Leadership Network held an online conference in September of 2009 called The Nines, which was a huge success with thousands attending from around the world. Well, they are back at it again. On March 3, 2010 they’re bringing us AHA! Fresh Voices, New Ideas. This totally FREE experience will feature some innovative ministry ideas from a great mix of people that you may know as well as some new faces you don’t know. I was honored to be asked to be one of the presenters and will be talking about Seacoast’s approach to Leadership Development.
Here are a few of the details.
When is AHA!? It all happens beginning at Noon EST / 11 CST / 9 PST on Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Where do I go to attend AHA!? AHA! is totally on-line. Just join us on your computer!
What do I need, technology-wise, to watch AHA!? All you need is a computer and a fairly good internet connection. If you can watch YouTube videos on your computer without any problem, then you’re all set!
What does it cost to attend AHA!? Absolutely nothing! AHA! is sponsored by Leadership Network, and we invite you and all your ministry friends to join us. We do have a premiere registration that is available. For just $20, you’ll get a full-color schedule of the day, along with full bios and notes from all the speakers. If you want to get the most out of your AHA! experience, we recommend getting the premiere registration.
Can I just show up? Not really. While AHA! is free, we do need you to register prior to March 3. This allows us to plan for bandwidth and other things as we prepare for the day. It’s really simple to register. In fact, you can do it right HERE.
Can we host an AHA! viewing party at our church? Absolutely. Feel free to invite your church staff, lay leaders, or even other pastors from churches in your area. You can make it a free online event at your church just by adding a video projector!
As leaders we spend much of our time focused on others. While this is very fulfilling, it can also be very draining. Sometimes we need to take the opportunity to do simple things that will refuel us mentally, spiritually, emotionally, physically, relationally and socially. Here are a few things you can consider doing this weekend that will make life better. Just don’t try to do ALL of them. Thanks for your readership and I hope you have a great weekend!
Take a long walk or bike ride with your spouse and enjoy being outside.
Have a conversation with one of your children and practice looking deeply into their eyes and really listen.
Write out your schedule for all of next week. (This can actually take some stress off if you’re overwhelmed)
Go on a non-movie date with your wife and ask each other 5 questions that will be fun and get you talking about things you don’t normally talk about.
Write out your fitness and nutrition plan for next week.
Go somewhere you won’t be disturbed and do a 3 hour study and prayer retreat.
Throw a Superbowl Party with your closest friends.
Go explore your city and try to discover something new.
Sleep in late and when you wake up stay in bed and read.
Go to Starbucks and pay for a strangers coffee.
Update your personal budget.
Ask your kids, “What do you want to do today?” and then do it no matter what they say.
What’s one thing you’re going to do this weekend that will make life better?
I played a lot of basketball when I was young and my primary focus in every game was to score. Oh I loved to win too, but if our team lost and I scored double digets that was okay because “I won”. Sometimes leaders develop this same mentality: “It doesn’t matter if the organization is losing as long as I’m performing well individually”. But when we develop this self-absorbed addiction for personal performance it blinds us to the giftedness, potential and contribution of others.
Leaders we have to remember that we’re responsible for making each player on our team better so the organization can win. It’s interesting that the older I get the more rewarding it is to watch other people win. Watching someone I’ve coached speak well, teach well or lead well is extremely satisfying. It’s fun watching the organization win as more and more players are contributing their best. So what can you do to help others win?
Listen to their dreams. Ask someone on your team, “If you could do anything what would it be?” and watch them light up as they describe what’s deep within their heart. Listen intently and try to see their dream as clearly as they see it.
Resource their ideas. If you can help fund their ideas do it. If not find other ways to resource their ideas by helping them get the training, books, relationships or experiences they need to take their ideas to the next level. Sometimes you may feel you have nothing to offer but you can give encouragement or hope which can be a priceless resource for someone who has a dream.
Network them with others. A well networked leader will be a growing leader. When you connect people of similar passions and mission you open up doors of new opportunities, ideas, wisdom and experience that will change their lives.
