Leading with PEOPLE: We Can’t Do It Alone
Leading with PEOPLE: A Six Pillar Framework for Fruitful Leadership was released this October by ConnectEDD Publishing! You can find the book HERE.
Leading with PEOPLE is precisely that: recognizing that to lead people effectively, we must be willing to be led ourselves. This book aims to help us rethink our daily approach by humbly remembering that leadership is about leading with people. How we lead says a lot about us and the One for whom we work. If you had asked me before a significant season of anxiety and depression, I would have said leadership is about “leading people.” I never thought too long about that simple four-letter word “with.” It was not a word I ever thought to look up before, but when I came across the two words defining it, I realized it was perfect for leadership. The definition of “with” is “accompanied by” (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, n.d.). We must lead “accompanied by” people. As I battled that difficult season of anxiety and depression, my eyes were opened to just how much I needed people in my life and I learned so many valuable lessons along the way.
This book aims to help us rethink our daily approach by humbly remembering that leadership is about leading with people.
This book focuses on two main concepts regarding leading with people. We can’t have one without the other, and these two concepts are interwoven through various stories throughout the book. All the stories point back to the two main themes:
First, we will look at leading with people by seeing how much we need people in our lives as leaders. We can’t lead alone. I know; I’ve tried. As we lead others, we must lead with people in our lives. To lead at our best, we must simultaneously be led while leading others.
Secondly, we will look at leading with people by breaking down the six pillars of the PEOPLE Framework. PEOPLE is an acronym with six components to guide your daily leadership, no matter where you’re leading from and who you are leading. PEOPLE stands for: Prioritize, Empathize, Observe, Pray, Love, and Encourage. As we lead others, we must lead with Prioritizing, Empathizing, Observing, Praying for and with, Loving, and Encouraging the people we lead.
As we lead others, we must lead with Prioritizing, Empathizing, Observing, Praying for and with, Loving, and Encouraging the people we lead.
Leading with PEOPLE is for leaders from any walk of life with a heart for God and a heart for people. This book is about leading with people in ALL areas of life and involves our thoughts, words, and actions–every second of every day, no matter our leadership role. Leading with PEOPLE is about quiet, humble leadership in life’s big moments and life’s mundane moments. There’s no more trying to lead ourselves–we must lead with people.
This book is about leading with people in ALL areas of life and involves our thoughts, words, and actions–every second of every day, no matter our leadership role.
While there are plenty of distractions wanting to pull us from what matters most, let’s allow our mission to drive the way we approach every day: prioritizing people, empathizing with people, observing and meeting the needs of people, praying for people, loving people, and encouraging people. It’s the people who make a place special. The first chapter lays the foundation for the PEOPLE framework. Chapters 2 through 7 focus on a specific pillar of the framework. Chapter 8 provides a 49-day, 7 x 7 Leading with PEOPLE Action Plan designed to walk you through humbly leading with people day by day. Chapter 9 concludes the book with a prayer for leaders. Each chapter includes a key pillar, authentic stories, scripture verses, and application.
While there are plenty of distractions wanting to pull us from what matters most, let’s allow our mission to drive the way we approach every day: prioritizing people, empathizing with people, observing and meeting the needs of people, praying for people, loving people, and encouraging people.
You can implement the action plan in different areas of your life at different times. You may need to work through the action plan focusing on your family. Others may navigate the action plan focusing on people at work. Some of you may implement pieces of the action plan simultaneously at work and at home. You may have a struggling relationship in your life or a relationship you are looking to strengthen. Focus the entire plan on that person. It could be your spouse, a child, or a close friend. The action plan is all about being intentional in our relationships–with God and with people.
Chapter 8 provides a 49-day, 7 x 7 Leading with PEOPLE Action Plan designed to walk you through humbly leading with people day by day. The action plan is all about being intentional in our relationships–with God and with people.
Leading with PEOPLE is an invitation for leaders to let go of control and lead humbly and confidently, recognizing we need people in our lives walking alongside us as we lead and walk alongside others. Lastly, and most importantly, our primary responsibility as leaders is obedience to God. There’s no better example for us to look at than Jesus, who lived out thirty-three years on earth in obedience to his Father as he served the people around him every step of the way.
Leading with PEOPLE: A Six Pillar Framework For Fruitful Leadership is available now. You can find it HERE.
