Equipping

In recent weeks I took time to share twelve books that shaped my leadership and that I propose should be read by any aspiring leader. The books were broad in scope, not necessarily academic or known as classics, and were not exhaustive on what a leader should read. I want to take the exercise one step further. We live in a changing world with rapid advances in communication, technology, and culture. What you do today may not be sufficient to keep you effective in the future. Leaders cannot lead change unless they personally have a willingness to change themselves.

Allow me to share five books that can help you look ahead. Wayne Gretzky, one of the greatest hockey players of all time, stated that the key to his success was not his ability to “skate to where the puck is but to anticipate and skate to where the puck will be (paraphrased).” What a great thought for today’s leaders. Here are five books that can help you do just that.

1. Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia — Multigenerational Management Ideas That Are Changing the Way We Run Things by Brad Szollose. How do you simultaneously lead those in their twenties and those in their sixties? To be effective, you must know how. The generations are so different in the thinking, values, and manner of work. This secular book is worth the read for any leader needing to sharpen their multi-generational leadership.
2. The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors That Will Crash the American Church…and How to Prepare by John Dickerson. While the title sounds pessimistic the reality is that the church is in a struggle. What are the cultural factors that are feeding the erosion in North America? The book is sobering but one key to a turnaround is to be brutally honest about the current landscape and then to seek and implement Biblical solutions. The subject is the church, but any organizational leader can benefit from this important read.
3. Meet Generation Z: Understanding and Reaching the New Post-Christian World by James Emery White. You hear much about Gen X, have been trying to figure out the Millennials, and now guess what? A new generation of teens and young adults are emerging and they are different. Not different in a bad way or good way but definitely different. Your leadership will have to adapt or you will be viewed as irrelevant. What will be different? Read this book to find out.
4. iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy–and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood–and What That Means for the Rest of Us by Jean Twenge. Do you remember a time without computers, iPhones, smart tablets, hundreds of channels on television? Younger adults have no idea what that is like. They think differently and one primary effect is their immersion in technology from their early toddler days. Do you want to be a better leader? First, seek to understand before you seek to be understood.
5. Systems-Sensitive Leadership: Empowering Diversity Without Polarizing the Church by Michael Armour. This book is a deeper dive but it is insightful and valuable. Between this book and Liquid Leadership, you will have a great secular and Christian look into generational distinctions with sound wisdom on how to adapt your leadership in order to maximize your effectiveness.

Like with my dozen books on balanced leadership in previous weeks, this list is not exhaustive but will take you much further down the road to greater understanding and influence. Leaders are readers and I hope you will tap into these resources as well as my book, Why They Stay to help you on this journey.

I just finished meeting with a great friend and leader to talk about ministry and leadership. We reflected on a leader we have in common who has impacted both of our lives. He is well known, well-respected, and has impacted hundreds of other leaders. We discussed how effective he has been but also acknowledged that he has stood on the shoulders of others. That is true of a successful or effective leader. They do not get to where they are on their own. You may never know the members of their team, but you can trust that many hours were spent with a team who made them better as he or she poured into them.

 

Effective leaders equip others in several ways. Like a rising tide lifts all ships, the elevation of the leadership skills of their team members lifts the entire organization including that of the key leader themselves.

 

1. They purposefully invest informal time in other leaders on their team. It may sound contradictory to be purposeful and informal. However, the cliché is true that some things are better caught than taught. While there may be no agenda, the gathering may be recreational or casual on its face, and the time may be either spontaneous or planned, the ideas exchanged, the conversations had, the problems discussed, the laughter shared, and the subtle lessons learned serve to equip and strengthen both the leader and the team member. Effective leaders understand and take advantage of this dynamic with individuals where appropriate and meet purposefully and frequently.

 

2. They encourage the personal growth of their team. Effective leaders will allow time away, sabbaticals, conference time, subscriptions, formal educational pursuits, and visits to other effective comparable organizations, even at a cost financially or at the expense of time from the ministry, business, or organization served. Why? Because effective leaders understand the principle of sowing and reaping. You do not lose when you allow team members’ freedom for such pursuits. You are investing by sacrificing time that technically belongs to you.

 

3. They bring in others to say what they have been saying. Effective leaders do not fear the exposure of their team to other effective leaders. They embrace it and leverage it to equip their team to be better. No one knows it all and sometimes the team needs to hear the message in a fresh way to help it sink in and take hold in their own lives and work.

