Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “Intentional leader development”

17 Jun 2013

Becoming a Wise Leader – #2

Some time ago I did a study on the great, bold prayers of the bible.  Two prayers stood out to me.  The first request was Solomon’s prayer for wisdom ( 1 Kings 3:1-15).  As Solomon began his reign as king, he soon realized that the demands upon him were beyond his ability.  When God spoke to him in a dream, he was given permission to ask for anything (3:5).  How would you like to have that permission given you from God Himself?  What would you have asked for?  Now Solomon was already a wise young man (see David, his father’s comment in 1 Kings 2:9), but he knew enough to realize that wisdom was the secret to life and success for him as a leader, and so he asked for a wise and discerning heart (3:6-12).  Note that God was “pleased that Solomon asked for this” (3:10), and granted his request and in addition granted him much more as a result of his wisdom (3:12-14).  What a wise young man!

The second prayer request that impressed me was that of Moses in Exodus 33:12-23.  Moses too was in a position of leadership and was stretched beyond his ability, looking for some help in how to make wise decisions.  Note that Moses asked for the ability to understand the ways of God (33:13) in order to continue to find favor with God.  This request also pleased God (33:17) and it was granted to Him.  David comments on this in Psalm 103:7, where he contrasts Moses who knew the ways of God with Israel who knew the deeds of God.  Moses understood why God acted the way He did, but Israel only knew the acts of God.  They did not understand His ways.

As a result of this study, I began to pray and ask God to grant me the same things that these men asked for—that He would grant me wisdom and that I would understand His ways.  I can do this knowing that God does not show favoritism and therefore, will grant me the same as what others asked and knowing that He will be pleased by my asking for these things.  I do so want to please Him with my life, and here’s a simple way to move towards that goal.

Wisdom is the key to a life that is pleasing to God.  We must pursue it and we begin by asking for it.  That request begins the process of the pursuit of wisdom for life’s decisions.  Often, this request arises from our sense of inadequacy on how to handle our current situation (like Solomon and Moses).  But, we don’t have to be a leader of a nation to need wisdom.  We all need it to fulfill our God-given roles; whether it is as an organizational leader or a husband, wife, father, mother, grandfather, or grandmother, in addition to the other demands of life that constantly press upon us, that we may live a life pleasing to Him.

Wisdom is not a product of age or experience.  There are many older people who are very unwise.  One can obtain wisdom at a young age.  Solomon was young when he asked for wisdom and was given it, even while young.  Rather, wisdom is something to be pursued and sought after.  It is a life-long pursuit.  It is my desire to continue to grow in God’s wisdom and knowledge and understanding of the ways of God.  I pray that for myself and for other leaders that I know and mentor.  May it be your pursuit as well!

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #2 BE - Who a Leader Is and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
10 Jun 2013

Becoming a Wise Leader – #1

Becoming a leader who is wise is a noble pursuit.  The complexity of leadership demands wisdom from above.  But where to begin?  How will I know if I’ve attained it?

It would seem that the place to begin is with the definition of terms.  As we study the book of Proverbs (the book on the subject of wisdom), it becomes apparent that there are three words used frequently in connection to each other.  These three are:  knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.  For a long time I searched for good definitions on these words and their interrelatedness, but was not able to discover it until a few years ago.  Here’s what I currently understand them to mean and how they relate.

Knowledge is the accumulation of facts.  It is the foundation from which understanding and wisdom arise.  There is much knowledge in the world and today, and with the Internet, we have access to amazing resources for accumulating vast amounts of knowledge.  Our challenge is how to keep from being overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge now available and how to search it and categorize it well, so that it becomes useful for us.  Knowledge is helpful (especially for Trivial Pursuit games), but it alone will not help us in leading a life that is pleasing to God.  An example of knowledge (facts) would be:  We know that water is made up of two elements, hydrogen and oxygen.  A water molecule is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.

