When Interruptions Become Disruptions

It’s evident that many leaders (especially in the church) see this moment in history as an interruption. A significant interruption, but an interruption nevertheless.

Interruptions are no doubt problematic. Interruptions are like pause buttons. Interruptions give us time to reflect and adjust. These moments can be constructive encouragement to look at things differently.

But, and this is critically important, interruptions mostly pause our way of executing our current model. We may look at something differently during an interruption, but looking isn’t behaving. When the interruption ends, and you press the play button again, we resume “business as usual.” Some things might look different, but these alterations are primarily surface changes, not strategic adjustments.

That’s the difference between an interruption and a disruption.

Disruptions aren’t simply more extensive interruptions. Disruptions are destructive. Disruptions force innovation and require leaders to look and behave differently. Disruptions challenge leaders to swallow their pride. Admitting a strategy and model you created and implemented no longer works is not easy. Disruption causes leaders to look and behave differently. Disruptions devastate the old way of doing things. That includes your tried and true ministry model of yesteryear.

If interruptions drive introspection, disruptions demand innovation.

In this NEW POST, I offer a shortlist of areas most likely in need of strategic innovation. And, I give you some core questions to consider.

How To Never Lose a Staff Member Again!

Is it possible to stop losing staff members?

If you lead an organization of any kind, you’ve most likely experienced the effect of the “Great Resignation.”

Workers are evaluating their employment and changing jobs in record numbers.

Losing staff isn’t a pandemic-created crisis, though. Staff retention is a constant battle for any organizational leader. It seems too often you hire a great young leader only to invest in their development so they can go somewhere else.

It’s frustrating.

In our humanity, we tend to cast blame. Mostly toward others. The exodus of employees is a perfect place for blame casting. “They’re leaving because __________________ (fill in the blank with something that is clearly their fault).

There is an easy way never to lose a staff member again.

Are you ready for it?

It’s foolproof. Always works. You’ll never invest time, resources, and energy on an employee again only to see them take their talents elsewhere.

Here’s the solution to never lose a staff member again…

Click the link for my 100% guaranteed solution!

How to Lead Something You Didn’t Start

If you’ve ever led something you didn’t start, you understand the unique challenges.

Starting something can be very challenging. Transitioning something can feel impossible.

The first few weeks and months for a new leader in an established organization are critical to long-term success.

In this article, I outline 7 tips for taking over.

If you’re a leader who might one day be in charge of something you didn’t start, save this article for later. If you have taken over something, I’d encourage you to take 10 minutes and give this a read.

Thanks, friends.

8 Peak Performance Habits to Elevate and Transform Your Personal Productivity

Do you feel unproductive these days?

If so, this post is for you. If not, this post is still for you, because a season might be lurking around the corner that makes personal productivity more challenging than ever.

It’s tempting to excuse our lack of production on a season of life. And partially, that’s fair.

I just launched my new leadership content, coaching, and consulting business (Transformation Solutions), and my wife and I just bought a coffee shop in our downtown district (Copper Coin).

I’m in a really busy and new season. But I can’t blame my productivity drop on the season. Like you, I need a pathway to productivity that exists independent of life seasons.

That’s exactly why I’ve decided to implement these 8 Peak Performance Habits immediately.

Give them a read and perhaps even a try yourself. I’d love to know how they work for you. Or, what you’ve found helpful outside of my list.

How to Talk So People Will Listen

If your job requires speaking on any level, the last thing you want is for people to stop listening.

Sure, they may be physically present, but that doesn’t mean they are emotionally or intellectually present.

As I thought about this, I realized there are at least 6 specific reasons people stop listening.

What makes people tune out? What causes them to disengage?

Take 4 minutes and read this NEW POST to learn what’s working against maintaining attention and how to fix it.

6 Reality Defining Questions That Help Decide Future Improvements

2 minute read…

FOUNDATIONAL QUESTION: What needs to be better in your church, business, or organization?

I bet you have several answers. Or at least several guesses. Of course, answering the question is far easier than making progress with your answer.

Why is that?

After working with leaders and consulting with organizations for some time, I’ve noticed a distinct trend.

Better in the future is defined in juxtaposition to our current reality today.

It’s like trying to define something good without an opposing bad. Or delicious without a disgusting. Healthy without unhealthy.