 

4. They incorporate training into their structured gatherings. What are structured gatherings? It could be the weekly worship service in a church. It could be the weekly staff meeting in an organization. It could be the monthly business meeting. It is those gatherings that are necessary, calendared, and regular in occurrence. Ordinarily the structured gatherings are administrative in nature. However, the effective leaders take advantage of having key leaders together and pours a measure of leadership training into the staff, team, or meeting of the volunteers at every opportunity.

 

5. They plan leadership training opportunities for their team. This last item may be the most obvious, but you will find that it is often neglected. Whenever you build your leaders they build your organization. It is true of a business, a ministry, a church, or an organization of any size. Do you want to grow and/or strengthen it? If so, be purposeful in growing your leaders. An effective leader develops a plan to do so. What is your plan to grow the skills of your team? What is next?

 

If you neglect any of these you will limit the potential of whatever and whomever it is that you are called to lead. Equip your leaders formally and informally and you will be on the way to maximizing your leadership!

I was honored to share with you a video in January designed to help parents understand the key Driver of a Sticky Faith. I followed up in February with a second video that described The Power of First Steps. These videos are based on the research conducted by Tom Crites and I to discover what keeps kids connected to church into their adult lives and published in our book, Why They Stay.

March is now here and I want to invite you to view the third video in the series. In this thirty-minute video, I am speaking to parents about key issues related to how their style of discipline affects the faith development of their children. You will discover the Biblical roots as well as the research that supports the model that made the greatest difference. The session is entitled Balancing Bonding and Boundaries. Trust me when I tell you that you will be encouraged as a parent, better equipped to help your children as well as other parents and learn principles that can maximize your leadership. Here we go…

 

Everyone reads, but not everyone reads books. I have seen conflicting statistics about the number of people who read books and the number of books that are read. But this I believe from Mark Twain;

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.

I listen regularly to Dave Ramsey and one thing he enjoys doing is interviewing millionaires to determine how they acquired their wealth. He notes that very few millionaires inherit their wealth. One common trait about self-made millionaires is that they are avid readers of non-fiction books. My comment here is not about money, but about the stewardship and leadership that propels one forward in their life. I read books and I want to share over the course of the next few weeks twelve books that have made me a better leader and give balance to my life and leadership.

I read from the Bible every day and credit that discipline with the most profound influence on my life. But that is not to suggest that other books have not shaped my leadership. Some of the works are specifically about leadership, others about marriage and parenting, and a couple may surprise you in their subject matter. [Full disclosure] I have admittedly included one of my own books because the research and writing had an extreme impact on my life and I am confident that it belongs on the list. A few notes about my list:

• These are not necessarily literary classics.
• These are not necessarily high level academic works.
• These are not all Christian works (for my ministry friends).
• These are not listed in priority order. They are broadly listed alphabetically.
• The list is not exhaustive. I could list 25, 50, or 100. I chose 12 for this exercise.
• I believer every leader and aspiring leader would do well to read all of these.

With that background, allow me to introduce you to the first three that I recommend.

1. Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No, to Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud. The subtitle clearly explains what the book is about and you will never excel in leadership without this essential skill. Leaders learn to prioritize and know when and how to say “no.” Do you?
2. Developing the Leader Within You by John Maxwell. This book is Leadership 101. It is a great synopsis of what Maxwell believes leadership is and how you can be a leader, which he defines as a person of influence. I discovered that I am a “learned leader” when I read this classic about 25 years ago. It propelled me forward as a leader and should be in any aspiring leader’s library.
3. Developing the Leaders Around You by John Maxwell. I guess you could call this Leadership 201. The title is descriptive as his second volume instructs and inspires you to become a leader of leaders instead of simply being a leader of followers. I personally believe that the primary task of a leader is to develop additional leaders. If so, whatever your task, mission, job, or assignment, you will progress more rapidly and be more effective. This book will help you do just that.

That’s three books that will maximize your leadership. I have nine more to go. Don’t miss next week.

What is the number one determining factor that indicates whether a child who grows up in church will be there as an adult? For this week’s leadership post I want to invite you to watch this 27 minute video as I share with parents about The Driver of a Sticky Faith.

 

There are actually eight of these videos but I am going to spread them out at a rate of about one per month. Whether you are a parent, grandparent, or an adult who loves teens and kids, this presentation will be of great value to you. Whoever you are and whatever you do, I can assure you that viewing this video is another way to maximize your leadership! I hope you will share with others.

