Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “Leadership”

08 Dec 2014

How the NFL Develops Leaders – A Case Study

The following is from a Sports Illustrated article written by Jim Trotter in October 6, 2009.

“I’m forever indebted to the Patriots for what they did for me and for what they’ve allowed my family to accomplish in terms of my professional career.” [Josh McDaniels]
It is a career that was aided greatly by New England coach Bill Belichick, who gave McDaniels his first NFL job in 2001. While climbing from personnel assistant to coaching assistant to quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator, McDaniels, now 33, absorbed many of the Belichick’s teachings and adopted many of his football principles. You can see it in how the Broncos run practice, evaluate personnel, write scouting reports, and attack opponents on offense and defense with situational football. They’re all so … so … New England-like.

Still, perhaps the most important lessons McDaniels learned came in February 2008, two weeks after the Patriots’ quest for an undefeated season ended with a 17-14 loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLIII. When the coaches returned from a two-week break, Belichick called McDaniels into his office and handed him a five-page, typed report on what it takes to be an effective coach and have a winning organization.

“I had been talking to Bill for a few years about being a head coach, and after I didn’t do any interviews during the bye week in the ’07 playoffs he said, ‘I will help you in any way I can to get you ready for all the other things that go into the job,'” McDaniels said. “Just being around him every day was going to help me from a football standpoint because I could see what he did and how he did it. But he was saying he would help me with some of the things that you won’t really get a chance to witness or understand or become knowledgeable about until you’re in that position.

“I remember when we first came back after our break, that very first day, that very first morning, he brought me into his office and he gave me five pages, typed, of all the topics and things that he felt like I needed to be educated about to become an effective head coach. I’m thinking to myself, here he’s got 10 or 12 days where he can do whatever in the hell he wants to do — we’ve just come off a season where we were 16-0 and lost in the Super Bowl — and the very first day back he gives me this? That was kind of like my bible.”

During the 2008 season, the men met for an hour here, 30 minutes there, until they had addressed every point in the report. From there McDaniels developed 60 to 65 questions of his own that he carried into job interviews with Cleveland and Denver earlier this year.

“When you say where did the questions come from, it was Bill’s background,” McDaniels said. “He had been a head coach in Cleveland and New England, he was a coordinator in a number of different places, and he understands the salary cap, free agency, the draft, contracts, all that stuff. He gave me as much of that information as I could possibly ask for — and then he gave me a whole bunch of information that I never would have asked for. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.”

McDaniels had his opportunity to lead the Denver Broncos after this article was written.  He struggled to apply what he had learned and is now once again back with Belichick as the offensive coordinator.  It will be interesting to follow what happens next.

Posted in #4 REPRODUCE - Developing More Leaders 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
Posted in #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
10 Nov 2014

Leadership Thinking – KNOW

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 “Know – How a Leader Thinks.”

How we think as leaders directly influences how we act as leaders.  Here are some practical ideas on thinking well as a leader.

1.  Take personal responsibility for your development as a leader
–   Focus on developing your strengths, not weaknesses, unless it’s a ‘career stopper’
–  “Maximize your strengths and staff to your weaknesses.”
–  Find a mentor to help you grow in specific areas
–  Ask them to help you in a specific area for a specific time
–  Guide your learning from them with good questions on topics you are interested in

2. Communication is key to good morale – your morale and those you lead
–  Dwight Eisenhower – “Morale is the greatest single factor in successful warfare.”
–   Ask questions of your leaders – know ‘why’ you’re doing what you’re doing; know the next 6 months events that you will be expected to attend and plan accordingly
–  Keep those you lead informed about upcoming events, organizational changes, personnel changes, etc.
–  Keep your family informed

a. Travel schedules – goals; itineraries; prayer requests for the trip
b. Help your children communicate what you do to others
c. Help your children feel special regarding the ministry of their parents

–  Help your extended family communicate what you do to others
–  When returning from a trip; set some guidelines for communication

a. What will your spouse need to hear from you?
b. When will you debrief and reconnect?
c. How will you re-engage with your children?

3. Relationships are key to the breadth and depth of your influence

–  Spend individual, personal time with those you lead

a. Get individual time at meetings
b. Phone calls without a reason other than to say ‘Hi’ and catch up
c. Birthday cards or personal email notes

–  Visit those you lead in their homes as often as possible
–  Focus on the family, not just the ministry

a. Go with them to family events (i.e. sporting events, school activities)
b. Take the family out for dinner; let them choose the restaurant

–  Get into the Word together
–  Pray together
–  Listen much, talk little; seek to understand, rather than to be understood

a. Be an active listener; give feedback and ask probing questions to really understand what God is doing in their lives

4. Bring intentionality to your leadership

–  Pray, Teach, Model – 3 primary means of influence
–  Never underestimate the power of your own example; you are being watched!
–  Travel with someone – the ‘apprentice model’ for developing others
–  What you speak on or write about is what you will become known for; therefore choose your topics carefully!
–  As a leader you speak at a volume of 2, but are heard at a volume of 10!
–  Be sure you’re setting a spiritual tone for the work of the ministry!

