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Wayne Butler

Equities Manager

Sharing leadership values and skills to the next generation is a passion! Driven by a solid work ethic and a desire for premium outcomes, whatever the situation.
Having a passion to share the gift God has so generously given us to all who "chose" to believe.
A Laramie County Community College Graduate in Business Management.
An enthusiastic world mission leader, church treasurer with a passion to share biblical ethics.
Equities Manager for local firm.

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Provoking Points on Leadership?

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Provoking Points on Leadership - 1The Point of Leadership — After attending a very informative, thought provoking, and inspirational leadership conference at Saddleback Church I wanted to share a few insights.

Considering our current state of leadership there is no doubt all of us have at one point or another ask, maybe not in such a pointed way…but what is the point of leadership? In Genesis 20, Abraham refused to follow God’s promptings when he mislead Abimelech king of Gerar into believing Sarah was his sister instead of his wife. Then later in Genesis 22: 1- 19, God offered Abraham another opportunity to hear His words when he asked Abraham to offer his son up as a sacrifice, here Abraham complied. These are brought to mind to help us understand that we all have an opportunity to listen to the spirit of leadership or refuse it.

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 079In Number 33: 2-4, we read where God said “the map of leadership I have carefully laid before you”;

At the Lord’s command Moses recorded the stages in their journey. This is their journey by stages:  The Israelites set out from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the Passover. They marched out defiantly in full view of all the Egyptians, who were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had struck down among them; for the Lord had brought judgment on their gods.

Taking into account our leadership values in the face of today’s political correct society, how do we manage the conflict that arises within us from the obvious erosion of leadership values?

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In a World of Words

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A alma nos "basto"This article has been a long time in the making.

Words…we use them every day.

It is one thing to offer up words of encouragement only later to use those same words to discourage another. This is often a product of our cynical society. I am sure these words may find themselves heavy on the toes of many who view this blog and admittedly…even this author. In as little as a few seconds we can go from the encourager to the discourager.

On this blog we used many words for the same purpose; to teach, encourage and build someone up. I am often reminded of a song by the Gaither Vocal Band; “Something to Say”

Now I’ve heard some talkers, and I’ve heard some teachers,
I’ve heard some poets, and I’ve heard some preachers,
I’ve sung along with some pretty good singers,
and I’ve been in churches where the sweet Spirit lingers,

But you’ve never lived till the words become the truth,
till forgiveness and mercy mean something to you,
and you’ve never cried, till the tears come from faith,
you’ve never lived till you have something to say,

Words are a mystery we say them so freely,
some can bring heartache, some can bring healing,
sometimes we’re broken, sometimes it’s demanding,
sometimes we just go through it to find understanding,

But you’ve never lived till the words become the truth,
till forgiveness and mercy mean something to you,
and you’ve never cried, till the tears come from faith,
you’ve never lived till you have something to say,

No, you’ve never cried, till the tears come from faith,
you’ve never lived till you have something to say.

We all can relate to the content of this song in one way or another; some talkers, teachers, preachers, good singers, but my… what about those where the sweet spirit lingers. That is the crowd I want to hang with! I’m sure most of the contributors to this site are of the encouraging kind.

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Leadership and Integrity

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Leadership and Integrity - 1I am one of many on this blog that take leadership and its quality’s to heart. It is with a firm conviction I feel that we as leaders need to address the foundational issues that have eroded over the years. Pointing out a few of those foundational building blocks in past articles has given way to the newest virtue of leadership.

A sleepless night had me in its grip, and the theme of Leadership qualities and traits was heavy on my heart. God had my attention; and He was showing me how critical the virtue — Integrity, is to the foundation of who we are. Integrity is an essentially building block upon which all our lives are built. It is essentially the building block for which all other attributes of Leadership rests.

Examining the definition of integrity we expose more clues to a nearly forgotten virtue— so nearly forgotten that it is one of the least used words in society today.

Integrity:

  • possession of firm principles: the quality of possessing and steadfastly adhering to high moral principles or professional standards
  • completeness: the state of being complete or undivided
  • wholeness: the state of being sound or undamaged

(Courtesy the Bing Dictionary)

To really understand the true concept of these definitions means we have to unpack each of them to discover some important truths that lie within.

