6 Strategies to Keep the Mission Ahead of Your Ambition

Like you, I was born with some ambition.

I feel like ambition gets a bad rap.

For a leader, personal ambition isn’t too problematic until it supplants the organizational mission.

That’s when selfish ambition takes control, dominating the organizational mission, hurting others in the organization, and imploding the leader over time.

In this NEW POST, I offer 6 strategies to help keep the mission ahead of your ambition. I also gave you a key question to ponder with each strategy.

I’d love to hear which strategy feels most helpful to you in your current season of leadership.

As I’m transitioning off our church staff, I’m heavily focused on strategy # 4.

As always, I’d love to help. That’s why I created Transformation Solutions.

Recently I’ve been helping churches with their:
1. Hybrid church strategies, and
2. Staff culture.

Both seem to be needed as we emerge from the pandemic.

3 Reasons I’m Grateful Churches Aren’t Full Again

I’m grateful all our churches aren’t full again. And I’ll tell you why.

All the empty seats are creating a crisis of:

1. Identity
2. Mission
3. Ministry Model

While I certainly don’t love the crisis, I love what it will potentially create in Kingdom growth. Of course, the pandemic was a disruption of epic proportions, but it doesn’t have to be catastrophic to our church or spirit.

In this NEW POST, I outline the details of each crisis and probably say some things that might raise an eyebrow or two.

As always, let me know how I can help. That’s why I created Transformation Solutions!

Two Steps to Make Everyone Else the Hero

As a leader, have you ever played the role of hero?

Perhaps a difficult decision needed to be made and you stepped in? Or maybe an employee made an error and you took the public blame? You played the part of hero by delivering great news or offering a job or increasing a budget.

Point leaders often have opportunities to be a hero, but what about the other “leaders” in the organization?

It’s an important question.  There are lots of people in every organization leading something or someone. There is one point leader, but there are numerous other leaders.

What I see too often (and maybe you’ve seen this a lot, too), is point leaders hogging the hero moments while lower-level leaders are forced to handle the day-to-day, non-hero stuff. And unfortunately, there are not enough “hero” moments day-to-day.

I’m guessing the hero-hogging is mostly accidental. In leadership, there are few things more rewarding than feeling like a hero, mostly because leadership can at times feel more like the “art of disappointing people at a rate they can stand (John Ortberg coined that little gem)!” So hero moments — although few and far between — are to be cherished for sure.

But here’s a thought: The lower-level leaders in every organization — those involved in the more day-to-day tasks — are leading people more directly than anyone. They are closer to the action. If Ortberg is right, then these leaders are disappointing people more frequently than anyone. Pushing people more frequently. And saying “no” more frequently. If anyone needs “hero” moments, it’s these leaders. That’s exactly why point leaders need to ensure they are never “hero hogging.”

Here’s an easy way to avoid being a hero hog: As a point leader (of a company, department, etc.):

1. Choose to own the disappointing stuff.
2. Choose to pass along the good stuff to other leaders in the organization.

Literally, that’s it.

Read the rest of this article to discover easy ways to allow other leaders to be the hero.

2 Critical Leadership Questions for Organizational and Personal Health

I love this leadership posture: “Be content, not satisfied.”

I can’t remember when I first heard it. It sounds like something John Maxwell would say. It’s certainly not a new idea. For many leaders, learning to balance dissatisfaction and contentment opens us to innovations while keeping us grateful and emotionally healthier (not completely healthy, but healthier).

This of it this way:

Contentment is personal, where satisfaction is professional.

When we confuse contentment and satisfaction, we damage our emotions and limit the mission.

Over my years of marketplace and ministry leadership, I’ve fought to remain content, but not satisfied. I believe every leader should fight for personal contentment and professional dissatisfaction.

In this NEW ARTICLE, I discuss these two terms and provide two critical leadership questions that you and your team should consider as you attempt to move forward together.

HOW CAN I HELP?

If you aren’t satisfied, I’d love to help. Coaching ministry and marketplace leaders through change, transition, and transformation is why I created Transformation Solutions. Go right now to mytransformationsolutions.com and sign up for a free, 30-minute conversation to decide if working together works for you.

6 Common Mistakes Speakers Make in the First 5 Minutes

If you’re a speaker, preacher, or communicator of any kind, it really doesn’t matter how great your content — if you can’t connect, you can’t communicate.

Sure, great content is essential. It needs to be true and helpful. But true and helpful isn’t enough, especially when you’re in front of a new crowd.

Our temptation is to assume people will listen because we are talking. You’re the one with the mic, right? That’s a flawed assumption. Anyone who has children knows that’s not true.

If we hope to engage people with our content, we must first establish a connection. The audience must buy into the messenger before they’ll accept the message.

So how can we connect? Or better yet, what should we avoid doing that creates a disconnection?

I see 6 common mistakes speakers make in the first 5 minutes.

You can read all about them in this NEW ARTICLE.

Why Getting People Back to Church is a Dangerous Goal

How many people are back at your church?

That seems like the predominate, post-COVID pastor question, doesn’t it?

We used to ask, “How many people attend each Sunday?” But not now. The question has changed. Neither question is a great question. Nevertheless, it’s the most frequently asked question.

