The effect we have on others is a leader's greatest currency.

Beginning a work is not enough. Highly effective leaders nurture a team until it is mature and producing offspring.

Leaders replicate.

My wife and I watched this sandhill crane on her nest for several weeks on our golf course. We drove by on our golf cart at various times. She was always there and ready to pose for my camera. Most of the shots look the same because she didn't appear to move much.

Then the rains came. A band of storms dumped over five inches of rain on the nest in just a few hours.

When we went out to check on our crane, we only saw the egg pictured here. The water from the pond came up high enough to threaten momma crane and she abandoned her nest.

Storms do that to people. Thunder, lightning and rain can make us leave a project we've spent weeks, months or years nurturing. Some leaders are simply not willing to die to self for the good of a project or a team in development. 

It's not fair to judge the crane. Her instincts are to survive the day and lay another egg.

But what about a leader who walks away, when the going gets tough?

Sometimes the flesh is weak and the storms are strong.

Lead us, Holy Spirit, to finish the race. Help us to hatch our eggs and raise up a generation of powerfully equipped leaders to follow our example.

Influence has a generational impact.

Today's Scripture

"Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, neither can you, unless you remain in Me" (John 15:4).

Platform Tip No. 126

"We destroy the love of learning in children, which is so strong when they are small, by encouraging and compelling them to work for petty and contemptible rewards, gold stars, or papers marked 100 and tacked to the wall, or A's on report cards, or honor rolls, or dean's lists, or Phi Beta Kappa keys, in short, for the ignoble satisfaction of feeling that they are better than someone else." — John Holt.

We build platforms with the expectation of nothing in return. We don't build to get.

We build trust to gain influence. We use our influence to help others with no expectation of return.

When we buy media advertising, we expect a return on our investment.

In a nutshell, that's the difference between building a platform and running an advertising campaign.

Dr. Steve Greene is the publisher and executive vice president of the media group at Charisma Media and executive producer of the Charisma Podcast Network. His book, Love Leads: The Spiritual Connection Between Your Relationships and Productivity, is now available.

Leaders, Dr. Greene wants to help you understand the spiritual connection between relationships and productivity. Read his new blog, here.

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Dr. Steve Greene is now sharing stories, teachings, and conversations with guests who lead with love on Love Leads, a new podcast. Listen now.

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