How to Avoid the Copy-Cat Leadership Trap
Originally posted April 20, 2012
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?
4 Measurements Leaders Need to Weigh, not Count
Originally posted April 10, 2012
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.
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?
5 Reasons You Need to Stop Feeding Your Church’s Dragons
Originally posted June 17, 2013
How much time, energy and money do you spend feeding the dragons in your church?
I’m not talking about apocalyptic imagery from Revelation.
I’m talking about one of the biggest reasons your church may be struggling to gain traction.
I define a dragon as “An institutionalized drain on resources”.
Yes, believe it or not, there may be elements in your church which could be devouring resources…and which have been intentionally created by you, your team, or leadership predecessors.
These elements not only fail to move your church forward, they draw so many resources out of your church they can actually prevent you from moving ahead.
Examples of these dragons include:
- The mortgage on a building that no longer suits your needs,
- The ministry or program which continues to exist despite no longer aligning with your vision,
- The staff person whose development has not kept pace with the growing demands of the ministry,
- The tradition that is completely out of touch with your present reality.
You get the idea.
These are all dragons that must be fed.
You can either keep feeding them, or you can pay attention to these 5 reasons you need to slay your dragons.
If you don’t slay them:
1. It could be hard to recruit top leaders
Leaders can tell when a church is “top-heavy” with this kind of baggage
2. Donor fatigue could set in
Donors want to see forward motion
3. Staff could be de-motivated
Who wants to devote their time and talent to something increasingly outdated?
4. Lethargy could settle into your congregation
A “here we go again” culture can quickly develop
5. You could find yourself at risk of burnout
Burnout doesn’t come from working hard. It comes from working hard and not producing results
None of this is to say that buildings are bad or that traditions should be avoided.
But you need to ruthlessly examine the flow of resources for which you are accountable, and identify those which are moving your church forward, and those which are merely dragon-feeders.
Consider placing this at the top of your agenda for your next lead team or board retreat. Ask your key leaders, “What are the dragons in our church…and why are we feeding them?”
Because if you want to move your church forward, you might need to slay a few of these.
What are the dragons in your church?
4 Times When a Leader Must Embrace Confusion
Leaders are expected to drive for clarity. They’re expected to “blow the fuzz out of the system”.
But sometimes effective leaders will very deliberately and strategically embrace an element of confusion for as long as possible.
When should a leader resist bringing clarity and allow, even embrace, confusion?
There are at least four times when it can be an advantage to maintain an element of uncertainty:
1. When there’s an empty role in the organization
In an earlier post I explained why you should sometimes keep a role vacant as long as possible.
In short, the uncertainty caused by a vacant position can often be more than offset by seeing how others on your team step up.
2. When someone wants a new job description
Job descriptions can be important. And your staff should understand what is expected of them.
But, within reason, it can be worthwhile to take your time before establishing, or re-establishing, someone’s job description.
Sometimes you want to see how the person is performing amid a changing work environment before prematurely declaring the details of their role.
3. When a specific responsibility is unassigned
Your team might be in your office all day asking, “Who’s job is it to perform that function?”
Part of you wants to assign someone right away. But another part of you wants to keep it “fuzzy” a while longer, to see who might rise up on their own and seize that responsibility.
Pay attention to that part, and keep the role unassigned for as long as possible.
4. When people want to know how you want a job done
You should provide clarity on desired outcomes. But keep the method to achieve those results completely ambiguous for as long as possible.
See if your team can come up with an innovative approach without you providing a roadmap.
In the long run, or course, you can’t keep ambiguity hanging in the air. There will be negative consequences eventually.
But when you strategically keep an element of ambiguity, there can be surprising wins for the organization.
And those results will be crystal clear.
Have there been times when you have deliberately allowed lack of clarity in your organization?
5 Reasons Leaders Must Dial-Down the Emergency Setting
“All hands on deck!”
“Emergency meeting!”
“Everyone into the conference room, PRONTO!”
These shrill calls can create tremendous urgency, even excitement in an organization.
But overdone they can also have serious consequences.
The fact is, many leaders are adrenalin junkies; they get a rush when their organization is at DEFCON 1, and in truth, part of the job of the leader is to inject a dose of urgency into their organizations.
