5 Easy Steps to Becoming an Inauthentic Communicator
Authenticity is one of the most important lenses through which your congregation filters what happens when you communicate.
But actually being authentic in your communication isn’t always easy. It requires the effort and discipline to be yourself.
On the other hand, being inauthentic when you communicate is actually quite easy. It simply requires these 5 easy steps.
1. Make sure there’s no connection between your real-life and your communicating
If there is a disconnect between your personal life and your communication you can be sure you’ll be perceived as inauthentic. For example, talking about good stewardship when you’re wracked with debt is a good starting point.
2. Communicate completely differently than the way you talk
I knew one pastor who talked very normally in every day conversation, but the minute he stood behind the pulpit suddenly he pronounced the word “scriptures” using five syllables.
Creating a wide chasm between how you communicate in the church lobby and how you communicate in the pulpit guarantees inauthenticity.
3. Never disclose any areas of struggle in your life
A sure way to be seen as inauthentic is to communicate as if you have all the answers and have everything in life nicely sorted out.
Since your congregation is dealing with real-life issues every day you’ll be sure to be seen as weirdly different from everyone else.
4. Include content designed to make you look smart
These are the cool nuggets of trivia you uncovered in your research that really don’t add a lot of value to the talk, but which might make you sound clever.
Inauthentic communicators cram their talks with this stuff.
5. Lace your talks with important-sounding names and places
Instead of saying, “I was talking with someone” you say, “I was talking with someone while on a flight from Rome to Bangkok.”
Instead of saying, “I was at an event recently…” you say, “I was the guest of honour at an event recently…”
This kind of communicating doesn’t have a lot of power, but it can make the preacher look good.
On the other hand if your goal is changed lives through the power of God’s Word, ignore these five steps.
And just be real.
How do you make sure you are as authentic as possible when you communicate?
Has Your Church Been Infiltrated by Internet Christianity?
Take a listen to the conversations taking place in and around your church these days. Are you hearing anything like this?
- “Did you hear what they’re saying about Rick Warren?”
- “You know, I really think we need more teaching about the end times.”
- “You have to read this email that’s going around. It has a lot to say about the direction of our churches these days.”
If this kind of talk is going on, chances are your church is being infiltrated by Internet Christianity.
During our recent series of Innovate leadership forums, our National Pastor Tim Schroeder provided valuable coaching on this growing phenomenon, where members of our churches are being swept up in internet-fueled side issues.
In its mildest form, Internet Christianity can deflect a church off its mission. At worst it can cause internal strife and division.
Church leaders must be vigilant to lead decisively against this infiltration by speaking truth boldly and by correcting error clearly and lovingly.
How can you tell if Internet Christianity has infiltrated your church? Watch for these warning signs:
1. Fringe doctrinal issues are gaining a foothold
Be on the lookout for a sudden increase in conversations about topics like the place of sign gifts in the church or the role of women in leadership.
2. Other churches, ministries and pastors are being criticized
Internet Christianity obsesses over the words and actions of well-known Christian leaders.
Were people in your church clucking their tongues over Andy Stanley’s stand on homosexuality? If so, chances are Internet Christianity has crept in to your church.
3. The authority of blogs is replacing the authority of scripture
Don’t think the irony of blogging about this is lost on me.
What I’m talking about here is the growing, concerning trend where people in your church may be taking their direction from a handful of influential bloggers, instead of the scriptures being preached from your own pulpit.
Online resources can obviously be a wonderful tool for the spiritual development of your congregation. But without great discernment it can also lead to distractions and divisions in your church.
Stemming this tide may be one of your highest leadership callings.
How have you responded to the growth of Internet Christianity in your church?
4 Ways to Get Your Church Unstuck
At our recent series of Innovate leadership forums we asked this question; “What one word best describes your church today?”
From Vancouver to Moncton, one of the words we heard over and over was this:
Stuck!
We then profiled Canadian church leaders whose church had found ways to get things moving again. These were the key discoveries:
1. Leaders must be secure
Laurel Buckingham, senior pastor of Moncton Wesleyan Church, the largest church in Atlantic Canada, stressed that in order for a church to find new traction the point leader must be secure in themselves.
Only out of a secure place can the leader find the courage to ask the tough questions that must be addressed when a church is stalled.
2. Leaders must focus on soul-care
It’s not possible to lead your church toward renewed momentum when your soul is dry.
