Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “leadership thinking”

21 Apr 2014

Strategic Leading

Not all leadership activity is equally strategic.  And by strategic activity we mean those things that we do that are moving us towards accomplishing our leadership mission.  Separating busyness from strategic activity requires wisdom and constant attention from the leader.  Below is a simple outline to begin to think and lead strategically.

A Strategic Leadership Process

 1.     Mission Statement  –  What is our mission we are trying to accomplish?

This answers the question, “Why do we exist?”  This is first and foremost in strategic leading.  It’s the picture frame on the wall of the Kingdom that separates and defines who we are from what others are.  It is our identity.

2.     Define Current Reality  –  SWOT Analysis

This sets the context for our strategic planning and initiatives by seeking to truly understand our current situation.  A SWOT analysis defines this situation by looking at current Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

3.     Vision Statement

This is where we want to go in the future – our destination.  It is the picture of the future that we see by faith, usually 5-7 years ahead.  It’s as if we are placed into the future and take a picture of that new reality – our desired future state.  Then, we try to describe this picture in detail.  This is the picture that is placed into the picture frame of our mission.  It is this future vision that we will begin to work towards and bring into reality.

A vision must have a faith stretch to it, but not so much overreach that it is seen as wishful thinking or a fantasy.  After describing this future reality, you want to craft a short vision statement that captures as much of this picture as possible.  Good vision statements should be clear, concise, and compelling.    e.g.   JFK’s vision for NASA  –  “We will place a man on the moon by the end of the decade.”

4.     Strategic Directions

Now that we have identified where we are going, we need to decide which roads we will take to get to our destination.  These are a few things (no more than 5 usually) that we focus on for the next couple of years that will begin to move us towards our destination.  These directions are not all that we will do, but they are key to taking us from where we are to where we want to be – our destination.  These strategic directions need to be re-evaluated every couple of years to decide if we continue with these or enough progress has been made that we can now focus on different things.  e.g.   For the next three years we will focus on:  staff recruiting, staff training, and staff funding

5.     Strategic Goals

With each strategic direction we will want to have some specific goals with metrics that we can use to assess whether or not we are making progress in our strategic directions.  These goals need to be concrete and clear.  e.g.  For the next three years we will hold three staff recruiting previews; recruit 50 full-time staff, train all towards the staff profile, dedicate 3 staff to be staff trainers; train all staff in personal fundraising; all staff will be up to full budget, etc.

These strategic directions and goals will then influence our yearly leadership plans.  All leadership plans need to be aligned with these over-arching directions and goals.  Again, we will do more in our leadership and plans than this, but each part of our work will seek to address these directions and goals.  Thus, we have strategic alignment across the work.

Are you busy in your leadership or are you strategic?  There’s a BIG difference!

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

Our God, a Recruiting God

The following was done by Doug Nuenke some time ago.  I’ve kept it for some time in my files as a reminder on the biblical basis for recruiting.

“From the beginning of time, our God has shown Himself to be committed to inviting men and women to join Him in His kingdom enterprise.  We don’t need to search further than the first chapter of Genesis to see this method at work in the lives of Adam and Eve.  As divine image bearers, they were invited to join God’s work as multipliers, fillers, subduers, and rulers of the earth.

“God is continually inviting His people into a close relationship with Him, and to a task.  For example, God invited Abram to a relationship of blessing and to a faith venture of leaving his homeland to go to a place God would show him (Genesis 12).  God invited Moses to join Him on a world-changing rescue operation, promising the blessing of His presence (Exodus 3).  Jeremiah was invited to join God’s purposes for his life as a prophet to the nations.  God assured Jeremiah that ‘I am with you and will rescue you’ (Jeremiah 1:4-10).  The apostle Paul was interrupted in the course of his life by a compelling invitation from God.  It made no sense, and who would have picked Paul, the murderer, to join God’s task?  Yet Jesus appeared to him, promising His involvement in Paul’s life, and inviting Paul to join Him in turning people from darkness to light (Acts 26:12-19).

“Year after year, throughout the centuries, God has been an inviting God, a God who recruits men and women to join Him in His kingdom endeavors.  Jesus did the same when He said to potential disciples, “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).  Again, we see God inviting people to Himself and to a task worthy of their lives.

