Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the category “#3 DO – What a Leader Does”

30 Mar 2015
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Success – A Leader’s Greatest Challenge

In 2 Samuel 8 we read about David and how he handled his success as a leader.  The following are several observations and principles that we can take away and apply to our own leadership should we experience success.

In vs 1-5 we see the listing of David’s initiatives against the Philistines, Moabites, and Arameans.  The results are summarized in verse 6 – The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.  David experienced great success in his military campaigns against the surrounding enemies of Israel.  In fact, he had success in everything that he attempted.

The resulting success of his campaigns led to David becoming wealthy.  Remember that this son of Jesse came from a family that raised sheep for a living.  This new-found wealth came quickly and could have turned the heart of a lesser man.  But we see David’s response in vs 11 – King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued… 

His successful military campaigns and growing wealth led to the seemingly inevitable conclusion as to how he was viewed by others.  In vs 13 we read – And David became famous…  Personal fame for the successful leader is a challenge that many leaders face, just as David had to deal with.

In vs 15 we see how David led after experiencing successful leadership efforts, growing personal wealth, and increased personal fame – David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people.  This is one of the reasons why David is a hero of mine.  He seemed to be able to handle success well.

Now immediately we are thinking of his low points in his adultery with Bathsheba or his counting of the army – yes, those were huge mistakes with huge consequences for his life and leadership.  And yet, through it all, he recovered and did not let those personal failings derail him.  He confessed his sin, humbled himself before God and men, and continued to lead.  All failures need not be fatal!

David was real – he had great strengths, also some glaring weaknesses.  Yet through it all he “did what was just and right for all his people.”  How are you handling your success?  Are you stewarding well God’s resources that have come your way due to this success?  What goes on in your heart when people point out your successes or publicly praise you?

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
23 Mar 2015

Leading a Change Process

No leader is satisfied with the status quo. All leaders want to bring change. John Kotter in his modern classic, Leading Change (p 21) urges 8 Steps in the Process of Leading Change.

1. Establish a sense of urgency
• Examine performance against goals
• Identify and discuss crises, potential crises, or major opportunities

2. Create a guiding coalition
• Form a group with enough power to lead the change
• Form the group into a team

3. Develop a vision and strategy
• Create a vision to help direct the change effort
• Develop strategies for achieving that vision

4. Communicate the change vision
• Use every vehicle possible to constantly communicate the new vision and strategy
• Have your guiding coalition model the expected attitudes and behaviors

5. Empower broad-based action
• Get rid of obstacles to the change
• Change systems or structures that undermine the change vision
• Encourage risk-taking and nontraditional ideas, actions and events

6. Generate short-term wins
• Plan for visible improvements in performance, or “wins”
• Create those wins
• Visibly recognize and reward people who made the wins possible

7. Consolidate gains and produce more change
• Used increased credibility to change all systems, structures and policies that don’t fit together and don’t fit the transformation vision
• Hire, promote and develop people who can implement the change vision
• Reinvigorate the process with new projects, themes, and change agents

8. Anchor new approaches in the culture
• Create better performance by implementing the change initiative
• Articulate the connections between new behaviors and organizational success
• Develop means to ensure leadership development and succession

What change are you currently seeking to bring about? Where are you in relationship to the above eight steps? What do you need to do to move forward in your own change process?

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02 Feb 2015

Don’t Chase Leadership Fads

General Colin Powell [Chairman (Ret.), Joint Chiefs of Staff] in his work, “A Leadership Primer” describes the following principle:

“Fit no stereotypes.  Don’t chase the latest management fads.  The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team’s mission.”

When one begins to focus on the subject of leadership you will notice that many are talking about the latest leadership book that they have read.  Through these conversations certain leadership phrases become part of our everyday vocabulary – “get the right people on the bus,” “you have to think systems,” “change management,”EQ,” “be proactive, instead of reactive” – the list is endless.

Now books and their contents are not necessarily bad (I write them myself), but it’s what we do with them that can make them helpful or harmful.  We leaders can get very excited about a new idea or concept from a recent book.  That quote or concept now becomes part of our everyday conversations and we spread that influence among those we lead or interact with indiscriminately.  But often we do so without any sense of context or without thinking carefully  about our audience.  It has been said, “When all you have is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail.”

