Leadership Development | Coaching Churches

Category Archive: Leadership Development

The Leaders Need For Humility

Posted by on February 26, 2014

The days of strong driven positional leadership are just about over. Yes, there are still times leaders need to be directive but Jim Collins proved that one of the major character qualities of all great leaders is humility. John Maxwell has a great post that will be helpful for your reading:

“When people talk about leadership, they don’t use the word “humility” very often. More likely, they describe a leader as strong or focused or ambitious. They would probably say the leader is confident or assertive. “Humble” may not ever come up, and if it does, it might not be used as a compliment.”

Humble people by nature assume responsibility for failure and give credit to others for success. Read More …

Categories: Pastoral Leadership Servant Leader | Comments Off on The Leaders Need For Humility

The Beginner's Guide To Task Management

Posted by on February 24, 2014

We have come a long way baby from a yellow note pad to the cloud. I think at some point in time I have tried and used most time management systems. I am in the process of another major transition and this post is the direction I have chosen. Michael is always incredible in practical systems and you will profit from reading this post:

I have been making to-do lists since college. In terms of physical systems, I started with the Seven Star Diary, graduated to a Day-Timer, and then landed on the Franklin Planner. At the time, it was state of the art. After reading David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done, I decided to go digital.

Relational Or Organizational Leadership

Posted by on February 21, 2014

The current theory of situational leadership is widely accepted as the best model for any leader who is leading other people within an organization. However, every leader has a default style that they shift to when the need for situational leadership is not present. Knowing your style will both help you and your team to work more effectively. Carey Nieuwhof has a great post:

“Your problem (and mine) happens when an relational leader tries to fill the role of an organizational leader. And to a similar extent, when an organizational leader tries to fill a relational role.

The culture we live in raises the tension because:

Categories: Leadership Development | Comments Off on Relational Or Organizational Leadership

8 Characteristics Of Great Teammates

Posted by on February 19, 2014

We have all worked at some point in time with both good and bad teams. Maybe we were the reason they were bad but certainly not in every case. The things that make for successful teams are well documented within leadership culture. Brad Lomenick offers some great insight:

“Reality is, we are all part of some kind of team, wherever we are in life. Family, church, volunteer, sports, business, community, social. As Leaders, it’s equally important for us to know how to follow and be a great team member as it is how to LEAD and be a team leader.

Don’t just read this but apply it to every team you are involved in. Read More …

Categories: Staff Development Teamwork | Comments Off on 8 Characteristics Of Great Teammates

The 5 Biggest Hiring Mistakes

Posted by on February 14, 2014

The only thing worse than not having a position filled is to have it filled with the wrong person. Sometimes people change over time and once great performers no longer are today. However, the majority of mistakes are made on the front end hiring process and Michael Hyatt has some great suggestions:

“I have made my share of hiring mistakes, too. I know how painful they can be. They were always very expensive and emotionally draining. Instead of focusing on the work at hand, they distracted me and kept my business from moving forward.

Having learned the hard way, I have gotten better at hiring over time. Whenever I get ready to hire someone new, I now have a defined process. It is designed to avoid these five mistakes:

Categories: Leadership Development | Comments Off on The 5 Biggest Hiring Mistakes

Leading From The Middle

Posted by on February 5, 2014

This is the position I have found myself in for the last 30 years in leadership. It can be a very hard place to be because you feel the responsibly to make both your team members and the people you report to successful. Many times their goals are not in alignment and you have to make some difficult decisions about what to do next. Brad Lomenick has some helpful insights and draws some unusual conclusions:

“Leading from the middle of the organization is tough.

Lots of responsibility, but limited empowerment. Less money, but more work. More to manage, but less training. And on and on and on. Reality is, most influence within organizations always comes from the middle, and not from the top.”

In reality all of us are in the middle we just may not know it. Read More …

Categories: Leadership Development Staff Development | Comments Off on Leading From The Middle

What To Do When Opportunity Knocks

Posted by on January 31, 2014

It does not happen that often in the normal routine lives that we live but occasionally a new opportunity finds us and forces us to have to deal with some serious questions. Should I take that promotion with the move or change the company I work for or should I finally start that new business. John Maxwell has some great principles that will help us all:

“How do you respond when a great opportunity presents itself? I’m a firm believer in finding and embracing new opportunities. But I don’t chase an opportunity without evaluating it according to some specific criteria.

How do I evaluate an opportunity? I run it through a series of tests. Only after it passes them do I take steps toward the goal.”

Categories: Leadership Development | Comments Off on What To Do When Opportunity Knocks

7 Warning Signs A Leader Is About To Crash

Posted by on January 29, 2014

For the most part I have been successful at almost everything I have done as an adult. When I hit a major wall in 2007 I was failing at almost everything I tried to do. This experience revealed some things to me about myself that I needed to know and they were not very pretty. I now watch for the early warning signs that Ron Edmondson talks about in this post. If you don’t know them you are an accident waiting to happen:

“I’ve been there. I’ve faced burnout and frustration in my work. Thankfully, I’ve never “bottomed out”, but I’ve felt near the bottom in my spirit. More than that, I’ve walked through these times with dozens of other leaders.

I’ve learned there are some common indicators that a leader is heading towards burnout. The sooner we can recognize them, the sooner we know to reach out for help.”

Categories: Leadership Development Margin | Comments Off on 7 Warning Signs A Leader Is About To Crash

When Team's Get Stuck

Posted by on January 24, 2014

One thing is for certain, at some point in time both leaders as individuals and their teams are going to lose momentum and stop being productive. The critical next step is to be able to diagnose the correct reason or you will react and only make things worse. This post by Mark Miller gives several key reasons and offers some good advise:

“Have you ever been on a team that was stuck? I have – it’s no fun. However, it can happen, whether you’re playing on a recreation league softball team, serving a non-profit organization, or working on a team at the office. Today’s question is: How do you get your team unstuck?”

The questions is not if my team will get stuck but what should I do when it happens. Read More …

Categories: Teamwork | Comments Off on When Team's Get Stuck

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