Do you care deeply about truth, freedom and people from all nations races, and religions?  Do the debates about what the world should and should not be doing for refugees, about how to deal with the threat of terrorism without hating and fearing others, about the right to bear arms and the need for gun control – make your head spin?

We have a crisis of leadership and a need to personally be involved in changing the world of leadership for the better.  ~Mike Henry Sr.

Like many of you, I am deeply concerned about truth, freedom, people, and the state of leadership in my home country and in our world. And the more I read, listen and observe, the more I’m aware of:

1. How unhealthy most of our governments are and how little we trust our titled leaders. To speak truth…   To listen to and research ALL sides of an issue… To encourage collaboration instead of division… To make decisions that serve people.

There is one thing that is common to every individual, relationship, team, family, organization, nation, economy and civilization throughout the world – one thing which, if removed will destroy the most powerful government, the most successful business, the most thriving economy, the most influential leadership, the greatest friendship, the strongest character, the deepest love.  …That one thing is trust. – Stephen M.R. Covey

2. How much we fear being judged as politically incorrect. So much so that people who have had reason to be concerned about the behavior of their neighbors have not reported it, and lives have been lost.

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.  C.S. Lewis

3. How little we know about engaging in real discussions and debates with each other. We don’t seem to know the value of what we could learn or how we would grow, let alone how to have challenging discussions. So we resort to grade-school behavior and call each other names bullying anyone that disagrees with us into silence.

 A lack of trust makes us: Incapable of engaging in unfiltered and passionate debate of ideas. Resorting to veiled discussions and guarded comments. -Patrick Lencioni

4. How often we fail to learn from each other and to collaborate on solutions that would benefit everyone AND build trust.  I’m fascinated by the extremes present in our world. According to physics there is an equal and opposite reaction for every action. When we look at politics throughout history and today we see that same law in play. Our human nature wants to react intensely and in the opposite direction of the things we most object to. So when a new leader, or new party comes to power we have a tendency to over correct, to ignore or punish those that were previously in power. In doing so “we” become “them” and healthy, sustainable change is not created.

[Tweet “Real leaders create a path between: MY way | YOUR way.”]

Our world is shaking those that care about truth, freedom and people from all nations and religions.

It is urging us out of our comfortable caves of hibernation where we’ve allowed others to do most of the thinking and feeling for us. It is warning us that we have a leadership crises and calling us to action.

It is time. Time to wake up. Time to pay attention. Time to deeply evaluate our titled leaders and those that seek to lead.

Time to listen BEYOND the things you admire about them. …And BEYOND the things you can’t stand about them.

1. Are they leading with character? …Or driving their own agenda? …Or distracted by one of these temptations: Pride, Power, Position, Possessions, Pleasure?

2. Do they take ownership? When a titled leader is always blaming “them” – They are ignoring the first rule of real leadership, “Change begins with me.”

3. Do they encourage you to work with others or do they work harder at increasing division and limiting communication with others? When a titled leader is spending more time giving you reasons to mistrust others than bringing people together -They aren’t leading. They are manipulating, and their intention is to keep you from uncovering the truth.

4. Do they have a track record of building collaboration and encouraging uncommon solutions? When a titled leader believes there are only two options and they sound and feel like this: “Do it, my way or I will resort to name calling and shove my will on you with such force it will feel like a cement truck just ran over you.” Stand up. Get out of the way. And recognize a bully, instead of a leader.

It is time to:

1. Seek truth: The whole truth. Not the lopsided truth that comes from one side. Read, study, ask questions, and listen to all perspectives. Read history, read current events, ask questions, analyze. Rinse and repeat.

My job is to turn over rocks and look at the squiggly things, even if what you see can scare the h_ll out of you. -former Pitney Bowes Executive Fred Purdue

2. Practice mental toughness. If the truth you are uncovering scares you. Acknowledge the fear. Pray that wisdom and love would rule your mind and heart. And keep seeking truth. If fear begins to drive you, you will make unwise decisions and cause others to do the same.

3. Be courageous and speak up. Share what you’ve read. Share what you are trying to figure out. Share what you think. Share why you think it. And then listen again. Not one of us has all the answers. But we are wiser together. We need you and your neighbor, and your neighbor’s neighbor to think, listen and speak.

4. Break the cycle and create new laws of leadership physics. Be the person that listens to all sides of an issue and then helps people on different sides of an issue hear each other. Then work to find uncommon ways to work together.

5. Lead Up. Meet with titled leaders show them what uncommon collaboration looks like and invite them to break the cycle of decline.

Act Justly. Love Mercy. Walk Humbly.