Today, it seems how many people you previously had isn’t as relevant as how many of those have returned. Every pastor is concerned with attendance return.

In this post, I directly address this new post-COVID “returning” focus.

Here’s my big idea: Everyone’s focus seems to be “getting people back!” I’m not sure that’s the right goal, though. I’m afraid too much focus on “getting our people back” to church will permanently shift our plans, leadership, hiring, and budgets in the wrong direction.

Here’s why: The more focused we place on keeping people, the less energy we spend on reaching people.

A focus on re-attracting those who aren’t returning turns us into a “keeping-focused” church. Here’s what I’ve learned in my decades of church leadership:

You can focus on reaching people or keeping people, but not both.

Here are 5 strategies to keep a reaching heart in a keeping-focused season of church leadership:

1. Don’t “think” like a church planter; ACT as a church planter.
2. Resist the urge to adjust ministry offerings for the vocal and absent minority.
3. Admit that some people will never return, no matter what you do.
4. Start over by focusing on what the unchurched and dechurched in your community need.
5. Thinks steps, not programs.

You can read all the details in the full article.

I hope this helps us all retain the correct focus in this post-pandemic church experience.

If I can help, let me know.

6 Secrets to End Well so You Can Start Strong

My last Sunday at Woodstock City Church is August 1.

It’s a new beginning, but like all new beginnings, it comes with an ending.

The band Semisonic had it right: “Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end.”

In this NEW ARTICLE, I discuss the reality of endings in light of new beginnings.

This is important for any and every version of change. Change introduces something new, which means it may end something old. When we don’t end well, we struggle to start strong.

Rather than resist change or new beginnings, we need to learn better strategies for endings.

With that in mind, here are 6 Strategies to End Well so You Can Start Strong.

Also, being as I’m living through this right now, I added some personal reflection on how I am trying to end well so I can start strong on August 2.

3 Statements to Better Handle Unsolicited Advice

Does everyone seem to be a critic in your church?

I mean, how often do you hear, “Can I give you a little suggestion?”

I get it. I critique everything we do, as well. When you are a part of something, you want it to be great. When you serve and give to a church, you want your time and resources to be leveraged in the best way possible. Unfortunately, “great” is quite subjective.

I’m sure everyone means well. But hearing this week in and week out doesn’t do my heart well.

I use to respond with a simple “Thanks for your feedback. We’re working on that…” Sometimes that was true. Sometimes that was just an acceptable response. Sometimes that was a way more acceptable response that I wanted to give! Either way, it typically ended the conversation.

I’ve discovered a new and better approach. And it seems to be working.

In this NEW ARTICLE, I outline the three statements that me and the unsolicited advisor move forward together.

It will take you less than 5 minutes to read this in full.

4 Steps for Dealing with Disgruntled Attendees

I’ve been in ministry for quite a while. Church people can be amazingly supportive and encouraging. They can also be frustrating.

Over my 15 years of ministry leadership, I’ve experienced my fair share of disgruntled church people, but the pandemic brought “disgruntledness” to a new level.

So what should we do when the vocal disgruntled feels like the vast majority?

In this NEW ARTICLE, I outline four steps to deal with the vocal minority of disgruntled attenders.

You may especially appreciate the fourth step: Just let them leave!

Let me know what else you’ve done to best deal with those loud and proud detractors in your church or organization.

And as always, I’m here to help. That’s why I created Transformation Solutions.

The Importance of Transition Leadership During Change Management

Change and transition are not the same.

Change is the new set of circumstances or the new situation we desire. Change represents the end result of a successful organizational effort. Examples include creating a new department, changing the organizational structure, moving to a new location, or launching a new product or offering. All of these are significant changes.

Transition, on the other hand, is the set of people-oriented experiences that precede change. If change is about new circumstances, transition is the emotional, psychological, and spiritual adjustments people go through as change is implemented. Change needs to be managed, where transitions need to be led. 

Understanding the difference makes all the difference.

Planning for Organizational Change: Most leaders are relatively adept at planning for change. At the highest level, a change management plan starts with the desired outcome. It then works backward, step by step, to create the necessary preconditions for that outcome. These preconditions are primarily situational and circumstantial. 

Planning for Emotional Transition: Most leaders stop at the change management plan. We know where we currently are (Sunday School), we know where we want to be (small groups), and we have a plan to get there (change management plan). But most likely, without a transition plan, this change would be only partially successful with a wake of bodies behind us. Unlike change management, transition leadership starts with where people are and works forward, step by step, through the process of leaving the past behind, getting through the confusion of change, and emerging with new attitudes, behaviors, and identities. If change is the new circumstance (small groups), transition is the psychological process to get people there. This is incredibly important to understand, as every change ultimately involves and is initiated, experienced, and adopted by people.

Conclusion: Most of us are good at identifying what needs to change. And we’re relatively proficient at developing change management plans. But what separates those who desire change versus those who can lead to change is the ability to see and integrate transition plans. Get this right, and you’ll not only achieve the desired change, but you’ll bring the support of most people along with you.

How can I help?

Helping ministry and marketplace leaders through change, transition, and transformation is why I created Transformation Solutions. Go right now to mytransformationsolutions.com and sign up for a free, 30-minute conversation to decide if working together works for you.