Or a finish line without a clearly defined starting line.

It’s challenging to make things better if you don’t fully understand why it’s bad (or at least “not better”). Successfully making something better is like the finish line of the improvement project. You can’t successfully run a race without knowing where to start and where to finish.

I call this “Defining Reality.”

Every healthy improvement project requires an honest evaluation of the past, present, and future. This is where too many “let’s get better” initiatives fail before they even begin. We get so focused on the preferable future without adequately defining present reality.

If you are hoping to improve anything within your organization, begin by asking these critical, reality checking questions to help establish your starting line:

1. What are we trying to do (mission)?
2. Why are we trying to do it (vision)?
3. What are our points of differentiation?
4. What is currently working?
5. What is currently working against us?
6. What from our past is still affecting our present?

The answers will define your organizational “get better” starting line. From there, you can build a strategic pathway forward.

Why Learning Insulation is a Leadership Limitation (And 3 Reasons to Learn From Others)

It’s only been eight weeks on the new job, but I’ve already learned so much.

One Critical Lesson: Every leader can quickly and unintentionally become insulated from the outside as they attempt to lead on the inside.

I didn’t realize how easy this was until I left North Point Ministries.

I worked for one of the best church organizations on the planet for nearly 13 years. Leading alongside the team at North Point Ministries (Andy Stanley, Lane Jones, Rick Holiday, Bill Willits, Jeff Henderson, Clay Scroggins, Joel Thomas, Adam Johnson, Andy Jones, Al Scott, Tensley Almand, and more) felt like the equivalent of a master’s degree in church. These guys are great.

What I didn’t realize along the way is how easily I became insulated from the broader leadership and church world. This segregation was not intentional. Protecting myself from other churches and industries certainly wasn’t encouraged by my peers at North Point. It’s just one of those natural leadership drifts within any organization.

We get so focused on leading well within our organization that we only pay attention to our organization, automatically limiting our exposure to other leaders and organizations.

It’s completely unintentional. And it’s insanely dangerous.

In this NEW POST (4-minute read), I explain the danger of organizational insulation and give you three great reasons to learn from people different than you.

Bottom Line: The breath of your leadership learning determines the depth of your leadership growth.

Packed Stadiums and Empty Sanctuaries: Painful Questions We Must Answer

A pastor friend of mine recently attended a college football game. He barely got a ticket. The place was PACKED! Sold out.

It got us both thinking…

The juxtaposition of packed football stadiums and partially full sanctuaries creates a strategic crisis.

And it should.

Why Are Stadiums Sold Out?

Why are hundreds of thousands of church people jamming into football stadiums with rabid enthusiasm yet skipping church almost every Sunday?

What is the in-person football experience offering that the church is not?

What did people miss about football?

And the most painful question of them all: What did church people NOT miss when they missed church for a year?

I’ve come to believe most churches remain partially full because people missed it for a year and didn’t really miss it.

The time for excuses is over. It’s time to act. It is time to evolve our approach and create something worth not missing.

In this NEW POST, I try to engage our minds around the problem. Perhaps we collectively can work towards solutions.

Why Adding “For Now” Will Keep You Relevant Forever

If you’re a leader of any kind, you have a strategy or plan.

I’ve got bad news: It’s dated.

Strategies are made for moments, but moments never remain unchanged.

I wish I understood this earlier in my leadership journey.

If you have 6 minutes, give this NEW POST a read.

I think adding two words to your strategy might be the solution to bringing a renewed flexibility to your current approach.

Stop Waiting For Someone Else To Solve Your Leadership Problem

The pandemic birthed a multitude of secondary pandemics.

One of significance is how leaders are currently making decisions and solving problems.

During the early stages of the pandemic, leaders spent so many days, weeks, and months second-guessing and being second-guessed that a version of analysis paralysis set in for good.

More than ever before, I am watching leaders stare down the barrel of a problem, but rather than solving it, they are waiting on some other leader in some other organization to make the first move. They’ve developed a habit of abdication.

Rather than waiting on some other leader who doesn’t know your specific situation or problem to offer a solution for you to mimic, ask yourself these 5 problem-defining questions and start making some decisions.

In this NEW POST, I give you these 5 questions and some additional thoughts on leadership decision-making.