This was a key observation of Greg Hochhalter, lead pastor of Sherwood Park Alliance Church near Edmonton.
Greg noted that his marching orders from his board are that he must lead “out of a deep well”, and that his board has provided the means by which he can find the spiritual nourishment he requires.
3. Leaders must be willing to shake up the team
Drawing on more than 30 years of pastoral ministry, our national pastor Tim Schroeder reminded us that the team that “got you stuck” is unlikely to be the team that gets you “unstuck”.
Tim wasn’t advocating the arbitrary dismissal of your leadership team, but did challenge leaders to have the courage to shake things up.
4. Leaders must focus mission and strategy around the church’s core strengths
If a church is to get unstuck it must relentlessly focus on its distinctiveness.
Tim and Greg each reminded us that many stuck churches simply provide too many ministry offerings, thus dissipating precious resources and leading to a lack of ministry focus. A related trap, we learned, was in following trends of other churches, particularly “celebrity churches”.
Instead, we were reminded, to get moving again you must recognize your church’s unique strengths and focus there.
The bottom line in all this?
- Churches do get stuck
- They won’t get unstuck by themselves
- To get things moving again is up to the leader whose heart is fully yielded before God.
Is your church stuck? What are you doing to get things moving again?
4 Risks that Exaggeration Poses to Your Leadership
How many of these statements, or statements like them, have you used;
- “That was the best (event, class, earnings quarter, meeting) we’ve ever had!”
- “This promises to be the best (baptism service, board retreat, youth outreach, stockholders meeting) ever!”
- “There is an unbelievable sense of momentum and excitement building in our (church, company, ministry, club)!”
If you find that these types of hyped-up, hyperbole-filled statements are creeping into your leadership communication, watch out. Your leadership could be taking hits that you’re not even aware of.
As a leader you must certainly project optimism. But when you cross the line into hyperbole, you run four significant risks:
1. You can be seen as inauthentic
Let’s face it. Not every event can be the “best ever”. If you use this kind of language excessively people will start to see you less as a leader, and more as a pitch-man.
Remember, you need to cast vision, not sell a ShamWow.
2. You can lose credibility
You know that service you described as the “best ever”? Well guess what. Your people were there, and they know it wasn’t the best ever.
When your communication creates a gap between what your people know to be true, and what you claim to be true, you start to lose credibility.
3. Young people start to tune out
At a recent INNOVATE leader’s forum, Greg Hochhalter, senior pastor of Sherwood Park Alliance Church in Alberta, made this important observation. Young people today have their radar on “full alert” for anything that smells like hyperbole, exaggeration or hype.
You can’t afford to alienate this group with your communication.
4. You create a culture of “desperation”
As a leader your words have a powerful ability to form and shape culture.
When your communication is flavoured with constant hype you are creating a culture of desperation. For your followers it’s a short walk from desperation to suspicion.
Because of my own optimistic nature, I’ve learned that I need to be vigilant to ensure that hyperbole doesn’t creep into my own communication.
And I would urge you to be just as vigilant.
Because if you can keep away from exaggeration and hype it will be the absolutely greatest thing ever.
(In case you missed it… that was hype!)
How do you keep from over-hyping your communication?
Why Leaders Need to See the World through “Young Eyes”
There’s nothing quite like proven, reliable experience to help a leader navigate through the toughest of challenges.
But at a recent gathering of the board of The Leadership Centre Willow Creek Canada, I was reminded of an important quality in leadership that is an essential companion to experience.
It’s the ability to see the world through “young eyes”.
As our meetings concluded, one of the board members closed in prayer by asking God to bless each of these seasoned leaders seated around the table by granting us young eyes with which to view the world.
By this he meant the ability to balance experience with a youthful outlook.
As I reflected on this later, I recognized just how vital a quality this is. And I was reminded too that after years in the trenches, leaders may need to exercise the daily discipline of choosing to view the world through a youthful lens.
But the leadership payoff is worth it. Specifically, if you choose to see the world with young eyes you will develop three distinct advantages:
1. You will develop an exuberant optimism
Along with wisdom and perspective, longevity in leadership can also sometimes bring with it a certain jaded cynicism.
But when you see the world through young eyes you continue to see possibilities in any situation.
2. You will develop endless curiosity
Years of experience can have the unfortunate side effect of causing a leader to view certain outcomes as inevitable.