Develop their strengths. Focusing on weaknesses can hold people back from becoming all that God created them to be. Help others not only discover their strengths but develop them to the fullest potential. Help them see the specifics of what they do well.
Last week I wrote a post Don’t Be Clueless about Your Corporate Culture which brought some questions and some good comments. The questions were primarily about how to shape your culture. So let me give you a simple technique that I’ve used in the past that works well.
Ask the members of your team what words they would use to describe their ideal work culture or environment. As they call out different words write them on a marker board. All words are fair game. Come up with as many as 15 to 20 if you’d like.
Once everyone has had a chance to share, work together to agree upon the top 4-5 words.
Next put a letter grade A, B, C, D, F on each of the words grading how you are currently doing with each word. For Example Communication B, High Accountability D, Innovative C+, Fun A -, Relational B -
Now have the team discuss which one needs to be worked on the most and write out a plan for strengthening that value in your culture.
Post the words on a wall in your meeting room where you can see them regularly.
Three months later re-grade each of the words and see if you have made progress in shaping your culture. Put a reminder in your Outlook so you won’t forget.
Rinse and Repeat
What are some ways you can intentionally shape your corporate culture this week?
Why is it that each time you inform everyone that it’s time to establish new goals there seems to be a collective groan heard throughout the organization? We know goals are necessary to establish clear performance expectations, measure progress and provide accountability. But while that last sentence is true…it just doesn’t inspire or motivate people to put their goals in writing. There are many reasons people don’t like to set goals (a post for another day) but one of the biggest is goal setting is boring. We have to write out a specific statement that can be measured by a realistic number to be accomplished by a certain time…zzzzzz.
Desiring to put some life in our goal setting process at Seacoast Church this year we decided to take a different approach. Influenced by a post by Donald Miller, (CLICK HERE to see that post) we laid out our goals in story. Story puts heart and soul in your goals. So last week at All Staff meeting our Senior Pastor Greg Surratt invites us to join him at Starbucks January 2011 and look back at what happened at Seacoast in 2010. He tells a story that helped us get an idea of what God wants to do in our church this year. Check out this video to see how it went. (You can fast forward the first two minutes to get to the beginning of his goal talk)
Wow, we’re now thirty-one days into 2010 and with 334 days remaining it’s a good time to stop and take an early look at our goal progress. Yesterday I sat down, looked at my goals and asked, “What’s moved forward so far in 2010?” And in typical fashion, I’ve made great progress with some, fair progress with a few, and no progress with others. That’s probably true of most people. So February 1st is a great time to stop and ask yourself a few questions that can get you on track and maybe even provide a little extra boost to your efforts. Now set aside about an hour, get out your goals and work your way through the following questions.
STEP 1: Progress Evaluation
Begin by marking each of your goals: Green = Met Expectations so far, Yellow = Medium progress so far, or Red = Less than expected progress so far.
STEP 2: Reassess Each Goal
Is this goal still relevant? (If not dump it)
Do I feel this goal is still realistic? (If not adjust it)
Do I have the necessary resources to reach this goal?
Is there someone I need to ask to help with this goal?
Do I need to change my attitude toward this goal?
What obstacles are blocking progress with this goal?
What can I learn from this obstacle?
Is there an expert in the area of this goal that I can seek advice from?
What adjustments do I need to make with this goal?
What are the next steps with each goal?
What can I do this week to make significant progress with my Red goals?
Check back tomorrow when I post a video of our Senior Pastor Greg Surratt sharing 2010 goals with Seacoast Church staff. I think you will find the approach unique and interesting.
Leaders pay attention to your corporate culture because it’s more powerful than you might think. The culture of an organization is easy to ignore because it’s like breathing, it’s there, it’s who we are, it’s what we do. It exists whether we try to produce it or not.
