Episode 72 – Frank Shelton – Leaders On Leadership
Being a leader means not only going after a certain goal. It is also about connecting with people. As expected, not everyone in your team will agree with you, and some may even betray you. Dr. Tracey Jones sits down with world-renowned evangelist Frank Shelton in discussing how to deal with challenges that come when rising as a leader, especially when dealing with people from all walks of life. Frank emphasizes the unexpected results that come out from working even with competitors, how weariness can be used as a tool for a profound reinvention of leadership, and how the loneliness experienced by most leaders can be defeated by loyalty.
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Frank Shelton – Leaders On Leadership
Our guest is Frank Shelton. He started out writing speeches for congressmen and since then he has spent over two decades ministering and serving various presidents in the White House. He also is a world-renowned evangelist and has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people all over the globe. He is connected and he is on fire. I'm so excited for you to read his perspective on what it takes to pay the price of leadership.
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My special guest is the one and the only Frank Shelton. Frank was born in Washington, DC. He worked two decades on Capitol Hill and served some of the most powerful politicians of our time. His ancestor hand-carried President Abraham Lincoln from Ford's Theatre the evening of the assassination in 1865. Frank went from writing speeches for a congressman to speaking all over the world. He has some unbelievable stories. He was invited to speak to 700,000 in Nicaragua, and three times preached to over 120,000 at Mandela Stadium in Uganda. He is an author, a motivational speaker, an international evangelist and an ambassador of hope uniting folks of all different walks of life.
He's also served as the chaplain at three Olympics and he is the Founder of Frank Shelton Global. Regardless if homeless or in Hollywood, Frank and his team believe everyone is important and he speaks at school assemblies, corporate events, and churches worldwide. Frank shares humor, celebrity impressions, and captivating stories that encourage and inspire. He and Ruth reside in Maryland with their two kids, Hannah and Andrew. Frank, I love hearing your words, insights, and wisdom. If this man prays for you, heaven is going to open up. I'm so excited to have you here, Frank.
Dr. Tracey, it's my honor. You're a leader among leaders and your dad was a hero to all of us. I don't know if I told you, but Randy Hogue was a well-respected motivational speaker and evangelist. He spoke many times for Jerry Falwell Sr. at Liberty. He told me more than once over the last several years, that Charlie Tremendous Jones was one of the greatest communicators he had ever heard. They also said, as far as Thomas Road Baptist and the whole Liberty had one of the most requested messages. He was also phenomenal in raising money for nonprofits. He had a gift and it's obvious that you inherited it. I'm thrilled to be linked with you guys because you're tremendous.
Thank you, Frank. I did not know that, so thank you for that. He loved that organization and he had gifting for that. One of his most requested speeches was called The Price of Leadership. In it, he talked about what it takes to be a leader, the bloody nose, the bloody knuckles, and the tough stuff. He was always such a realist. That's why everybody resonated with him because he was so real. It wasn't all sunshine, roses and angels. It was like, “We're at war. You better suit up.” Victory has won so stay the course. Frank, the first time he talked about the one price in The Price of Leadership out of the four, the first one he talked about is loneliness. Can you share with our leaders, what loneliness means to you and how you deal with it?
I've said many times that leadership is lovely, but it's also lonely. A lot of people want the platform, but they don't want to pay the price. I believe until we get alone in private, we will never be a microphone in public. Until you can get alone and hear the still small voice, you'll never be a voice to the masses, because everyone, especially motivational speakers have this vision to speak to the masses and that's noble, it’s needed and necessary.
We live in a microwave mentality. We don't want it now. We want it yesterday. I believe true leadership is not birth in the microwave, it's in the crockpot. I remember as a kid, I'd be out playing Wiffle ball, touch football, or kickball in the street and all kids wanted to play until it got dark. If my mom was cooking chili or something in the crockpot, it was a special day. It was almost like Pepé Le Pew. If you do not see the fumes, you could smell the fumes three doors down. I get weak in the knees. The taste buds of my mouth are going off like Fourth of July fireworks.
I knew if the crockpot was brewing, it was going to be special. I would almost cut my game short to think, “Mom, what are we eating?” She'd be like, “Go back out and play. I need more time.” You would think that it would be music to a kid's ears, but when it was related to the crockpot, she was killing me. I go back in willing to give up the game. I’m like, “We’ve got to eat.” She's like, “No, I need more time. It's in the crockpot.”
Leadership is never in a hurry, but it's always on time. I felt like I'm going to die. I felt like an Ethiopian. My mom is killing me. I'm not going to eat and it seems like forever. When we finally sat down, said the grace, and got our lips on mom's cooking, it was not only incredible, it was worth the wait. In our culture, the drive-ins and fast food is killing us in more ways than one. Leadership needs to carve out time. When I think of loneliness, I also think of betrayal. I'm not trying to get too spiritual out the gate, but even I was writing a book and the subtitle is on betrayal but even Jesus had a Judas.
As the platform gets bigger, the lights get brighter, and the stage gets wider, not everybody in your corner is in your crowd. One of the loneliest things for leaders is sometimes we not only walk away when we're wounded, sometimes we feel lonely, even after a win. More than ever, leadership needs to delegate not only the praise, not only does it take it to insure of the criticism. At the same time, Abraham Lincoln said there were many nights he had nowhere else to go, but driven on his knees. For a guy who had an office that happened to be oval, he realized that true power was not even in that office, but it was alone in solitude and pressing in digging deep.
