Three Reasons Urgency Must Precede Vision

In his highly regarded book Leading Change, John Kotter articulates that establishing urgency must always precede communicating vision. Before attempting to implement change, leaders must create dissatisfaction with an ineffective status quo. They must help others develop a sense of angst over the brokenness around them. Without urgency, a vision will not take root in […]

Four Ways to Attack a Sense of Entitlement

Zappos is routinely recognized as an incredible place to work. They take leadership development seriously, are clear on their values and protective of them—even offering people money to leave if they do not fit the culture, and they give very generous perks. Yet even Zappos struggles with employees displaying a sense of entitlement. Despite free […]

Is Your Team Aligned and Attuned?

Roger Harrison is a recognized leader and author in organizational and cultural development. He has articulated that healthy organizations display both alignment and attunement. Alignment: Alignment refers to the deep commitment to the mission and identity of the organization. If a team is aligned, they are moving in the same direction and rallying around the […]

Four Mistakes Leaders Make When Handling Conflict

Conflict is going to happen. After sin entered the world through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, God told Eve that the relationship with her husband would no longer be perfect: “Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you” (Genesis 3:16). Scholars have pointed out that the same wording of […]

Three Common Idols in Churches

Hezekiah is affirmed in Scripture as doing “what was right in the Lord’s sight” (2 Kings 18:3). The next verse details what Hezekiah did: “He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made, for the Israelites burned incense to […]

Four Imperatives for Wise Stewardship of Time

We only have a brief amount of time on this earth and a brief amount of time in the roles in which we are serving. All of us are interim leaders. We steward our responsibilities only for a brief and fleeting season. One day someone else will lead the teams we are leading. One day […]

Three Warning Signs You Are Wasting Time

Moses prayed, “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts” (Psalm 90:12). Our days are short. We are like a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14). David prayed, “LORD, reveal to me the end of my life and the number of […]

A Sobering Reality Leaders Must Recognize

Leaders have major impact on the teams and organizations they lead. Their leadership impacts the direction and the future. Their leadership attracts the type of people who will join the team, and greatly influences the culture. Even the expressions and mannerisms of leaders are often picked up by others throughout the organization. Leaders have a […]

Five Ways Leaders Lose Credibility

In The Leadership Challenge, researchers and authors, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner claim that the most important leadership characteristic is credibility. Based on extensive research over two decades, they write that “more than anything, we want leaders who are credible. People must be able to believe in their leaders.” Without credibility a “leader” won’t be […]

Three Differences Between Busyness and Productivity

There is a mammoth difference between teams and leaders who run around being busy and those that are truly productive. Busyness can give the allusion of productivity as people are doing things, as meetings are happening, and as emails are being sent and read. But not all busyness is valuable. In fact, busyness can mask […]