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Delray Beach Tribune
By Casey Cleveland
New Year’s Resolution…Lead Well “If we lose sight of people, we lose sight of the very purpose of leadership.” Tony Dungy
child you coach, to your employee, to a neighbor. Your influence is huge, and you are accountable. So…
So it is here once again. The New Year is upon us and we find ourselves thinking about new beginnings, fresh starts, and a bright future. We usually prepare for this time by pondering what might be different or better for the year to come. Better known as New Year’s resolutions.
Back to your New Year’s resolutions. Would you consider this year making a priority, a goal, a resolution, in the area of your leadership? I challenge you think through and specifically name those God has placed in your life to influence. I challenge you to begin praying for them by name. And I challenge you to commit yourself, as a leader this year, to the following 4 C’s of leadership as developed by Bill Hybels. 1. Character 2. Competency 3. Chemistry 4. Calling Character must always be first because if this goes so does your leadership. Commit yourself this year to being honest about any areas you are tempted to compromise your integrity. And then pursue the absolute opposite of your compromise. Competency is critical no matter if you are CEO or mom, or both. Commit yourself this year to learning how to do your job better. Read a book, take a course, get a mentor. Do something, move forward somehow. Chemistry is a must between those you are leading and yourself. How effective can you be with someone who feels they are not valued or even liked? Commit yourself to developing a deeper relationship this year with those you lead. And last but not least is calling. There is no greater way to ensure your calling as a leader than by reading the Bible. Really. Because only in the pages of God’s story can you fully see your place and purpose within your own story.
As a pastor, I love this time of year because it reminds me of the newness of life, forgiveness of sin, and freedom from the past, that Jesus promises can be found in Him. And with this newness, forgiveness, and freedom come an amazing privilege and response from those who have been touched by this love of God. We are set in motion, given a purpose, called…to love God, to love others, and to share this good news. That is awesome. Seriously, think about it for a moment. Being transformed by the love of God is not just for us. It is totally not about us…this should be both relieving and refreshing. So then who is it about, really? The Bible tells us it is about God, His glory, loving Him and enjoying him forever. And one of the very practical applications of being a part of God’s story is loving others well. If we are to truly move in this direction we should consider how well we are leading those within our sphere of influence. Because we all have leadership opportunities, all of us. And leading people gives us an incredible opportunity in loving people. May I just encourage you with the truth that God has placed specific people in your life that can be forever changed based on the way you speak into their life. Anyone from your daughter, to a
January, 2013 - Edition 1 - 19
Lead well this year. Much Love-Casey
DIVORCE FLORIDA STYLE By Mike Gora
NO BRAINER Q: I am in the process of getting divorced from a cop after an eighteen year marriage. He has a good salary, I don’t. He has a pension plan, all saved during the marriage, I don’t. He can afford to pay me some alimony and child support, he won’t. I know he won’t because we were at the office of the mediator in the courthouse, you know the cheaper kind and, after two hours he walked out because he refused to agree to any reasonable settlement, taking the position that since he earned it all was his. He said that our legislature was going to ban permanent alimony next year, and if he did not agree to alimony in a contract he would be able to get out of a judge ordered permanent alimony after the new legislation passes. Is he correct? Is our Republican legislature continuing the “War on Women” that I heard about during the presidential campaign? A: Your cop seems to be a little right and a lot wrong. As to his wish to keep all of the marital assets for himself because he “earned it” he has no chance of success. The equitable distribution statute is virtually bullet proof when it comes to equally splitting marital assets that is anything accumulated during the marriage as the result of marital labor and savings. So far the legislature is not messing with that concept.
On the other hand he appears to be right about the suggested demise of periodic “permanent” alimony. Under the proposed new statute a judge would not be able to award permanent periodic alimony but will have the power to grant “durational” alimony for a number of years equal to or less than the length of the marriage after the first seven years of marriage. Additionally, the proposed new statute proposes a right granted to anyone who was divorced within two years before the passage of the legislation to go back to court to change the alimony plan from permanent to durational or less. There is a quirk in that process: (1) if the permanent periodic alimony is agreed to in a marital settlement agreement, a contract, it is unlikely that a court could set it aside due to the constitutional protection granted to contract rights, but (2) if the permanent award came after a trial and judgment there would be no bar to the application of the proposed new statute. In years of practice I have never met a man who wanted to give his wife alimony, of any kind. Apparently there were a couple of men in the legislature, who had recently undergone the divorce process, who have started and pushed the pending legislation. Sounds like sour grapes.
Michael H. Gora has been certified by the Board of Specialization of The Florida Bar as a specialist in family and matrimonial law and is a partner with Shapiro Blasi Wasserman & Gora P.A. in Boca Raton. Mr. Gora may be reached at mailto:mhgora@sbwlawfirm.com.
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