When it comes to leading people, we only lead them two places:

1. Where we have been.

2. Where we haven’t been.

Leading where we have been seems pretty simple, right? I’ve been to Atlanta many times and my leading would reflect that past experience. I may give you a story peppered with some pitfalls that you should avoid. There may be a particular intersection that I’ve had some negative experience with that I can help you avoid. I can share my successes with you and assure you that it IS possible for you to get to Atlanta…I’ve done it…others have done it…I’ll show you how.

Leading where we haven’t been can be just as simple, but just a little bit different. See, I’ve never been to New York City…but I HAVE been to Chicago. In leading someone to a place I haven’t been, my leading will reflect general lessons that I’ve learned that will probably work in a similar situation. I may not be where we are going, but I have been SOMEWHERE.

It is so important that we as leaders learn to process all that we go through in life. I’m not talking about always looking for a blog idea or a book title…but just thinking a little bit. What was it like to be in that big city? What were some of the problems that I ran into and how did I handle them? What would I do differently if I could go back?

Obviously you won’t spend much of your time leading people into physical cities, but my goal is to create questions…not give you answers and formulas that may or may not work for you. There are only two ways we lead. If we ask ourselves continually, “Which way am I leading right now?”, then we can use our varied personal experiences to be more effective as leaders.