But choosing to see the world through young eyes creates within you an insatiable curiosity to understand why things are the way they are, and then a refusal to believe things have to stay that way.
3. You will develop stubborn resiliency
Spending years in the trenches of leadership can yield invaluable perspective and understanding.
But with young eyes you can add to this an uncanny ability to rebound from failed attempts.
The paradox is that the more experience you attain in your leadership, the more discipline may be required to maintain this youthful outlook.
But the results are worth the effort.
How do you ensure you continue to see the world through young eyes?
How to go from Herding Cats to Leading Race Horses
One of the most common frustrations shared by church leaders is that leading their team can be like herding cats; each leader seemingly moving in a different direction.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Effective leaders know that it is possible to align even the most independently-minded department heads into a cohesive, focused and purposeful team. The key is in following these three steps.
- Create a plan based on a single vision, not on a collection of department goals.
In many churches the ministry planning process begins by asking each department to submit their plans.This approach almost guarantees a “herding cats” approach to leading the team.
Before each department can tackle their individual plan there must be a sometimes exhaustive process of clarifying the overall church vision, and ensuring each department “gets it”. Then, and only then, can they prepare a departmental plan, designed to further that overall vision.
- Continually measure the performance of each department against the church’s overall vision
Each time you meet with your department heads, lead them toward increasing alignment with the overall vision.In the large church where I served as executive pastor I once had a department head who, by all appearances, was leading a record-breaking ministry in terms of growth.
The problem was that our church’s vision centred on becoming an increasingly inter-generational congregation, with each member more fully integrated into the overall life of the church.
This growing department was developing into an independent ministry merely orbiting around the church, not integrated into it.
But with a clear and shared vision we were able to use to steer that department back toward fuller alignment.
- Create multiple sources of information
You’ll never create full alignment merely by asking your department head, “How’s it going?”To truly discern the degree of alignment you need to:
- Personally spend time in and around each ministry. I’d suggest at least once per quarter.
- Build relationships with people you can trust within each department. Ask them how things are going really.
If you’re leading a team of highly energized department heads, the tendency toward misalignment is almost inevitable.
But if you keep your team focused on the vision, and relentlessly steer them toward the vision, you can free your race horses to achieve great things.
How do you ensure your “race horses” are aligned?
How to Avoid the Copy-Cat Leadership Trap
One of the best ways to develop in your leadership is to learn from other leaders. Growing leaders will read about other great leaders, will seek to discern their leadership traits, even emulate their leadership skills.
But one of the worst things you can do is to short-circuit the process by merely attempting to copy these great leaders.
Copy-cat leaders do little more than mimic someone else’s leadership style. They’ll try to copy the vision-casting style of Bill Hybels or the teaching mannerisms of Andy Stanley. They’ll even try to mimic the hip casual style of Steven Furtick.
This may result in short-term success, but rarely will it yield the lasting impact that comes only from a deeper study of great leaders.
So how can you avoid falling into the copy-cat leadership trap?
1. Ask more “why” questions; ask fewer “how” questions
For every “how” question (“How does that leader use illustrations in his talks?”), ask at least four “why” questions. “Why does that leader bring so much energy when he preaches about lost people?” “Why does that leader pour so much of himself into younger leaders?”
“How” questions point to technique. “Why” questions point to values.
2. Focus on a leader’s journey; not just their results
Many leaders want to copy the seemingly idyllic leadership lifestyle of Hawaii’s Wayne Cordeiro.
Few want to look at the years of burnout that he needed to endure.
Many leaders want to copy Craig Groeschel’s impressive media ministry.
Few want to look at the years of ministry spent in a garage.
The point is, the real “guts” of leadership is often found in studying these leaders’ most gruelling experiences.
3. Seek to become the best leader you can be, not who someone else can be
God gave you certain leadership gifts, passions, dreams, and capacities.
Your goal must be to learn from other great leaders in order to fully grow into the leader God has called you to be, not to become some hybrid of other leaders.
Always learn from the leaders you most admire, but continually check your spirit to ensure you’re not seeking to merely copy them.
From that learning posture God can develop you into the leader he has uniquely designed you to be.
How do you ensure you don’t fall into “copy-cat” leadership?
6 Vital Conversations Before Making a Ministry Hire
Few dynamics have a greater impact on the success of your ministry than building a great team.
That’s why it is so critical that you get your next hire right. And it all begins by having 6 vital conversations.