“What do we learn about God’s recruiting of individuals?  First, God invites people to join Him in His enterprise, for His glory.  His invitation is not so much about us as it is about Him and His purposes.  Second, God’s invitations are compelling and have an imperative tone. We can never invite with the same compulsion, yet we can help people discern God’s compelling invitation.  Third, God’s recruiting is personal.  Though He has plenty to say to us as a community of believers, His invitations are directed to us as individuals.  Finally, we see that God’s recruiting involves the promise of His presence and involvement.

“In organizations, we must make the distinction between the task of marketing and the task of recruiting.  God models both of these. Marketing is the public disbursement of who we are and what we are about.  It involves broad communications of a person or organization’s mission, vision, ethos, and character.  God communicates broadly, in this marketing fashion, through His creation, through His mighty acts, and through His miracles and wonders.  The Lord Jesus’ life on earth communicated in a broad and public way, the character and mission of God.  Recruiting, however is personal. It is more relational and directed to the individual.  Recruiting happens most effectively at a local level, and engages men and women where they live, pointing them toward God’s invitations and callings on their lives.

“Our God is a recruiting, inviting God. As God’s people and God’s fellow workers, we join Him in the recruiting process when we help our student, staff and alumni friends listen for the next step in which God is inviting them to join Him.”

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

Seeking the Right Applause

The following is the final excerpt from an article by R. Scott Rodin titled, “Becoming a Leader of No Reputation” that originally was published in Journal of Religious Leadership,/ Vol. 1, No. 2 (Fall 2002), pp. 105 – 119.

“A bookmark of mine carries a thought that stayed with me throughout my term as president of Eastern Seminary.  It reads, “It doesn’t matter if the world knows, or sees or understands, the only applause we are meant to seek is that of nail-scarred hands.”   Leaders are exposed to opportunities to generate applause.

“As public figures, we receive both the undue criticism for the failures of our institutions, and the unmerited praise for their successes.  The true calling of leadership requires us to accept the former and deflect the latter.  That is, our job is to take the blame for mistakes made by those under our leadership and to deflect the praise and re-direct it to those most responsible for our success.  In this way we keep ourselves in balance, never taking the criticism too personally and not accepting the praise too easily.

“Only with God’s anointing can the leader listen intently for that one source of applause that really matters.  If we seek our affirmation elsewhere, the distracting noises that vie for our attention and tug at our hearts for allegiance will drown out all else.  And if we seek for this other applause, we will never hear the one from the Master’s hands.

“Two significant temptations come to play here.  The first is the fear of rejection that causes us to run from confrontation.  The second is the desire to make everyone happy and to measure our performance, our effectiveness and our ‘leadership’ on that scale.  The two are very closely related.  The first temptation is motivated by the idea that good leaders will not generate conflict, and that rejection of our performance in our role as leader is a rejection of our personhood and character.  These are significant pitfalls for a leader.  They are generated from that deep-seated desire to hear the applause of all with whom we work.

“The second temptation is to lead by reacting. We see which way the wind is blowing and steer that direction, regardless of the situation.  We do not want our people to be anxious, to question our decisions or disagree with our reasoning.  We want harmony and unity, which is commendable.  But left unchecked, this desire will cause us to sacrifice courage, vision and risk-taking.  It will bring us momentary applause, but will ruin us in the end.

“So we must ask ourselves just what kind of applause are we seeking?  If it is human applause that validates, that affirms and that encourages us, we will also find that same applause binds us, boxes us in and ultimately strangles the life out of us.  When our daily self-worth and the measure of our effectiveness come primarily from the reaction of those with whom we work, then we are finished as Christian leaders.

“The goal of the Christian leader must be to go to bed every night with a clear conscience and a right heart with God.  God only asks one thing of leaders, that we seek with all our heart to know and do His will.”

Time for a “cardiac” check up….how’s your heart?

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31 Mar 2014

Leadership is a Miracle

The following is the third excerpt from an article by R. Scott Rodin titled, “Becoming a Leader of No Reputation” that originally was published in Journal of Religious Leadership,/ Vol. 1, No. 2 (Fall 2002), pp. 105 – 119.

“I have come to the conclusion that when God uses any of us to lead effectively, it is nothing short of a miracle.  When we place the complex and demanding role of a godly leader next to an honest self-awareness of our own sinfulness and incompetence, we are thrown wholly upon the grace of God and his faithfulness if we are ever to lead anyone anywhere.

