Lead: Essential Lessons for a Young Leader

By Vanessa Gracia Cruz and Ruddy Gracia

Today, millennials are starting companies, taking control of the media, and conquering the workplace. This generation doesnt only want to be influenced, they want to be influencers. They want to lead, but need to learn how. This book is a highly personal compilation of simple and practical tools regarding leadership, from the perspective of a young leader. This book will teach you how to begin leading, and how to lay the groundwork for a long and healthy leadership.

This book is practical yet rich with wisdom. As I read through the pages it was as hearing a sister, a girlfriend, opening up and sharing nuggets of wisdom on what a healthy leader looks like and how I can become one. This book crosses generational lines and is a breath of fresh air to all who are in a position of leadership and influence.

Ingrid Rosario

With personal insight, humor, and depth, LEAD provides invaluable direction for leaders of every generation. Vanessas transparency captures you on every page and will catalyze you into a better you!

Lilly Villella Garcia

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512784909

Vanessa Gracia Cruz

Vanessa Gracia Cruz is the founder of Millenial Grace Inc. an international ministry dedicated to helping millenials reach their full potential. She uses her MBA and experience as a Chief Operating Officer and entrepreneur to teach leadership and personal development to today's young influencers. Vanessa speaks to thousands of people each year, and directs Redoma the largest Christian, Hispanic conference for women in the U.S. She is married to Ricardo Cruz, and together, they lead the youth and young adult ministry at their home church, Segadores de Vida and Southwest Ranches, Florida.

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Copyright © 2017 Vanessa Gracia Cruz.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5127-8491-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-8490-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017906826

WestBow Press rev. date: 5/8/2017

Table of Contents

Introduction

Lesson 1 – Understanding Your Role

Lesson 2 – Earning Your Influence

Lesson 3 – Building Your Toolbox

Lesson 4 – Developing Essential Habits

Lesson 5 – Goal Setting

Lesson 6 – Learning to Prioritize

Lesson 7 – Creating Culture

Lesson 8 – Leading When You’re Not in Charge

Lesson 9 – Managing Relationships

Lesson 10 – Having Difficult Conversations

Lesson 11 – Working with Your Strengths

Lesson 12 – Making an Impression

Lesson 13 – Becoming More Than a Boss

Lesson 14 – Avoiding Burn-out

Final Thoughts

Acknowledgements

Works Cited

Endnotes

For the Gracia family, who made me who I am, and taught me many of the lessons that I pass on through this book.

For my mom and dad, who set an example of leadership, and gave me a legacy to carry.

And to Ru, Jessie, and JJ, my first team. Thank you for letting me boss you around. It helped to develop my leadership skills!

Foreword

L ead is a practical collection of ideas that will not only motivate young leaders, but serve as a starter-kit for leading. It contains basic, but very important principles that make up the first steps in successful leadership. Although it originates from a Christian perspective, its use does not exclusively stay within those boundaries. It transcends to those who want to lead in the marketplace as well. I personally recommend this book, because I see the incredible value that these practical lessons represent to our generation.

There are two things that make a successful leader. The first is a God-given ability to lead, and the second is guidance from other, more experienced leaders. Vanessa Gracia Cruz possesses both of these. Making her, if not an expert in the field of leadership, a definite voice of wisdom for the emerging generation of leaders of our time. I believe that her point of view is unique because she not only grew up in a family of leaders, but also had access to vast resources of wisdom that surrounded her in her childhood- being able to call some of today’s most relevant and powerful leaders in Latin America her aunts and uncles. My daughter, Vanessa, is a compass for a multitude of young people around the world. This guide will help them rise up and reach their destiny.

—Pastor Ruddy Gracia

Introduction

I sometimes like to tell the story about how I aged twenty years in a day. I was a twenty-three year old, working part-time as my father’s assistant, earning my MBA, and thinking I had all the time in the world before I’d have to figure out my next move. But in what seemed like the blink of an eye, I was the Chief Operating Officer of one of the largest and fastest growing churches in the United States. I was now directing a staff of over forty people, a ministry of thousands, and hundreds of home groups. I only had half a business degree, but I became the head of human resources, acting CFO, and Event Director. Yes, this all happened in one day, which also happened to be the day my mother passed away.

I’ll back up a little so you can fully understand the story… My mother and father founded our home church when I was about two years old. Throughout my entire childhood, I watched them build this ministry. I saw first hand how it grew from a group small enough to fit in our first, one-bedroom apartment, to an organization that was literally impacting the world. I know that this experience laid the groundwork for my leadership. I grew up wanting to make an impact in people’s lives. I was inspired by how my parents built teams from unlikely people. They’d believe in them, teach them, and motivate them, until these people were building teams of leaders themselves.

I remember being most impressed with my mom. My father was, and still is, the visionary, but my mom was the heartbeat of the operation; she kept everything going. My mother was in charge of the finances, the staff, and all of the operations. There was very little decision making that first didn’t go through her. She was the time-keeper, planner, and strategist. She was my first, and