1. The conversation with God
No decision should drive you to your knees in prayer quite like a ministry staffing decision. The entire process must begin and end bathed in prayer.
2. The conversation with EVERY reference
It’s shocking to me how few leaders pay attention to this hiring essential.
Step 1 is to personally connect by phone with every reference listed.
Step 2 is to understand that because these references are, by definition, biased toward the candidate, you must ask probing questions. Don’t simply say, “Tell me about Joe.” Try 
something like, “Tell me about a time you saw Joe under great pressure.”
3. The conversation with the “references of the references”
Conclude every conversation with a reference by asking, “Who else do you know that could give me some more background?”
For example, if you’re hiring a youth pastor you need to somehow drill below the references provided. You need to talk to his previous youth leaders, parents of the kids, etc.
That’s where you’ll find the gold nuggets of truth you’ll need.
4. The conversation with the previous employer
Assuming the candidate is no longer working at his previous church, you MUST talk to his former senior pastor or supervisor, regardless of whether or not he is listed as a reference.
5. The conversation with the spouse
Is the candidate married? Guess what; you’re hiring the spouse too.
By that I mean it’s almost impossible to have a successful run in ministry with someone whose marriage is in trouble, or who is not 100% supported by their spouse.
6. The conversation with the applicant
Now you’re ready to interview the applicant. But you must go well beyond “So, why do you want to work here?” talk. Learn the craft of probing for character traits.
Take them out for lunch and watch how they interact with service staff. Get them to talk about a former employer and listen for signs of respect, or disrespect.
Whatever you do, never short-circuit this process because few dynamics have a greater impact on the success of your ministry than building a great team.
What conversations do you consider to be essential in the hiring process?
3 Steps to Much Better Team Decisions
How do you help your team make better decisions?
It starts by understanding that there is no such thing as a team decision.
Every decision made in your church or organization must have someone’s name written next to it. Someone must own the outcome. Someone must pace around their office thinking through every ramification and potential hurdle.
In his Harvard Business Review blog post, If You Think Your Team Makes Decisions, Think Again, Bob Frisch wrote, “Executive teams may discuss issues, debate courses of action, and even give their stamps of approval, but they actually don’t decide anything of moment as a group… It is the leader, not the group, who ultimately allows that particular decision to go through.”
For this understanding to gain traction there are 3 important steps you must take;
1. Clarify roles and responsibilities at the outset.
Instead of saying, “Team, we have a decision to make today,” it should be, “Team, I have a decision to make today, (or “Susan has a decision to make today”) and your help is required.”
2. Set the decision-maker up for success.
If you have given Susan the responsibility for a decision, you must also confer on her the authority to make that decision. Let the team know that it’s her call. And it’s her responsibility to ensure its success.
3. Coach the team in how to support the decision.
Individual members of the team may, or may not, agree with the decision reached by you or Susan. Your job becomes coaching the team on how to support that decision even when they disagree.
One of the key members of our team will regularly consult with me when I’ve made a tough decision. If he doesn’t agree with me he will always say, “Scott, I see this differently. But I will support you 100%.”
That’s where you need to get your team.
Always make sure that every decision has a name written next to it.
Always make sure it is clear who has the responsibility and authority to make a call.
Always strive to coach your team toward honest feedback and support of decisions made.
The result will be tremendous traction for the entire organization.
How do you leverage your team in the decision making process?
4 Measurements Leaders Need to Weigh, not Count
Leaders measure.
It’s part of what we do. It’s in our “DNA”. We want to know how many, how much, how often, how far and how fast.
These measurements tell us how much progress we’re making and how much distance we still have to go before achieving the goal.
But effective leaders also know that in addition to these metrics which require counting, there are also vital indicators that require WEIGHING.
They know that while counting tells you some important information, that’s often only the beginning. The complete story is only found when you take the time and invest the leadership effort required to weigh less tangible data.
Here are four scenarios that call for weighing, not just counting.
1. When you need to rally support around a cause
Counting may tell you how many are “on board”, but effective leaders will want to know WHO is on board. “Do I have the influencers on side?” In other words, effective leaders measure the weight of the voices.
2. When you need to reverse a trend
Counting may tell you which way the trend is heading (giving is sliding, attendance is plateauing, etc). But effective leaders want to know who is leaving (and who is coming), and who has stopped giving (and who has increased giving). These are questions of weight.
