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Tag: Leadership (page 13 of 13)

A Creepy Email

I received an email today from a store that I shopped at just a couple of weeks ago. For the record, I never logged in and told them what I purchased. This email was sent unsolicited 2 weeks after the purchase. Here’s the email:

I’ve got two thoughts from this:

1. Nothing is private. Not that we can hide anything from God anyway (see Psalm 139:7-13 for further proof of that), but anytime you use your credit card, that information can be tracked. Any time you post a picture on Facebook, it’s there permanently. Any blog post I write is public information, and is representative of me. I can continue to feel weird about this, or I can wisely use social media and blogging to my advantage. I choose the latter.

So, be careful what you place online. It is “tracked” by those you lead and by those you are doing life with. It is a representative of you, whether you like it or not, and will continue to represent you in the future. It’s public and permanent. Make sure that, when you post something online, you ask yourself the question, “Will I be proud of this in 5 years?”

2. Polling those you lead is important. At some level, I feel valued by this organization (represented in the email above). I feel like I have a voice with them. They give me the freedom, in my response, to say that I hated what I bought…or that I loved it. I strangely feel empowered, and that my voice counts for something. If I say that I hated it, they really may rethink putting that item on the shelf again (or I could be fooling myself, but for argument’s sake, please let me feel important right now).

If you’re a leader, make yourself vulnerable. Ask, “Is this working?” and be ready and willing to change things if they’re not functioning like they should (i.e., accomplishing the “end” goal). Asking for opinions shows that you care what others think, but if you open the door, be ready to walk through it. Making changes based on feedback shows that you value others’ thoughts and the effectiveness of the organization as a whole. Asking for feedback and making no changes is a slap to the face of those who shared their thoughts.

As a Christian, and a leader, both of these points resonate with me. I need to be careful with the way that I live my life, and ready and willing to change our system (see my post about that here) when it’s not making disciples of Christ.

How do they resonate with you?

Thanks, Dad

June 22, 2009 / Ben Reed / 6 Comments

I ended up buying a card for my dad for Father’s Day, but felt lame doing it. I think that most of that canned stuff is lame…I didn’t write it, but I’ll sign my name to it as if I did! Anybody else feel like that? Basically, in getting a card, I feel like I’m saying, “How can I be heartfelt and lazy at the same time?” Can those two even go together?

I’ve been ruminating a lot about my relationship with my dad and my new relationship with my son (he’s 8 months old this week!). In honor of him, and of his day yesterday, here’s what I’ve got going through my head.

If you don’t know my dad, I wish you did.

Dad,

Thanks for taking time to show me

how to swing a club and sink a putt,

kick, shoot, throw, and catch a ball,

run, jump, and practice,

drive a stick shift and start a mower,

dig a hole and cut the grass.

You’ve modeled for me

how to be a good dad to my son

and a good husband to my wife,

how to read my Bible

and memorize a verse

and live out my faith.

You’ve shown me

that it’s important to work hard at everything

and strive for excellence in all I do

but that work is never more important than being with family.

I’ve seen you laugh, cry, teach, coach, love, serve, grow, succeed,

invest in church, community, your work, and your family.

You’ve gone out of your way to show me how to be a man.

A Christ-follower.

A leader.

A servant.

A friend.

A husband.

A father.

You’ll probably never see the full fruits of your investment.

But it’s worth all of your effort.

Thanks for 27 years of being a great dad.

Reactive or Proactive?

June 15, 2009 / Ben Reed / 3 Comments

-VS-

_________________________________________________________________________

In your ministry and leadership, do you merely copy others?

Recently, there has been a bit of competition raised right outside of our office building. Little Caeser’s Pizza has just moved in, and they’re offering “$5 Hot-N-Ready” pizza. They even offer a drive-thru window! Simply drive up, tell them what kind of pizza(s) you want, and they give them to you, ready-to-go, on the spot. Two doors down from Little Caeser’s there is a Domino’s Pizza. It’s been there for a number of years, and seems to have experienced a reasonabe level of succes (at least based on the frequency that their delivery cars are coming and going). They do what they’re good at: making their pizzas and delivering them. Little Caeser’s is doing what they’re good at: making pizzas that you pick up instantly. Is one right and the other wrong?

Soon after Little Caeser’s opened, Domino’s began offering a “$4.99 Ready To Go” pizza. Sounds like a rip-off to me.

Some churches look at other churches throughout the country, notice a reasonable amount of success, and try to duplicate that. Sorry, but it doesn’t quite work that way. You are called to minister the Gospel to your people in your community. Just because Saddleback does small group this certain way and it works in southern California doesn’t mean that you need to do it the exact same way and expect the same results in rural Idaho. Just because Louie Giglio preaches a certain way and has success doing it doesn’t mean that you need to copy him. John Piper has been wildly successful, but duplicating what he does (style, mannerisms, inflections, verbage, etc.) is unwise and ensures no level of success. Going through the same small group curriculum that the Smiths used and loved doesn’t mean that that’s what you should do. Maybe you should use the same material…or maybe you should look for a curriculum that helps to shepherd your group where they are at spiritually at this point in time.