  • First, “possession of firm principles”. What is this and what does it look like in real everyday life? What are the foundational principles on which you navigate and negotiate each day?
  • Second, “what is the quality of possessing and steadfastly adhering to high moral principles or professional standards”? What does this look like in your “circle of influence”? Steadfastly adhering to a principle or moral standard means that we are unshakeable in our core beliefs.
  • Third, do you have a sense of “completeness: the state of being complete or undivided”, within that circle? Or is there something missing? Do you wrestle daily with the thought that there is something missing in your leadership skill set?
  • Fourth, is the foundation upon which your Integrity rest filled with “wholeness: the state of being sound or undamaged”?

Leadership and Integrity - 3Where does the real foundation for possessing firm principles originate?

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Courage

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Ty Carter -1Courage — A vanishing trait?

While pondering this topic… I’m not so sure I’m all that qualified to write of it, but I will mount the challenge with courage.

Courage is one of those character traits that is not a necessity for leadership but is mandatory!

The development of courage in the right person is to first understand that there is a price pay for following the convictions of their heart. Consider the life of the most recent Medal of Honor winner Sgt. Ty Carter. When Carter spoke with the media he stressed the importance of supporting soldiers both deployed and when the return home from war.

“Know that a soldier or veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress is one of the most passionate and dedicated men or women you will ever meet. Know that they are not damaged. They are simply burdened with living when others did not,” Carter said.

How can we even connect to those thoughts or feelings or know the weight of a burden so heavy?

Here are a few traits connected to courage that need examined.

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Can You Help Me, Please?

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Can You Help Me PleaseNature vs. Nurture — Leadership.

I have been pondering this ancient theme for some time and the evidence of its impact really came to light recently in Florida.

Let’s consider first for a moment if you will something equally ridiculous. The law of gravity (nature).

We could pass a law (nurture you), (if it is not already on the books somewhere), that prohibits you from falling. Now that would really be cool because you could no longer “fall down”. We have conquered gravity with the stroke of a pen! Imagine, no more being tripped-up, falling down stairs, or most importantly…no more huge masses of body’s during football games! Injuries would be in huge decline.

Now that law is as ridicules as the one that presented itself in the Florida “teenage bus beating” case a few weeks back. But when viewed through the prism of “nature vs nurture”, what did we really see?

I was involved caring for foster kids at point. To illustrate the nature vs nurture disorder I am drawn back to one particular situation that involved a set of three siblings we had for nearly two years.

There was a relative that lived down the street from us and to say the least the relationship was NOT “mutual”. They had a son (Matt) who was the same age as the oldest sibling (Joe) we were caring for at the time. For weeks on end Joe would come home frustrated because he was being bullied by Matt. I would talk with Joe and settle him down. To try and talk to Matt’s parents was futile at best. It went nowhere.

After about the fourth week and the frustration (nature) building in Joe and the attempts to get him to understand that we were (nurtured) not allowed to let them engage in any activity in which they may be harmed. The next day things come to a boil and the efforts to hold Joe back were failing badly. I took Joe aside…I said look, I understand the frustration (nature) you are dealing with. However, if it gets to the point that you must make a stand for yourself (nature), then you had better

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Greetings from Peru

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One of our authors, Wayne Butler is currently leading a team on a project in Peru.  He sent the following message to us early this morning:

Map of Peru

I just wanted to say a quick howdy from south of the equator. God has been moving in mighty ways here answering prayer.

I would like to ask that you be in prayer for our special event Saturday evening where the potential exist for hundreds to accept Christ as their Savior!

Thanks,

Wayne

We say, “Thank you Wayne!” as you use your leadership abilities in such a wonderful way.

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Leadership – A Virtue?

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Leadership - a VirtueLeadership. What is it and how do we obtain it?

I have been reading with a keen interest the articles of different writers to this blog. LeadershipVoices, I believe is a powerful platform for those in search of sound Godly wisdom concerning a dying virtue — Leadership.

I have to be perfectly honest here and admit I have plenty of room for growth in this, one of the greatest virtues. I state it as “one greatest of virtues” because as leaders we not only influence those in our respectful circle of life, but we leave behind a legacy that is sure to influence generations yet to come.

Consider if you will

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