A good leader stewards their influence wisely.  While we may be helped by some thought from a recent read, we should ask ourselves, “Will this truly help this person?  Is it appropriate for them or their leadership context?”  If not, then keep quiet!  Put yourself in their situation and ask yourself what do they need to hear from me that fits them and where they are in their context or stage of development.

Books come and go in their popularity.  Few stand the test of time.  Be careful not to be always chasing the latest leadership fads or what’s trendy.  You will miss the timeless truths and wisdom that comes from the Lord.  Yes, read leadership books and think about what you read.  Don’t just accept it because it’s in print.  Yes, read critically and compare what you read with the Bible.  The Bible is a kingdom leader’s primary textbook on leadership.

The Bible contains ageless leadership principles and wisdom.  The Bible is cross-cultural and cross-generational.  Always share thoughts and insights from God’s Word as the Holy Spirit helps you discern the need of those you are influencing.  Listen carefully to Him and He will guide you.

What have you been talking about recently.  Is it a recent fad or what’s popular?  Or have you been sharing with others God’s truths and His wisdom for leaders?

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
26 Jan 2015

Simple or Simplistic?

General Colin Powell [Chairman (Ret.), Joint Chiefs of Staff] in his work, “A Leadership Primer” describes the following principle:

“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.”

Complexity and its accompanying confusion are often challenges for good leadership. The more responsibility one has the greater the challenges one must address. These challenges are frequently very complex with multiple consequences both real and imagined. How does a leader lead with simplicity without becoming simplistic?

A leader must listen carefully to all sides of a complex issue, not jumping too quickly to conclusions or solutions and thinking through possible consequences. It is a must to withhold judgment on a matter, especially for the intuitive leader, until others on the team have weighed in with their thoughts or have had time to input their ideas. Bringing the team to a point of decision together is an art form to be developed. Know your team members and their respective styles and lead accordingly.

Practice speaking is short, concise sentences. Try to use fewer words. Think in terms of memorable sounds bites and share accordingly. Speak in terms of word pictures that can create mental images for others to clarify the complex and make it simpler and memorable.

Beware of becoming overly simplistic on an issue. The simple becomes simplistic when we leave out essential points or ignore key factors. Simple is good….simplistic is bad!

It addressing complexity seek to break the issue into more manageable parts. Address some of the easier parts first to create a sense of progress and momentum on the team so that you can have more confidence when dealing with the more difficult pieces. Work off of the 80/20 rule where 80% of a solution can be enough to move forward, rather than spending a lot of time and energy to hammer out the final 20%.

Are you communicating in a way that leads to simplicity or complexity and confusion? Ask your teammates for some feedback on your communication.

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12 Jan 2015
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Recruiting and Retaining the Best

General Colin Powell [Chairman (Ret.), Joint Chiefs of Staff] in his work, “A Leadership Primer” describes the following principle:

“Organization doesn’t accomplish anything. Plans don’t accomplish anything either. Theories of management don’t much matter. Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved. Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds.”

How does a leader attract and recruit the best people to accomplish great things? Here are several of my thoughts:

1. Ask God to give you people to help you accomplish what He has asked you to do. People are a gift from Him. John 17:6

2. Have a clear and compelling vision that is big enough to grab someone’s attention, challenge their status quo, and attract them to join you in making that vision a reality.

3. Recruit to vision, not activity!

4. Don’t be afraid to ask busy, competent people to join with you in making this a vision come true. Be bold! James 4:2

5. Promise to lead and care for them well. Deliver on your promise.

6. Promise to develop them for contribution, not role or title. Deliver on your promise.

7. Trust that God will sovereignly bring people across your path to help you. 1 Chron. 12:22

8. Ask people to make a decision – does God want you with us or not? What does God want you to do with this decision?

9. Don’t let the decision linger with not deadline. Don’t rush it, but don’t let it go on forever either.

10. Celebrate the person’s response. If with you – great! If God has said no to this offer –great! We only want what God wants for you!

Are you asking God for the best possible people or are you simple looking for anyone with a pulse? Ask Him to give you His best!

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , ,
05 Jan 2015

Learning from Your Mistakes

King David had a great idea…let’s bring the ark of God back to Jerusalem to the place it rightfully belonged.  So, he consulted with his leadership and they all agreed that this was a wonderful idea.