“I have come to learn that we must approach leadership in dependent humility.  Throughout history God looked to the least, the weakest, the outcast, the untalented, the sinful and the rejected to give great leadership at historic times.  And He hasn’t changed that approach today.  If we are honest as leaders, we know that we are not capable of leading as the size and complexity of our call demands.  We know that there are others more talented, more prepared, more spiritual and more courageous than are we.  But great godly leaders have always worked at that miraculous intersection where humility and faith meet the awesome presence and power of God’s Spirit.

“When God uses us to lead, and lead effectively, we should fall on our knees in wonder and thanksgiving that we have seen again this miracle worked in our midst.  However, it is far too easy for us to take ownership of this miracle and to believe that these results are due to our own wonderful abilities and leadership qualities.  If and when we make this subtle yet devastating shift, the efficacy of our leadership for the kingdom is over.  We are on our own, cut off from the power and preservation of the Spirit.  Every leader finds himself or herself there at some point in their work, and it is a terrifying place to be!

“Godly leadership is the miracle of God’s use of our earthen vessels for the glorious work of His kingdom.  To miss this miraculous aspect of leadership will threaten everything we do as leaders, and our office or study will be the loneliest place on earth.  I have come to understand the miracle of godly leadership, and its connection with self-awareness, the need to decrease and the power of God’s anointing.””

Who has been getting the credit for the results of your leadership recently?

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24 Mar 2014
1 Comment

Fighting the Need to Increase

The following is a second excerpt from an article by R. Scott Rodin titled, “Becoming a Leader of No Reputation” that originally was published in Journal of Religious Leadership,/ Vol. 1, No. 2 (Fall 2002), pp. 105 – 119.

“Most Christian leaders would say that in their hearts they would wish that Jesus would increase and they would decrease.  But it is hard to decrease in a leadership position.  There are natural trappings that distinguish those in leadership such as salary, title, prestige, priority, power, influence, honor and advancement.  And in each area there are tempting opportunities for increase.

“Perhaps the hardest place to decrease is in the influence and the power we hold over people and decisions.  For this reason we find Christian leaders who are overly directive at best, and autocratic at worst.  And as a result we produce churches and ministries that are rife with ‘learned helplessness’.  By overestimating our own worth, we help our people depend on us for everything.  And that dependence feeds into our need to be needed, to be the “idea person” and visionary, and to be in control.  We tell ourselves that the more we lead in this way, the more our leadership is valued and our presence desired.

“Robert Greenleaf reminds us that the difference between a true servant-leader who is servant first, and the leader-servant who seeks leadership first, lies in the growth of the people who serve under them.  The test question is, “do those served grow as persons; do they, /while being served/, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?”

“Truly godly leaders empower their people, give away authority, value and involve others, seek the best in and from their people, and constantly seek to lift others up, push others into the limelight, and reward those they lead.  All so that God’s will might be done in a more powerful way.  They seek no glory for themselves, but find great joy in seeing others prosper.  They take no account of their reputation, but seek that Jesus’ face be seen in all they do.  Max DePree‘s famous definition is worth repeating, “The first responsibility of the leader is to define reality.  The last is to say thank you.  In between the leader is a servant.””

It’s time to reflect on the position of the spotlight.  Is it focused on you the leader or are you moving that focus towards others around you?

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17 Mar 2014
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Anointed vs Appointed

The following is an excerpt from an article by R. Scott Rodin titled, “Becoming a Leader of No Reputation” that originally was published in Journal of Religious Leadership,/ Vol. 1, No. 2 (Fall 2002), pp. 105 – 119.

“I know of few Christian leaders today who were anointed before they were appointed.  We have employed the business model of doing careful searches looking for Christian leaders whom we can appoint to office.  Once in place, we then anoint them and ask God to bless their work.

“The Biblical evidence seems to indicate that God selects leaders in the opposite order.  Samuel anointed David before appointing him King.  The selection criterion for leadership was not based on who would most likely get the appointment, but whom God had anointed for this task.  And appointment without anointment always led to disaster.