3. When you need to respond to criticism
Counting may tell you how many complaints have been received. Effective leaders, though, want to know where those complaints are coming from in order to determine how much validity they might carry. They want to weigh the source of the complaints.
4. When you need to know “who has your back”
Counting may tell you how many senior staff showed up for work today, or how many board members make up a quorum. Weighing, though, tells you who you can count on when the going gets tough. Effective leaders weigh levels of support among key stakeholders.
Is counting important? Absolutely. Just be sure your measurement doesn’t end there. If you really want to understand what’s going on behind the numbers, learn to develop the ability to weigh, not just count.
Because very often “who” is more important than “how many”.
What other areas do you find necessary to weigh, not simply count?
The Soul-Filling Impact of Good Friday
For many Christ followers, Good Friday is merely the warm-up act to the main event; Easter Sunday. But I believe there is tremendous “soul-filling” value in focusing on a key moment in the Good Friday narrative.
It starts by looking at two critical “walks” that God took with his people.
The first walk took place in the Garden of Eden, where Genesis records how God would walk in the garden with Adam “in the cool of the day.” Imagine how much God must have enjoyed those times, simply strolling with His people, just doing life together.
But the next “walk” we read about takes place in a very different reality. God was about to lead Moses and the Israelites on a 40-year walk through the wilderness. But the presence of sin meant that God would not be able to enjoy the kind of communion he enjoyed in Eden.
Instead, God instructed Moses to:
Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman…The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. (Exodus 26: 31–33)
That curtain came to symbolize the separation between God and his people.
But on Good Friday, everything changed. At the moment where our Savior cried out, “It is finished!” we read that:
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. (Matthew 26:51)
It was as if God reached down out of heaven, took hold of that symbol of separation and ripped it apart with his bare hands! In that moment God was declaring, “No more separation! With the sacrifice of My beloved Son, communion is restored. We will once again walk together, just as we did back in Eden.”
As followers of Christ we live in the power of the resurrection, making Easter Sunday a day completely worthy of celebration.
But on Good Friday, let me urge you to take time to remember the ripping apart of the veil. For it was in that moment that God declared for all time that you and I would walk together with Him, “in the cool of the day.”
How God Used Africa to Stretch My Heart
Last week I had the privilege of visiting Ecuador with our partners at Compassion Canada. I posted some reflections on my blog March 30th. I’ve also been fortunate enough to visit the work of another key partner, World Vision Canada. Below is a re-post of my reflections from that incredible trip.
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[Originally posted September 7, 2010]
I’ve just experienced a truly incredible morning.
Here at the Bakubung Bush Lodge in South Africa we woke early to catch the sunrise. Under a brilliant orange sky we saw and heard 
the wilds of Africa come to life, with exotic birds bursting into song and a herd of wildebeests wandering by.
In this remarkable setting I took the time to reflect on this two-week South African odyssey I’ve been privileged to experience. With our World Vision hosts and a group of Canadian pastors, I spent time in some of this country’s most beautiful and affluent areas, as well as her most desperately needy regions.
I thought back to the days leading up to this journey, and specifically to the ways in which I believe God was preparing my heart. I had sensed a very real challenge from God’s Spirit to not simply come and look at what’s happening around me, but to really see things in and through God’s perspective.
So, what did I see?
- I saw people who’s annual earnings most of us will spend on a month of Starbucks coffee, but who are rich in their love for God. To have had the privilege to worship with these people was to experience a freedom in worship I’ve rarely seen before.
- I saw people whose generosity was not contingent upon their level of income. Among communities of people with very little of what the world would call “wealth” there was a consistent spirit of looking out for those with even less.
- I saw in the hearts of the Canadian pastors on the trip a spirit of compassion and mercy that should inspire all Canadian Christ-followers. Their genuine love for the people we met should come as no surprise, but it was nonetheless affirming to see such care demonstrated.
- I saw God do a work in my own heart. I was challenged to examine my own life and my own priorities. I found God changing my definitions of words like “necessities”, “security”, “possessions” and “needs”.
My final reflection would be that, as a result of this life-changing trip, I find that my resolve to see the Church in Canada become stronger, healthier and more vibrant to be more intensified than ever.
Because I believe to the core of my being that God has a truly global role for the Canadian Church to play. And the more we can see our churches prevail, the more we will see God work through us to truly make a global difference.
I can’t wait to see what the future holds. For all of us.