Understanding is the ability to see the interconnectedness and relationships between a series of seemingly unrelated facts (knowledge).  Once one has gathered a variety of knowledge, these facts must be connected in our minds to give us understanding of how things work or how they impact each other.  Scientific research seeks to demonstrate this through repeatable experiments that demonstrate the relationship of various elements.  Once this is shown to be repeatable, we arrive at understanding.  For example, when we combine heat and water, we know that the water will boil at 212º F.  By combining the facts we know about water and heat, we understand that by turning on a stove and applying heat to the bottom of the pan of water, it will boil at 212º F, given enough heat and time.

Wisdom is the application of knowledge and understanding to life.  All wisdom is a gift from God that allows humans to live lives that are pleasing to Him.  All humans have the ability to understand wisdom on some level.  There is “common wisdom” and then, “spiritual wisdom.”  All have access to common wisdom, but only those who have the Holy Spirit living within will have the ability to understand the deeper things of God and what I refer to as spiritual wisdom.  This type of wisdom must be pursued, it just doesn’t happen by experience.  We can ask for it (James 1:5) and it will be given to us by God.  This wisdom is the secret to life and is the key to success in the eyes of God (I’m defining success as living a life pleasing to God).  We can always grow in wisdom, for we are learning about God Himself, who is infinite, and therefore we will never exhaust the source of this wisdom.

An example of common wisdom is this, following our example above.  I know and understand that water boils when heated on a stove and also that if I touch it, I will be burned.  Then, if I’m in the kitchen heating some water, I decide not to put my hand in the pan of water when I see it bubbling.  That would be a very wise decision!

Spiritual wisdom springs from the knowledge of God, His character, and His Word.  This spiritual knowledge leads to spiritual understanding on how God works – the ways of God.  And spiritual wisdom is the application of our knowledge of God and His ways into our daily decisions.  It is this spiritual wisdom that God gives to Kingdom leaders to help us accomplish His purposes in us and through our leadership.  We will continue this discussion next week.

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #2 BE - Who a Leader Is and tagged , , , , , , ,
03 Jun 2013

3 Temptations for Leaders

This is what the LORD says:   “Maintain justice and do what is right.…  But what is right?  How do I know if it is right or wrong?  As leaders we are frequently making judgment calls where it is not black or white, rather it seems as if most of these decisions are “gray.”  What standards or grids can we use to help us?  Here’s one simple guideline  –  if the devil is involved, it’s wrong!

Let’s look at the temptations that Jesus faced and see what lessons and applications we can make for ourselves.

3 Temptations of Jesus/Leader      Luke 4:1-13

 1)  Self-Gratification     –        vs. 3-4

3The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”  4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.

This is the temptation to use resources for yourself, instead of the work.  Leaders often have special access to leadership accounts or resources that others don’t have.  Many times there is also a lack of oversight or accountability for these accounts and it can be very easy to justify an expense that is personal and say it was for the work.  The ability to say no to this type of temptation is key for further responsibility in the Kingdom.  See Luke 16:9-11 and Nehemiah 5:14-19.

2)  Self-Promotion        –        vs. 5-8

5The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7So if you worship me, it will all be yours.”  8Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.

The second temptation of Jesus is also a common one leaders face – that is, the temptation to use our position and influence to promote ourselves.  This seeking of power or position or influence flows from a misguided sense of ambition.  Many Kingdom leaders are self-flagellating out of the misconception that any kind of ambition is wrong or bad.  But in the NT we find that there are two types of ambition.  The bad type is self-seeking and wants to gather attention to ourselves.  Our English bibles often translate it with the words “selfish ambition.”   See Philippians 2:3-4.  But there is a good ambition, one that seeks to promote Christ and the Kingdom, rather than self.  Paul mentions this in Romans 15:20 when describing his own ambition.

3)  Self-Glorification     –        vs. 9-12

9The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” ….12Jesus answered, “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.