My dad's favorite Elvis gospel song was Somebody Bigger than You or I. No matter how big the portfolio gets or big the penthouse is, and you can have three Porsches. I was told in churches in England years ago in the 1600s, architects intentionally would make the front door 60 to 70 feet tall that when you would walk into that church, and even back then most men were 5’5”, 5’7”, and 5’8”, every once in a while, there would be someone close to 6’0”. If you're walking in a door that's 60 or 70 feet tall, even Shaquille O'Neal in perspective would feel small.
Leadership is fulfilling but it also reminds us of our flaws. That's not a bad thing. It’s like what you said in the opening of this show, your dad was real. He was a winner, but he would show warts and all. He knew come hell or high water we’re going on to the other side. He took people with them. It wasn't false advertising. It wasn't cute clichés. Sometimes loneliness is laughing through tears. Loneliness is a frequent companion, but I don't think we should intentionally isolate ourselves. If you're alone, it's at par for the course.
Frank, you brought up one thing I want to call out to our leaders too. Jesus had his Judas. He allowed that and knew that but for leaders out there, if you're on your anointing call and you have the team around you, but you still feel this loneliness, you might have people on the team that are not all in. I remember reflecting back on the times since I've been back to run the business for a couple of years now. We were at our biggest and most profitable and I still felt alone.
For leaders, to give you pause, until you get the right team that is all in and yes, Jesus had Judas but he had his close three. There's always going to be somebody. There's good loneliness as you pointed out, but also there's other loneliness. You might want to look and say, “Who is in my inner circle? Should they be in my inner circle?” When you get that right team around you, and there will be some times where we can only talk to God about certain things, but that's not the norm once you get the people in your corner?
Absolutely. Every rose has its thorn. When I think about Billy Graham, one way to defeat loneliness is loyalty. Billy Graham started with the same core guy. He had George Beverly Shea and Cliff Barrows helping him with the music and he was preaching. One did the singing. One did the speaking and the other was working for the crowd and leading the choir. They started together and finished together. In November of 2019, Billy Graham’s son-in-law called me. Tracey, it was amazing. I had the honor to co-lead a three-day evangelism conference, and it was at Billy Graham's private personal office in Montreat, North Carolina. The library is amazing in Charlotte. The Cove is amazing in Nashville. Both, second to none. They are both open to the public, but Billy Graham's private office near his log cabin is not open to the public.
I hate to use the word mecca for the Christian circles, but what Madison Square Garden is to sports, Billy Graham's private office. You talk about the upper room, we have the whole second floor and it was crazy. We're sitting in him and Ruth’s private rocking chairs. We’re at a table and I'm sitting next to Billy Graham's son-in-law. George Beverly Shea's wife, his widow was still alive, she came in and talked about a roomful of leaders and what it was like to loan her husband to the world.
Connecting With People: As the platform gets bigger, the lights get brighter, and the stage gets wider, not everybody in your corner is in your crowd.
As he was doing her thing, she was privately supporting and holding down the fort. Loyalty helps eliminate loneliness because it was in 1949, when Billy Graham did this thing called the Modesto Manifesto when they were in California. It's something that I would encourage every leadership here in this podcast to google. Google Modesto Manifesto. Modesto because it was in California and they said the things that had plagued leaders, particularly ministers. Some of it was exaggerating numbers so they said, “We don't want to be in that camp.” Some would say we’d be greedy and we'd start taking the money for personal gain. We don't want to do that.
They came up with a policy that even Vice President Mike Pence got ridiculed for. He got it. It was called the Billy Graham Rule. We're not trying to be pious, holier than thou or arrogant, or a bunch of Froot Loops, but we will never have lunch with another woman unless their wife was present or another colleague. You can say, “She's a preacher's daughter and you're Billy Graham.” No, because we have to abstain from any appearance and now that everyone has an iPhone, everyone has a press secretary and camera built in their phone.
Before, if you were upset with someone and you wrote to CNN, it would get in their mailroom and never be found. Some interns would throw it to file thirteen. If you’re on Twitter, you do @CNN and you could make embarrassing news in about twenty minutes. It's a totally different day and we have to take precautions. If you think leadership is lonely, it gets ten times lonelier when the bottom falls out. I would say it's better to get ahead of the curve. I tell people, the reason I shop at Walmart is that when you're in the public, target's already on my back. I tried to do it right.
I've had to reevaluate what success is. It's not wrong to have a house with a picket fence and maybe two kids and a cat or whatever your thing is. Success is not always bigger. At the end of the day, we’re trying to be faithful. It’s now more important than being famous. You can be famous for not only all the wrong things. On social media, you can be famous for almost doing nothing. If we keep working on our character in private, we'll be able to live with ourselves in public. Leadership is lonely and lovely but loyalty goes a long way.
I love when you say that it's ten times lonelier when the bottom falls out. That's so true.
We have a saying, “God forgives, but our friends don't always forget.” Someone once told me, the reason your rearview mirror is smaller than your windshield is that where you're going is more important than where you've been. We can learn from the past, but we don't have to live in the past and regret throws the car in reverse. I believe faith and forgiveness help you get moving forward. I love where Southwest Airlines says, “You're free to move about the country.” I have to say if you have a friend who's constantly bringing up the past, maybe a drop ball, a mishap, or a moral failure. If you have friends who are constantly bringing up the past, they need to become acquaintances in the near future.