Pursuing a Vision from God? Focus on the “What”, Not the “How”
Each time I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with a church leader in the developing world I’ve come away with a nugget of leadership “gold”. This week’s visit to Quito, Ecuador was no exception.
The golden nugget this time? In pursuit of a vision that God gives us, we ought to focus on the “what”; let God take care of the “how”.
Traveling with our partners at Compassion Canada, we spent time at a local church in Quito, connecting with their founding pastor, and very quickly I was absorbing powerful leadership insights from this humble, effective church leader.
He established the church in 2003 with a small group of members, which grew to about 120 people. The church is located in one of the poorest areas of Quito. With alcoholism and drug abuse rampant, the government has designated the area a “red zone”; an official designation indicating extreme crime and poverty.
But in the face of this challenging ministry environment, God gave this pastor a vision.
“God told us, ‘I want you to feed the children in this neighbourhood.’ And I just thought, ‘How am I going to do that?’”
But he lived out the leadership principle of bringing God the “what”, feeding children. He trusted God to lead him into the “how”; the means, resources, and strategy.
During this time, he became aware of the work of Compassion, and approached them about bringing Compassion to their church in order to care for these neighbourhood children.
A Compassion project, he learned, required space enough for 150 children to meet. Their space was simply too small.
“Well then one day things started to just happen,” he recalled. First of all, a nearby piece of land became available. We don’t own this land, but we were allowed to build on it.”
Not only did this development open the door to the Compassion project, but a nearby Compassion project had been forced to close, meaning that an additional 150 children would come to their church, a total of 300 children.
“Today our church is more than 600 people, including children. But more important is how the community is changing. As children started to be impacted by our church, many of their families have started to join us as well. They are leaving their addictions and turning to Christ.”
Now, a new opportunity has appeared. “The government appreciates our work and has asked us to take over a nearby daycare. That’s about 50 new families we can serve. We don’t have the space, but we’ve learned that God is faithful.”
So, what will they do?
With a smile he added, “I think it’s time to plant a second church.”
That’s what can happen when we focus on the “what”, and let God take care of the “how”.
How are Things in Your Part of the Kingdom Vineyard?
One of Jesus’ favourite pictures to describe his Father’s Kingdom was that of a vineyard.
So, using that picture as a backdrop let me ask you, “How are things in your part of the Kingdom vineyard?”
In his book One.Life, Scot McKnight has wonderfully summarized the Kingdom of God as, “God’s dream for the world, coming true.”
God looks at the world, in its fallen state, and desires it to be much, much better.
Jesus referred to this dream as “the vineyard”.
And he desires that each of his followers, as well as churches and ministries, produce a maximum Kingdom yield in the vineyard; that people would become his followers, that injustice would be overcome, that poverty would be alleviated.
For example, at The Leadership Centre Willow Creek Canada our portion of the vineyard is largely defined as developing Christian leaders so they’ll reach their Kingdom potential.
Similarly, other fantastic ministries are called to work in neighbouring portions of the Kingdom vineyard.
Three examples would be our “national partners” for the 2012 Global Leadership Summit. This year we are working for the first time with The Bible League of Canada. Joining us again are our friends at World Vision Canada. And also returning is Compassion Canada.
Each of these ministries works tirelessly and effectively in their respective corners of the Kingdom vineyard.
In 2010 and 2011, I was privileged to travel with World Vision Canada to experience their work in South Africa. (You can read some of my reflections from those experiences in my blog post here.)
This week, I am in Quito, Ecuador, experiencing the ministry of Compassion Canada. In the coming days I will share some of these experiences with you in upcoming posts.
My point is that whether you’re talking about The Leadership Centre Willow Creek Canada, our partners, or each of us individually, we all have a responsibility to faithfully serve in our part of God’s Kingdom vineyard.
This brings me back to my original question. How are things in your part of the Kingdom vineyard?
I would urge you to reflect on that question this week, even as I do the same here in Ecuador with my friends from Compassion Canada.
Because when we get this question right, the Kingdom win can be huge.
Summit 2012 Web Launch
This week we announced the speaker line up for the 2012 Global Leadership Summit, and already the “buzz” is building. This may well be one of the strongest line ups ever presented at the Summit.
In announcing the line up, our national pastor Tim Schroeder and I sat down to discuss not only the background and relevance of each speaker, but more importantly how you as a leader can get the most out of each session. Check out our 20 minute GLS web launch by clicking the video window below.