This last temptation is seeking attention for ourselves, turning the spotlight on us, or taking credit for something that was the work of others.  It flows from an enlarged ego that is a common trait among leaders.  Want to know if you are in a danger zone for this?  Here’s a simple test – how much do you talk rather than ask questions and listen?  See 1 Samuel 15:12.

Leadership is not about you, but others!  Beware of these common temptations and pitfalls that have removed others from the race!

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
20 May 2013

Who is Responsible for My Development?

The heights of great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upwards in the night.

The Ladder of St. Augustine,  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

My conversation with this 30-year-old leader had come to a point of discussing his ongoing development as a leader.  “But my organization is not even thinking about my development,” he explained in exasperation.  “When will I be developed as a leader so that I can truly make my contribution?”

I’ve reflected on that conversation many times.  Who is responsible for our development as leaders?  I ‘d suggest 3 sources who are very interested in you reaching your potential for influence in the Kingdom.

First of all God Himself is very interested in your leader development.  While both competency and character are needed to lead well, God chooses to focus our development on the character side.  The obvious reason is that He will certainly take care of competency issues through His help as we depend upon Him.  This does not mean that leadership competency is not so important for Kingdom leaders, but God places a priority on character for His leaders.

He is committed to seeing Christlike character shaped within us all, especially His leaders.  He is constantly arranging the circumstances of our life and leadership in order to help us grow into the person He desires.  We can embrace these opportunities for character growth or seek to run from them.  But should we choose to run, He will again raise up new circumstances to once again move us towards Christlikeness.

Our second source of development should be our organization, corporation, business, or workplace.  Businesses and organization that purposefully invest in developing their leadership communities tend to do well over time.  These organizational opportunities can be formal (academic credentialing through study. i.e. secondary degrees in organizational leadership) or semi-formal (certification, continuing education days,  or seminars around areas of leadership competency).  Some workplaces are better than others about providing this type of intentional development.  And even those who are committed to this intentional development of leaders will often greatly cut the budget or staffing for it when there is an overall budget tightening.

The third source of our develop comes from within ourselves.  We must own our own development as leaders.  Rather than waiting or complaining about not being developed, take the responsibility upon yourself to be the best leader you can be.  Seek out opportunities for growth in competency and character.  Pursue it wholeheartedly!  Start today!

One of the most helpful development opportunities is having a mentor for your leadership. Many emerging leaders tell me that they can’t find a mentor willing to meet with them.  Here’s my suggestion.  Find a leader who you think can be of some help.  Approach them with this question, “Could we begin to meet together for me to ask you questions about how I can be a better leader?”  Note that you’re not asking them to mentor you.  Many busy leaders will immediately decline this offer…too many things to do!  But they all have to eat sometime, so invite them to a meal (you pay!) and come with specific questions that they can respond to.  Take good notes and reflect on their answers for your own growth and development.

Be the best leader you can be for Jesus sake and embrace your own development!

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is, #4 REPRODUCE - Developing More Leaders and tagged , , , , , ,
13 May 2013
4 Comments

Leading a Better Meeting

We all want to learn how to lead a good meeting.  There is nothing more discouraging that wasting your time and energy on meetings that don’t accomplish what is needed or actually demotivate those who attend.  We’ve got to stop meeting like this!  Here’s some practical ideas for improving your “how to lead a meeting” skills.  Perhaps all will not be helpful, but look for one idea that you can begin to implement this week to make you a better leader.

Types of meetings  –  multi-day vs. one day team meetings  –  different objectives for both of these types of meetings

  1. For multi-day meetings, address the most important issues or most complex issues first before you lose energy or enthusiasm
  2. Consider multiparty video meetings instead of face-to-face for routine meetings
  • Use Skype, ooVoo, MegaMeeting, etc. for video meetings; many can handle up to 20 people with little cost
  • Get comfortable with the technology before the meeting so you don’t waste time during the meeting trying to make the connection work!
  • For large teams, remind all to be sensitive to each others need to contribute; don’t dominate the conversation; don’t remain silent; not everyone has to speak on every issue!
  • Be sensitive on when you, the team leader, weigh in with your opinion; for younger teams this can shut down discussion