Once it's been unpacked, stick with people that give you grace, and don't keep bringing that up. I watch people do that and I'm like, “I can't believe you'd go there.” You don’t need people that are not in your tribe. It’s a good reminder for leaders out there. Sometimes people even get into a little ribbing or sarcasm, which is horrendous. I'm a recovered sarcasm expert. That was my love language. I realized how horrible that was, bringing up the past and teasing. You don't want that. That's a great line too.
Someone eloquently said the word jealousy, the last five letters spell lousy. I was learning 90% of all criticisms rooted in jealousy. In a day of critics, I'm trying to be a cheerleader. I believe we all win when we push each other on. The competition is already intense. There’s nothing wrong with friendly competition, but we need to realize real soon that we're colleagues, not competition. There are a lot of wonderful leaders with big hearts out there. What's interesting is they'll pause to help someone in need, but true leadership will help a competitor in need.
I don't know why, but we can complement everyone under the sun unless it's under our profession. I'm going to go out of the box and say, I have a friend whose dear friend worked directly for Michael Jordan, the Jordan Brand. He works for MJ himself. He's a good Christian guy. He was with Jordan for several years. He just came off the payroll. What I was thinking was, wouldn’t it be amazing, let's say you're an executive at Nike, why don't you dare to pick up the phone and ask the VP of Adidas to meet you for lunch, even if it's in another city?
You say, “I can't do that work competition.” We’re seven billion on the planet, there's room for all of us to network. There's room for growth. There's money to be made. The most important part of every shoe is the sole. If we can connect with each other, we'll be more successful because of each other. This day of the Hatfield-McCoys, Auburn versus Alabama, the Redskins versus the Cowboys. There's a place for that. I've worked in four White Houses of two different political parties. I made a point a long time ago that I wanted more than one political party represented at my funeral. One of the most intriguing things, you won't hear a lot of people say this, but you’ve got to keep them found.
My dad protected eight US presidents. Number one, if dad was willing to take a bullet for someone he didn't even vote for, how come our society now can’t even wave to someone who's polar opposite is up the way we vote. When I looked at the state funeral, some people got impressed with Princess Di's wedding. I'm inspired by a former president's death. It's one time you get five living presidents in the second row of the National Cathedral. That's the most exclusive club in the world. If they could finally for once on camera, not only come together but speak well of the deceased, why can't we do it once a week while we're alive?
I'm trying to think we’ve got to come together and if they can do that politically, we need to do it personally and professionally because that's true leadership. When coach Mike Krzyzewski got word that his friend and former competitor, Dean Smith of the iconic North Carolina Tar Heels basketball, the legend coach, died, he showed up and shocked the world. It was classy of Coach K and I'm not a Blue Devils fan. Instead of the royal blue Duke tie, for the first time in his life, he showed up at Dean Smith's funeral wearing a Carolina blue tie out of respect of his colleagues’ last competition. He showed it in depth. I don't think it's wrong to occasionally do it in life.
Respect is huge. That's a big part of why we are pulling apart as a society the lack of respect. Everybody in power is allowed to be there by God Almighty. Whether you like him or not, as long as they're not telling you to do something illegal or unethical. Render to Caesar what is Caesar's and respect that position. That is good, because as a leader, the loneliness, people are going to take potshots at you and try to alienate you, especially if you're making an unpopular call.
Even if you're making the right call.
One other thing, my dad believed the thing about women. The only woman he ever was seen one on one with was Gloria. He would hug men but for women, he’d kiss their hand because he wanted to respect the boundaries. He was into that.
I've learned that the higher the profile and the bigger the platform, the more respectful boundaries we need because everything can be misconstrued these days.
Connecting With People: If you think leadership is lonely, it gets ten times lonelier when the bottom falls out.
You read proverbs. Leaders aren't even supposed to drink because something bad is going to happen. I am not going to argue about it. It is what it is. Human beings are human beings.
I tell people, “When you’ve got the king of kings, you don't need the king of beers.”
We should write a book titled that. That’s hysterical.
It would be an honor.
Let's talk about weariness. How do you stay replenished and refreshed? What do you do to combat weariness?
The Bible says in Galatians 6:9, “Let us not be weary and well-doing. For in due season will reap if we faint not.” I believe if I had an alternative middle name, it would either be patriotic or persevering. I loved the movie, Rocky. I'm not sure if you knew I had the honor to meet Sylvester Stallone when I was thirteen in Hollywood. I won a Rambo II contest and it was like getting struck by lightning. I go into a movie theater. They give me a piece of paper. I said, “What's this?” They said, “It's a chance to spend the weekend in Beverly Hills with Sylvester Stallone.” It's 1985 and I'm thirteen years old. They told me that I had a better chance to get struck by lightning. I filled it out. You need it all ten right. I'm on the East Coast at thirteen years old outside of DC.