But when an organization remains at battle stations for too long it can lead to real problems. These are 5 of the most severe consequences:
1. An actual emergency is not given proper urgency
This is a “never cry wolf” scenario at its worst. When everything is an emergency, eventually nothing is seen as an emergency.
2. The leader loses credibility
Teams count on the leader to distinguish between minor problems and full-blown crises. A leader not making those distinctions will eventually lose the team’s respect.
3. The organization loses focus
In an atmosphere of constant emergencies, teams will soon abandon the strategic plan. “After all,” the thinking will go, “Why bother with the plan when it will have to be abandoned during the next inevitable emergency?”
4. The culture becomes one of detachment and disengagement
I’ve seen this happen in several organizations. Teams simply can’t remain emotionally engaged when there is a seemingly constant state of panic in the air. For self-preservation people will simply tune out.
5. Roles become murky
When the team is following the gameplan, each person should know their assigned role. In an emergency state people tend to abandon their role in order to help resolve the latest crisis. When this happens the wheels of the organization can begin to turn very slowly and sluggishly.
You’ll never eliminate emergencies from your organization, nor should you. When a genuine crisis hits, the leader must be able to sound a genuine call to arms and “up” the level of urgency.
(Similarly, sometimes leaders must create an emergency in order to rouse the troops, but that’s a topic for another day).
But remember- if you keep the panic alarm ringing too much you’ll be inflicting long-term harm.
And that would be a crisis indeed.
How do you keep emergencies to a minimum in your organization?
5 Immediate Steps When you’ve Blown It as a Leader
Every leader faces it.
The blown call. The missed opportunity. The missed goal. The failed plan.
For leaders it’s not a question as to whether or not you’ll make a big blunder at some point. The only question is, “How will you respond?”
When you’ve dropped the ball in your leadership, the following 5 steps are critical in order to restore credibility and get things back on track.
Don’t let time pass. As soon as you’re aware of a leadership failure move immediately to these five steps:
1. Own it
Start by staring down the mistake, raise your hand and admit to yourself, “That’s my responsibility”.
Don’t own more than you are actually responsible for, but at the same time don’t shy away from your responsibility.
2. Assess it
In the immediate aftermath of a failed plan the first reaction can be to over-estimate the damage. Take a moment. Breathe. Honestly assess the impact of the error.
You might discover that the damage is less than you imagined. That said, don’t minimize it either. Take the time to accurately assess the fallout.
3. Acknowledge it
Every leader answers to someone; a board, a congregation, a committee, a supervisor. Once you’ve owned the mistake personally and assessed the damage, you must meet with those to whom you are accountable. And you must openly acknowledge exactly what has happened.
Don’t shirk your responsibility. Don’t blame. Simply acknowledge your culpability, take your lumps, and move directly to step 4.
4. Fix it
A wise leader once defined leadership as being all about solving problems, whether you inherited them or caused them yourself.
In this case, having caused the problem you now face, there’s no more time to wallow in it. Having owned it, assessed it, and acknowledged it, you just need to fix it.
5. Learn from it
The cycle is not complete until you have clearly identified the answers to these questions:
- What happened?
- What went wrong?
- What went right?
- How will we ensure this doesn’t happen again?
No one likes failure. But in leadership it’s going to happen.
The only question is, “How will you respond”?
If your goal is to gain maximum leverage from the failure, these 5 steps are a good starting place.
How do you respond when you’ve blown it?
Why Leaders Need to See the World through ‘Young Eyes’
Originally posted May 1, 2012
This week the board of WCA Canada meets here at Willow Creek near Chicago, bringing back to mind a key moment from 2012.
At our meeting in the spring of that year one of the board members shared an insightful comment that deeply impacted me.
This week, I thought it was worth sharing again…
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 Self-Leadership Works- Bill Hybels
This week I’ve been traveling through South America with Bill Hybels, who has been sharing leadership coaching and teaching to thousands of leaders.
During one stop in Brazil Bill was asked this leadership question:
“How can I raise up leaders in my church, when I’m struggling with my own leadership?”
Here is Bill’s answer.
I see this all over the world, and most recently in India and China.
The average little church in India or China used to be about 100 people. Now there are thousands of churches with three or four thousand people in them.
