Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “Strategic leading”

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.

Posted in #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
19 Jan 2015

A Leader’s Optimism

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

“Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.”

People and ‘smell’ a phony a mile away. A leader who is out of touch with reality, denying the obvious, or living in a fantasy is quickly dismissed.

But a leader who acknowledges the real challenges faced and sees a bigger solution is one who builds confidence in those they lead. Romans 8:31 says, “…If God is for us, then who can be against us?”

This was the situation Elisha faced when surrounded by an army whose mission it was to capture him. His servant could not see any resources available to deal with this real threat. Elisha however saw God’s resources and pointed his servant to the answer that was right in front of him. He said, “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (2 Kgs 6:16)

A leader’s optimism and confidence is God will ripple into the hearts and minds of those around them. It will energize and inspire those who we follow to keep moving forward when we all feel like giving up because of the difficulties we face.

Likewise, pessimism and doubt from a leader is also multiplied as it ripples to those we lead. Those we lead do not necessarily have the experience, maturity, or understanding of the context that we do. Therefore they hear a discouraging word from us their leader and run to the end of their “what if” thinking, spiraling downward as they go. “Well, if this happens, then this… And then this….and this…” Those scenarios almost always are negative and leading us to thinking about the disaster that awaits us.

An optimistic leader is one whose confidence is in God and His resources, not is our own abilities or the resources that we can see. Being confident that God is with us and not forsake us is enough.

What’s the image you are projecting around you? Is is an optimistic tone and environment you are creating?

Posted in #2 BE - Who a Leader Is 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 , , , , , , , , ,
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 , , , , , , , , ,
28 Jul 2014
1 Comment

Transitioning Your Leadership

All leaders will transition their leadership. It is not a question of if, but rather when will I hand it to someone else. Having this reality in perspective from the beginning of a leadership role can be very helpful when we come to the end. As Stephen Covey reminds us, “Begin with the end in mind.” Here are some practical reminders that will help ensure that you transition your leadership well to those who come after you.
1. Be intentional about your transition – plan for it.

a. Develop a bench of potential candidates to take your role
b. Expose them to tasks and people that will prepare them to lead in your place.
c. Include them in problem solving and discussions that will stretch them and get them out of their comfort zones.

2. Make the selection for your replacement far enough in advance so that you can overlap some and coach the new leader for a period of time.

a. Don’t make this overlap too long and be sure to give the new leader lots of ‘room’ to lead and make changes.
b. Make this timeline clear from the beginning and then exit the stage.
c. Give them freedom to make whatever personnel or system changes that they see are needed. And don’t get upset when they do bring change to things that you held near and dear. You are no longer the leader!

3. Position your replacement for success by not only giving them the title or role, but also give them the authority to lead.

a. A visible ceremony where the title and authority is passed from the old leader to the new is a very helpful reminder to all that “the old has gone and the new has come.”
b. Note that when God transitioned the leadership of Israel from Moses to Joshua, there was a commissioning ceremony in front of the leadership community led by Eleazar the priest. Note too that this commissioning ceremony was God’s idea and that it was done before Moses’ death. See Numbers 27:22-23.
c. Position yourself to be a counselor and coach for a period of time. You can act as one who provides context and background, even advice (if asked for).

4. Move on! Don’t linger, but rather trust God for what’s next!

a. We talk about the importance of finding our identity in being a servant of God and not in our leadership role or title. The test will come when we are transitioning to some other leader.
b. Do we cling to our leadership role or freely give it away to another? Do we demand a lateral or upward organizational move or can we submit to another’s leadership and follow them (even if perhaps they were your direct report previously)?

So who are those candidates that you are intentionally grooming to take your spot? Is that something that excites you or threatens / unsettles you? Kingdom leaders are givers, not takers!

Posted in #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
05 May 2014
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What Generals Do

One of the challenges faced by leaders is to determine what they, and only they, can and must do.  And once this is identified, how to stay focused on this and not be diverted into the daily “leadership whiteout” of responding to the demands of others.

Gen. Freddie Franks, commander of VII Corps in Desert Storm, provides some good advice for leaders on what they should focus on.  Tom Clancy recorded this advice in his book, “Into the Storm: A Study in Command” (page 637).

Responsibilities of Generals

“I believe generals get to focus on and solve big problems in peace and war.  They must know details and occasionally dip into those, but essentially they must figure out the few deciding issues or battles for their times and conditions and focus their energies on those.  These are what I called points of main effort.  They cannot be many.  You have to decide what they are, and make them stick.

  • Generals must have an imagination that lets them visualize what needs to be.  They must synthesize to create a whole when others cannot see, and then communicate that whole with so much clarity and so much conviction that others will see it, too, and follow it.  That is command.  That is leadership at the senior levels.
  •  Generals decide where to be bold and where not to be bold.
  • They must be strong and decisive, yet they must also keep their ego from clouding their judgments.  Instead, they must use that ego to stick to doing what is right, even in the face of adversity.
  • Generals decide where to intervene and where not to intervene.
  • They decide where to tolerate imperfection and where not to tolerate imperfection.
  • They must be intensely competitive.  They must hate to lose.
  • They need to demand a climate of dignity and respect, and to know that to lead is also to serve.  They can do a lot of good for individuals every day.
  • They must continue to grow.  They must not be complacent.
  • If they can, they should rest easy in the saddle and have a sense of humor.  Smile once in a while.
  • If generals can remember “Don’t worry, General, we trust you,” and do their best to fulfill that trust, they will have done their duty.”

Have you thought through what you and only you must do as the leader?  Have you made the difficult decisions to say no to many other things in order to stay focused on what you and only you must do?

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

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