When I gave it to the usher, he said, “You're still not going to win.” I'm like, “We need to fire this guy. At least give me some hope.” He wasn't to get in the PR world. He may have been being realistic, but we’ve got to be optimistic. My godmother came up the next day. My mom's birthday was July 4th and she's talking about Rambo. My ears pricked up and I said, “Did they give you a sheet of paper?” She goes, “They did.” I said, “Do you think you got all ten right?” She goes, “I think.” I said, “Judy, I'm so slow. It takes two hours to watch 60 minutes. All I know is two chances are better than one.” I said, “If I win, I'm going to take you.” She rolled her eyes and said, “Frankie, if I win, I'm going to take you to California. We don't have a chance in the world.”
Two months later, she called me at 9:00 PM Eastern Time screaming on the phone, “Pack your bags. We're going to Los Angeles.” She won. She took me, at age thirteen, to meet the entire Rambo cast at MGM United Artists. He had finished Rocky IV and I ended up getting to meet my childhood hero. Fast forward many years later, I was an extra in the final fight scene of Rocky Balboa, the last Rocky. In the last one he fights, I'm in the fight scene for four days. I'm in the background in the fourth row and I got to reunite with them again.
Millions loved Rocky not because the man never lost, the man never quit. You knock him down and he’d get back up. True leadership is not always going undefeated. It's getting up after a defeat. God allowed me to meet him early on to take some shots later on. Whether it was through criticism, a failed relationship, or a business transaction that went through your hand like sand and you're doing it with integrity, enthusiasm, and life throws a curveball.
All I know is Babe Ruth led the league in home runs but led the league in strikeouts the same season and people made fun of him for that. You would think the Sultan of Swat. How in the world? He led the league in home runs but most people didn't know he led the same year in strikeouts. It shows you at least when he was up the bat, he was swinging for the fence. That's one thing I would tell leaders, “It's okay to find one-off. It's alright to get struck out but you need to keep looking for the fence.” Sometimes he was looking to hit it out of the park. You'll foul a few off, but it's worth it when you smack it over the fence.
Weariness comes before winning, even in the dictionary. If you think winnings are always going to come first or be easy, you might as well subscribe to another podcast because Tracey and I are going to give it to you straight. Weary comes before winning even in the dictionary. They want the platform, but they don't want to pay the price. They want leadership but they don't want to be lonely. To me, there are two oars that rode the boat, weary, winning, leading and even losing. You add loneliness and loyalty.
There are two oars to every leader’s boat. The problem is most corporate executives only got one oar in the water. If you only got one oar in a boat, somebody is going in circles, but if you can take the winning with the weary, and the leading with an occasional losing. Even the loneliness, but you still add in loyalty, you're not only going to be laughing, but you will also be leading in more ways than one. You’ve got to keep both oars in the water.
That's the dual nature of everything, the light and the dark. In Ecclesiastes, “To everything, there's a season.” The beauty is and the reason why we put up with it because we know where the coin toss ends with victory. There are two sides to it and when you don't, you're not going to wind up getting anywhere. You have to pay. You can't say you're a leader if you haven't paid the price of leadership.
I think of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy also said that the presidency was the loneliest job in the world. To me lonely and weary, could be the same. They’re cousins. I also believe in the wearier we can become, the more impact we’ll leave behind. Someone once said, “Legacy and leadership is leaving something behind that will benefit everyone but you.” If I can interject this, my friend, Carl has flown on Air Force One, the 747, on four US presidents. He's flown 2 million miles on the world's most famous airport, two twin 747s, blue and white, American flag on the tail that says the United States of America. Harrison Ford made the movie Get Off My Plane Air Force One. He was on the plane with President George W. Bush and they were flying to Italy.
They got the call that was patched in from Simi Valley, California from former First Lady, Nancy Reagan. She was crying so much that George W. Bush couldn't even understand what she was saying. When he finally pieced it together, she was saying her beloved Ronnie, our 40th president had died. Carl was on the plane with the president at the time, George W. Bush, flying to Italy and the backup identical twin was there behind. President George W. Bush immediately sent to backup the plane no longer flying into Italy, turned it around, and flew all the way back to Simi Valley, California. That plane has been known not only as The Flying White House at the time, but it’s also been a flying hospital when JFK got shot.
One flaw that Air Force One in the old 707 didn't realize they had is they didn't have the President's blood type on the plane. They now have an emergency room that can crash 33,000 feet up in the air. They have his plasma in a cooler. It's like sonar on a boat. Every time the Air Force One flies over a hospital, it will tell that the president is flying by. If there was ever a catastrophe again, they could tell the minutes that the plane's coming down and coming to that hospital whether it be Missouri, Kalamazoo, Michigan, or wherever it's going. It's not only the flying White House and flying hospital, on rare occasions, but it’s also become a flying hearse.
Connecting With People: Leaders do better not only when they delegate but when they're selflessly giving it away.
Here's the backstory to this cool leadership story. Carl, my friend, still does President Trump's travel. He said, “President Ronald Reagan, the two terms he had, he was flying on a 35-year-old plane.” The same plane that flew John F. Kennedy back from Dallas. It was a 707. Kennedy was killed in November ‘63 and ‘87 and ‘88, he's still flying on that older plane. It’s still beautiful on the outside, but it was three decades old on the inside. One of the last things Reagan did as president, he signed an executive order to begin purchasing and building two brand-new 747s. It took 1.5 years to build.