So, the pastor cannot possibly wrap his arms around three thousand people. But he’s never been taught how to raise up leaders. He doesn’t know how to manage staff members. He doesn’t know how to organize the church in a new way. And so these pastors are overwhelmed.
This is something we try to do at the Global Leadership Summit; we try to teach leadership and management and organization. Because it’s not being taught in seminaries.
Now, here’s a challenge to all of you around the table.
It’s easy to say, “I’ve never been trained, so I’ll never be good at any of this.” You can train yourself. The materials and resources are out there.
Read one hour a day about leadership and management. Your skill at this would go up dramatically.
But some pastors would rather complain and play the victim. I have no sympathy. Because this stuff is available. So discipline yourself. And meet with other pastors who are trying to grow like you are. Go to places where leadership is taught. And you will learn these skills.
What’s your self-leadership plan?
How To Build an Intergenerational Church- Bill Hybels
This week I’ve been traveling through South America with Bill Hybels, who has been sharing leadership coaching and teaching to thousands of leaders.
During one stop in Brazil Bill was asked this leadership question:
“How do I lead my church to become more intergenerational?”
Here is Bill’s answer.
Remember the old expression, “If you aim at nothing you’ll hit it every time”? If you want to see intergenerational leaders working together, that must be your aim. That must be your focus.
So I’m very intentional about this around our church.
Whenever we’re making additions to our elder board I have everybody put their ages on a piece of paper and I say, “What would be the ideal arrangement for ages on this board? Do we want all really old people, do we want all really young people? And if it’s going to be a mix, how should that mix look?” And we start there.
I do the same thing with my staff and with my volunteers. I want to make sure we have older, middle aged, and younger in every strata of the church.
We had to shake up some things at Willow about two years ago. I looked around me one day, and I watched who was collecting the offering. Every person collecting the offering looked extremely old. And I said, “How did that happen?” The person who was leading that ministry did not have a vision for intergenerational ministry.
So, it took us two years to fix that. And now there are young people, middle aged, and older people taking up the offering.
You have to do this very delicately. But I think it has to be very intentional.
We often use this phrase. “We want to be an intergenerational group of leaders providing excellent leadership for our church.” So every time you say the word “intergenerational” it reinforces that value.
You know how sometimes you’ll make a little video for your church service? You make sure there’s old, middle aged, and young people in the video. If you’re going to have three or four people give a testimony you want to be sure you have all ages.
How do you ensure your church is intergenerational?
How to Keep “Family First” in Ministry- Bill Hybels
This week I’ve been traveling through South America with Bill Hybels, who has been sharing leadership coaching and teaching to thousands of leaders.
During one stop in Brazil Bill was asked this leadership question:
“How do I maintain the priority of my family while leading a growing church?”
Here is Bill’s answer.
When I had children, and they started growing up a little bit, I didn’t ask myself how little attention can I give them so I can give my full attention to the church.
I said, “I want to be a faithful pastor, but I want to be a fantastic father; not a mediocre father, and not an absent father. I want to be a fantastic father.” Even if I’m not a pastor.
So I spent a lot of time trying to figure out, “What do I have to do to be a fantastic father?”
I met with a lot of other dads, I read a lot of books. I talked to my wife and my children. And then I came up with a strategy for how I could be the best father I could be.
There were many times when my fathering strategy collided with my church strategy. Now, the family didn’t win every one of those battles. But the church didn’t win every one of them either. We worked it out.
One more note on this.
So, we have a large staff at Willow. They work extremely hard. And many of them are young and have young children. And sometimes their kids are sick, or there’s something wrong, and a staff member will say, “I have to go tend to my family.”
So I give them the same little speech all the time.
I say, “I want you to flourish here at work. And I want you to flourish in your family. But most of the time, if there’s a direct collision, remember these two words. Family first.”
There will always be another service. There will always be another bible study. There will always be another prayer meeting. But if your family is under pressure, family first. You’ll never regret it.
Do you maintain a ‘Family First’ approach to ministry? How do you keep this priority?
Check back for more leadership insights from Bill Hybels in the coming days.
How Leaders Know When it’s Time to MicroManage
Is it really true that leaders should not be micromanagers?
Yes.