“Christian leadership requires nothing less than a complete, wholesale sell-out of your life in service to God and God only.  It is the ‘losing of your life’ to the work God will do in you to benefit your institution, school, church or organization.  And the stakes are high.  Nowhere else in the Christian life will the price for divided loyalties be so costly for so many for so long.  Ineffective and fallen leaders compromise kingdom work, and the effects are eternal.

“With God’s anointing comes God’s power and presence.  There is a special blessing bestowed on God’s anointed.  It is the blessing of God’s power manifest in ways only seen through the work of God’s chosen.  God’s anointed do the miraculous because they are the servant of the Almighty.

“God’s anointed will do anything God asks… anything.  God’s anointed will seek God’s will with a passion.  They will not move without it and they will not be diverted from their course once they have it.  God’s anointed are servants first, last and always.  And God’s anointed have only one passion, to know and do God’s will that He might have the glory.  In this way, God’s anointed are people of no reputation.”

So, the next time you are in the process of selecting a leader what will you look for first?  God’s anointing or God’s appointing?

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03 Feb 2014
1 Comment

Instant is Too Slow

Genesis 6:5 – 7:6

We have ten minute oil changes, four minute microwave popcorn, three minute ATM transactions, and one minute news breaks.  Fast food has to be ready when we place our order or we begin to get impatient.  Any line longer than two people is intolerable.  Customer service representatives often hear the complaint, “I want it yesterday!”  Instant is too slow!

What a contrast God’s timetable is to ours.  From the time Noah was given the promise about the flood until the rain began to fall he had to wait a long time (perhaps as much as one-hundred and twenty years–compare Genesis 5:32, 6:3 and 7:6).  From the time the rain started until his family left the ark Noah waited another year inside the closed ark (compare Genesis 7:11 and 8:14).  Abraham waited 25 years for his promised son to be born.  The Israelites waited seven days for the walls of Jericho to fall.  We all have been waiting 2000+ years for the second coming of Christ.

Our problem is patience—or the lack thereof.  We don’t want to wait for anything.  We pray and if the answer isn’t on our doorstep within a day or two we give up.   But God works on a different timetable. “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.  The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness” (2 Peter 3:8-9).

As Noah waited those many years for the first raindrop to fall, no doubt he was subject to times of doubt.  But he remained obedient to all God had told him (Genesis 7:5).  For God had promised and he took him at his word.  It was not a matter of if, but when.

What answers to prayer are you currently waiting for?  Does God seem to take intolerably long to answer?  Wait on God.  Don’t give up.  God will answer in his perfect timing.  “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised (Hebrews 10:36).

A Deeper Look

Psalm 37:7; Luke 18:1; Romans 8:25

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27 Jan 2014
8 Comments

A Leader’s Vision

A leader needs to lead towards a vision.  A good leader does not need to be the one who comes up with the vision.  In fact, that may be best done with a leadership team.  But once the vision is clear, team leaders are the primary communicators of the vision.  These leaders must see more, see farther, and see more clearly than those they lead.  Without clear vision a leader becomes one of the “blind leading the blind” and we settle for activity rather than accomplishment of God’s purposes.

When we say a leader needs to “see more” what we intend is that a leader needs to be able to see the whole, not just the individual parts.  They must be able to think and lead systemically, noting how one decision can impact the whole, not just the immediate parts.  Much like a fine watch that has multiple interconnected gears, so is leadership at an organizational level.  One change can have ramifications at multiple levels.  A leader with vision sees the immediate impact, but can also anticipate impacts on multiple levels.

The second type of vision that is needed by a leader is the ability to “see farther” into the future.  It is that gaze towards the horizon that sees what is coming before others and that prepares one to take advantage of changes thrust upon us or protect others from this change.  This vision truly needs to be bifocal – seeing what is up close and immediate as well as seeing what is coming towards us in the future.  Many get so consumed by the immediate that they are taken by surprise by what arrives on their doorstep.  Much like the approaching tsunami, when the water recedes away from the beach we know that there is an impending wave coming.  Rather than rushing towards the receding water to collect the newly exposed sea shells, we move rapidly away from the beach to high ground because we know what will soon follow.

A third type of vision is that good leaders need to “see more clearly” the issues surrounding their leadership.  This type of vision involves focus as well as depth perception.  A focused vision is one that does not get distracted by the clamor around them.  It is laser-like in intensity knowing that this is a God-given mission that we do for His glory and we do knowing that we will be accountable to Him.  This clarity has depth perception in that it takes into consideration the various dimensions of any issue.  A good leader is able to see multiple sides of an issue, weighing the pros and cons, embracing different points of view, and is willing to change his or her thoughts when confronted with weightier arguments.

