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Category Archive: Church Scattered

The Single Best Way To Motivate Your Team

Posted by on February 24, 2019

The classic leadership division for the last 50 years has been between leaders who can primarily drive results and those who have the ability to prioritize relationships. The first group would be in operations and the second in sales. Today unless you can do both and everything in between you will not be effective. This Carey Nieuwhof post is excellent:

“There are some kinds of leaders (often in churches and not-for-profits) who are wonderful with people, but whose organizations don’t produce great results. Often there’s little accountability, a general drift, poor metrics and just a lack of overall excellence. But the leader’s a really nice person.

There are other leaders (often in rapidly growing churches and businesses) who are not so great with people, but there’s tight accountability, laser-like focus, clear results and tremendous progress.”

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The Lifelong Journey Of Personal Development

Posted by on February 17, 2019

From a Christian worldview perspective we would see this as a journey toward spiritual maturity. If you integrate faith and leadership into your life as a means to that end then there is much to be learned from corporate best practices. This Forbes post has much to offer pastors on leading yourself:

“The term “personal development” is very much a part of today’s lexicon, but have you ever thought about what it really means? I describe personal development as a transformational journey, and improving your emotional intelligence (EI) can be a major part of that journey. This is because EI develops your self-awareness and gives you the tools to understand your own needs and the needs of others.”

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Four Steps To Leaving The Legacy You Have Always Wanted

Posted by on February 4, 2019

We of all leaders should know the difference between people making mistakes in their lives compared to lifetime regrets. We are there many times in the end of life and hear the painful stories of opportunities missed, especially in meaningful relationships. This Forbes post is a good reminder:

“As a multi-certified career discovery coach, I often give clients exercises designed to uncover their passions, values and priorities in life. One well-known exercise is called “The 80th Birthday Party,” in which my clients are asked to imagine themselves at their 80th birthday party and envision what they want people to say about them. Usually, people will want to be remembered for being a great spouse, parent or friend. Therefore, this exercise will help to clarify values and priorities.”

Categories: Church Scattered Core Values Life Plan | Comments Off on Four Steps To Leaving The Legacy You Have Always Wanted

5 Keys To Reducing Stress And Anxiety In Leadership

Posted by on January 28, 2019

Margin is the gap between demand and capacity. Today with all the multiple inputs with most of the media and culture being overwhelming negative, it’s no wonder we are all stressed beyond measure. The church is no safe place from this toxicity and in many ways is even harder to lead. This is a must read for pastors:

When someone asks you how you’re doing, how do you answer? Most of the leaders I talk to these days answer with two variations: “stressed” or “busy.”

Dig a little deeper and you it’s easy to see that at a deep level, most leaders today feel anxious and overwhelmed. Welcome to life in the 21s century.

There are a million reasons why:

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4 Things To Do Before A Tough Conversation

Posted by on January 23, 2019

One of the hardest things to do as a church leader is to talk to people when you have to deliver bad news. It could start out at the beginning as a quality of work issue that eventually leads to a chronic lack of performance. Eventually, you begin to ask yourself the real question, Does this person really belong on our team? This HBR post is very helpful:

I was in denial for about a year and a half before I admitted that I needed to fire Randy.

His work performance had made the conclusion inescapable for years, but he was so darned nice and likeable that I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Not only did I like him, I also knew his income was crucial to his family. Furthermore, over the nine years he worked for me, his income had grown to the point that he would find it difficult to get comparable compensation.

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How To Discern God’s Will In Your Workplace

Posted by on January 16, 2019

The front lines of the gospel ministry have moved from the churches we attend to the places where we work and the neighborhoods where we live. Our work is an incredibly important platform for God, as we daily combine the secular and the sacred to show people the reality of Christ in our lives. This post by Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra is a great reminder:

In 2004, businessman Terry Looper—founder and CEO of the $6 billion Texon energy company—was partway through negotiating a sale when he realized he’d forgotten to pray about it.

“I hadn’t even tried to get neutral,” he said. “Getting neutral” is his term for pushing down any greed or selfish ambition, quieting his heart, and listening for the Holy Spirit’s leading. Looper makes decisions by spending time in prayer and Bible reading, consulting with colleagues and family, watching for circumstances, and asking God for “peace in my gut.”

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Beware Of Emotional Affairs

Posted by on December 18, 2018

I warn you that some of you will think this post by TGC is over-reacting to the new realities of social media. After 30 plus years of dealing with broken marriages, especially with leaders in the ministry, I absolutely disagree. This content by Ellen Mary Dykas is spot on and the questions she asks are all extremely important:

“Josh had been at a new church for four months when Sara—his pastor’s wife—invited him to join their community group, which was a weekly gathering of both singles and married couples. Sara and her husband, Craig, wanted a group where married couples mentored singles.

Josh and Sara hit it off, and they discovered lots of common interests. Their conversation easily flowed during the fellowship time before the Bible study. Sara was surprised how much she missed Josh when he couldn’t attend. Josh realized that talking to Sara became the main reason he enjoyed the group. Not a big deal, it’s just talking.”

Categories: Marriage Personal Leadership Spiritual Growth | Comments Off on Beware Of Emotional Affairs

5 Steps To Leading Through Personal Vision

Posted by on December 9, 2018

I was fortunate to attend one of Stephen Covey’s first seminars on 7 Habits. The one that changed my life was Habit 2, Beginning With The End In Mind. I realized then that if I did not take the time to define my core values and purpose in life, someone else was going to do it for me. This Forbes Coaches Council post is a great reminder for every leader:

“Have you ever worked for someone who wasn’t clear on who they were, what they stood for or where they were leading you? This can be very confusing and demotivating. Developing a personal vision statement is critical for leaders because it provides a framework for decision making and creates a road map to move forward with intention and purpose. It also motivates and inspires those they lead.”

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Busyness Is Our Worst Addiction

Posted by on December 6, 2018

Every day we all ask ourselves How am I doing? Where you go to answer that question is critically important. We all need security and significance but if you have replaced real accomplishments in your life with just more activity, especially at work, then you are headed for a bad place. This Forbes post is worth the read:

“When you think of addiction, you probably think of drugs and alcohol. However, you can be addicted to anything. Addiction is being compulsively or physiologically dependent on something habit-forming. Do you know what most of us are addicted to? Being busy. Busy is habit-forming. People pride themselves on being busy, but busyness is an addiction that needs to be cured.”

Categories: Church Scattered Margin Work Life Integration | Comments Off on Busyness Is Our Worst Addiction

5 Ways Smart People Sabotage Their Success

Posted by on November 29, 2018

The ability to process information quickly and come up with successful solutions is a tremendous asset. However, in this ever increasing collaborative work environment this strength can become a weakness. We must find a way as leaders to bring our best to the organization but make sure we are developing other leaders in the process. This HBR post was excellent:

“Raw intelligence is undoubtedly a huge asset, but it isn’t everything. And sometimes, when intellectually gifted people don’t achieve as much as they’d like to, it’s because they’re subtly undermining themselves. If you’re in this situation, the good news is that when you understand these foibles you can turn them around. Here are five I’ve seen smart people particularly struggle with:”

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