Clay Scroggins is back on the podcast with some fresh insights from his brand new book, How to Lead in a World of Distraction.
In an open and vulnerable interview, Clay talks about how the pressures of leadership led to him missing some of the signs of emotional ill-health, breaking down in his boss’s office, and finding quiet and healing in a noisy world. And if you think this is just theory, Clay is learning all this while leading a church of over 9,000, nurturing his marriage, and parenting five kids under the age of ten.
Welcome to Episode 292 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.
Guest Links
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Clay Scroggins
How to Lead Web Series | How to Lead in a World of Distraction
Episode Links
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How to Lead in a World of Distraction book
How to Lead in a World of Distraction web series
Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman
Didn’t See it Coming by Carey Nieuwhof
3 Insights from Clay
1. We use distraction and “noise” to avoid fear and pain
People use distractions today similarly to how we use a white noise machine for sleep. We use distractions to drown out the things that we don’t want to hear or think about. Whether it’s fear about the future, mistakes that still haunt us, or delayed work decisions, we all are tempted to avoid something.
This temptation makes sense. It is much easier to listen to three more podcasts or workout for two more hours rather than deal with the hurt, anxiety, and fears that we are all avoiding. This has been made much easier with the rise of technology. Now, we have a distraction machine in our pockets that holds more entertainment than we could consume in 30 lifetimes. As leaders, we need to resist this temptation.
2. Your emotions are messengers—don’t drown them out
Your emotions are messengers. They’re trying to tell you something. That’s the whole point of them. When you’re feeling lonely, angry, or jealous, your body is trying to say something to you. We can get away with just “turning up the noise and distractions” of life for a while, but eventually our emotions will boil out of us.
Clay saw this recently in his own leadership. He went through a season where his team saw data points that showed that they weren’t accomplishing what they wanted to accomplish. As this was going on, he ignored his emotions and turned up the distractions until he broke down in front of his boss in a meeting. He then realized that he needed to listen to his emotions.
3. 4 major habits for turning down the noise
- Learning to Get Quiet: When you get quiet, you open the door for God to speak and for you to actually listen.
- Speaking to Yourself: Memorizing and repeating scripture to yourself is critical for turning down the noise.
- Finding Your Why: A huge part of this is getting underneath your stuff and asking, “Why am I doing that? Why is that there?”
- Pressing Pause: This puts us in the proper position to realize that the world goes on without us at work. This keeps us humble and from being overwhelmed.
Quotes from Episode 292
Great leaders turn down the noise low enough, and long enough, to be ruthlessly curious of their emotions. @clayscroggins Click To Tweet Spiritual disciplines, in and of themselves, they are practices of turning down the noise. @clayscroggins Click To Tweet The thing that is standing in between you now and a better you is whatever emotional disturbance that you're feeling, that you're not paying attention to.” @clayscroggins Click To Tweet You can't care for others well if you're not caring for yourself.” @clayscroggins Click To Tweet If more is your standard, you have a problem, because there's no end to more.” @cnieuwhof Click To TweetRead or Download the Transcript for Episode 292
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Next Episode: Jeff Henderson
If a business was a person, many businesses would be considered narcissists. And narcissism is bad for business. That’s what Jeff Henderson argues in his new book, Know What You’re FOR. With retail sales declining, a cynical spirit abounding, and many organizations struggling to make progress, how do you stand out? Jeff Henderson shares a new approach that has helped him (and many others) gain traction in a crowded marketplace. Jeff walks you through how and why being less about yourself and being for your customer, your community, your team and even yourself can change everything in your organization.
Subscribe for free now and you won’t miss Episode 293.