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
03 Nov 2014
2 Comments

Organizing Your Leadership Thinking

Leadership is a complex and challenging subject to grasp the whole of the topic.  All one has to do is to look at the shelves of leadership books in the local bookstore to see that few are attempting to address the entire subject.  They each take a slice of broad subject, dissecting their particular piece of interest, but failing to address where this fits within the whole.

Some time ago in a brainstorm session with a colleague we attempted to address the subject of leadership as a whole, breaking the topic down into its major components.  After much thought and debate we came to these four big categories as a way to think about the subject of leadership.

Leadership Outline

  • Leadership Thinking – KNOW
  • The Leader – BE
  • Leading – DO
  • Developing Other Leaders – REPRODUCE

The US Military Academy has some of three of these components in their outline of the subject as described in the book, The West Point Way of Leadership.  Their outline of Know, Be, and Do is a great developmental model for general leader development.  But as Kingdom leaders we must add one additional topic – Reproduce.

By looking at the perfect Kingdom leader, Jesus, we now see the complete outline of the subject of leadership and leader development.  Jesus spent a great deal of His leadership developing the next generation of leaders who would carry on the movement after He was gone.  It is the responsibility of Kingdom leaders to develop more leaders.

As you think about your own development as a leader you will want to focus on these four general areas of leader development.  As you think about developing other leaders you will also want to think about these four areas.

When mentoring another leader often their felt need is for leadership skill development.  Perhaps the main reason for this felt need is the fact that new leadership responsibility often comes with deadlines.  Thus the pressure to grow in a previously unknown skill to meet our deadline.  That’s why the bookshelves are full of ‘how-to’ leadership topics, for the authors are often addressing the felt needs of the readers.

While leadership skills are important, we must not neglect the other three areas of a leader’s development.  We can have wonderful leadership skills, for example, but no character to support them and end up with tyrants or dictators.  All four areas are necessary for good leaders and leadership.

How’s your thinking about leadership?  Can you point to the gospels and identify where Jesus demonstrated these four areas of leadership?  Can you also see where He addressed these same areas as He developed The Twelve?

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #4 REPRODUCE - Developing More Leaders and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
27 Oct 2014

Self-Development for Leaders

Alan Andrews, former US President of The Navigators put together a helpful outline for some how-to’s in self-development.  Here’s his thoughts with my additions in brackets.

HOW TO DEVELOP YOURSELF IN A GIVEN AREA
by  Alan Andrews

A.   Identify your areas of need.

B.   Prioritize areas of need.

C.   Make self-development an integral part of your lifestyle.

D.   Plan self-development over six-month blocks.

E.   Identify the key area of self-development that the Spirit of God is indicating to you.

F.   Pray constantly that God would enlighten your mind and heart.

G.   Delegate research to interested individuals.  [This assumes that you have an executive assistant or someone working with you than is available to do this research.]

H.   Try to obtain a mentor in a particular area of development.

I.   Use the Bible as your primary source and authority.  [Kingdom leaders need a biblical leadership grid from which to operate and evaluate other leadership input.]

1.  Identify the number of times key words are used
2.  List the verses in order of appearance in Scripture, writing out each passage
3.  Identify key verses and passages
4.  Outline key verses and passages
5.  List key observations
6.  Cross-reference to other passages [to develop depth]
7.  Do word studies to discover various word meanings [be sure to study words in the original languages]
8.  Read outside material on the subject  —  both secular and Christian
9.   Check with  your mentor [for suggestions on resources or help in your development]
10.  Review your study asking new questions
11.   State your overall conclusions

J. Draw on resources of experts, churches and other organizations.

K. Keep your development always in line with the aim of your calling.

L. Don’t strive to master everything you read. Read to generally identify crucial points in your overall purpose.

M. Develop a consistent pattern of thought.

1. Concept first
2. Content second
3. Personal application third (tell them what you thought, not what you’re thinking)
4. Apply cautiously on an organizational basis

N. If experience does not vindicate your study, go back to the drawing board.  [Be humble enough to admit you were wrong; and today always acknowledge that this is what you understand at this stage of your development.]

O. Once your development has the confirmation of experience, of your co-laborers and of the peace of God, then begin to package your material for communication purposes.

P. Exercise leadership in the area of development.

1. Oversight
2. Shepherd
3. Develop

Q. Always add or change information as the Lord gives new insight. [Be a life-long learner.]

R. Always maintain balance of communicating your convictions and keeping a humble, open mind to other points of view.  There is still plenty of room to grow.

Are you being intentional about your own development as a leader.  Just because you are gaining experience does not necessarily translate into you becoming a better leader.

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #4 REPRODUCE - Developing More Leaders and tagged , , , , , , , ,
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 , , , , , , , , ,
06 Oct 2014

Rewards for Service

The Bible has a lot to say about rewards for faithful and good service.  While salvation is a free gift, Jesus does take note of our service and will reward us for it.  It does appear that rewards can be lost as well due to unfaithfulness.  Again we note that rewards can be lost, not salvation.