Sort of.
Most of the time.
But there are times when it is absolutely necessary.
The challenge for many leaders is that in some cases they believe that the alternative to micromanaging is to abdicate altogether. After all, if to micromanage is to be overly involved in the execution of a staff person’s duties, then to some it would seem that the better way is to disengage from operational leadership altogether.
But that is usually no better.
The fact is, effective leadership must walk a delicate tightrope between the two extremes of abdication and micromanagement. Leaders must discern when it’s appropriate to release the reins, and when it’s time for a hands-on approach.
How can you know which way to lean your leadership?
The following can serve as a guideline.
Lean your leadership in the direction of a hands-on approach when…
- You have a young or inexperienced person taking on new responsibilities
One of the worst things you can do is to take the “sink or swim” approach to a less experienced staff person. Show them the ropes and set them up for success.
- You have an under-performing staff person.
To get someone back on track you must sometimes increase your time investment and closely monitor not only their results, but also their methods.
Lean your leadership in the direction of loosening the reins when…
- You have a rising leader who is “hitting it out of the park”
Someone who is achieving great results usually needs nothing more than to be pointed in the right direction, and released to keep doing what they’ve been doing. Feedback is still important, but give them lots of runway.
- You want to test someone’s capacity
When developing talent, sometimes you need to back away and see what someone can do with a little less supervision. There’s often no better way to grow another leader than to gradually remove the safety net.
As you look at the people on your team, simply recognize that when it comes to micromanagement, abdication, and points in between, there is no “one style fits all” approach.
Know your team, and understand how your leadership must lean to get the most out of each one.
And don’t be afraid of a little micromanagement along the way.
How do you know when to be more of a ‘hands-on’ leader?
15 Proven Ways to Suck the Life Out of Your Church Staff
Originally posted February 18, 2013
Ever tried to suck the life out of your own staff?
I’m sure that’s never crossed your mind.
And yet, when you spend as much time in churches and with church teams as I do, from time to time you come away thinking that this is exactly what’s going on.
You see, sometimes, usually through sheer lack of awareness, church leaders appear to be going out of their way to ensure a demoralized, de-motivated staff.
While not exhaustive, here is what I have found to be the top 15 proven ways to suck the life out of your church staff.
If your goal is have a team of fired-up, aligned, highly motivated ministry leaders on your team, avoid these strategies at all cost.
- When someone complains about a staff member, always assume the complainer has a legitimate beef. Take the complainer’s side when you meet with your staff person.
- Never drop by a staff member’s office (except when you want something).
- Never attend their ministry gatherings.
- Make them jump through hoops before approving their request to attend a conference.
- Don’t show up at staff parties and functions. (If you must, show up late and stay for just a few minutes).
- Withhold information.
- Don’t involve them in leadership conversations, unless it’s specifically about their department.
- Constantly compare them to their counterpart running “that great ministry in the church down the street”.
- Don’t answer their emails or voicemails. If you must respond, take a very long time to do so.
- Impose significant change on them without seeking their input.
- Set high expectations for results without the necessary resources.
- Never give them a shout-out in “big church”.
- Avoid showing interest in their lives outside the office.
- Make a big deal about small mistakes.
- Make a small deal about their big ministry wins.
Remember, no team ever drifted towards being a charged up, motivated team of go-getters. Building that kind of team requires diligence and intentionality.
But you can build that kind of team.
And your starting place could well be avoiding each of these de-motivators.
What would you add to this list?
How Leaders Know When to be an Optimist, Realist or Pessimist
As a leader are you supposed to be an optimistic, a pessimist, an idealist, or a realist?
The answer is “yes”.
The key is knowing when to be which.
This is not about being inauthentic.
The reality is, in some circumstances a leader must be a grim-faced pessimist, while in others it requires being a cheery-faced optimist.
How do you know? Here’s a basic guideline to help you navigate this.
1. A leader must be a PESSIMIST when…
…making financial forecasts in a challenging season.
When the financial fortunes of the organization are at stake it’s time for the leader to put on the demeanor of a pessimist.
Perhaps a better word than pessimistic is “cautious”. Any leader who has led a turnaround will tell you that the first step is to stop the bleeding by taking a worst-case scenario approach to budgeting.