3 Parts to Every Meeting  –  Business, Relationships, Development

  • Not all parts get equal weight at each meeting – use as guideline for setting the schedule and agenda
  • Maintain a spiritual tone  – devotions (let others share devotions, not just team leader)
  • When discussions are bogged down with no clear solution, stop and pray individually (listen to God, as well as speak); pray collectively; report back what God has said to the group
  • Some special meetings may get more emphasis  –  i.e. development or relationships
  • Be sensitive to time zone changes for those who travel to the meeting  –  make the agenda a short night the first night so all get adequate rest; no important topics on the first day when arriving from travel
  • Pace the meeting if it’s multi-day  –  allow time for breaks, rest, and recreation
  • No cell phone or text messaging, unless family emergency!  (create a “cell phone fine pool” for violators)
  • No email checking during the meeting!  –  multitasking diminishes focus and contribution!
  • No web surfing during a meeting!
  • Be sure to get input from the quieter personality types in discussions; don’t let a few dominate or set the tone for a discussion;  invite quieter ones to speak first sometimes
  • Be sensitive to women not contributing due to being outnumbered or intimidated by number of men
  • Consider having one or two additional seats at the meeting to invite guests (“bench members” who could be future team members)
  • If you have only one woman team member, invite another woman (make sure that these are leaders in their own right, not just selected for gender balance)

1. Business Items

  • Have a schedule for each day and share it with all before the meeting begins so they can plan how to use their free time wisely; this also allows them time to come well prepared to contribute at the meeting
  • Let them know which meals will be together and which are free for them to schedule
  • If meeting at a headquarters, be sure to recognize the need to interface with others at headquarters, thus allowing time for it in the meeting schedule
  • Have a written agenda with top priority items listed first that will usually require extended discussion
  • Request member’s input on additional agenda items before the meeting so you can decide whether to include them or handle these items in a different way
  • Think what must be done face-to-face and what can be done by other means
  • Have list of operational issues that are easy to use as short, time fillers – i.e. dates for next meeting, location of next meeting, etc.
  • Consider letting others lead the daily agenda so that you as the team leader can gain some better perspective on any discussion and the overall meeting tone
  • For multi-day meetings, consider having evenings free unless it’s a relationship oriented activity
  • Personnel decisions will always take more time than you think!  Allow plenty of time in the schedule.

2. Relationship Building

  • Trust is the key to a great team; never underestimate the power of trust!
  • Personal updates at the beginning of the meeting  –  set a time limit; pray for each other
  • What is shared in the meeting stays in the meeting, unless permission is given!
  • Consider creating a tradition that will bond members by sharing a common experience  –  i.e. revolving miniature golf trophy, game tournament, etc.
  • Just having meals together is not the only way to deepen relationships!
  • Be sensitive to gender differences on what builds relationships –  i.e. paintball wars; choosing which movie to watch together, etc.
  • Consider a special event where focus is primarily on deepening relationships
  • Bring spouses to the special event?
  • Be sensitive to financial costs, travel costs, babysitting needs, etc.
  • Be sensitive to differences in interest level  –  one person’s fun time is another’s torment!

3. Development of Team

  • As the team leader, you don’t have to do the development yourself, just lead them in development!
  • Plan your development ahead of time; what can you do together to grow as leaders?
  • Read and discuss an article; do a bible study together and discuss it; read a chapter in a book and discuss it
    • Assignments to be discussed at the meeting  –  i.e. an article or chapter from a book
    • Make sure the assignments are doable for busy leaders
    • Use devotions as development times  –  leadership lessons from the Word
    • Ask others to share the devotions  –  give them feedback on how to improve their sharing of the Word
    • Make special events both developmental and relationship oriented  –  i.e. Gettysburg, Alamo
    • Be sensitive to gender differences and interest levels
Posted in #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , ,

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