What is corporate culture? At its most basic, it’s the personality of an organization, or simply “how things are done around here.” Every organization has a culture and most employees can pretty accurately describe that culture in 5 words or less. Now the scary part…what 5 words would the people in your organization use to describe your culture? Would they choose positive words? “Our organization is Inspiring, Fun, Energetic, Focused, Results oriented.” Or would their description be more negative? “Our organization is Dull, Stressful, Lacks accountability, Complacent, Critical”.
It’s a strange paradox – the culture of the organization shapes people’s behavior and the behavior of the people shape the culture. This is why it’s essential that the leader not only be in touch with the culture but actively involved in shaping it as well. Leaders who intentionally shape their culture in a positive way are more likely to have satisfied and loyal employees, a reputation as a great place to work, high morale and fewer complaints from those they serve.
You can have a great vision, a nobel mission, a high powered team but unless you’re shaping a positive healthy corporate culture you won’t maximize the potential of your organization. That’s why I say the leaders #1 job is shaping the corporate culture of their organization. It’s way too important to leave to chance.
Today’s Leadership Challenge:Write down 5 words or phrases that describe the culture of your organization. If you’re really feeling brave ask the people in your organization to share their five words. How well does their description match your description? What does that tell you?
No matter how good our plans there are times we as leaders face disappointments. The dictionary says, Disappointment is a feeling of being let down, a feeling of sadness or frustration because something was not as good, attractive, or satisfactory as expected, or because something hoped for did not happen” As I look back over my years in ministry there have been several times I can recall having this disheartening emotion. Unchecked disappointment leads to discouragement, cynicism or even a sense of resignation. It’s interesting that God encourages us to plan, yet allows unexpected detours or interruptions to those plans. While frustrating, detours are beneficial because they remind me that I’m not in control and keep me listening to the heart of God. I have to remind myself that it ’s frequently God’s plan that things not go as I planned. And God desires to use the detours, interruptions and obstacles to grow my courage, persistence, patience, endurance, character and humility. When a leader engages disappointment by listening to the Truth of God he hears, “Keep on believing, keep moving forward, I’ve not abandoned you…I’m simply growing you.”
Facing an unexpected disappointment today? Check out Jesus words in John 15:1-2 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prune so that it will be even more fruitful.
I had the opportunity to hangout with Eric Swanson on a recent trip to Leadership Network. Eric is Leadership Community Director and LN and the author of The Externally Focused Church. He also has a new release coming out in March titled The Externally Focused Quest . In this video Eric talks about the measures of an externally focused church. See my Take Aways below.
TAKE AWAYS
Externally focused church measures their effectiveness not by how many people they have on Sunday morning but by the transformational effect they have on their community.
In Matthew 22 when no one showed up at his son’s wedding banquet the king augmented his strategy from an “invite” strategy to a “go to” strategy.
When you ask a pastor how his church is doing he typically answers in terms of INPUTS (size of budget, staff, etc), ACTIVITIES (number of services, specific programs, etc) and OUTPUTS (# attending, # serving etc) . But we can’t stop there we have to move on to OUTCOMES (measured in terms of changed lives) and IMPACT (the collective result of multiple changed lives over time)
Who’s life is different because your church is in the community?
“Every non-profit exists for one purpose, that’s to bring about changed lives” Peter Drucker
Outcomes and Impact answer the “so what” question.
Don’t try to be the best church in your community, become the best church for your community.
What Outcomes and Impacts does your church need to begin to measure?
Mac Lake is the Development Pastor at Seacoast Church, a multi-site church with 13 campuses. He lives in Mount Pleasant, SC with his wife Cindy and three children Brandon, Jordan and Brianna. [read more...]
Leadership Network held an online conference in September of 2009 called The Nines, which was a huge success with thousands attending from around the world. Well, they are back at it again. On March 3, 2010 they’re bringing us AHA! Fresh Voices, New Ideas. This totally FREE experience will feature some innovative ministry ideas from a great mix of people that you may know as well as some new faces you don’t know. I was honored to be asked to be one of the presenters and will be talking about Seacoast’s approach to Leadership Development. 