2. A leader must be a REALIST when…
…developing the team.
A leader must not only be committed to the development of the team, the leader must also be ruthlessly realistic when it comes to the potential of each team member.
Nothing will crush the spirit of a rising leader quite like giving them too much responsibility too soon. Instead, effective leaders must be realistic when it comes to each one’s potential, and then design their development plan accordingly.
3. A leader must be an IDEALIST when…
…casting vision.
Ideals have gone out of fashion in our culture. But effective leaders must embrace the ideals of their organization’s mission and vision and describe them with authentic passion.
Why does the organization exist? What difference will it make in the world? These are the organization’s ideals, and the leader must espouse them eloquently and proudly.
4. A leader must be an OPTIMIST when…
…building a healthy culture.
When the going gets hard, the team wants to know essentially one thing: “Is all of this work worth it?”
The leader’s job is to remind the team that, together under God, things are going to get better…That the mission is worth pursuing…and that success will come.
The point is, effective leadership requires knowing when to be pessimistic, realistic, idealistic or optimistic.
Can you learn this skill?
I’d be optimistic about that.
What have you learned about being an optimistic, idealistic, realistic or pessimistic leader?
How “Paying the Price” Can Unleash Your Leadership Effectiveness
Are you a leader who enjoys the perks, or are you a leader who pays the price?
How you answer that question will go a long way to determining your level of leadership effectiveness.
Here’s what I mean…
Some leaders are enamored by what they see as the perks of leadership. You know; the corner office or the reserved parking space.
But truly effective leaders are driven by something far different. These leaders find an inner resolve that drives them to lay all of that aside in order to accomplish the goal set before them.
Case in point.
Recently I visited a group of Christian leaders in Cuba who were passionately committed to bringing leadership development to other leaders in their country.
During a lunch break one of these pastors returned to his office, but he did not rejoin our meetings as we had expected.
Later he found us again for dinner and explained what had happened.
With a look of immense satisfaction he reached into his pocket and produced an official citation, ordering him to appear in court.
He explained that when he had returned to his office during our lunch break, he had been met by government officials who had charged him with meeting with students. Indeed the passion of his ministry was to connect with university students; a practice frowned upon by the Cuban government.
But far from being concerned or intimidated by this, this pastor simply recognized that in order to fulfill what he saw as his leadership calling, it meant having to pay a potentially steep price.
For this pastor, leadership wasn’t about getting the best table in a restaurant or enjoying the esteem of adoring followers.
Instead, this is what he knew:
Effective leaders are willing to pay the price to achieve the goal.
To become that kind of leader it requires at least three commitments:
1. A commitment to place the cause ahead of your comfort.
2. A commitment to place results ahead of your rewards.
3. A commitment to place personal risk ahead of your recognition.
Be warned: the lure of perks can seduce any leader.
But if you’re committed to leadership effectiveness set your sights higher.
And focus on the price, not the perks.
What price have you had to pay in your leadership?
3 Unmistakable Indicators You’re Growing as a Leader
Originally posted February 1, 2013
Can you actually measure the effectiveness of your leadership development?
Absolutely.
In fact, measuring your progress is not only possible, it’s imperative.
Imagine if you could somehow really tell if all the leadership books you are reading and the seminars you are attending are paying off.
Without a reliable set of indicators to gauge the impact of your development plan you could be spinning your wheels. On the other hand, when you can recognize the indicators of progress it can give you tremendous personal momentum.
So, how do you do it? How do you know if you are actually growing as a leader?
The key is to look for these unmistakable leadership development indicators:
1. You are attracting higher capacity leaders into your orbit
John Maxwell has rightly pointed out that if you are a “6” or a “7” as a leader, you will never attract “8’s” and “9’s”. You will only be able to lead “4’s” and “5’s”.
But if you are actually growing as a leader, one of the first indicators will be that those high capacity leaders will begin to be drawn to you.
2. Your opinion is not only being heard, it is being sought out
Watch what happens around a discussion table when it’s time for a key decision to be made.
Long before there’s a show of hands, long before the vote is taken, the discussion leader will say something like, “So, what do the rest of you think?”
At that moment, watch which way everyone’s head turns.
If you are growing in your leadership, then increasingly those heads will turn towards you.