Be creative. Think differently. Lead in the way that God has gifted you. Don’t just copy what others are doing.

Leadership and Apprenticing, part 3

June 1, 2009 / Ben Reed / 0 Comments

This is the third part in a series on one specific model of recruiting leaders. You can read parts one and two if you’d like. These are my concluding thoughts on the value of using apprentices to grow leaders in your organization or ministry.

Advantages of using apprentices to grow your organization (#6-#12):

6. They have seen leadership in action. In my role, as small groups director, this is huge. I love when a group leader has an apprentice, because that apprentice has seen their group leader navigate difficult situations and lead people effectively.

7. They are insiders. They’ve been a part of the organization for some time now, and the company’s DNA has become their own.

8. Others in the organization don’t wonder, “Where did this guy come from?” They have seen the apprentice in the halls on Sunday, or in the office throughout the week, and they’ve built a relationship with the person, whether that’s a surface-level or deeper. There’s a credibility and trust that has been built. Credibility and trust aren’t built overnight.

9. They have been preparing themselves for the specific role. They knew that this move was coming. They knew that, at some point, they would be asked to lead. They’ve been praying about it, reading books on it, talking with other leaders who are doing what they will be doing, etc.

10. They have influence within their sphere. They aren’t somebody who has no relationships. They’ve been working to develop relationships. When they’re asked to take the lead, there are people who will immediately follow them.

11. It’s not a risky way to find leaders. Leadership develops over time, not overnight. The apprentice has been developing over the course of months, or even years. If at some point you need them to lead, it’s easy to evaluate whether they’re ready or not by talking with their leader, who has been evaluating them over the course of their apprenticeship. If they’re not ready, just give them some more time to develop. No harm, no foul. You can avoid placing them in a leadership position that they aren’t ready for, which is a definite “win”.

12. You can put them in the exact position that fits their gifts. You have observed their leadership potential, have gotten to know them, and can help evaluate strenghts, weaknesses, and areas of interest.

In the end, apprenticeship sets up future leaders for success, equipping them for the leadership role to which God is calling them.

However, apprenticing has its downsides and challenges. Check back for my thoughts on the disadvantages.

Leadership and Apprenticing, Part 2

May 28, 2009 / Ben Reed / 0 Comments

Wikipedia defines apprenticeship as “a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices (or in early modern usage “prentices”) or proteges build their careers from apprenticeships. Most of their training is done on the job while working for an employer who helps the apprentices learn their trade, in exchange for their continuing labor for an agreed period after they become skilled.”

In part one of this series, I made a plea for apprenticing, gave an idea on how to do it, and encouraged you to both find someone who will apprentice you and find someone to apprentice. In this post, I’m going to give you some advantages of using the apprentice method of recruiting leaders. I tend to think of leadership through the grid of church ministry, and specifically small group ministry, but have tried to keep things broad enough so that if you’re not directly involved in church leadership, you can find these principles and observations helpful.

Obviously, there are tons of different ways to locate and recruit leaders for your organization. This is one of them.

5 Advantages of using apprentices to grow your organization:

1. They already buy into the vision. If they’ve apprenticed for a time in the ministry, then they know the vision and have bought into where the ministry is headed. This helps give your ministry synergy to take leaps forward.

2. They know how the organization should work. They’ve sat in leadership meetings, led some themselves, been a part of training events, and seen the organization in action. This gives them a great advantage over outsiders coming into the organization seeking leadership.

3. Somebody else believes in them. The person who has been apprenticing them is a person who believes in the apprentice’s abilities, character, and leadership potential. They will be a huge advocate for the apprentice, and likely already have been.

4. They have an insider who will continue to invest in them. Their leader, who asked them to apprentice, will not completely abandon their relationship with this new leader. They have been developing the relationship over the course of their apprenticeship, and will (hopefully) continue investing in this person. If you hire (or recruit) from outside of the organization, those support relationships have to be developed.

5. They’ve already been given the chance to lead. The apprentice isn’t taking a huge step when he or she becomes a full-fledged leader. It doesn’t seem, to them, that they’re making a leap, but rather stepping into a role that feels more natural to them.

I’ve got a few more reasons. Check back soon for the next post.

What’s your primary method for recruiting leaders? Do you encourage apprenticeship?

Two leadership questions for you

April 14, 2009 / Ben Reed / 0 Comments

If you quit leading (your organization, your small group, your church, your home, your business) today, would those you lead be able to immediately pick up where you left off?

If not, how can you lead them to the place where they are capable of continuing on in your absence?