They got a new ox cart (this certainly would be God-honoring) to carry the ark and a great procession was planned to bring the ark to its new home.  Things went well until the oxen stumbled and Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark and God struck him dead.  This tended to throw a cloud of gloom over the entire event and David decided to end this procession, being frustrated with God his failure to accomplish his plan (see 1 Chronicles 13).

Sometime later David is now well established as king in Jerusalem and he once again remembers that the ark of God is residing in a tent outside of Jerusalem.  With this idea in mind, he again confers with his leaders, but note the difference.  He acknowledges that previously that had forgotten to ‘inquire of the Lord’ as to their plans.  This time they realize that the ark is to be carried only by the Levites and that it is to be carried with poles inserted along the sides.  This time the procession goes to completion with great rejoicing (see 1 Chronicles 15).

David had learned from his previous mistake.  He acknowledges that they did not consult the Lord on their prior attempt and they ended in failure.  As leaders we all make mistakes, just like David.  The key question is do we learn from them?  Do we adjust and continue to move ahead?  Do we own our mistakes?

How about you?  Made any mistakes recently?  Welcome to humanity!  Now, what are you learning from them?

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , ,
22 Dec 2014

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?

One of the blessings of the years our family spent in Indonesia was that we lived as a Christian minority.  The blessing in this became evident at the time of major Christian holidays, like Christmas.  There were no cultural distractions to have to explain or avoid.  Rather, Christmas was what we made it.  We could introduce our own traditions and values without having the distractions from the society around us.

Today we live in America once again and are confronted with all of the Christmas traditions that go with the holiday season.  Perhaps like me, you’ve wondered where all of these traditions came from.  Here’s some background to help with giving some new (old?) meaning to these seasonal traditions.

December 25 – The Day of Jesus’ Birth

In ancient times birthdays were celebrated only by kings and royalty.  It was not customary to record the specific date of an individual’s birth.  Being unsure of the exact date of Jesus’ birth, many dates began to be observed as Christianity spread from country to country.

Bishop Hippolytus calculated the birth of Jesus to be December 25 in 235 AD.  Emperor Constantine ordered the celebration of Christmas in 320 AD.  Since 400 AD Christendom has accepted this date as the traditional date of Jesus’ birth.

Christmas was first celebrated in America in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia.  In 1836 Alabama became the first state to establish Christmas as a legal holiday.  Colorado recognized Christmas as a state holiday in 1861.

St. Nicholas or Santa Claus

Nicholas was born and raised in Turkey in 280 AD.  When Nicholas reached age 19 he entered the priesthood.  He became known as the ‘patron saint of children’ because of his habit of leaving unidentified gifts at the homes of needy families.  This mysterious donor is called “Father Christmas” in England.

Introduced as “Sinterklass”  to America by the Dutch as the patron saint of their colonies or as the English and French said, “Saneta Claas.”  In 1809 Washington Irving portrayed a jolly fellow who rode in a sleigh pulled by reindeer; a far cry from the original St. Nicholas.  The giving spirit of St. Nicholas should inspire us all.

Candy Canes

A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make a candy to celebrate the birth of Jesus, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane.  He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus.

He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy.  He chose white to symbolize the purity and Virgin Birth of Jesus.  He made it in the “J” shape for the name of Jesus.  The shape is also that of a shepherd’s staff, to remind us that the Bible calls Jesus the Good Shepherd.  The red stripe is to remind us of the blood Christ shed for us when he died on a cross.

Christmas Carols

Until the Middle Ages there was no congregational singing in Christian churches.  Trained choirs sang chants and monotonous songs.  After the Christmas services, the church members would often gather in the streets to sing songs about the birth of Jesus, called ‘carola.’  Martin Luther introduced congregational singing to the churches.

“Silent Night” is the most popular Christmas carol.  Written on Christmas eve in Obendorf, Austria in 1818 by a priest as he walked in the snow house-to-house inviting his members to the service that evening.  Returning to his church, the priest asked the organist to write the melody to the lyrics he had composed on his walk.  Sung for the first time at the service that evening, it was sung to guitar as the church organ was broken!

Christmas Trees

This tradition was borrowed from the non-Christian people of northern Europe and given a new meaning.  These people would bring evergreens into their homes during the winter months to remind them of the hope of the coming spring.

