Tweet How’s this for a title? One principal for a better life? Really? Yea! Really. And, it is a very simple principle – one every leader knows, but one we…
Tweet What’s the greatest killer of momentum? We often think it is a lack of vision. But, you can have the greatest vision ever and still see motivation dwindle and…
Tweet I’ve often wished I could say something to every leader. Some things I’ve learned the hard way. I often share things leadership should do, but today I thought I’d…
Tweet With every team or organization I have led there have been people who get frustrated with someone else on the team. In full disclosure, sometimes others have been frustrated…
Tweet The title is confusing, isn’t it? It seems to assume some leaders worry and some don’t. The truth is, however, most leaders will have occasions of worry. Worry is…
I was talking with a 25 year old pastor recently. He is frustrated with his church. He was brought to the church because they wanted him to help the church grown again, but they see him as too young to make decisions on his own. They won’t take his suggestions. They consistently undermine his attempts to lead. They expect him to speak each week and visit the sick, but they won’t let him make any changes that he feels need to be made. It has made for a very miserable situation and he feels helpless to do anything about it. He’s ready to quit and the situation is negatively impacting every other area of his life.
It wasn’t the first time I have heard a story such as this. I hear it frequently from young leaders in churches and the business world. I didn’t want to be the one to tell him, but I didn’t want to mislead him either. The bottom line in this young pastor’s situation:
Great organizations don’t just appear. There is a method to the madness. I wonder sometimes, however, if we make it seem more difficult than it is to create success in an organization. While nothing worth doing well is ever easy, certain attributes seem to exist that successful organizations share with one another.
From my observation, here are 7 attributes of success as an organization:
Tweet It would be difficult to conclude Paul was not an effective leader. He was the arguably the most successful church planter of all times. Paul managed to plant churches…
I write and speak a lot about wisdom. I think wisdom is critical to good leadership. Leadership demands consistent decision-making and a wise leader has developed certain attributes that protect the leader and the organization during this process. A leader learns wisdom from the personal experience of success and failure and from the insight of other leaders.
Here are 7 attributes of a wise leader:
In my first management position, I was a 19 year-old college sophomore working full-time and leading a small staff of four people in the men’s clothing area of a major department store. I was placed in the position almost by default, because the previous manager left unexpectedly and I was there and eager to lead. Everyone working for me was older than I was, including one man who was in his sixties.
Today, even though I have aged considerably since then, I continue to be in a position where people older than me, with more experience than I have in many areas, report to me by position. Since I work with many pastors and church planters who are starting out in their ministry and will likely encounter the same experience with either volunteers or paid staff, I am hoping this will be helpful information.
Here are 7 tips for leading people older than you: