Five Ways to Critique Without Crushing
As a leader, you owe it to those you lead to offer them feedback. Without feedback, development is hampered, as people don’t know what actions to repeat and what actions to tweak. Giving encouragement and accolades is not something leaders dread, but offering feedback that could be perceived as critical is something many leaders struggle […]
Three Reasons Leaders Must Constantly Ask “Why”
Wise leaders constantly ask “why.” Not because they find joy in questioning everything but because they want to ensure the thinking beneath the decisions is sound and the motivations beneath the actions are pure. Instead of mindlessly executing, they think deeply about what is beneath the execution. Instead of simply implementing, they care about the […]
Skills Can Kill: 4 Dangers of (Only) Skills-Based Leadership Development
Both character and competence are essential for leaders. Of David, the king of Israel, the Scripture states, “He shepherded them with a pure heart and guided them with his skillful hands” (Psalm 78:72). In other words, David possessed both character and competence. When people think of developing leaders, they often think in terms of necessary […]
Stay in Your Lane or Own the Whole?
Perhaps you have had a leader challenge you to “stay in your lane.” Whether your mind conjured up a football analogy or lanes on an interstate, you got the message. Quit trying to lead everyone else’s area, and focus on yours. And perhaps you heard a different message in a different meeting when the leader […]
6 Thoughts on Building a Team from the PayPal Mafia
In his new book, Zero to One, Peter Thiel describes the early culture of PayPal—the company he started with several friends before selling it to eBay for $1.5 billion. Because PayPal was a tech start-up, you might expect Thiel to emphasize free massages, ping-pong tables, and an on-site sushi chef, but instead, he calls those […]
4 Principles for Building a High-Performing Team
The following is a guest post by Faith Whatley. Faith serves on our team in the Church Resources Division at LifeWay and is the director of adult ministry. She is an incredible leader and it is an honor to serve churches alongside her. While some of her articles on our leadership channel are directed to women […]
Does Your Team Trust, Respect, and Like Each Other (and You)?
The healthiest teams share mutual trust and respect and like each other. They trust each other, have respect for one another’s contribution to the whole, and enjoy each other. Because such a team is so healthy, those that the team is designed to serve benefit. If one or more of the three (trust, respect, like) […]
6 Ways to Build a Loyal Team and Become a Better Leader
Today’s blog is from my friend and colleague Todd Adkins. Todd serves as our Director of Leadership at LifeWay. We first served together in student ministry, more than a decade ago in Cincinnati, Ohio. I headed to Miami, and Todd went off to McLean Bible Church to serve as executive director of Frontline—the young adult […]
Defining Expectations with Your Supervisor
For a season I facilitated coaching networks for executive pastors—leaders who serve under the leadership of a senior pastor and are often responsible for the daily operations, the staff, and other large buckets of work. One of the most consistent lines of questioning I received from these leaders pertained to role clarity regarding decision-making and […]
6 Ways to Shift Responsibility
A team of people who shift blame from one person to another, who do not embrace ultimate responsibility, will never accomplish anything great. And a team who collectively tolerates the shifting of responsibility will never fulfill its mission as fully as it could. Of course, no one wants to admit that he/she is not taking […]