“Who Has Impacted You as a Leader?” — Matt Barnes

Matt points out that, for men and women of faith, truly exceptional leadership is about more than making effective business decisions—it's about living a life that demonstrates healthy priorities. If your boss spends all of his or her time at work, rarely making time for family, what kind of standards does that set for the rest of the office? Probably standards a lot of us are familiar with: your professional life had better be the most important thing there is—or we'll find someone else for whom that's the case.

Conversely, what might things look like if effective leadership was understood to include putting family and community first? After all, aren't these things what business exists to help flourish? This is where Christian leaders have an opportunity to demonstrate a different way of doing things—not at the expense of quality work, just with a healthy idea of what, and who, that work is for.

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TRANSCRIPT: A guy named Dr. Jack McGruter. He was the president of Truman State University, where I went to school as an undergrad. I worked with him as an undergrad when I was on the student government. Then, I was actually asked to be on the board of Truman several years later, when he went from Academic Affairs Vice President to President of the university.

Throughout all my interactions with him he has always been consistent around his family and around his personal integrity. He's had some really difficult situations to be in. Someone who is able to excel professionally, but also have a wife who really loves him, a family and kids that are just fantastic. I mean, that just moves me. That elevates the bar for leadership in my view. Again, not somebody that is just professionally great, but someone that can balance professional skills and accolades with the home accolades, which are infinitely more valuable.