Christians adapted this custom and added that the evergreen symbolizes the everlasting life offered through belief in Jesus as our Savior.  Trees were set up on Christmas and decorated with lights (candles) to symbolize that Jesus was born on a beautiful, starry night in Bethlehem.  Tradition says that Martin Luther was the first to add lights to the decorated tree.

Creche or Manger Scene

Until the 13th century, those that celebrated Christmas generally overlooked the lowly conditions of Jesus’ birth.  In 1219, St. Francis of Assisi visited Bethlehem where he was struck by the simplicity of Christ’s birthplace.  He was dismayed by the contrast of Jesus’ humble beginnings and the lavish church celebrations of his birth.

St. Francis created a rustic stable scene for midnight mass on Christmas Eve 1223.  He used live animals and people portrayed Mary and Joseph, shepherds and the angels.

Stockings

Long before Christmas trees were a part of the common Christmas traditions, stockings were hung in anticipation of the arrival of St. Nicholas.  English immigrants brought this custom with them to America.

The original Christmas stockings that were hung were those worn for everyday apparel.  They were hung with the hopes of being filled with treats from the visit of St. Nick.

What traditions are a part of your Christmas celebrations?  What values are you communicating as you celebrate?  Perhaps you can lead your family or your friends in remembering the true reason for the season as you reflect upon some of these established traditions.     MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , ,
24 Nov 2014

What a Leader Does – DO

We continue to reflect upon a good way to organize our understanding of the complex subject of leadership.  Using the simple outline of Know – Be- Do – Reproduce we can categorize the important functions of this vast subject called leadership.  Today we will address the category of “Do – What a Leader Does.”

1. Leading and your family

Offices in the home can create unusual stresses

  • Regarding your spouse when your both are at home – respect each others ‘turf’ when working at home
  • Put in a good day’s work; discipline yourself to focus and stay on task
  • Set ‘office hours’ when working at home and actually do your work during these times as planned

Love your kids and help them love God and God’s work

  • Involve your children in prayer for people in the ministry
  • Have people in your home as guests and ask your guests to tell stories to your kids about their walk and experiences with God
  • Give your kids responsibilities at ministry activities, when appropriate – it can be as simple as greeting people at the door or serving refreshments
  • Build a positive identity and a sense of ‘being special’ because they are children of a staff who is serving in this ministry
  • Avoid building a child-centered home – see Mark 10:29-30; Luke 18:29-30

2. Leading meetings

Learn to lead a better meeting!

  • Meetings are a part of organizational leadership, so learn to lead good ones!
  • A nice outline for setting meeting agendas is to remember that good meetings have 3 parts – ‘business,’ development, relationships
  • Leading your team in development does not mean you have to be the development expert – just bring some intentionality to this function and lead your team in seeing that all are being developed

Have fun together with your team!

  • Don’t be so serious all the time!
  • If you are not creative at having fun, ask as team member to lead the team in this area with your oversight

Set realistic agendas and schedule with a margin when you lay out the meeting plans

Help others accomplish their work by including them in your meeting plans, but remember that it is your meeting, not their meeting

Be sensitive to time zone changes for those who travel, need for  regular breaks, free time, recreation needs, individual sleep patterns (individual rooms for those who snore?), and personal dietary needs

3. Increase your leadership capacity

Work with an administrative assistant

  • A good assistant will greatly increase you capacity to lead
  • Personal chemistry is very important in your ability to work together with your admin assistant
  • Know what you need and want in an assistant before selecting the person
  • Do you want someone to keep you organized, or are you by design well-organized and you want someone to implement your ideas and plans?
  • Be sure your assistant knows your calendar and schedule so that they can assist others who may need to contact you
  • Keep an on-going Action List with both short-term and long-term action items to be focused on and scheduled when appropriate
  • Review your calendar and Action List weekly with your assistant and update it as needed

4. Additional ‘How To’ Leadership Ideas

  • Seek to “ruthlessly eliminate hurry” from your daily life and schedule
  • Prepare to transition your leadership well – be intentional in the transition and plan ahead; don’t wait to be forced to transition your leadership in a crisis
  • Operate with “Planned Neglect” – you can’t do it all now; so decide what will have to wait in order for you to give your attention and effort the most important things now
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20 Oct 2014

Good Leaders Assess!

A year ago (12 Aug 2013) in this blog I discussed in principle the concept of assessment for Kingdom leaders.  This week we will address that same subject of assessment, but with much more detail.