The following is a Bible study on the subject of rewards.  Reflect on the passages and seek to find application for your leadership regarding recognizing and rewarding those you are leading.

REWARDS FOR SERVICE

1. Salvation vs. Rewards

Salvation a free gift, not worked for; results in eternal life and forgiveness of sins; through faith – Eph. 2:8-9
available to all – Jn. 3:16
never can be lost – Jn. 10:27-30

Rewards awards given for service to God; distributed in heaven; available only to Christians; can be lost

 

2. Rewards

Matthew 16:27  –  For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.

• based upon the work we have done

1 Cor. 3:8  –  The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.

• based upon our labor (planting and watering)

1 Cor. 3:14  –  If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.

• based upon the quality of our work

2 Cor. 5:9-10  –  So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

• based upon living a life pleasing to God

Col. 3:23-24  –  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

• is an inheritance from the Lord based upon working with a whole heart

Hebrews 11:6  –  And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

• based upon seeking God earnestly

Rev. 11:18  –
The nations were angry;
and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your saints and those who reverence your name,
both small and great–
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

• given to the Lord’s servants and prophets

Rev. 22:12  –  “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.

• based upon what we have done

 

3. Examples of Work That Will be Rewarded

Matthew 6:1-6  –  for acts of righteousness done with pure motives: giving to the needy and secret prayer

Matthew 6:16-18  –  for righteous acts with pure motives: fasting

Matthew 10:41-42  –  given for showing kindness and hospitality

Luke 6:35  –  for loving your enemies; being kind to the ungrateful and wicked

1 Cor. 3:8  –  for evangelizing (planting) and discipling (watering)

 

4. Rewards Can Be Lost

1 Cor. 3:10-15  –  lost because of poor quality of service

2 John 1:8  –  lost because we are deceived by false teachers who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ

Rev. 3:11  –  lost for not enduring during a time of trial

 

Is there someone you are leading who needs some recognition or reward for a job well done?

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

Morale – Focus on It!

In the great leadership book by Dwight Eisenhower titled Crusade in Europe, he devotes a good deal of attention to the subject of maintaining high morale among the troops under his command.   You’ll note his number one item:  Morale is the key to success!  Here’s a list of other lessons learned from his experience as Supreme Allied Commander of the European Theater during WWII:

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO HIGH MORALE

1. Morale is the greatest single factor in successful warfare.

2. The individual is the key to success.

3. Communicate correct information to counteract negative propaganda.

4. Maintaining the initiative not only keeps the enemy on the defensive, but builds morale.

5. Success in reaching a goal or series of victories builds morale and esprit de corps.

6. When the enemy is successfully attacking, calmness, firmness and optimism are essential
to win through to victory.

7. Keep the civilians informed of the progress of the war.

8. Visit the troops frequently in the field.

9. Talk to the troops about everything. Ask them if they have discovered any new trick or
gadget to use in fighting .

10. Mutual confidence, a feeling of partnership, is the essence of esprit de corps.

11. Take initiative to find out their problems. Don’t wait for them to come to you.

12. Men must feel that they are being treated equally and fairly.

13. Men must know their own accomplishments are understood and appreciated.

14. Leadership, discipline, technique, as well as numbers, equipment, mobility, supply and
maintenance are prerequisite to the existence of morale.

15. Morale will suffer unless all ranks thoroughly believe that their commanders are concerned
first and always with the welfare of the troops who do the fighting.

16. Provide recreation and furlough time. Veterans like to return to their own unit. Relieve
units from front-line duty periodically.

17. Higher commanders devote every minute of their time to tactics, logistics and morale.

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

Moving On to What’s Next

Here’s a second conversation with Lorne Sanny in March 2003 – this topic was on Moving On to a New Leadership Role.

Many make the mistake of rushing to what’s next
o They don’t like to live with the ambiguity of not knowing what they do
o It’s like wading across a stream – don’t rush; take one step at a time
o Hebrews 11:8 – Abraham did not know where he was going when he left

Delayed gratification is key attitude
o It’s about contribution first, then organizational issues second

Don’t be afraid of pursuing dead ends
o Not every road is the right road the first time

Many are so driven to production that they can’t wait to get on with something else
o Rest and hope in the Lord – Ps. 130:5
o Walk with God day by day – Ps. 61:8

Consider your responsibility to your family at this stage of life
o Grandparents role – Ps. 128:6

  •  “see” means get to know your grandchildren
  •  Doesn’t mean that an international assignment is wrong if you have grandchildren
  • But if live away from them, be all there for them when you furlough or are with them
  • It’s the little times together that can really make a difference in their lives

Be sure to give the new leader who follows you “space”

Restrain yourself from offering your advice and opinions after you leave (unless asked)

Don’t “overstay your welcome” as a leader
o Know and determine when to leave your role to another
o Don’t wait until you have to be asked to leave!

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

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