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:
Tweet I once consulted with a church struggling to move forward. The pastor had been there a couple years, had a great vision and was supported by most everyone, there…
Tweet No leader sets out to frustrate their team. Yet, chances are we do it everyday. Or, at least we do it often. We are human. Every leader makes mistakes…
Yesterday I began some thoughts about the term team idleness. To understand the term fully read that post HERE.
What causes team idleness? What causes a team to stagnate and fail to move forward towards reaching its goals and objectives? Here are a few of my thoughts:
After a recent staff meeting, I was thinking about what makes our team at Grace Community Church healthy. I’ve written about healthy teams before HERE and HERE among other posts. I think healthy teams are intentionally created, so I’m consistently trying to make our environment better. My current thoughts have led me to believe that in our case, it’s as much about what we don’t have on our team as what we do have.
I think our team works well together because we get along well with each other. (Most of the time.) It may have to do with what we check at the door when we spend time together.
Here are 7 things healthy teams check at the door:
Tweet What’s the right structure for our church? I’ve received that question by email, at conferences, and from pastors I have met. They want to know how to grow their…
Over the last 20 years, I have served on dozens of non-profit boards at the state and local level. I have worked with nationally know organizations, such as Boys Scouts, Red Cross, United Way, and YMCA and numerous other local non-profit ministries and service organizations. I strongly believe in community service and realize the value of non-profits in community development. It could easily be said that the success of any non-profit is directly related to the strength of its board.
What fosters an attitude of team spirit in an organization? Here are few thoughts.
I was working with a church recently that is facing a growth barrier. They have experienced rapid growth and now the staff is stretched beyond what they can do. There are holes of responsibilities not being filled. My opinion…and they agree…is that they can’t continue growing unless something changes.
The “genius” suggestion I gave them is that they must rise up new leaders, empower them with authority, and spread the load of responsibility. The obvious question: Where do we find these people?
Great question!
I suggested they look for three types of people:
