MSI Press Blog

  To set the example is to demonstrate a behavior so others can follow. To be the example is to embody that behavior so others can trust. Setting the example is performative — it’s about visibility. Being the example is formative — it’s about authenticity. One shows what right looks like. The other shows what truth feels like. How Weak Leaders “Set the Example” and Strong Leaders “Are the Example” Weak leaders set the example because they need to be seen doing the right thing. It’s performance. It’s optics. It’s leadership as theater. They model the behavior only when it benefits them — when there’s an audience, a camera, or a scorecard. Strong leaders are the example because the behavior is who they are. It’s alignment. It’s identity. It’s consistency without choreography. They live the values whether anyone is watching or not. Teams feel the difference immediately: When a leader is setting the example, people sense the performance. When a leader is being the example, pe...

  Leadership isn’t defined by position; it’s revealed by posture. The difference between weak and strong leaders isn’t in their titles — it’s in how they handle truth, power, and people. 1. Relationship with Truth Weak leaders distort truth to protect their image. They curate narratives, avoid transparency, and punish honesty. Strong leaders pursue truth even when it’s uncomfortable. They see reality as the raw material for improvement, not a threat to authority. Truth is the mirror that weak leaders avoid and strong leaders polish. 2. Relationship with Power Weak leaders hoard power to feel secure. They confuse control with competence. Strong leaders distribute power to build capacity. They understand that shared agency multiplies results. Power kept is fragile. Power shared is durable. 3. Relationship with Feedback Weak leaders hear feedback as accusation. Strong leaders hear feedback as intelligence. The weak defend their ego; the strong defend their mission. 4. Relationsh...

  The daily call to “sing to the Lord” in Morning Prayer isn’t just poetic—it’s theological and formative. It appears in nearly every version of the Christian morning office (from the Psalms through Benedictine and Anglican traditions) because it expresses what morning worship is meant to do: awaken the soul to praise before anything else happens. Here’s the deeper significance: 1. Creation’s Rhythm Morning is the hour when creation itself “sings”—birds, light, wind. The exhortation aligns human voices with that natural chorus. Psalm 92 begins, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High.” Singing situates us within the rhythm of creation’s praise. 2. Reorientation Before the day’s work and noise, singing re‑centers the heart. In Hebrew thought, song is not entertainment but alignment —it tunes the human spirit to God’s steadfastness. The act of singing is a bodily form of prayer, engaging breath, posture, and emotion. 3. Communal Memory Morn...