Vision – don’t try to lead without it!  Have you had your vision checked recently?

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20 Jan 2014
9 Comments

A Calling to Indirect Leadership

One of the most difficult transitions for young, emerging leaders to make is the move from ‘doing the ministry’ to ‘leading the ministry’.  Church growth experts refer to this as a shift from ‘shepherding’ to ‘ranching’.  Many young leaders are asked to move from a grass-roots ministry (direct ministry) to leading others in the ministry (indirect ministry) because they have been faithful and ‘successful’ in their local responsibility.

The transition from doing the ministry directly to leading others as they do the ministry is a challenge for some.  This is not to say that leaders don’t continue to ‘do ministry’, but now their primary contribution will be overseeing and shepherding others, perhaps a ministry team, whose primary role will be direct ministry.  What are some of the difficulties in this transition and how can we overcome them?

To overcome one of the primary difficulties in a transition to leadership we need to have a sense of calling from the Lord.  If a person is not convinced that God has called them to leave their current role in order to assume a larger responsibility for overseeing others, there will be multiple opportunities for second-guessing the wisdom of the decision.  We must have a clear calling from God that He wants us to serve in this capacity at this time.  There should be a sense of destiny, that God has prepared us for this role and responsibility.  We must be convinced that our greatest contribution to the Kingdom at this time is in leading others, rather than doing the ministry directly.

When doing direct ministry we often receive affirmation and ‘strokes’ from those we serve.  We help them know Christ and grow in their walk with Him.   But in leadership we often hear of the problems from those we lead and affirmation for our contribution as a leader can be lacking.  A leader must find his/her strength and encouragement from the Lord and not from people (1 Samuel 30:6).

For those who serve with organizations whose members live from gift income, the financial challenge can be shattering.  When doing direct ministry we are constantly expanding the base of new people in our ministry who perhaps eventually will become part of our donor support team.  But in leadership we are now leading others who are living from gift income and we can’t expect them to join our donor team.  It takes great faith to trust that the God who calls us to leadership will also provide for us as we serve.  One of my favorite promises in this regard is Mark 10:29-30.

Leadership is challenging enough without adding to our stress load.  Have a clear sense of calling from God and trust Him to provide and care for you and your family.  You’ll find Him faithful and your leadership will be used to further His Kingdom!

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13 Jan 2014
5 Comments

Leadership Team Responsibilities

Leadership team members have a unique relationship one to another.  They are often thrown together and told to function as a team because the leader chose them.  But they were chosen individually, most often without much say as to who else joined the team.  We may or may not be “naturally” drawn to our teammates.  Though we are united on our mission and vision, our personalities, backgrounds, or interests may present challenging obstacles to our effectiveness as a leadership team.

How do we relate to one another on a leadership team?  What are our responsibilities to each other?  No doubt you could list several, but let me suggest two that I see in the Word.

In John 13:1-17 Jesus models the attitude of a servant before his leadership team.  After finishing, in vv. 13-14 he says, “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.  Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”  Jesus’ instructions to “wash one another’s feet” were given to explain how the members of His leadership team were to relate to each other.  They were to serve each other, choosing to meet the needs of fellow team members rather than promote or serve one’s own self interests.  As members of a leadership team we have a responsibility to serve one another, helping each other become a success in our individual responsibilities.

In Acts 20:28 we see another responsibility.  Paul had gathered the Ephesian elders together for some final words and he reminds them, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.”  We often neglect to notice the first part of this passage.  The members of the Ephesian leadership team were to “keep watch over [them]selves.”

Yes, I am my brother’s keeper!  We have a responsibility to one another on our leadership team to make sure we continue to walk with God, fulfill our family responsibilities, and fulfill our leadership calling.  Spiritual leadership requires the utmost in Christlike character and we are to “keep watch” on that as well, as we fulfill our duties.

‘Serving each other’ and ‘keeping watch over each other’ are two of our responsibilities as leadership team members.  Let’s not be so focused on the outward responsibilities related to our leadership roles that we neglect to fulfill the responsibilities to those on our team.

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