The Pain of the Game of Telephone in Leadership
When we have a lot of people around a table for a meal, my daughters often like to play a game of telephone. They find it very funny to start a message and see how it is distorted and changed by the time it makes its way around the circle through multiple people. While a […]
3 Reasons to Ask Great Questions to Those You Lead
Genesis 3 and 4 is not about leading a staff or providing leadership to a group of people, but there are implications for us as Christian leaders want to lead others the way God leads us.
4 Downsides of “This Is the Most Important Message Ever!”
If you peruse social media on a Saturday evening, you will likely see ministry leaders sending messages like “Tomorrow is the ONE Sunday you will not want to miss!!!” or “Best Sunday ever tomorrow.” Or maybe you have sat in church and heard a barrage of announcements, each one promoting an event “that will change […]
5 Ways to Lead in Ministry When Your Leader Is Not Leading
To be clear upfront, this post is not prompted by my context or personal experience as I am honored to serve under great leaders. However, I am commonly asked questions around the theme of “Help, my leader is not really leading.” Examples include: How can I design a discipleship process when my leader does not […]
3 Leadership Clichés I Never Use
The reason leadership maxims gain traction among leaders is that they are generally helpful. Pithy statements that summarize principles are both memorable and instructive. But not all leadership clichés can be trusted. In the untrustworthy clichés, there are nuggets of truth, but they are overstated or oversimplified. Here are three leadership clichés I never use […]
3 Emails You Should Never Send
In a recent meeting with my leadership team, I shared my concern that email has a tendency to make us less efficient while promising to make us more so. An article from Harvard Business Review prompted the discussion with my team and has caused me to evaluate my own email habits and learn some ways […]
Three Things You Should Communicate to Your Leader
Managing the boss is an essential leadership characteristic. John Kotter popularized the phrase in a seminal article, Managing Your Boss, first published in Harvard Business Review in 1980. In the article Kotter encourages leaders to ensure the boss has the right amount of visibility without being overwhelmed in details. Leaders must be proactive in helping […]
Four Essential Phrases in Leadership Development
The fruit of an effective leader is not merely followers but other leaders. Leaders are responsible for future leadership. While some worry that developing others and “working themselves out of a job” will result in not having a job, the reality is that those who can develop other leaders will always be in demand. Leaders […]
Four Types of Tone-Deaf Leadership
When it comes to singing, I am likely tone-deaf (I say likely because I don’t fully understand the official definition, so just hang with me for the illustration). Now I can sing the right words; I just sing them the wrong way. While the Lord assures me He enjoys joyful noise, my apparent tone-deafness has […]
Four Questions to Spot the Difference Between Healthy Tension and Unhealthy Conflict
There is a difference between healthy tension and unhealthy conflict. Wise leaders attempt to foster healthy tension where team members who love and trust one another sharpen each other and where ideas get matured and developed through robust discussion. Just as tension in exercise makes a body stronger, healthy tension can make a team stronger. […]