“…you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? Foryou are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” (James 4:14)

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Timothy 2:2)

Grandpa-isms

April 2, 2009 / Ben Reed / 1 Comment

Laura’s (my wife) Grandpa has lots of “Grandpa-isms.” You know…things that only Grandpa would say.

Things that he has said tens of thousands of times. Things that he has said so many times that, when he begins to say them everybody around him can finish his sentence.

Things like, in speaking of children picking up toys,

If he sees it, he’s got to touch it, if he touches it, he’s got to tote it. To tote something means to take it with you.

When I grew up in Memphis, I would eat anything. I was never finicky. If you’re finicky you will starve to death!

Children…they’re the most precious thing you’ve got.

If he saw a piece of paper on the floor, he would repeatedly point to the paper, then to the trash, saying,

Paper…trash…paper…trash…(repeat 10 times).

When somebody would fall down, he’d say,

You gotta hold on with those prehensile hands.

All male under 5 are greeted with

Hey hardrock!

Finally

There are 4 P’s that I do for my family: provide, procreate, protect…and make memories.”

I know…there are only three P’s…that’s ok, we just don’t point that out to him. If you hear these once, you hear them 10,000 times…and I’m not kidding. When he starts with just one part of one of these phrases, the rest of the family can finish them for him. He says them exactly the same way every single time.

Part of his repeating things like this is just his personality. The family sometimes jokes about this, but in a loving way. They love him, and respect the way that he has led his family and loved his wife. And there’s a great lesson we can learn from this.

Find your own “isms”

You know that people have truly caught the vision of your ministry or organization when they can repeat it to others. It’s so important to have these defining sayings, goals, and values. These values need to be repeated until you’re tired of hearing them.

Are there any “isms” define you and your ministry? What idea is repeated so often that your area of leadership becomes it? What characteristic, or action, or vision, needs to be repeated until people can finish your sentences when you begin to talk?

How can you instill in others the values that you are aiming for? What opportunities do you have to repeat your core values, even to the point where people begin to roll their eyes because they know exactly where you’re headed?

If you don’t yet have anything that is so engrained into you and those you influence that it has become your DNA, what would you like for your “isms” to be?

Here’s a video of Grandpa I put together. Everything he says here would also be included in his “Grandpa-isms,” and our family can attest to that.

The Value of Networking

February 16, 2009 / Ben Reed / 5 Comments

In my line of work, I see much value in networking. I have, despite heavy criticism at times, continued to use Twitter, in addition to Facebook, blogging, lunches and coffee meetings, to network with others. Do you see any value to networking? I wholeheartedly believe that there is. Here are 8 reasons that I think that it is worthwhile. I’ve tried to leave most of them vague enough so that if you don’t work in the church world, like I do, you can apply them in your sphere of influence, because networking is valuable in almost any leadership field.

8 Reasons Networking is Valuable:

1. I don’t have a corner on the market of ideas. In fact, I’m more of a task-oriented person than a guy full of grand ideas. I know that other people in other organizations have lots of ideas, and I benefit in hearing them. Of course, I have to do the work of processing them in our context.

2. Going outside of my organization gives a different, outside-of-the-box (Literally…our office looks like a box.) look. I work out of one office building, in one city, for one church. If I’m not careful, all of my ideas will revolve around one box. It’s helpful to get ideas from outsiders, those who don’t live and breathe the same air that I do.

3. I learn from others who do what I do, only better. I don’t claim to be the most talented, gifted leader. I want to continue to learn from those who perform better than I do.

4. Networking helps me move our organization to where we need to be. In looking at our structure, I see things that need to be improved, but often I’m not sure what our next step should be. In meeting with other leaders, I see that they’ve arrived at many of the places that I’d like for us to arrive, accomplishing moves and advancements that I would like for us to make. Seeing how they got there help my thought process.

5. I can learn from the mistakes of others. If I can have a heads up on ideas and practices that have failed, I can sidestep those failures. When I can sidestep a failure, it’s as if I take two steps in the right direction.

6. We can accomplish more in working together than in working separately. I can strive with all of my might to help grow the kingdom, but my efforts are multiplied when I collaborate with others. I have certain giftings and passions. I thank God for them, but I know that I am not gifted in every way, and don’t have passions in everything. The Church is the body of believers globally. I am not the Church unto myself.

7. Others help me to evaluate my system. Often, I make it a point to lay out our whole church strategy, making sure to show where my area of ministry fits within the system, to those I meet with, so that they can help me evaluate our system. It helps to think through why we do what we do, and to see how that sounds to someone outside of the organization. Maybe, because I’ve worked so long in our system, there are holes I haven’t noticed.

8. I’m encouraged when I hear of the Lord’s work in other churches and in other cities. It’s helpful when I’m reminded that the Lord’s not only at work in my little bubble of Clarksville, TN.

Do you make it a discipline to network with others?