Tag Archive - culture

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10 Indispensable Practices of the 2-Minute Leader

Sunday, October 20, 2013

One of the biggest challenges Christian leaders face is how to create a leadership culture in their churches. It’s something that a lot of Pastors talk about it. It’s something that a lot of conference speakers speak about. But honestly very few people are actually doing it. And it’s because most Pastors lack the tools and actionable plan to make this dream a reality.

That is why I’m excited about my friend Brian Dodd’s new book and accompanying study guide 10 Indispensable Practices Of The 2-Minute Leader.  Brian has over 25 years of experience in church leadership and his site Brian Dodd On Leadership is one of the most popular Christian blogs for Church Leaders.

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Brian about his new book. Here are some of the highlights and thoughts that stood out to me from the conversation:

  • “Most churches have no plan to develop leaders and are asking how to build a leadership culture in their churches.”
  • “Strategic thinking allows you to align your priorities and manage your greatest leadership tensions.”
  • “For a leader, working hard is critical, but thinking hard is crucial.”
  • “God never calls Christian Leaders to an easy task.”
  • “Most leaders quit right before the harvest.”
  • “Don’t give up on the dream that God has put in your heart.”
  • “This book is full of simple (not easy) steps that readers can take every day to grow as a leader.”

The statement that scared me to death was his leading thought. That, “most churches have no plan to develop leaders.” In speaking with Brian, what I appreciate the most is his heart to help see the local church win and in particular provide Pastors and Church Leaders an effective tool to help them build a healthy Leadership Culture.

This book and accompanying study guide is a great tool for Pastors and Church Leaders to use in building community with leaders and disciple them effectively.

Brian has made it possible for me to help get this resource in the hands of as many church leaders as possible. The book has been affordably priced and when you order 10 hard copies or more, he’s throwing in a FREE study guide for each book along with FREE shipping. So click 10 Indispensable Practices Of The 2-Minute Leader and get your copies today!

Posted in Leadership

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5 Articles to Help You Make Vision Real

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Thank you for helping make September a great month here at Helping Churches Make Vision Real! It’s fun to watch all of the interaction on social media and hear about how helpful the content has been. So, thank you for connecting with me through the content on this blog! You made these the top 5 Posts from this last month. If you missed out on any of them, here they are all in one place for your convenience!

1. What is a Campus Pastor?

In August, 2012, Leadership Network released a report stating that over 5,000 churches are now multi-site churches (churches that meet in more than one location for worship). It’s a growing trend that first began with mega-churches, but has now expanded to churches of all sizes. With this new trend a new staff role has emerged, that of “Campus Pastor.” While a lot churches are still trying to figure out this new role, here are 6 things that great Campus Pastors do:

2. Leadership Lessons I Wish I Understood as a Young Leader

Lately I’ve been thinking about some leadership lessons. You know…the “I wish I knew then what I know now” kind of stuff. See I’ve had a lot more time to think recently. That is, thanks to my wife for registering me for a triathlon this Fall. She said it was something that “we could do together.” She’s the one who races in the family. I’m the one who visited 5 different Starbucks cheering her on while she ran the Chicago Marathon. But it’s been interesting, as I’ve been training how many of my experiences have paralleled lessons that young leaders need to internalize and learn early, or risk potentially derailing their leadership journey before it really gets going. So in no particular order here are 5 Leadership Lessons for Young Leaders based on my experiences training for a triathlon.

3.  Are You Doing Things or Getting Things Done?

It’s not bad to do things. After all, someone has to. Or else they won’t get done. But effective leaders know their role is to be more concerned about getting things done than doing things. When a leader doesn’t manage this tension well and begins to drift towards doing things, instead of getting things done, bad things begin to happen.

4. Are you a “Big L” Leader?

People don’t just become “Big L Leaders” overnight. It’s not something that can be learned by reading books or by going to conferences. They learn to lead by leading. Want to know if you’re on your way to becoming a “Big L Leader”? The following six characteristics will help you in identifying “Big L Leaders.”

5. Bringing Clarity to the Language of Organizational Leadership

One of the most frequently reoccurring conversations I get into in helping churches focuses around building organizational health and alignment in churches. Often times in those conversations confusion surfaces over language such as Mission, Vision, Goals, Strategy, Structure, Core Values, and Systems. So here’s an attempt to help provide some clarity and a framework to some of the most influential conversations you may have as church or organization.

 

Posted in Leadership

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When to Hire from the Inside

Sunday, July 28, 2013

At some point every church faces the question: “Do we hire from inside or do we go outside to make this next hire?” There’s a grocery list of items that can factor into making a good decision. But the following two principles outweigh everything else when you’re hiring from within the organization or church.

1. You Like what Already Exists

If you like the culture and the practices that are being implemented in the ministry, and you want to reproduce more of what you already have, then hire from within the church. While you can hire experienced talent from the outside, people who are already inside your church understand and fit your culture. They believe in your church enough to attend there and invest their time, talent, treasure, and touch even without being on staff yet.

