Wayne Hedlund

Category: LEADERSHIP

Leadership Articles prior to 2016

  • Thursday Quote: Sticky Teams & Guarding the Gates

    Every once in a while a book will come along that ends up becoming a major game-changer for the local church. I think Larry Osborne’s book, Sticky Teams, is one such book. It is full of very practical advice that every ministry leader, and especially pastor, can and will find valuable. I’ve already read through the book twice and reference principles from it regularly in my church consultations.

    I hope you already have your copy of Sticky Teams. If you don’t, get one. You won’t regret it. If you own it, but haven’t read it. Suggestion . . . read it this month.

    I already referenced this book in the Thursday Quote: Sticky Teams and Young Eagles. Today, I’d like to point out another important principle from the book for you to mull over.

    Guarding the Gate No Guts, No Unity

    It’s hard to have a winning team with losing players, which is why guarding the gate is one of the most important tasks of leadership.

    Think what happens when just one contentious or negative person joins the team. People start to walk on eggshells. Meetings become an exercise in conflict avoidance, and important initiatives are sidetracked or tabled in the hope that later discussion will somehow miraculously forge an agreement. Laughter and joy all but disappear. Off-the-record discussions and after-the-meeting meetings conspire to sabotage or change everything you thought you’d decided the night before. In short, it’s a real drag.

    The same thing happens when an unproductive or toxic staff member comes aboard. Those who can’t cut it doom their area of ministry (and eventually the entire ministry) to mediocrity, while those who don’t fit in or refuse to play well with others (even if their area of ministry is a smashing success) quickly kill morale. 

    But worst of all, once a toxic board member or a troublesome staff member has a seat on the bus, it can take an act of God to get them off. Removal can be an incredibly difficult process.

     

    Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

  • This Week’s Great Links

    Every week I send a bunch of ‘Great Links’ to some awesome pastors & leaders credentialed with Elim Fellowship. As an avid blog-reader, I’m always finding something new, interesting and helpful to share with them. I’d like you to have access to them too, so enjoy!

    Blessings for South Sudan by Rick Tunis
    God’s assignments are sometimes more exciting than a thrill ride at Disney! Last year money was raised through churches in eastern Pennsylvania allowing me to work with Helimission to bring food relief to the Borono Tribe in Southern Ethiopia. We flew 400 pounds of food to one small village that was inaccessible by roads. I discovered, through an interpreter, that they had never heard the name of Jesus before. About 15 made a decision to give their lives to Christ. Read More.

    The Power of Incremental Change Over Time by Michael Hyatt
    I have always been fascinated by the power of incremental change over time. Most people underestimate this. They think they have to take massive action to achieve anything significant. I am not opposed to massive action. I have used it myself to achieve certain results. But it causes most people give up before they ever start. They just don’t think they can make the investment. Read More.

    Leave Room for People in Your Schedule by Tim Stevens
    This 5 minute video was recorded for The NINES conference last year. It’s Tim’s thoughts on Time Management.

    If you can’t see this video, try clicking this link.

    Heart-Shattered Lives Don’t For A Moment Escape God’s Notice by Barry Pearman
    Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran from God, Paul was a murderer, Gideon was insecure, Miriam was a gossiper, Martha was a worrier, Thomas was a doubter, Sara was impatient, Elijah was moody, Moses stuttered, Zaccheus was short, Abraham was old, and Lazarus was dead…. God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the CALLED! Read More.

    The Manager’s Cheat Sheet: 101 Common-Sense Rules for Leaders by Inside CRM Editors
    Management is all about connecting with the people on your team. So how do you effectively manage a team? With common knowledge, of course. These are a few back-to-basics rules that will help you develop management skills that really matter. Read More.

    Michael Jordan & Craig Groeschel on Failure by Wayne Hedlund
    Isn’t it interesting that so many of us have an intense fear of failure, and shy away from situations where we might fail, while others embrace failure, learn, and end up doing something great! Watch these two great clips on failure and be inspired to try, fail, learn, adjust and try again! Read More.

  • Pixar and Creative Thinking

     

    I love to hear stories of people who know how to engage in creative thinking. Creative thinking is a very important ingredient in a thriving, growing and culturally relevant organization. One of the important questions creative thinkers will eventually ask is, “Why?”. (Note: check out my eBook, ‘Thinking for a Change‘ to learn more about the critical thinking process.)

    This 2 minute clip by Pixar Studio’s vividly captures what the creative process can look like, and how it can lead to simple solutions and great ideas (even if the finding the solutions weren’t that simple).


    If you can’t see this video, try clicking this link.

  • Thursday Quote: Sticking Teams and Young Eagles

    “Ironically, most churches are started by young eagles. But soon after getting their nest built, nicely appointed, and fully furnished, they start to marginalize the next batch of young eagles, asking them to sit at the kids’ table and wait for their turn at middle-aged leadership.”