Although President Reagan implemented it and paid for it, he never once flew on it as president and never once flew on it alive. It was George Bush Sr., who got to enjoy it. Bill Clinton for two terms, George W. Bush for two terms, Barack Obama for two terms, it's the same plane Trump is on now. The irony of ironies, when they flew that plane back from Italy to pick up Nancy Reagan and her family, they put on the casket of Ronald Reagan, and they flew him from California to the nation’s capital. Ronald Reagan paid for the plane and never flew on it alive. The first time he flew on that majestic jet was when he was dead. True leadership is what will you leave behind that will bless everybody but you.
I want to encourage our leaders, whether they're a principal, a preacher or a president, whether you're a CEO, a county commissioner, a janitor, or Joint Chiefs of Staff, it's so easy to try to amass wealth, accolades, fill our pockets, promote our brand or lift up our ego. I want to encourage you, not only to have different people represented at your funeral, Billy Graham said, “You're not ready to live until you're ready to die.” I've learned living is going backward. I would encourage you to spread the wealth. Someone once said, “Money is manure. It stinks until you learn to spread it around.”
We need to spread the wealth, compliments around and finances around. Leaders do better not only when they delegate, but when they're selflessly giving it away. That's when your stock gets higher because it's been said, “The poorest person is the one whose only wealth was their money.” I've met a lot of influential people who had cash, but they didn't have class. I have this saying, “Cash without class is like acting trash.” One thing I loved about my dad on Capitol Hill, he knew the janitor's name and they knew him. You could be walking in the hallway with a senator or congressman or chief of staff, but the moment dad saw that janitor was like a beeline. Most guys would boycott them like they’ve got leprosy. They could embarrass you. They're beneath us. That's not what the Bible says. The greatest are the servants.
Someone asked Elvis Presley and my dad's friend was a bodyguard for seven years to Elvis Presley from ‘70 to ‘77. They said, “Elvis, why do you always boycott the mayors and the keys to the city and you always go say hi to the custodian?” Elvis said, “The big guys don't need me, but the other guys do.” It made not only their day, but they would share that picture for the rest of their days. Politicians come and go, but it's lonely for them too. That's why, in full transparency, I lead a weekly Bible study to politicians. One I know they're lonely. I know they're weary. Someone asked Billy Graham, “Do you go after the right-wing or the left-wing?” He said, “No, I’m out for the whole bird. I'm trying to reach everybody.”
He pastored thirteen presidents and six of them he didn't even vote for. When we say, “Politics and religion don't mix,” I'm like, “Drinking and driving don't mix, but they do it anyway.” We do need to come together and work together. It's one of the greatest moments of my life, privately without naming names is ministering to powerful politicians. They told me how lonely they are. Some have told me that their own pastor thinks they're crazy. They don't see it as a mission field. They're wasting their time. They're like, “Frank, some of them said you're one of the only rays of hope I got.” Sometimes I'll try 300 miles a week to go to a state capitol to privately pour in and influence influencers. To my pastor friends, I want to encourage you, a lot of the church is great at going after the poor but we failed to go after the powerful. We need to not only go after the down and out. We need to go after the up and already arrived.
I asked Meadowlark Lemon with the Globetrotters, I wrote the foreword to his book before he died. He was in the Hall of Famers. I said Meadowlark, “Why do you always fly first class?” He laughed, he said, “Brother Frank, rich people need Jesus too.” He would sit in front of the first class. Two, he did have long legs. Number three, he said something I never forgot. He also said, “I never got a business transaction, a book deal or a television appearance by sitting in the back by the lavatory in coach class.”
It was a divine appointment when I was in the first class. Who you respect is who you attract? Leaders are not only attracted to each other's victories, but we fall in love with them because of their values. I heard one story of a guy who was a three-star general who went to get a cup of Starbucks. He walked past a homeless guy in a major city. One of the aides to this general was embarrassed that the three-star general would stop to say hi to a homeless guy. They begin to talk, and the next thing you know the general was weeping. It was over the fact that the homeless had shared in that 32 seconds conversation that his mother died of cancer.
The three-star generals' mother had died of cancer and on the outside, they had nothing in common, but because of loss, they had everything in common. When the aide thought it was naïve or immature for his boss to pause and stop, there's a reason why that guy was the intern or the aide and the one with the stars was the true leader. At that time, that's the common denominator. When in the Super Bowl, it's sometimes striking out in the preseason, but you keep swinging for the fence.
Those points help alleviate the weariness. It's easy. The greatest hobby we have now in the world is sitting there and lambasting leaders and it's like, “You step up into the chair and tell me what it’s like to be completely people that don't know you judging everything. This is not on one side of the other. This is the way it is now. Tell me how you like it.” Let's give them grace. We wouldn't stand up and do it so give them grace, pray for them and support them. Life is tough for everybody out there.
It is, especially in leadership.
Also being a hypercritical leader, they're running our country so if you want them to fail, you want our country to fail. I don't care what side of the fence you're on. I remember when my father was voted a Republican but when Kennedy was shot, he took all of us to go to his funeral because he respected the man and the office. That's huge so thank you for that. For leaders, if you've got people that all want to do is tear you down as a leader, that's not somebody you need to have on your team. It’s to let you know. Some people you can go, “Are you aware you're doing this?” They're going to go, “What? I didn’t realize it.”