Immediately following our conversation, we are pleased to feature a 20 minute coaching session by Summit favourite Patrick Lencioni.
I’d encourage you to watch this web launch with your team, and share it with others within your sphere of influence.
3 Keys to Overcome the Perils of “Image Management”
When you face an important leadership decision, your first instinct is to do what’s best for your team, your organization or your constituency.
But your second instinct might be less noble. It’s the temptation to use the opportunity to manage your image, rather than managing the decision.
Here are the warning signs. When faced with an important decision, be careful when you begin to say to yourself,
“I need people to see me as-
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or any other quality you may wish to manufacture.
Not that there’s anything wrong with these dimensions of leadership. They can be noble characteristics.
The problem arises when the need to project a certain quality begins to exert undue influence on how you make the decision, or the decision itself. In the end the inevitable result is a credibility hit to your leadership.
I am as susceptible to this as any other leader, but I’ve learned three ways overcome the temptation to succumb to image management:
1. Know your blindspots
Every leader has an underdeveloped quality. Maybe for you it’s in being indecisive. Perhaps it’s in lacking empathy. That underdeveloped quality will often be where a leader may be tempted to overcompensate. Resisting this temptation starts with awareness of the blindspot.
2. Listen to your trusted advisors
Leaders who fly solo are far more likely to run into trouble. Let your closest leadership advisors know your blindspots. And listen to them when they tell you that those blindspots may be clouding your judgement.
3. Be vulnerable with your constituents
Patrick Lencioni’s book, Getting Naked is a groundbreaking leadership read in this area. In it he points out that people “…are more interested in candor, modesty and transparency than they are in confidence, authority and perfection.” In other words, lead out of being real, not out of an artificial image you’re trying to project.
Should you pay any attention to the qualities you project in your leadership?
Of course you should.
But in the face of an important decision that’s not the time for image management. That’s the time for leadership.
By paying attention to these three steps you can ensure that your focus remains on your decision, instead of on your image.
How Leaders Create Forward Energy for Their Team
Every leader knows that creating forward energy takes enormous, consistent effort. That’s because all of the natural forces of organizational life work against that kind of momentum.
That’s why effective leaders are relentless in their pursuit of opportunities to galvanize and catalyze forward energy for their teams.
One of those opportunities is on the horizon, and if you’re a church leader in Canada I’m urging you to take advantage.
On Thursday, March 22nd at 9:00 am local time (whatever time zone you’re in) The Leadership Centre Willow Creek Canada will launch the 2012 Global Leadership Summit season with the annual Web Launch.
This is a 20 minute kick off to the Summit season, and it’s a tremendous opportunity to get your team fired up and pointed in the same direction.
Even though the Summit is months away (October 18-19) effective leaders start preparing their teams early to leverage such a global event. This year The Global Leadership Summit is expected to impact more than 150,000 leaders in more than 70 countries, 450 sites, and more than 30 languages. Effective leaders know that you don’t just wander into an event of such an immense scale hoping something good will come of it.
To get the most out the Summit, effective leaders plan early.
In this web launch your team will learn about the faculty line up for this year’s event and will be coached on how best to leverage the Summit for their own leadership development. In addition you will also learn from Summit favorite Patrick Lencioni, as he provides an exclusive 20 minute leadership coaching session at the conclusion of the web launch.
To participate with your team simply follow the link provided below.
To fully leverage this web launch:
- Alert your team now to gather with you to view this together;
- Encourage your team to wear their ‘leaders hats’ as they view the web launch;
- Follow up with a team discussion on how your team might get the maximum mileage out of the Summit.
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3 Ways to Restore Sanity to the Excellence Value
If you’re in local church leadership there’s a very good chance that you have excellence listed as one of your church’s core values.
There’s also a very good chance that the misunderstanding of that value has caused your church a degree of grief, frustration and confusion.
To help restore a bit of sanity to this important value, here are three important distinctions that must be understood.
1. Understand the distinction between professionalism and excellence
Professionalism is an often misguided attempt to mimic the sheen and polish of a Broadway production or Hollywood blockbuster. At its heart, professionalism is merely showmanship.
Whereas the heart of excellence, to quote Bill Hybels, “honours God and inspires people”. It’s reflected in a passionate desire to simply not settle for anything less than our best.
