Becoming a Beyond You Leader

by David Roth | Mar 10, 2014

Last Friday, almost 1,900 leaders eagerly filed through the doors of Cross Church in Rogers, Ark. full of anticipation. They had taken a day off work to help themselves become stronger, more influential leaders. 1,900 leaders! I’m still amazed that many men and women care that much about being purposeful with the their lives.

This was the 11th annual WorkMatters Leadercast brought to us by our friends at Leadercast. Over 120,000 leaders, in 750 sites, in 35+ countries participated in this live simulcast event. In a single day, our world and our workplaces were made better and influence had a new name. WorkMatters was humbled once again to be the largest site in the world. What a powerful statement that makes about the leaders of northwest Arkansas.

The theme this year was Beyond You, and it was a game changer for me. Striving to be more of a Servant Leader is good, but being a beyond me leader is simple, direct and personal. There is a “you” involved here, right? Each of us brings who we are…our personality, our experience, our wiring, our goals and desires. That’s real. But what does it look like to bring all of those personal attributes and extend them or maybe redirect them? To push beyond yourself and your (selfish) desires and motivations?

Andy Stanley defined a Beyond You leader this way: Leaders who fearlessly and selflessly empower leaders around them, as well as those coming behind them. The bolded words are the words to camp on. He also challenged us to consider that the value of your life and your leadership will be measured in terms of how much was given away.

That should completely redirect any traditional thinking about your work and leadership.

And of course, when you add your faith to this equation, it all makes sense. Jesus was love. He was ALWAYS beyond himself. He set the standard for us to become a beyond you leader!

Closing the gap,

David

NOTES: for a powerful resource to continue your Beyond You journey, check out Leadercast Now. This app, available on any platform, has the entire 2014 Leadercast, as well as over 100 short videos to help you become a leader worth following.

Also, we are grateful to Samuel Gray, who spent the day at our Leadercast painting what he was hearing about being a Beyond You leader. His painting is showcased here.

Photo of David Roth

David Roth

David Roth has been the president and CEO of Workmatters since October, 2003. Workmatters is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in Northwest Arkansas in 2003 with a mission is to help people pursue God’s purpose for their work. Since then, Workmatters has been used to impact thousands of leaders in Northwest Arkansas and across the U.S. Prior to leading Workmatters, Mr. Roth was vice president, sales and marketing for J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. Before joining J.B. Hunt in 1999, David was the senior vice president of marketing for Manugistics, a supply chain management software provider in Maryland and vice president of marketing for American Software in Atlanta, Ga. He also has nine years of supply chain management experience with McKesson Corporation in San Francisco, Calif. and Harrison, Ark. David has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Arkansas. He resides in Fayetteville, Ark. with his wife, Theresa and has two sons, Dylan and Tyler.

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