5 Articles to Help You Make Vision Real

Tag Archive - execution

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

Are You Doing Things or Getting Things Done?

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

You’ve heard before. I know you’ve felt it before. In fact you may have even said it before. No one can do it as well as you can do it. And if you want it done right (the way you think it should be done) then you better go ahead and get your hands dirty and do it yourself.

There’s an incredible inner tension that leaders must manage. Leaders have an acutely accurate picture in their head about what the future should look like. That’s why they’re leading in that direction. But to get there, they have to trust that picture to others.

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.

1. Progress Slows to a Crawl

When you have to do everything, guess what, you end up doing everything. And one person can only do so much. When the leader refuses to trust and empower others they themselves become the lid on the vision.

2. The Organization Turns Inward

When the leader becomes consumed with day-to-day efficiencies and operations they’re consumed with the problems of today as opposed to the opportunities of tomorrow.

3. The Culture Turns Toxic

When the leader has to have their hands on everything, be in on every decision, and have their way the team will become acculturated to pleasing the boss as opposed to executing the vision and all sorts of dysfunction will set in.

4. Your Best People Leave

High performers want to be a part of meaningful work and making meaningful decisions that move things forward. If they are given responsibility without authority, or worse not trusted with either they’ll leave in a heartbeat. One of the ways to keep your best leaders is by letting them lead. The real downside when this begins to happen is what you’re left with is yes-men and people who are content to sit by and watch you do everything.

Posted in Leadership

7 Ideas to Help you get the Right Things Done

Monday, January 21, 2013

Getting things done isn’t as easy as it sounds. A lot of people have grand ideas, but few ever see those ideas materialize. Often the gap between ideas and reality is found in the art of execution. But how do you know what to go after first? Here are 7 ideas to help you focus on getting the right things done.

1. Am I the only one who can do this?

Contrary to what you may think, you can’t do everything. And even what you can do, you can’t do as well as you think you can. There are probably some things that other people in your organization can do better than you. Let them do it. Free yourself up to do the right things.

2. Do I have to do this right now?

If the answer is no, then the obvious answer is don’t do it. Surprisingly enough many things we’re doing wouldn’t be missed if simply stopped doing them.

3. What gets me the furthest the fastest?

If you’ve got 5 things you could do today but you’re not sure which ones you should do today then ask yourself this simple question, ‘Which one of these things gets the organization and me the closest to the mission today?’

4. What do I repeatedly do that’s a waste of my time?

A reoccurring problem is a waste of everyone’s time and is usually a symptom of a systems problem.

5. What do I do that wastes other people’s time?

If you’re not sure the answer to this one, then this may be the most powerful question you ask your team this week. Simply ask, ‘What do I do that wastes your time?’ Then listen.

6. Does this get me where I want to, or need to go?

If you do this now will it move you closer to the mission? If not pass and move along to the next thing you need to do.

7. Not everything on your list needs to get done

You’re never going to get everything on your list done that you want to. So why not decide to at least start getting the right things done?

Posted in Leadership

execution: the art of getting things done

Monday, January 30, 2012

One of the core competencies of leadership is to dream a preferred future. For most leaders dreaming is something that comes natural to them. They’re wired up to push towards the future and bring people with them. After all leadership is all about change…moving from here to there. The majority of leaders and churches don’t struggle with dreaming about the future. That’s not typically where we get bogged down. Where most churches begin to lose traction is actually taking real steps to make the vision happen…execution. After all who cares if you can dream, if you can’t get it done? Execution is the key.

Below are three simple ways to approach execution:

Posted in Leadership

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