    I don’t think Larry Osborne could have presented a major problem in the local church better . . . and it’s becoming a major roadblock in the ongoing growth and development of the church at large. Leaders just have a real hard time releasing young leaders into meaningful and influential leadership. In his book, Sticky Teams, Larry Osborne talks about this difficulty in the chapter entitled, “Making Room at the Top”. Here’s a little more from that chapter.

    When a church grows old, gray, and culturally out of touch – far more interested in protecting the past than in creating the future – it starts to wonder, ‘What happened to all the young people that used to hang around here?’ That’s a sure sign that the young eagles have been shut out for a long time.

    I’d be a liar if I said that protecting and promoting young eagles is a pain-free venture. It’s far easier in theory than in practice. I don’t like giving up my personal power, prestige, or preferences any more than the next guy does. It’s kind of a drag.

    But young eagles are born to fly. It’s their nature. It’s how God made them. If they can’t fly high in our church, they’ll bolt and fly elsewhere. And sadly, if and when they do, they’ll take most of the life, vitality, and the future of the church with them.

    So, honestly now, how are you and your church responding to young eagles? Are they written off, tolerated, or celebrated? Are they encourage to fly or asked to clip their wings?

    I guarantee you, your answer will determine your church’s future.

    When working with leadership teams to determine their ability and openness to fully utilize and keep young eagles, I ask three questions.

    1. Are young eagles empowered and platformed?
    2. Are young eagles in the loop or in the meeting?
    3. Who gets to ride shotgun? 
     
    Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

  • Top Ten Posts for June, 2012

    The top ten posts for the month of June, 2012 include the following:

    1. Cell Phones in Church – just for fun
      A humorous video clip one church made to discourage cell phones and electronic devices during the Sunday service.

     

    • Mystery Guest – Free Resource for Your Church
      Information on how you can properly find and hire an anonymous mystery guest, including a sample survey for them to complete after their visit to your church. 
    • Johari Window for the Christian Leader
      A powerful matrix describing the four quadrants that express our individual knowledge or lack of knowledge about ourselves. 
    • Ten Church Systems: The Assimilation System
      My most popular post from the Ten Church Strategies series. This post describes the key areas every church should be developing in order to encourage guests to return over and over until they have properly been integrated into the life of the church. 
    • The Four C’s
      Inspired by Bill Hybel’s 3 C’s, this post describes the four characteristics I look for in a new hire or when recruiting someone into specific leadership roles. 
    • Tactfully Speaking: 5 Steps To A Meaningful Conversation
      This post is the first of a three part series called Tactfully Speaking. In this article I share the five things a wise person will keep in mind every time he/she is talking with others. 
    • Leaders are Readers
      This post is by far my most popular of all time. I share my thoughts and ideas on how to be an effective reader, even if reading just ‘isn’t your thing’. 
    • Michael Jordan & Craig Groeschel on Failure
      Two great videos by very different people, saying the same thing. Failure can be a good, even great thing… 
    • Sunday Morning Announcements
      In this post I lay out some ideas and guidelines for effective Sunday Morning Announcements. It also includes several sample video announcements we’ve hosted at EGC in the past. 
    • Time Management 101: Eat the Frog
      A simple video clip describing a basic time management principle – eat the frog.

     

    If you have been a regular subscriber to my blog, Transforming Leader, for a while now and continue to find my content helpful, please consider letting other pastors, elders, and/or christian leaders know!  Subscribing is super easy and available for anyone with an email address! Thanks!
    mage from seruvenci on istockphoto.com

  • Thursday Quote: Leading On Empty

     

    Pastoral ministry should be considered a High Risk occupation. Check out some of these startling statistics about pastors from H. B. London Jr.’s work, Pastors at Greater Risk (also quoted in the book mentioned below.)

    • 80% believe pastoral ministry affects their family negatively. 33% of those say it’s an outright hazard to their family.
    • 75% report they’ve had a significant stress-related crisis at least once while pastoring.
    • 50% feel unable to meet the needs of the job.
    • 90% feel inadequately trained to cope with the demands of the job.
    • 80% of pastors say they have insufficient time with their spouse.
    • 56% of pastors’ wives say they have no close friends.
    • 70% of pastors say they do not have someone they consider a close friend.

    Perhaps the most disturbing statistic of all is that clergy have the second highest divorce rate among all professionals.
     
    Having served in pastoral ministry myself for nearly two decades, I understand some of these pressures and dangers. Today, I hear about or talk with pastors on a weekly basis who are walking through difficult situations, struggling spiritually or are just tired and feel like quitting. Despite it all, they plow through and continue to fulfill the mighty purposes and calling to which God has called them. I am often very proud and inspired to know their individual stories.
     