2. There is Available and Developed Talent

If you’ve been doing a good job of training and developing internal talent, then chances are there are people right inside the church who already have the abilities to the do the job. In many growing churches there are already high-level volunteers who are leading ministries. A great benefit is that you’ve been able to see these people up close and over time. When you hire from inside there are less questions because you know what you’re getting. Start inside first.

Don’t forget to check back later this week for Part-2 of this post: “When to Hire from the Outside.”

Posted in Leadership, Staffing

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Top 5 Posts from June

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Thank you for making the month of June an incredible month on Helping Churches Make Vision Real! It’s so encouraging to read the comments and see the interaction through social media about the content and articles that are posted here! It’s encouraging to hear stories about how different posts have been helpful. So thank you for connecting with me through the content on this blog! You made these the top 5 Posts from this last month. If you missed out on any of them, here they are all in one place for your convenience!

#1 Defining the Leadership Culture at Your Church

Peter Drucker is credited with saying, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Every organization has a culture – attitudes they want adopted, values they want championed, beliefs they want instilled and behaviors they want reproduced. Leaders are the cultural architects of any organization.  Eventually every organization takes on the character and priorities of its leaders.  As a result, leaders need to become intentional in creating culture.

#2 The Dark Side of Vision

Many tout the most important aspect of a leader is the ability to paint a clear vision of the future. If you’ve been around church-world for any length of time you’ve probably even heard a sermon or two about it, after all “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Prov. 29:18) right?  What many leaders often fail to realize is that there is another side to vision, a downside, that if not understood and artfully led through can derail the vision before it begins.

#3 The Baby Elephant Principle

How do churches get stuck? Churches are stuck because they’ve been conditioned to be stuck. Here are 3 critical questions you should be asking about why your church is stuck in the past. And how you can get unstuck.

#4 6 Reasons Your Church Should Use a Search Firm to Make Your Next Hire

Hiring a new team member can be exciting because it means there is going to be fresh eyes on old problems and status quo ministry, new ideas, and a new well of experiences to go to. If you’ve read much of my blog you know that I enjoy the hiring process and helping churches recruit and hire great teams. In fact you can check out this series of posts on “Recruiting and Hiring Teams that Make Vision Real” or take a look at how I help churches build a staffing and hiring strategy. But sometimes the best move that you can make is to enlist the help of an Executive Search Firm. Here are 6 reasons you should consider using an Executive Search Firm when you make your next hire.

#5 New Leadership Coaching Network Opening Up

A couple of weeks ago, we opened applications for the new leadership coaching networks that will begin early this fall through TonyMorganLive. The deadline for applications is July 31, but applications have already been coming in and these new coaching networks will probably fill up before then. Over half of the spots are already spoken for in my Network so get your application in soon to secure your spot!
Posted in Leadership

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Bringing Clarity to Organizational Culture

Sunday, June 30, 2013

In at interview with Tony Morgan last week I was asked how I would define organizational culture for his readers. It’s a tough question. Even the most experienced leaders I’ve been around have trouble offering a clear explanation about what organizational culture is…much less, how to go about intentionally building a desired culture in the organization they’re leading. It’s tough because culture is the “squishy” stuff or “soft” stuff in an organization that’s hard to measure on a chart, map, or graph.

The hard truth, like it or not, is that every organization has a culture. And the leaders of the organization are the cultural architects. And by intention or neglect every organization will eventually take on the cultural characteristics of its leaders.

The culture of an organization is the context in which everything else happens. If the culture isn’t healthy it doesn’t matter how sophisticated your strategy is or how talented your team is. You’re on a road to organizational mediocrity, or worse failure. Patrick Lencioni puts it this way in his book The Advantage:

“The health of an organization provides the context for strategy, finances, marketing, technology, and everything else that happens in it, which is why it is the single greatest factor determining an organizations success. More than talent. More than knowledge. More than innovation.” Patrick Lencioni

Here are four ways you can begin intentionally building the culture in the organization you’re leading.

1. Attitudes that are Adopted

What attitude or posture do you want the people in your organization to adopt? If this became reality what would change in the way you go about your work? Are you demonstrating this attitude as the leader?

2. Values that are Championed

What organizational or team values are already being championed? What needs to shift and begin being put center stage? What would happen if these values weren’t just on some piece of paper tucked away in some desk drawer or simply printed in the boardroom, but actually lived out in the way your organization went about its work?

3. Beliefs that are Instilled

What do you fundamentally believe about the work you’re doing? Is this belief held throughout the entire organization? Is the work you’re doing worth doing?

4. Behaviors that are Reproduced

What behaviors do you celebrate and reward in your organization? If everyone in your organization behaved this way would it be a better place? Would the organization naturally take ground?

Posted in Leadership
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