I love the title of Patrick Lencioni’s book, “Death by Meeting“. It can be so true . . . sometimes it feels like a slow death that somehow turns minutes into hours. In the mid 2000’s I was asked by my boss to begin leading our weekly staff meetings. Although I was honored, I was also quite intimidated. Up until that point I just had to show up and participate. Now I was in charge. I have vivid memories of the insecurity I felt after each session as I tried evaluating how it went.
Fast forward to today, hundreds of meetings later. I am still mildly intimidated, but not nearly as insecure. I don’t always hit the home run, and I suspect some of the meetings I lead can seem boring to the participants, especially Tactical meetings. That said, I think I’ve learned a lot as well.
In an effort to help all the pastors and church leaders out there that still struggle in this area, I have put together a series of posts that may prove beneficial. Enjoy!
On Leading Meetings:
- Rethinking How We Lead Meetings
A series of links about leading meetings from some of my favorite authors and blogs.
- How To Lead A Bad Meeting
Tips on how to lead boring, self-centered, ineffective meetings. How do you measure up?
- How To Lead A Good Meeting
Tips on how to lead lively, focused, effective and productive meetings. How do you measure up?
- The Meeting Professional
A link to a great article by Seth Godin asking the question, “What would our meetings be like if we hired a meeting fairie?”
On Trust & Teamwork:
- Creating A Trust Culture
An exhortation from Matthew 5 and a link to Andy Stanley’s podcast entitled ‘Trust vs Suspicion’.
- Exposing The Elephant In The Room
A short look at what elephants look, sound, and smell like during meetings.
- The Tunnel of Chaos
A discussion about a very important principle that is the key to developing and maintaining trust among team members.
- Teamwork and Trust
I just had to find a way to fit this video clip into my blog. It overwhelmed me. These young men express a visual illustration of what unity and teamwork can look like (obviously, not literally).
On Kinds of People and Kinds of Meetings:
- Strategy Kickstart: Team Meetings
This is a short video clip encouraging your team to discuss the idea of splitting strategic discussions from tactical discussions.
- The Seats of the Bus
In this article I break down the three different ‘kinds’ of teams you should have.
- What’s the Big Deal About A Wrong Seat?
What happens if you get someone who is wired to “do” into a meeting that is all about dreaming?
- The Four C’s
A detailed explanation of the ‘Four C’s’ every leader should consider when hiring or looking for new leaders to join a team.
- The Strategic Personality
This article explains the most ideal temperament/personality of a big picture, back seat of the bus leader.
Exploring Team Dilemma’s
- The Sacred Cow
What is a sacred cow and what does it look like in the context of the local church?
- The Smelly Cow
A dangerous idea on how you might discover where your sacred cows are hiding.
- Finding Your Sacred Cow
Ideas on the different ‘kinds’ of sacred cows we might be harboring.
- The Chicken or the Egg?
Which should come first, a strategic plan or a strategic team?