 

The Driver of a Sticky Faith

A leader possesses a natural desire to thrive. An effective leader wants to thrive while helping those around him or her to thrive also. The best leaders do not focus exclusively on their own success. To do so would be narcissistic, which is counter intuitive to effective leadership. In a multi-layered organization where multiple staff members serve, multiple departments or ministries conduct work, and workers perform a variety of different functions, the tendency is to focus on the task of the department without regard to the needs of the other teams. This tendency is known as “silo-ing.” It is not always intentional, but it is always detrimental to the mission of the organization.

 

A leader or team member in a department or ministry should stand up for their team. It is healthy to have a passion for the task assigned, to have the expertise, to defend the team members, and to carry the banner for his or her area of assignment. However, each team member should recognize that they play a role on a larger team. Failure to do so can lead to unhealthy competition within the organization and lack of cooperation in accomplishing the ultimate mission. Here are three ways that leaders and team members contribute to the silo effect and note that all are avoidable and correctable:

 

1. Operating as if me or my team is exempt from standards, procedures, rules, policies, or expectations communicated by organizational leaders.

2. Planning activities, events, meetings, and/or developing strategies without regard to what any other team in the organization is doing.

3. Operating as if what my team does is superior to what other teams are assigned to do.

This can happen in a business. It can happen in a religious organization. It can happen in a church. As a matter of fact, Paul tackled this very issue in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. Seek to thrive in your assignment, but do so in a way that helps others to thrive also. Doing your part to minimize the silo effect is one key to making it happen.

Outstanding organizations are known for being fast. That does not mean they are “sloppy” with their work or that they are not deliberate in decision making. But people are drawn to them because they get good service and get it in a timely manner. When I am in a restaurant, I love my meal to be freshly prepared. But, I don’t want to wait three hours in order for that to happen. Being fast is not easily definable but you know when an organization is slow or unresponsive. We are admittedly the victims of a culture that is technologically advanced and has an expectation of quick quality service. Microwave ovens, cell phones, Google, and express lanes are just a few examples of modern technological factors. Cultural advances have raised expectations and that expectation is growing rather than diminishing. That begs the question: What does it mean to “be fast” in your area of service or ministry?

1. It means those who contact you by any means can expect a prompt and timely response. You may not be able to bring their questions, concern, or need to a quick resolution, but you can get started on the resolution quickly. In the worst case scenario, you should respond the next business day. You should strive to make an initial response on the same day you receive contact. The ideal is to get back with them very quickly. “But my workload is so great!” you might say. That does not change the expectation of those making contact. Those who contact you for ministry and service are “your work.” You must work with your team to find a way. Remember that a quick acknowledgement of their need and a commitment to follow through will suffice if you are in a crunch. But you must follow up soon.

2. It means that you meet deadlines and that you communicate on those occasions when it is not possible to meet the deadline. I work from a task list and I rarely schedule something to be done the day of or the day before it is due. If something is due on Friday, I put it on my task list for Wednesday (or even earlier if it is a larger project). I am typing this post on Thursday to go out on the following Monday. That builds in a buffer for me in the event of unforeseen demands on my schedule. Meeting deadlines is directly related to your time management skills and that is an area you must always seek to develop given the demanding culture in which we serve.

3. It means that you seek to provide an environment where quick decisions can be made. That is a tall task in a larger organization. Develop relationships and systems that allow for quick decisions to be made so that your team and your constituents can get a timely response to their ministry needs.

That went by fast! Until next time….

 

Mo-men-tum: The strength or force something has when it is moving. Momentum in organizational leadership or ministry is a good thing. You can make progress toward your mission with continued forward movement, even when smaller problems arise, or when a leader needs to briefly slow down, or when a change takes place within the organization. Despite the interruption, the organization continues forward. Ideally a leader will make decisions that propel his or her teams or followers forward and no one will notice the natural interruptions that inevitably take place.

 

There is another side to the equation. Some leaders stall or reverse momentum. The result can be a lack of growth and ultimately decline if the momentum cannot be regained. All leaders are vulnerable to circumstances beyond their control which can decrease momentum. Effective leaders prepare for those eventualities developing systems, policies, and best practices to minimize the effect of those external speed bumps. Unfortunately, some leaders personally cause the erosion of the momentum. Here are some ways that weak leaders, kill momentum:

 

1. When the leader loses or lacks passion. The leader sets the tone and his or her followers will rarely have more enthusiasm for the mission and work than the leader. If you are not “pumped” about what your organization is doing, then why should anyone else be?