Remember this, Tracey, a dog only chases a moving vehicle. It doesn't bark at something standing still. I want to encourage the leaders that if you're getting harassed or kicked and made fun of, it's because you're moving. Take it as a compliment and not a complaint. TD Jakes said, “The taste of success that some will only have is if they try to take a bite out of you.” Plus, if you get kicked from behind, it still means you're out front. I'm not dropping names, but I was invited to be on a National Faith Leader call at the White House with Vice President Mike Pence. I remember hearing stories of previous campaigns that candidates who were running for that high office would make fun of them and throw rocks at them and tease them and how crazy they were to make this decision.
There's this thing called for your eyes only. Every day, the president gets briefed. I would say this with Obama and Trump that the principle remains the same. When you get that thing with the National Security and you get to finally see things that no one else in the world sees, you see Somalia and uproar in China and this. When you see the playbook, even if they somehow win that seat and sit in that same chair, if they have their heart and their head screwed on, many of them have ended up doing the same thing. They made fun of their predecessor because they finally had access to information. They almost not only regret it. They want to recant it. Most of the time, pride wouldn't allow them.
They finally saw things in that elevated position that they didn't even know existed, they didn't even know was in play. That's why the Bible says, “Pray for those in authority.” When you break it down, if you have fifteen employees and you're a summer intern, I would encourage you to speak well of the boss, one, he writes your check, two, you can be gone tomorrow, but three, leadership is lonely. We need to show grace. These people make it sound like, “We got to forget that the whole US is on one plane.” When you're hoping that the whole plane goes down, they’re forgetting that they're going down with the plane.
It's the strangest thing.
Connecting With People: If you're getting harassed or kicked and made fun of, it's because you're moving.
It is. The difference between a champ and a chump is you. There are winners and there's one of these. I’d rather be leading at times feeling lonely and weary, still doing what you're called to do than be throwing rocks and don't have a care in the world. A lot of clowns are sitting on the sidelines, but a leader is in the game. I like what your dad said, “You may have some bloody knuckles and you may get a bloody nose.” What I love is that Teddy Roosevelt talked about the man in the arena. I want to be remembered as the guy like Rocky, he knocked them down, “Get back up.”
That was weariness. The next price he talked about was abandonment. There's good abandonment and there's bad abandonment. What does that mean to you? What would you talk to in your leadership concepts of abandonment? What would you share with other leaders?
I don't think you can lead unless you've ever lost. One of the problems is that a lot of leaders want to pretend that they've never had a failing season, when maybe those behind them may be encouraged that you've endured the losing season. It was a chapter of your book. It wasn't the whole book. To pretend like it wasn't in the book is setting others up for failure and frustration. Abandonment, some things need to stay and some things you need to let go and have the discernment to know the difference.
A prophet is with honor everywhere but their hometown. We would all like to fit in and be respected. At times, I've been reminded as leaders, it's not always fitting in. Sometimes it's standing up and stepping out. I believe elementary school teachers leave no child behind, but in love, there are some adults we leave behind. Sometimes, more often than not, it may be them abandoning you. On rare occasions, there are times we get to cut ties with people. If you know that there is a cancer in the midst and you let it fester and grow, that's not only going to bring down morale and productivity, you're opening yourself up for lawsuits. If they have the audacity to mess up with anyone on your team, in a way, they're messing with the leadership. If they're already messing with them, they may be coming after you.
There are times where abandonment does go both ways. When you think of Lincoln, I go back to him, everyone wants to make fun of that. Respectfully, Bill Clinton and Hillary may have been the first to live in different bedrooms. It goes all the way back to Abraham Lincoln. They had buried their son. His wife had an enormous amount of depression. Lincoln even had bigger bags under his eyes than Bill Clinton. He aged twenty years in that short two terms. Melancholy was a dear friend. For a guy who was the most powerful person on the planet, that had to be a political brand.
His own wife was grieving in her own way. She didn't even want to be in the room with him. Even his own republicans weren't completely behind him. They said the night he went to Ford’s Theatre, I was told, he invited eleven other people, congressmen, cabinet members, even a guy off the street. He was unpopular at that time because of his stain, which is appropriate where we are. They didn't even want to sit in the president's box.
People were boycotting the White House, “He won a national championship and he's not my president.” There's nothing new under the sun. This is something we all can take away. Because he was lonely and because it was weary, he was able to lead. He stood up when others were silent. This is a fact that a conservative white Republican put on an African-American on his staff as a butler and he served at the White House. They said that every time Lincoln would walk by him at a steak dinner or out of a meeting or to go out on the town, every time you saw that African-American, the president would tip his hat. With a wink, he would say, “I’ll see you later.”
In two biographies, they said the night that Lincoln was escorted to Ford's Theatre, when he walked past the African-American, right as soon as he was walking past them to go up to the Ford's Theatre with my ancestor and Shelton over his shoulder, they said the 6’4” Commander in Chief, all in black, Lincoln looked at the African-American, tipped his hat and said, “Goodbye.” He walked right on past them and he knew that his time was up. That's the mark of a true great leader.
Weariness is not your enemy. It's a friend we have failed to appreciate. Ministry or leadership minus urgency equals catastrophe. It reminds us that time is short. We’ve got to make a difference. We’ve got to swing for the fence. It's more than about me. If everyone sang your praises and thought you hung the moon and said, “How great thou art when you use the restroom or go to the water cooler.” You start believing the press clippings. They say ego is edging God out. I love Elvis. Frank Sinatra wrote it but no one is saying it like Elvis. The powerful song, My Way, if you listen to the lyrics, my pastor told me it was the national anthem of hell. The record shows, “I took the blows and I did it my way.” I love Elvis. We need to do it his way because my way will get us all in trouble.
