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Organizational Leadership

Friday Discussion: Non-Negotiables in Parenting

By Children, Family, Organizational Leadership, Parenting

Recently I was reposted my parenting model I’ve called “Grace Parenting”. You can read the article HERE.

One of the principles in my model is to Major on the Majors, Not on the Minors and I stated that there are certain non-negotiables I think a parent should enforce in their parenting. A reader commented on the post, asking, “What are the non-negotiables?”

Great question! For my family, these were mostly Biblical characteristics I wanted my boys to possess as adults, things most people would agree are a part of having a good, moral character.

Things such as:

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May 13, 2011
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Leaders Consider the Bigger Issue

By Leadership, Organizational Leadership, Team Leadership

In an organizational setting, when little issues arise, I try to consider the bigger issue at stake. Not everything has a bigger context worth considering, but strategic leaders consistently consider if there is one.

For example, if a staff member makes an awkward, unusually negative comment during a meeting, I try to consider the bigger issue. Was he or she reflecting in the moment about something in their personal life, was the comment limited to the meeting, or is there something unspoken going on that could point to a bigger issue in the person’s life or the organization? I’ll most likely question this after the meeting.

If I receive criticism from someone I trust, is it limited to the matter being criticized, or is there a bigger, unspoken issue of concern? I’ll always try to discern what isn’t clear.

As a leader, I have learned that I don’t always get the full story. As much as I try to lead around that fact, some are afraid of hurting my feelings, are intimidated, or just fearful of speaking up with their true feelings.

I discipline myself to question or consider:

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May 10, 2011
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Leadership Evaluation Summary & Observations 2011

By Church, Leadership, Organizational Leadership, Team Leadership

Recently I posted about the annual review process where our team evaluates the leader…me. (You can read more about that process in the initial post HERE.) I ask the staff to anonymously evaluate my performance as a leader. After a few weeks to answer, we met yesterday for lunch to go over the responses.

I was nervous about their responses this year, because our growth and the personal life changes have stretched me this past year. This year, unless they told me separately, I was not able to tell who said what in the evaluation, so it was good feedback without taking reading anything into the responses based on personalities.

Below are the questions and the most repeated answers.

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April 13, 2011
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7 Questions about the Way People Approach a Leader

By Leadership, Organizational Leadership, Team Leadership

A couple of young guys made an appointment and came to my office recently to pitch me an idea for a new ministry they hope to start. They had been told I have a passion to empower people to follow their dreams and callings. I instantly loved their heart and the new ministry, but what intrigued me was how nervous they were making the presentation. I understand, because any kind of presentation like can be nerve-racking, and we are a large church, but I’m also their pastor. It made me wonder if I had ever done anything to make them nervous about approaching me. I concluded that it was just the situation, and not our relationship, but it caused a healthy reflection for me for other areas of my leadership.

It forced me to ask how the people on our staff…the people I work with everyday…the ones I call a “team” feel about approaching me with an idea, an issue, or even a criticism or concern. That’s one reason I periodically ask our team this question as part of an annual evaluation process. (Read about that HERE.)

In my opinion, if you are a leader, the way the people you lead approach you says much about the quality of that leadership.

Here are 7 questions to consider about the way people approach you as a leader:

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April 5, 2011
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The Changing Role of a Leader

By Leadership, Organizational Leadership

As the organization grows, a leader’s role begins to change.

I have a friend who leads a growing organization. The speed of the growth could easily rouse my friend’s controlling nature, but he’s a good enough leader to recognize his weakness in this area. He knows that in order for the organization to continue to grow, he must resist the tendency to direct every decision.

How does a potential controlling leader handle a situation like this?

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March 29, 2011
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