3. There are increasing numbers of leaders in your circle
This is not a function of leadership attraction, as much as it is a function of leadership production.
Because, growing leaders produce growing leaders.
If you are indeed growing in your leadership then you should see evidence of a growing number of leaders emerging whom you are building into.
So, over time, watch for these unmistakable indicators to become increasingly evident in your life.
They’ll be signaling that your leadership development efforts are paying off.
How else can you tell if you are growing as a leader?
How to Bring Clarity Through Tuning-Fork Leadership
Originally posted July 3, 2012
Take a minute and ask yourself these questions:
- Is everyone in the organization clear on our overall direction?
- Is everyone clear on our highest present priorities?
- Does everyone see how their contribution fits into the big picture?
Image via iStockPhoto.com
If any of these questions cause your leadership alarm bells to go off, it might be time for tuning-fork leadership.
Tuning-fork leadership is a skill leaders can develop to make sure that clarity is being re-established throughout the team. My teammate Brian McKenzie introduced me to this term after I had helped to re-clarify his understanding of a key initiative.
An actual tuning fork is a simple tool used as a standard of pitch to tune musical instruments. And like a piano tuner, your job is to chime the tuning fork to make sure your teammate is operating with complete clarity.
How does it work?
Here are 4 key components of tuning-fork leadership:
1. A “6th sense” ability to perceive misalignment
As a leader you must be constantly listening and watching for indications of very subtle mission drift among your team.
2. A patient, listening posture
Follow up your hunch with a casual, inquisitive conversation. Your job is to confirm, or dispel, your notion that a teammate has drifted off course. Such a conversation must be safe and unthreatening.
3. An environment of affirmation
If your teammate has drifted, chances are they are only off-base by 10%. Affirm the 90% they are getting right.
4. A clear ringing of the tuning fork
Now you’re ready to ring the fork. This involves unflinchingly pointing out where the drift has taken place, and ensuring your teammate’s understanding is back on pitch.
It’s important to note that tuning-fork leadership is an ongoing, never-ending process. Mission drift is inevitable in every organization. And just when you think you’ve brought everyone back into alignment it will be time to re-clarify things for someone else on the team.
So always keep your ears open to the subtle indications that a part of your organization is out of tune.
Always keep your tuning fork handy.
How do you keep your organization in tune?
3 Ways to Restore Sanity to the Excellence Value
Orignally posted March 13, 2012
Take a look at your organization’s core values. I’ll bet “excellence” is listed there someplace.
I’d also be willing to bet that the misunderstanding of that value has caused your organization 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”.
This shows up all the time in local churches. For example, 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 organization.
Excellence, on the other hand, creates an inspiring environment which sees 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 organization 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 organization?
3 Vital Questions to Make Sure the Right Decision Isn’t Wrong
QUESTION: When can a right decision be the wrong decision?
ANSWER: When the leader hasn’t asked all the necessary questions.
When it comes to decision-making, “leadership 101” asks, “Is this the right decision?” But more effective leaders go further and ask at least three more vital questions.
For example, a church I visited a few years ago had seen a good decision blow up in their face because they hadn’t asked these questions.
As part of an information strategy a decision had been made to purchase a dozen large flatscreen television monitors. These would be strategically placed as information kiosks throughout the facility.
But from the time the decision was reached it took several months before the monitors were ordered, delivered and installed.
During that time a lot had changed.
The economic downturn had hit, many in the church had lost their jobs and investments, giving in the church plummeted, and several key staff were laid off.
And then the television monitors turned up.
And so, in an environment of discouragement over the layoffs and concerns over the church’s finances, the congregation showed up for church and were greeted by a dozen new large screen plasma televisions.
The congregation was outraged, and the church leadership suffered a credibility hit.
Was the decision to buy the monitors the right one? Probably. But that’s besides the point.
Important decisions need to be run through a filter of three vital questions.
Specifically,
1. Is this the right timing for this decision?
Many a correct decision can go horribly wrong if the timing and circumstances change. Effective leaders pay as much attention to the timing of the decision as they do the decision itself.
2. What are the optics of the decision?
Optics matter. Effective leaders obsess over how a decision is perceived and they’ll go to great lengths to make sure the optics of a good decision are properly managed.
3. How will the decision be communicated?
A decision like this needed to be over-communicated weeks in advance. Simply having the congregation show up to see these monitors already installed was just asking for trouble. Effective leaders know that the bigger the decision, the more important the communication strategy.
The next time you face a key decision, ask your leadership team to wrestle with these questions.
Otherwise you may indeed find that the right decision turns out to be very, very wrong.
3 Vital Principles to Leading Leaders
One of the most important steps in the development of a leader is found in being able to become a leader of leaders. Years ago I learned that to make this important steps there are three vital principles that must be embraced.
The step from “leader” to “leader of leaders” is one that can be fraught with perils.
I discovered this first-hand when assigned with a relatively simple task during my first week as executive pastor of a large church in Canada.
My assignment? Lead an off-site retreat of our senior pastoral team.
This team of highly seasoned leaders were gathered around me, waiting for my opening words. I knew we should open in prayer, so I shrugged at this group of 20 or so leaders and said, “Why don’t you break into groups and spend time in prayer.”
My reasoning was sound, or so it seemed to me. “These are leaders; they don’t need me to tell them how to organize a time of prayer.”
Several awkward moments of shuffling about ensued, and eventually a few muffled words of half-hearted prayer could be heard being whispered about the room.
There was no energy. There was no unity. There was no momentum.
It was, to put it mildly, a less than auspicious debut of my season as a leader of leaders.
But as with any setback, there were leadership learnings to be gleaned. And in this case I came away with three vital principles that must be embraced in order to become a leader of leaders:
1. Leaders want, and expect, to be led.
Leaders more than anyone understand the value of good leadership. And they look for it in those who step forward to lead them.
2. Leaders respond to leadership language.
Instead of such a vague, meandering opening, I should have addressed them with leadership language like this: “Team, there are opportunities before us that will only be realized by the mighty hand of God.”
3. Leaders demand clarity.
Instead of “break into groups and spend time in prayer” I should have said, “Break into groups of 3 and spend 10 minutes praying for these 4 items…”
If you’ve been given the opportunity and responsibility to lead a group of leaders, don’t shrink back. Lift your leadership to the next level and lead them well.
You could be amazed at the passion of their response.
What have you learned about leading leaders?
3 Important Components to Authentic Leadership
Originally posted October 9, 2012
No word has created more buzz in leadership circles in recent years than the word “authenticity.”
Everyone talks about being an authentic leader. Everyone wants to be an authentic leader.
The problem is, it can be hard to nail down a workable definition for what it means to truly be authentic.
But a recent, somewhat obscure event in the world of professional sports can serve as a pretty good starting point.
In an Italian league soccer match last month between Lazio and Napoli it appeared that Lazio forward Miroslav Klose had scored the game’s opening goal off a corner kick. Referee Luca Banti signaled “goal,” and the scoreboard showed “1-0” for Lazio.
But then the unthinkable happened.
Klose approached the referee and told him something no one else would have known.
The ball had deflected off of his hand. Klose told the referee the goal should not count. In essence he raised his hand and said, “My bad.”
The official removed the goal from the scoreboard, and play resumed.
When I read this story one of the first thoughts that went through my mind was, “If Miroslav Klose were to run for office, I’d vote for him today!”
Such is the power of authenticity.
Specifically, this episode demonstrates 3 important components to authentic leadership:
1. Authentic leaders take personal responsibility
Klose could have easily feigned ignorance of the hand-ball. Instead he owned up immediately.
2. Authentic leaders place integrity above image
What prompted Klose to disclose his error was his personal value system that placed truth above all else, including the need to appear infallible.
3. Authentic leaders disclose information that is relevant
Klose admitted he had used a hand-ball.
He didn’t admit to getting a speeding ticket on the way to the game, to having overslept his alarm, or to having too much trans-fat in his diet.
My point is that to be a truly authentic leader doesn’t mean to indiscriminately disclose every detail of your life. It means having the wisdom know what your followers need to know in order to earn and keep their trust.
At the end of the day, authenticity is not a technique to be mastered, it’s a quality of character to be developed.
And it might just start with the courage to raise your hand and say, “My bad.”
What characteristics would you add to this list?