Frank, thank you for sharing that. I love how you talked about Lincoln at the end. One of my dad's life-changing classics was on Lincoln. He adored Lincoln.
I do have a weekly podcast, every Monday, Apple iTunes, it's Frank Shelton's Leadership Lessons. Even though I come from a church background as well as politics, I didn't want to preach to the choir. I've been told that if you google leadership, it's probably the most respected and requested term in all of business. It's universal. Like love, leadership. Every Monday, I download a new podcast. Ironically, the new one will be on Lincoln. If you get bored, you can find this on iTunes. I love Lincoln.
My dad loved him too. When he looked at him and he said goodbye, it's also good for leaders to know when it's time for them to abandon the seat and go. There's a beauty in that. It's sad because it is a job well done, but that's important too. My father and I struggled with that throughout both our careers. I'd look like I'm coming back then no and then yes. That's tough for succession planning for leaders after they built something to know, “It is changing and it's time for you to abandon that seat and hand it to the next generation.”
Pass the baton. You have the words of the late Kenny Rogers, “You’ve got to know when to hold them and when to fold them. Know when to walk away. Know when to run.”
The last price is vision. My father referred to vision as simply seeing what needs to be done and then doing it. We all can do that. It's like, “I'm not a visionary.” Wrong. “I'm not a leader.” Wrong. You see what needs to be done and do it. What is vision for you? When you're in ministry, especially, it seems like every idea that comes your way, “It's an opening from God.” Maybe it's not. How do you hone your vision, Frank?
Johnny Hunt is a respected preacher and former President of the Southern Baptist Convention. I've known him for years. He said, regarding vision, “If you don't see it, before you see it, you'll never see it.” One of my favorite stories was when Walt Disney was there when they opened Disneyland in Anaheim, but he died several years before the grand opening of Disney World. It was ‘75 in Orlando. He was already deceased. His wife, Mrs. Disney, was way up in age but she was there for the red tape opening with media from around the world. A reporter came up to Mrs. Disney and stuck the mic in her mouth and said, “Mrs. Disney, it is a shame that your husband, Walt, could not be here to see this.” She said, “I beg your pardon. My husband, Walt, saw this day a long time ago.”
A lot of people have vision. I love Helen Keller. She, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, and Ronnie Milsap saw more things than some of us who are not blind. True vision is also seeing it before others will see it. You have to be careful. It's noble to have vision. If you're not careful, sometimes those closest to you, it could be a spouse, parent, sibling, next-door neighbor, the best man in your wedding, the chief of staff, your CEO. Because you have a vision, it doesn't mean everyone is going to see your assignment. You need the vision. Even more important than the vision, if you don't have values going into the vision and through the vision, you're not going to have victory. The three Vs, you need the vision, you need to stay with values, and then and only then is there a victory.
Connecting With People: Weariness is not your enemy. It's a friend we have failed to appreciate.
I tell public school students all across America, if you have a chance now to drive a brand-new Infiniti or develop integrity, stick with integrity. When that high-end SUV or sports car leaves you on the side of the road, if you have integrity, you can still have your head held high and move through in the game of life. If all you’ve got is this car, but you have no character, you're going to crash in more ways than one. I tell people that if you have money but you don't get morals, you're a mess.
Vision is important but value is extra important and you're going to be victorious, win or lose. Many who are first will be last. We all know your dad preached it and you did too. You can spend your whole life and find out you put the ladder on the wrong side of the wall because it's leaning up against the wrong thing. Let's face it, some people fall like a deck of cards because on the outside, it looked like a billion-dollar enterprise. On the inside, it was built on lies and fabrication. You can buy followers on Twitter and that's a mistake. You don't have to fake it until you make it. It's better to go slow and be true than out the gate and find out we were counterfeit. I want to encourage people, bigger is not better. The tortoise and the hare, sometimes slow and consistent wins the day.
For leaders, when you're looking for followers to draw to your organization or when you're looking for leaders to hook your star, your wagon on to, or the wall, do make sure, in leadership terminology, it's a value congruence. It's a moral congruence. You want to make sure that you affiliate with people that you're professionally and equally yoked. Not just in marriage, but also in manners of professionalism. Otherwise, you may get filthy rich with your stock portfolio but you're going to feel like you've sold your soul and pretty much you did. I love that you tied values to vision. I can remember interviewing these companies that they came from nothing and then their stock valuation was $7 billion. All of a sudden, some character malformation revealed how hollow it was inside. Everybody saw it and they stuck around because they were getting rich. That's a tragedy. That's disgusting. That's evil. I love that you tied vision to values.
It's been an honor to be with you. I would encourage you and our readers, in closing, we should be friends with one another. We should pray for one another. I would encourage you to write a handwritten note of encouragement to one another, even if it happens to be the competition. I've learned that when we are kingdom-minded, there are no boundaries. When we're trying to build our little castle, we’re territorial. We should lift each other up because you're going to have enough critics. You don't want to bring any other attacks. One of the highest compliments may not even be sealing that next deal or going from that million to a billion. You can celebrate for a while when the smoke clears and the flashlight is on the organization.