    This is why I strongly recommend every pastor purchase and read Wayne Cordeiro’s book, Leading On Empty. In this powerful book, Wayne shares his own battle through ministry burnout and how ministers can guard themselves to let their candle burn for the long haul. In this excerpt from the book, Wayne shares why it is so difficult for pastors to find the necessary balance between ministry and daily living.

    “There will always be a tension between what I do and who I am because they run so closely together. A minister isn’t like a salesman who stops talking business after five o’clock or a dockworker who refuses to pick up a fallen box because he’s off the clock. He doesn’t live in the world of retiring politician, who contents himself with leaving unfinished items for his successor.

    A shepherd-leader is more like a country doctor. Regardless of the time of day, when people are experiencing symptoms of appendicitis or when a baby needs birthing, he can’t say, “I’m off duty. I punched out at five.” In a sense, a pastor never punches out. Of course some may, but for those who see their profession as a calling, they simply cannot.

    What I do is who I am, and who I am is inextricably connected to what I do. I am a shepherd. It wasn’t something I chose as a business profession. It was something I couldn’t escape!” Page 96

     
     

     

     

     
    Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

  • Michael Jordan & Craig Groeschel on Failure

     
    Isn’t it interesting that so many of us have an intense fear of failure, and shy away from situations where we might fail, while others embrace failure, learn, and end up doing something great!

    Watch these two great clips on failure and be inspired to try, fail, learn, adjust and try again!

    If you can’t see this video, try clicking this link.
    If you can’t see this video, try clicking this link.

  • The Top 10 Regrets In Life By Those About To Die

  • Clarifying Core Values

     

    Patrick Lencioni once had a conversation with a business leader about his core values. The business leader boldly declared that “a sense of urgency” was one of their core values. When Patrick asked if his employees all met their deadlines, the executive responded with a profound, “No, their complacent as hell, which is why we need to make urgency one of our core values!”

    As Patrick describes so clearly in his article entitled “Make Your Values Mean Something” in the Harvard Business Review (a great and quick read), it can be very easy to define values that are, in fact, not really values at all.

    In today’s post I’d like to identify what core values are NOT.

    • Core Values are NOT the same as Mission.

      Your mission should be one simple statement defining WHY you exist as an organization. Your values will support your mission by providing the ground rules for effectively walking out that mission every day. 
    • Core Values are NOT the same as Vision.

      Your vision represents a desired future based on the mission of your church. Your values are different. They represent HOW you will carry out ministry between now and the fulfillment of that vision. For example, “be a multi-campus church” is a vision statement, not a core value. 
    • Core Values are NOT Core Beliefs.
      It can be easy to confuse the two. Simply put, your values COME FROM your beliefs. For example, I have a core value that all ministry should be Bible-Based because I have a belief that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. Using the illustration in my post entitled “Why Core Values?”, I have a value that my preschool children will not watch certain evening programs because I have a belief that those programs will harm my child’s development.
    • Core Values are NOT the same as personal growth principles.
      There are many powerful principles about how we are to live out our faith in the Bible. For example, we will personally grow if we love others, be fiscally responsible, work hard and give glory to God while we do, worship, pray, fast, read the Bible, stay connected with like-minded believers, not be unequally yoked, etc. These are all important aspects of the Christian’s life. However, they should not be confused with your church core values. 
    • Core Values are NOT Strategies or Goals.
      Strategies and goals will, by necessity, change over time. Core Values will rarely, if ever, change. Don’t confuse a strategy for fulfilling a vision with your values. For example, ‘summer camps’ may represent a strategy for reaching young people in your church. However, I would not consider ‘summer camps’ a value. Perhaps in 5 years you will decide that mission trips will reach young people better than summer camps. That would be a new strategy. 
    As a general rule of thumb, think of your Core Values as the basic rules by which you will accomplish your mission as a church. These well defined rules should never be broken, as that would ultimately compromise a basic belief you have about how ministry should always take place.

    Your mission represents WHY you exist.

    Your vision represents WHAT you think the future should look like.

    Your strategy represents the PLANS you have set in motion to fulfill your vision.

    Your values represent HOW you will carry out those plans at all times.

  • I Love What I Get To Do . . .

    This short video clip (3:30) by the people over at Youth Specialties does a fabulous job of telling a story that is engaging and moving. The story happens all the time in ministry (or it should). Little touch points here and there that eventually lead to a powerful and transforming God moment.

    So often we don’t even realize how often we are touching another’s life. We reach out, speak kind words, say a prayer, and then move on. It can be easy to forget how much God uses each and every one of those moments. What a great privilege and responsibility we have!

    The closing line in this video sums it up great – “I Love What I Get To Do!” I hope you do!


    If you can’t see this video, try clicking this link.