2. Understand the distinction between individual excellence and corporate excellence
Individual excellence means “do your best”. Corporate excellence means “do OUR best”.
If deacon Joe sings a solo at the weekend service, individual excellence would call him to do HIS best. But if he simply cannot sing well, and if there are others in the church far more gifted in vocal ministry, corporate excellence would call for that more gifted person to do the solo.
Corporate excellence calls for the congregation’s best, not just an individual’s best.
3. Understand the distinction between perfection and excellence
Perfection, almost by definition, is either unattainable or unsustainable. It can lead to an almost neurotic pursuit of error-free ministry that can suck the joy out of your church.
Excellence, on the other hand, creates an inspiring environment which sees ministry teams spurring one another on. It recognizes that God has only ever given us His very best; therefore we ought to do no less for Him.
If the excellence value has been causing your ministry undue angst, don’t discard the value. Instead, take it out, brush it off, and apply these three points of clarity to how you live it out.
Your sanity will be restored, and your church may indeed move to new heights of excellence you never thought possible.
How do you apply the excellence value in your church?
Beware of These 5 Seductive Churches
Here’s a question that could reveal an awful lot about the health of your church.
“What church are you in love with…really?”
You see, you can often discern a church’s vital signs by how much love the senior pastor has for his congregation.
Really.
And few seductions can steal a pastor’s heart away from his congregation quite like the lure of another church.
These are what I have found to be the 5 most common churches that can steal a pastor’s heart:
1. The church you want to lead
If you find yourself saying, “Man, I can’t wait until we’re a younger, hipper church” you may be falling out of love with your present congregation.
2. Your former church
You might be infatuated with an earlier church in your ministry where you had a particularly good run. A classic warning sign would be if you find yourself looking out over your congregation and secretly asking, “Why can’t you be more like my old church?”
3. Someone else’s church
“I wish I had Bill Hybels’ volunteers at my church.”
“I wish I had Craig Groeschel’s media people at my church.”
Other ministries can, and should, inspire your leadership. But heed the warning sign when you begin to romanticize their congregation.
4. The “good ol’ days” church
If you’ve had a long ministry run in your present church you can find yourself waxing nostalgic for the way things used to be, and the people you used to have.
5. A sub-set of your own church
You might love a particular group in your own church more than other groups. Here’s how you can tell. In referring to groups within your church do you ever find yourself using “us” and “them” language? For example, “Our church is on mission! But the seniors? They just don’t get it.”
To love your present congregation doesn’t mean to leave them as they are. To quote Bill Hybels, your job is to take them “from here to there”. But it’s these people you are to take on the journey, and to do so requires that you love them without reservation.
So be careful that these “other” churches don’t steal your heart. Because there is a direct link between your love for your church and the health of your church.
How do you remain “in love” with your church?
4 Ways to Lead by NOT Showing Up
Leadership is mostly about “showing up”; it’s often about leveraging your presence in a room in order to influence, to cast vision, to bring alignment and to build teams.
But effective leaders I know are just as strategic about leveraging their absence in order to move their organizations forward.
Here are four situations where your most effective leadership might be leveraged by your absence.
1. Being absent from the “limelight”
Many leaders simply can’t resist the lure of a microphone. If there’s an audience to be addressed most leaders will jump at the chance. And many times that is the right move.
But effective leaders know that this can often be the opportunity to profile an up-and-coming leader in the organization. These leaders never miss a chance to profile and develop talent.
2. Being absent from a decision-making meeting
You need to tread carefully here, but not being present every single time a decision has to be made can communicate something very powerful to your team. It shows you trust them to make the right call without you.
Organizations that demonstrate speed and agility excel at this.
3. Being absent from the “30,000 foot” view
Effective leaders have a knack for knowing when to step down from the big-picture vantage point, and instead spending time on the ground floor of the organization.
Ever watched the tv show, “Undercover Boss”?
4. Being absent from the office altogether
Leaders must set the pace regarding long-term thinking, strategizing and planning. And sometimes the best (and only) way to do this is to pull away from the daily responsibilities of leadership, slow down, and get away.
When should a leader leverage their absence? It tends to be more of a “gut” instinct. Effective leaders have a gnawing awareness that they need to pull back from one of these arenas.
If you’ve been sensing a need to lead from your absence, pay attention to that instinct, and act on it.
Because sometimes a leader will be most effective when they aren’t around at all.
Are there other situations you have found that require your absence?