Billy Graham started together. They finished together. I was at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte to see some old colleagues that I was on staff for five years with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Do you know what's cool? Billy and Ruth Graham's grave markers are side by side. George Beverly Shea and Cliff Barrow's tombstone is about 50 feet away on the same plot of land. After you see the preacher, you can see the praise team. They not only started together, retired together, they're resting in peace together, but they're celebrating in heaven together with your dad.
They are and waiting for us. That's going to be exciting.
I’m on my way.
We all are. Frank, how do people get in touch with you? How can they connect with you?
Thank you, Tracey. It's been an honor to be with you. The corporate classroom is FrankShelton.org. FrankShelton.com is all our faith-based stuff. Nikita Koloff, the former World Wrestling champ, our mutual friend, him and I were supposed to fly to Tokyo, Japan. We were flying to be chaplains at the Olympics. The Corona threw a curveball. That's another thing. Stay creative in the crisis. Because you're still, it doesn't mean you stopped. Use this time to reset, reinvent, maybe rebrand, rebuild. Rebound is not a bad word. Basketball is great. Relationships can be dangerous. You don't want to go right into a rebound. It's a slam dunk when you do it right.
Frank, thank you. For our readers, check out Frank. Frank, did you say you have a podcast too?
If you go to FrankShelton.com, the top header says podcast or you could go on iTunes and download it every week, Frank Shelton. You're amazing. Thank you.
For our readers, make sure you subscribe to that. Subscribe to Tremendous Leadership. Leave a five-star rating, and Frank's too. Please reach out and connect. Frank, thank you so much for what you taught me. Thank you for pouring in to all the leaders throughout the world and for our readers.
You're the best. Thank you.
You're welcome. Everybody, have a tremendous day. Thanks for tuning in to the show.
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About Frank Shelton
Frank Shelton, Jr. is a child of God. He ministers across America and around the globe at various venues impacting lives for God’s glory. He has addressed millions on television, preached three years in a row to over 118,000 at Nelson Mandela National Soccer Stadium in Uganda, Africa. By God’s grace, Frank has seen firsthand thousands repent of sin and trust Christ by faith as Lord and Savior. Frank speaks at churches, conferences, city-wide crusades, outdoor festivals, school assemblies and other outlets sharing the love of God and has a burden for lost souls and considered both a revivalist and harvester. Danny Daniels, former staff @ Saddleback Church (Best Man in Rick Warren’s wedding) in California noted: “I don’t know anyone in America with a greater anointing and gift for evangelism than Frank Shelton.” After working two decades on Capitol Hill, he left the pay, prestige and perks of government to be a global evangelist and missionary. His television program #ByFaith with Frank Shelton airs weekly to over 150 Million homes across America, Europe & Africa on DirecTV, DISH Network, Christian Television Network, NOW Network, cable, Roku among others. Regardless, if at a country or mega church he has a gift to connect with almost any audience. He’s a fifth generation Washingtonian (DC) and has a passion for God & people.
From 2015 – March 2019, Frank served as Washington, DC/ Maryland & Delaware State Coordinator with Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He assisted in TEN states for Franklin Graham’s DECISION AMERICA TOUR coast to coast and helped mobilized thousands of Christians and hundreds of churches to attend and share their faith. Frank has appeared several times on national television and was a guest on FOX NEWS in their NY, Washington DC & Dallas, TX studios discussing politics and religion and appeared on “HANNITY,” Lauren Green’s “Spirited Debate” and interviewed by Kimberly Guiloyle. Frank was tapped International Evangelism Chairman of 2012 Olympics outreach in London, England with LWFCI and “Olympian of Century” Carl Lewis and 2016 Olympics outreach in Rio de Janiero, Brazil and serving again for upcoming 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. In 2018, Frank gave the keynote at Emmanuel Theological Seminary in Kota, India and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity. However, he believes testimony is greater than title and character more important than credentials.
He shares HUMOR, celebrity impressions and scores resonate with his unique way to preach and note he is a gifted story-teller. God commands that we make disciples not just decisions and for 20 years Southern Maryland Christian Academy has had Frank speak at chapel. For the past three years, he is tasked to write the entire curriculum for their junior and senior high and weekly speaks into over 200 students and staff. He is school chaplain and both preaches, invites guests and writes the bi-monthly small group lessons. He also leads a weekly Bible study in the State Capitol to legislators inviting and ministering to politicians of both political parties and true power is not in government but God. Frank has also been a blog contributor with The Christian Post and part of NGA with Dr. Luis Palau and serves on Advisory Board of Praisefest Ministries “Cruise with a Cause” along with Josh McDowell and he’s preached on all four of their cruises. Over 39,000 souls repented and received Christ on those cruises to Bahamas and Jamaica with Haiti planned in future. He also served in the past as a volunteer White House Press Correspondent attending the Daily Press Briefings for a Christian news outlet and has ministered on the street to speaking at stadiums but it is still for an Audience of One. Frank is married to his best friend, Ruth and they have two children, Hannah Grace & Andrew Lincoln residing in Southern Maryland. Frank is just as comfortable ministering in a country church and his desire is to reach one more Christ before its too late. Regardless, if sharing the Gospel on “HANNITY,” Hollywood, homeless or Capitol Hill’s most prominent politicians he longs that everyone will encounter a personal relationship with JESUS!