Blog-Generated | Coaching Churches

Why Most Meetings Aren't Needed

Posted by on January 20, 2014

We have all endured our share of long, boring and unproductive meetings. In reality, I have lead many of them and may be more of the problem than the solution. The transition from a positional model of leadership to a more participatory model is driving some of this problem. This post by Brad Lomenick was very helpful to me:

“I have to be honest- I despise most meetings. Now don’t get me wrong, some meetings are important and needed. I love brainstorming and creative meetings when there is lots of energy and ideas being thrown out. I like meetings where ideas are being moved to completion.”

I will start using some of his suggestions, Read More …

Categories: Leadership Development Meeting Effectiveness | Comments Off on Why Most Meetings Aren't Needed

3 Critical Elements Of Time Management

Posted by on January 17, 2014

The great misnomer about this subject is we really don’t manage time we prioritize it. However, there are some really good questions that we should be asking ourselves about how we spend our time on in reality waste it. Anything I can read on this subject always helps this and this post by Ron Edmondson is no exception:

“Time is one of the greatest assets of any leader. Learning to balance a leader’s time effectively is often a key in determining the level of success the leader attains. In my experience, every leader has three critical segments where they must invest their time on a regular basis.”

Categories: Productivity | Comments Off on 3 Critical Elements Of Time Management

Why You Need To Set Personal Goals

Posted by on January 15, 2014

We live in the reality of smart goals and clear objectives in our corporate life. Strangely, very few people value that same leadership discipline when it comes to their personal life. If we believe its ” smart” at work why would we not value the process even more for the people we care about the most? This was a helpful post on this important subject:

“One mark of high-achievers is goal-setting. Most of the successful people I know make it a priority to place targets at various points in the coming year and shoot for them.

You might already be working on your list of goals now. It could be increasing your income, launching a product, or starting a new business.

All that’s good. Go for it. But don’t neglect the areas you’ll regret the most if you fail to give them your attention.”

Categories: Life Plan Personal Leadership | Comments Off on Why You Need To Set Personal Goals

5 Stages Of Organizational Development

Posted by on January 14, 2014

Every organization either within a corporate context or a church context goes through sometimes difficult transition stages that can be clearly defined. Some stages may last longer than others and quite frankly many times that depends upon leadership. Ron Edmondson has an excellent post on this subject:

“Every organization goes through life cycles. This includes the church. These cycles can be natural or forced, but part of leadership is recognizing them and adapting leadership to them for continued health and growth. Each stage has overlap, but understanding this can help a leader decide how best to lead…which is different in each cycle.”

Categories: Leading Change Organizational Culture Strategic Planning | Comments Off on 5 Stages Of Organizational Development

8 Secrets Of Marriage Conflict Resolution

Posted by on January 10, 2014

Have you ever been in a fight with your spouse and by the end of the argument you can’t even remember what started it all in the first place. When we get in conflict our natural response is to avoid pain and cast blame. In reality its never just one person’s fault and we need to own our part of the problem. This post was a good reminder for me:

In his book, Learning to Live with the Love of Your Life… And Loving It!, Dr. Neil Clark Warren provides eight secrets to working through conflict with your spouse.

1. Marriage is a “We” Business

Dr. Warren says, “Any couple who gains a ‘we’ perspective eventually experiences great success in marriage.” Shift the focus of your marriage to a “we” mentality, especially in conflict.

How To Lead Under Pressure

Posted by on January 6, 2014

If there is any weakness in your leadership armor it will surely show up under pressure. Most of us can lead through normal problems but when a crisis or major stress get involved we fumble the ball. The post by Brian Dodd brings up some bad memories for this Alabama fan but it was still helpful for me:

“Are you feeling under intense pressure? Periodically I go through seasons in my life when the pressure seems almost too much to bear. Pressure to perform. Pressure to hit numbers. Pressure on my calendar.

As leaders, pressure is something we must deal with, manage, and ultimately overcome. I have also learned the difference between good leaders and great leaders is the ability to execute under pressure.”

5 Questions When Attempting Life Change

Posted by on January 3, 2014

It is indeed a sad day when we realize that a worthy goal we set months ago has not been successfully accomplished. Usually for me it’s not the goal or even my motivation at the time but the process I put in place to accomplish the goal is flawed. This post by Ron Edmondson gives some great insight:

“Sadly, people end each year no better than they end any other year, because they continue to repeat the same mistakes and live out the same bad patterns and habits they have always lived.

If you want to make genuine, sustaining changes, consider your answers to the following five questions. For best results, write your answers to these questions on paper. There is a certain finality of purpose when you invest time and energy recording them.”

How To Reach Your Goals In 2014

Posted by on January 1, 2014

It never ceases to amaze me how many great ideas I have and how many sincere commitments I make only to be reminded a few months later that nothing really changed. We are often emotionally moved but rarely permanently changed and there are some practical reasons why. Carey Nieuwhof has some thoughts that will help all of us as we start the new year:

“Chances are you are already thinking about your goals for 2014.

And maybe you’re already wondering whether you’re actually going to hit them or not.

Why is that so many of us set out to accomplish something but fail to do as much as we’d hope?

The answer is simpler than you think.

It involves a dynamic few people talk about. But once you see it, things can begin to change. Radically.”

Categories: Goal Setting Personal Leadership | Comments Off on How To Reach Your Goals In 2014

Everyday Serving In The Workplace

Posted by on December 30, 2013

I will never forget the day when I realized that my work was just as much a part of my worship as anything I did on Sunday morning. It was a platform that God wanted to use to help other people connect with Him. The goal was no longer to make a profit but to make a difference. This post by Eric Geiger helps understand this concept:

“A common misconception among Christians is that their work is not spiritual, that a regular 9-to-5 day cannot be sacred. If they’re going to do anything spiritual or ministry-oriented, it’ll have to happen around these occupied time slots. But this implies that everybody needs to be a full-time pastor of some kind if they’re going to be “spiritual” for the better part of the day and week. The misconception that normal work is not spiritual is both inaccurate and damaging.”

Categories: Church Scattered Missional Living Servant Leader Work Life Integration | Comments Off on Everyday Serving In The Workplace

A Call For A "New" Faith And Work Movement

Posted by on December 23, 2013

Far too many Christians live segmented lives where their faith only impacts one part of their lives. We are called to represent Christ in every area of our lives especially at work. This may be the only opportunity that most people have to see the gospel lived out in the real world. This is a great video and organization that equips people to represent Christ in the marketplace:

David H. Kim presents the necessity of an integrated faith & work movement that takes seriously the sovereignty of Christ, remembers the renewing work of the Spirit and emphasizes the importance of a narrative comprehensive enough to drive forward the challenge of humanizing work.

Watch Video …

Categories: Church Scattered Contextualization Life Plan Missional Living Work Life Integration | Comments Off on A Call For A "New" Faith And Work Movement