Three Kinds of First Impressions Leaders Make: The Sponge, the General, and the Magnet
Do you want to be the type of leader who makes a great impression the first time you meet someone? Would you like to have loyal followers because they like you and trust you? If so, stick with me for the rest of this article.
The majority of my readers are church leaders: pastors, church staff, and lay leaders. But these principles of first impression leadership apply to any leader in any setting. And the first impression you give sets the stage for your future leadership, for better or worse.
Here then are the three types of leaders. The metaphors I use are self-evident. Read more
How to Lead Change When You’re NOT The Senior Leader
If you were in charge, everything would be different, wouldn’t it?
But you’re not. At least not yet.
So how do you effect change when you’re NOT the senior leader? How do you lead change when you’re a staff member or simply a volunteer? Read more
3 Problems with Setting Small Goals
If you lead a team, you don’t serve the team or the individuals well if you offer them easy or boring goals. Even worse if you offer them no goals at all. If you fail to rally them around a God-inspired, overarching vision, you fail to lead them well. Here are three problems with small goals.... Read more
Three Essentials for Leadership Fruitfulness and Longevity
I admit that I like lists. I also notice that the Bible is full of lists, starting with the Ten Commandments. Paul has lists of attributes in I Timothy 3 and Titus one and Peter has his own list of leadership qualities in I Peter chapter 5. Additionally, we have lists of the deeds of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit in Galatians chapter 5. So making and using lists has a biblical basis.
It’ s probably true, though, that there is no end to the making of lists. Some of us like to create a daily “Do” list to remind us of what needs to be accomplished. Some of us list things that we want to achieve over a longer period of time to help us grow, reach our God-given potential and be the best leaders we can be. Then there is the “Bucket List” of things we want to do before Jesus calls us home.
I’m going to guess that some reading this might hate the idea of lists and break out in an allergic reaction just thinking about it…just kidding. I know it’s probably not quite that bad.
I often think about, and work at, keeping things simple in my life and ministry. Simplicity is one of my current key values. So, in the name of simplicity, following is my short list of just three things I consider fundamentally foundational to leadership fruitfulness and longevity, which I believe every leader aspires to. Read more
Three-and-Done: Why Ministry Leaders Quit and 3 Books That Can Help You Beat the Odds
Most ministry leaders, specifically pastors, tend to leave their ministry after 3 to 4 years. It is an unfortunate statistic that limits a ministry’s ability to flourish. I have heard from several ministry leaders regarding this issue. Here are some reasons why ministry leaders quit after 3 year.... Read more
To Be a Great Leader, You Absolutely Must Be a Reader
If you’ve ever been to Israel, you know there’s a real contrast between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The Sea of Galilee is full of water and full of life. There are trees and vegetation. They still do commercial fishing there. But the Dead Sea is just that – dead. There are no fish in it and no life around it. The Sea of Galilee is at the top of Israel and receives waters from the mountains of Lebanon. They all come into the top of it and then it gives out at the bottom. That water flows down through the Jordan River and enters into the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea takes in but it never gives out. That’s why it’s stagnant. The point is, there must be a balance in our lives to stay fresh with both input and output. There’s got to be an inflow and an outflow. Read more
Before You Respond to that Email, Pause
Someone sends you an email message or a text, and you’re unsure how to respond. It’s about a complex negotiation, or a politically sensitive situation. Or maybe it’s just from a person who unnerves you.
For a moment, you pause. But for most of us, most of the time, that pause doesn’t last long. Instead we react, feeling the need to immediately craft a response. And often we then hit “send” without fully thinking. The result: an awkward or incomplete message that causes the recipient to pause, then react, often starting or continuing a cycle of miscommunication and misunderstanding.
Yes, people today expect and want an instantaneous reply to any message. We often accommodate them because delay feels like a violation of modern-day social norms.
But there are many times when we should not immediately reply. And the truth is, we usually know them when they come. That’s what that initial pause is about. The key is to heed it.
There is a simple two-step method to making the pause work for you. First, buy yourself some time to think. Second, follow the four simple C’s of effective communication that help determine how best to respond in terms of the context, content, channel, and contact. Read more
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