 

2. When the leader disconnects from the team members. Contrary to the opinion of some, you cannot lead from behind. That is not a political commentary or intended as an insult to the one who proposed it. You must be visible, out front, and continually rallying followers toward the objective.

 

3. When the leader’s recollections of past victories are spoken about more than dreams of future possibilities. Every leader should remember the past, respect the past, learn from the past, but lead into the future. Yesterday’s victories will not guarantee tomorrows successes. In addition, younger leaders and followers want to hear a vision for the future with more frequency than reveling about the “good ole days.”

 

4. When new leaders are not being developed. The primary function of an effective leader is to develop new leaders. You cannot have too many. Only one can be the “lead dog” but an effective leader is primarily a “leader of leaders” rather than a “leader of followers.”

 

5. When a leader relies on momentum. A leader should desire momentum. He or she should work to generate it. But, the effective leader works and prays as if the momentum will disappear within the week if they are not diligent. Therefore, while it may be necessary to slow down at sometimes, they never coast. They could because they have momentum. But, they don’t.

 

That is why they are so effective in their leadership. What about you? Are your actions generating momentum or killing it? Learn these important lessons and you will maximize your leadership.

No one ever sets out to be an ineffective leader. However, whether at work, on a team, in a business, or at church, you do not have to be a genius to observe that not all leaders are equal in their abilities. What distinguishes the effective from the ineffective? Is it their personality? Their educational background? Their level of charisma? Their intelligence? Certainly, all of those criteria can be an asset, but they do not automatically make one effective.

A study by Telemetric International of over 16,000 executive leaders revealed some interesting contrasts between those who were more and less effective in their leadership. They were as follows:

1. Those who were most effective, tended to be more concerned with people (personally) than with profits (results). The result was a group of team members (followers, employees, staff) who worked extraordinarily hard resulting in the success and progress of the organization. By contrast, the weaker leaders in the survey tended to be more preoccupied with their own personal security than the needs of others.
2. Those who were most effective viewed the team members (followers, employees, staff) optimistically. They tended to think the best and expect the best of people. The ineffective leaders tended to distrust their team and their abilities and commitment.
3. Those who were most effective sought to interact with their team members (followers, employees, staff) seeking advice and input on issues like vision, strategy, problems, and solutions. Those who were ineffective tended to only seek input from others on the executive level.
4. Those who were most effective were active listeners. They tended to be personable and sought out personal input and interaction with others. Those who were ineffective avoided personal communication, leading from the office, and relying almost exclusively on written policies and procedures.

While education is of great value, you do not need an M.B.A. or a PH.D. to be effective. What you do need is an attitude that is more “others-centered” than “self-centered.” When you do, you will be on your way to maximizing your leadership!

 

I had some friends back in High School that I imagine you can relate to. You had friends and classmates just like these. Some were superior athletes that never played beyond High School and some were not even on the field for their senior seasons. I had other friends who had “off the chart” intellect. They trumped my intelligence by dozens of points, but made bad grades and never went to college. In most cases, these friends went on to live lives that were far below their potential and quite frankly have made a mess of their lives as adults. It’s sad. They had high I.Q.s (Intelligence Quotients) and natural physical attributes, but were sabotaged by low A.Q.s.

I have observed that a high Attitude Quotient is superior to high I.Q.s, degrees, good looks, or family heritage. You can observe this in a classroom in a local school. Children and teens with lower I.Q.s possessing good attitudes out performing academically other students with higher I.Q.s combined with bad attitudes. This is the great dynamic of maximizing leadership. Your I.Q., while it can be slightly raised, is primarily inherent while an attitude is a daily choice that can be dramatically improved by anyone who is willing. I have found the same principle to be true in ministry. For example, in the enlistment of Bible study leaders for my church, and while theology is very important, I would always prefer a leader with little theological training, but possesses passion and a great attitude over another who is intellectually knowledgeable of theology but lacks passion and has a poor attitude.

I have expectations for those who serve alongside me. Give me someone with a great attitude and their skills will improve. Give me someone with a great attitude and they will overcome mistakes and shortcomings. Give me someone with a great attitude and they will help create a much better environment to work in. Give me someone with a great attitude and we will move forward. Give me someone with a bad attitude and I will quickly give them back! While tolerance may be a virtue I admittedly have no tolerance for bad attitudes. This should be a “no-brainer” in the Christian community since believers should seek the “attitude of Christ.” As I said, “it should be.” Always be attentive to your A.Q. as well as that of your team members and you will maximize your leadership!