like producing an event where things can be chaotic and multiple decisions have to be made instantly.

I believe this naturally flows out of my leadership style of Humble, Hungry, Hustle. Secondarily, I think the honorable mention runner-up words would be Passion, Excellence, and Execution.

Try three words for yourself- it's tough, but will help in identifying the areas of your leadership that matter the most, show up most often, and should be put into practice with the most focus and intentionality.

Young Influencers List, June Edition

Here you go, the June edition of the Young Influencers List. You can see all the past month's lists here.

1. Jerry Lorenzo- LA based artist and clothing designer, founder of Fear of God, and great follow on Instagram.

2. Lauren Daigle- singer, songwriter, and worship leader with most recent album called How Can it Be.

3. Tobin Heath- 2 time Olympic gold medalist, and midfielder with the US Women's soccer team.

4. Baron Batch- Pittsburgh based artist, entrepreneur, and former NFL running back.

5. Glennon Doyle Melton- uber popular blogger, speaker, founder of the Momastery movement, and best-selling author of Carry On, Warrior.

6. Trillia Newbell- Nashville based speaker, freelance journalist, writer and author of Fear and Faith.

7. Albert Tate- LA based church planter, and lead pastor of Fellowship Monrovia.

15 Churches Creating Influential Worship Music

Here are some churches and organizations, that in my opinion, are writing, creating, singing and releasing great songs for the entire Church around the world to sing. This is not an exhaustive list or a top ten/top twenty list. Just wanted to provide this so you will be able to check out all of their music and maybe include some of their songs into your rotation and put on your iTunes list.

1. Passion/Passion City Church- Chris Tomlin, Kristian Stanfill, Christy Nockels, Matt Redman, David Crowder and more

2. Hillsong Church- Ben Fielding, Reuben Morgan, Joel Houston, Jad Gillies and more

3. North Point- Seth Condrey, Casey Darnell, Todd Fields, Candi Shelton, Steve Fee and more

4. Jesus Culture- Kim Walker-Smith, Chris Quilala, Derek Johnson, Bryan and Katie Torwalt, and more

5. Worship Central/Holy Trinity Brompton- Tim Hughes, Ben Cantelon and the Worship Central band

6. Reach Records/Reach Ministries- Lecrae, Trip Lee, Andy Mineo, KB, Tedashii, and others

7. New Life Church/Desperation Band- led by Jon Egan, and birthed out of Desperation Ministries, the student ministry of New LIfe Church

8. Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church- Charles Jenkins and the Fellowship Choir

9. Elevation Church- Elevation Worship led by Wade Joye, Mack Brock, Chris Brown, London Gatch and more

10. Austin Stone- Austin Stone Worship led by Aaron Ivey, Jimmy McNeal, Kyle Lent, and more

11. Bethel Church- Bethel Music led by Brian and Jenn Johnson, Jeremy Riddle, and more

12. Gateway Church- Gateway Music led by Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes and more

13. Trinity Grace Church- led by Eric Marshall and more

14. Bayside Church- led by Lincoln Brewster and more

15. Lakewood Church- led by Israel Houghton, John Gray, and more

Bonus: Victory World Music, Vertical Church Band (Harvest Bible Chapel), and 12Stone.

Who else would you recommend?

Free Book download from my friend Steve Graves

When I know of something useful I am always inclined to share it here on the blog. So I am partnering with my good friend Dr. Stephen R. Graves for the next 3 days to offer you a FREE copy of his new book Flourishing: Why Some People Thrive While Others Just Survive.

This book is a great resource for you and your friends, including incredibly insights on the subject of flourishing. Again, just follow the link to download your FREE eBook today.

Steve is a leadership author, entrepreneur, and executive coach who has been helping leaders flourish for over 25 years.

I am excited to have the opportunity to offer his book to you and hope you will take advantage of this great gift and take a minute to download the book.

And please forward the link on to someone else so they can benefit from it. My hope is that this can be a way for you to share great content with your community as well.

Again, you can download the FREE ebook here. The Free download will expire on Friday.

Enjoy!

10 Ways to Create a Great Customer Experience

I've worked on some great teams over the past several years, and seen great customer service in action. One of the places I learned the most about great customer service was Lost Valley Ranch, an incredible 4 diamond guest ranch in Colorado. Serving the guests was part of the DNA of the staff. We took great pride in our ability to create a great experience for our guests through unmatched excellent customer service.

Here are a few of the ways we did that through great customer service:

1. Treat someone like you would want to be treated- the Golden Rule. It really does work. And it makes sense. Common sense. Use it.

2. Remember someone's name. Always. Especially when you've met them before or talked with them before.

3. Let your actions speak way louder than your words. Don't just talk about it. Make it happen. Your work can be a great example of your attitude and commitment to service.

4. Anticipate. Stay a step ahead of your clients or guests. Don't wait for them to ask for something. Be proactive. Figure it out before they even need it.

5. Go the extra step. Have a "+1" type of attitude and demeanor. Not just anticipating, but actually doing more than what is expected or required of you. Make memories for your client or guest by wowing them with the "above and beyond."

6. Engage in meaningful conversation. Listen really really well. Serving creates opportunity for impact- it builds a bridge. So make sure to connect with your guests or clients through conversation when it's appropriate. Understand who they are by understanding what they read, what they watch, where they travel and what their interests are. If you deal with families, learn their kids names and hobbies. Little things add up.

7. Give permission. Make sure your entire staff and everyone in the organization feels empowered to respond immediately to a customer service issue. Empower your employees at every level in the organization to respond and resolve. Especially those on the front line of service. Give them freedom to say yes as often as possible.

8. Own the relationship, and the result. Your answer should never be "that's not my job." Take initiative to see the problem or the issue through to the very end. IF you have to hand the relationship off to someone else, make sure you literally walk them to that other person, introduce them, and hand them off well. If over the phone or through email, the same applies. Constantly make sure you are "walking" with that person through the process.

9. Implement the 4 Core Communication Cues. Say "I'm sorry," "Thankyou," "My Fault," and "Great Job" on a regular basis. 

10. Look people in the eye. This one gets forgotten like #2 above. But makes a big difference.