Assessment is a Kingdom Value

a. God Will Assess

Mat. 25:14-30 – the master of those servants returned and settled accounts
Lk. 19:11-27 – the master called each servant to see what they had gained
1 Cor. 3:10-15 – the fire will test the quality of each man’s work
Heb. 13:17 – your leaders…men who must give an account
Jam. 3:1 – we who teach will be judged more strictly

b. Spiritual Leaders Must Assess

1 Kgs. 3:9-12 – give your servant a discerning heart to govern the people
1 Cor. 5:12 – Are you not to judge those inside [the church]?
Heb. 13:17 – your leaders…they keep watch over you
Paul’s letters to Timothy were based upon assessment of Timothy’s needs

 

What Three Things Do Kingdom Leaders Assess?

a.  The Staff and Co-laborers
• Personal walk with God – basics; Are they continuing to pursue Christ wholeheartedly?
• Family – talk with the spouse; spend time with their children
• Christlike character;  Are there obvious flaws / trends that need to be addressed?
• Spend time with them in their mission responsibility; Ask God for discernment and ability to see root issues.
• Funding;  Are they raising sufficient funds to meet their family needs at this season of life?

b.  The Ministry / Mission
We want to assess using the same calling, vision, and strategy that we have agreed to as our purpose, outcomes, and direction.

• Preparation Phase
a. Seeking God
b. Determining and clarifying their mission focus
c. Choosing an identity for the context
d. Determining resources needed to accomplish the launch and move to sustainability

• Launch Phase
a. Evangelism and relating to the lost
b. Establishing young Christians
c. Broad-base methods and networking
d. Recruiting, not just inviting
e. Creating your identity

• Building Phase
a. Equipping laborers for the harvest
b. Selection of those who demonstrate heart and commitment to the calling and vision
c. Teams and teamwork – building teams towards a common vision

Essential Building Blocks
a. One-to-one
b. Small groups
c. Large groups
d. Training in vision and skills for producing spiritual generations
e. Leading

Leadership Skills
• Communication Skills – public and interpersonal
• Organizational Skills

c. The Key People
• Personal walk with God – basics; Are they continuing to pursue Christ wholeheartedly?
• Do they have a vision for spiritual generations of laborers?
• Do they have a heart for and are they personally laboring?

 

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,
13 Oct 2014

Decisions of Wise Leaders

Kingdom leaders are called on to make wise decisions that honor Christ and accomplish God-given mission.  It seems that when we are just beginning our leadership careers the decisions we make are often choices between good and bad; right or wrong; black or white.  But the longer we serve and the more influence and responsibility we have the more challenging the choices.  Now it is a choice between good, better, and best; right or right for this situation and context; or it can seem as if all decisions are all different shades of gray.

The following are some decision-making principles that can help when having to make a ‘tough call’ —

• Spiritual leaders are called upon to make wise decisions. Wisdom comes from God. We can have it, if we ask for it!      James 1:5-8

• Wisdom in decision-making is insight into the true nature of things and discernment as to which option to take.      James 3:13, 17

• Decision making styles: vary; there is no right or wrong style for the context can determine which style is best to use at which time:  autocratic; participatory (consultative or consensus); or democratic

• Steps to Making Wise Decisions

1. Pray for Godly wisdom.      James 1:5
2. Believe that God will lead you.      James 1:6
3. Go to the Word for direction.      Ps. 119:105, 130
4. Think! Use your mind!      Prov. 14:8; 1 Pet. 1:13
5. Seek counsel from other leaders.      Prov. 15:22
6. Wait for God to clarify the options.
7. Decide!
8. Be responsible for your decisions.

• Obstacles to Making Wise Decisions

1. Fear of failure      Ecc. 11:4; Prov. 24:16
2. Haste      Prov. 19:2
3. Bad motives      James 3:13-16
4. Lack of emotional control      Prov. 29:11, 22

• All (I’m excluding involuntary reflexes) decisions have to go through our:  emotions, intellect, and will

• Time verifies good decisions and exposes the fallacy of poor decisions.      Luke 7:35

• Delegating helps insure that the team leader is making decisions concerning the most important issues.      Genesis 18:17-26

So what decisions are you making today?  Have you taken the time to reflect upon some of your previous decisions to determine what ones were wise and what ones not?  Is there a tough decision that you’ve been putting off?  It’s time to decide!

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , , ,

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