Why You Should Stop Comparing Candidates When Hiring
Of all the difficult decisions leaders must make, hiring and firing are certainly toward the top.
Finding the best people for an open position is always challenging. Often we interview many people looking for that perfect fit. During the process, often two candidates rise to the top. When this happens, something dangerous is right around the corner:
The Personnel Comparison Trap.
In this NEW POST, I unpack the trap and give you some tips to avoid it when you are making your next hire.
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.
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.
7 Ways I’m Learning to “Disagree and Commit”
5 Minute Read… In 2016, Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame wrote a well-circulated article to his shareholders. You can read it here: Jeff Bezos’ Shareholder Letter. In my industry of church, the implications of his letter are equally important. My guess is any industry where leadership decisions are required would benefit from adopting a version […]
3 Reasons You Should Learn From People Different Than You
Here’s a questions I’m working through:
Does the breadth of your learning impact the depth of your learning?
I know… I think in tweets. But to say it a little less 140 character’ish: How much more could we learn by expanding the context of our education? And I don’t mean studying more people in your current industry. Granted, it’s not natural to study other industries and organizational leaders unlike us, but I think finding breadth could be a hidden ingredient to accelerated growth.
This idea hit me recently while at a conference. It was a great conference full of wonderful leaders – who I’ver heard from too many times to count. I saw an advertisement for another conference. Guess who was speaking? Basically the same people. Don’t get me wrong. I love and respect these leaders. They’re my mentors – some directly. But I wonder – does a homogenous learning community stunt growth at some point?
As a pastor, I primarily learn from other churches, church leaders, and church models. As a younger leader, that was a great place to start. Seeing other perspectives and approaches to church helped solidify how I wanted to create and lead a local church. There was great clarity found in watching those who were already doing it. Yet, the more comfortable I got as a leader in my church, the more critical I became of leaders in the church. I accidentally replaced learning with critiquing.
Of course, that’s not a healthy dynamic, but it is a natural progression. When we visit other organizations within our industry, we are hyper-critical of what we understand (or think we understand).
Always Content, Never Satisfied
I love this sentiment: “Be content, not satisfied.”
I can’t remember when I first heard it. It sounds like something John Maxwell would say, but I’m not sure. It’s certainly not a new idea. But for many leaders, mastering the power of this statement is novel and can provide new innovations and invigorate change.
At Woodstock City Church where I lead, we are constantly fighting to remain content, but not satisfied. Content because we are partnering with God and his church. Unsatisfied because the mission of God’s church is too big to every feel like it is complete. We take this so seriously around our church that we even labeled it “Make it Better,” one of our six core staff behaviors. “Make it Better” means never fall prey to believing we have arrived.
You know that in an ever-evolving culture, we can never stop evolving our approach, our model, or our strategies. As my friend and boss (Andy Stanley) likes to say, “We must be married to our mission, not our model.”
How to Make Great Decision without any Clarity
As a leader, have you ever struggled with a decision?
If you lead or have ever led anything, the answer is unequivocally “yes.” Making decisions is crucial to leading. Making decisions is an inseparable part of leadership. Leaders who cease to made decisions abdicate their leadership.
Of course, some decisions are obvious, some are more challenging, and some are absolutely daunting. The decisions leaders face during times of transitions, whether personal or organizational, are often the most difficult. The reason is simple:
Transitions bring cloudy conditions.
Great decisions are only possible when we have clarity — clarity of the situation, problem, possible solutions, and ramifications. Clarity is essential, but as every leader knows, when seasons give way to what’s next, the transition creates conditions that work directly against clear decisions.
Transitions are cloudy because they happen between what is known and what is next. What is known is often clear, but what’s next is typically new. New always has an element of unknown, and unknown is often unclear. It’s like driving our car into a dense fog. When you can barely see, it makes driving nearly impossible. If the fog grows dense enough, moving forward ceases to be a viable option.
In our car, we can always pull over and wait out the fog. But as a leader, waiting out the transition isn’t an option. And hence our decision dilemma:
How do we make great decisions in cloudy conditions?
Before we answer that question, we should acknowledge that these transition decisions are often the most important decisions we as leaders make. Both an unfortunate, yet true reality. When there is change and transition, the organization and the people therein look to leadership for stability and direction. The decisions we make during these transitions set the pace, tone, and direction for the next season. These decisions are critical. And they are uncomfortable. Because they are so cloudy.
How to Focus Your Leadership in the Spaces You Control
As a leader, what is within your sphere of control?
That is a critical question to ask, because if you don’t know what you can control, you can’t be sure where you can fully lead.
The question matters, because true leadership does require an element of control. I would argue that without any internal locus of control, we are at best managers for the leaders who are in control. This explains why we (and me) desire control within what we are responsible to lead.
I serve as a Campus Pastor within North Point Ministries. That means that I have full control over some things, partial control over others, and no control in certain spaces. No matter what your title, like me, your locus of control varies from space to space, decision to decision.
Maybe it’s just me, but I have a tendency to hyper-focus on what I can’t control, forgetting all that I can control. I want fully control, but full control is never fully available, no matter what your title. Unfortunately, the areas where my control is limited tends to mentally override the places where I do have majority control. That’s a leadership dilemma, and I’m convinced it exists for all leaders. One solution is to stop worrying about control, but that’s a terrible goal — and if you’re a leader, it’s not possible. Leaders want to lead, and leadership requires some control.
A Much Better Way to Respond to Unsolicited Advice
Does everyone seem to be a critic in your church?
I mean, how often do you hear, “Can I give you just a small 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. Every opinion is just that — an opinion. Good, bad, or terrible. Insert pithy quote about armpits and … you know the rest.
“The music is so loud.” “Too quiet.” “Too bassy.” “Not thumping enough.”
“The sermon is too long.” “Too short.” “Not helpful.” “TOO helpful (substitute convicting).”
“It’s too crowded.”
“Somebody sat in my seat.”
“There wasn’t enough … Scripture, songs, parking, coffee, snacks, blah, blah blah.”
“There was too much … Scripture, songs, parking, coffee, snacks, blah, blah blah.”
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.
After eight years of receiving unsolicited suggestions, though, I’ve decided on a new approach. And it seems to be working.
How Leaders Can Stop Hogging the Hero Moments
As a leader, have you ever been a hero to those who follow you?
Maybe you were the bearer of great news. Or maybe you served or loved them in an unexpected way. Maybe you gave them a job!
Most point leaders have the opportunity to be a hero with their staff from time-to-time, but what about the other “leaders” in the organization?
It’s an important question, because there are lots of people in every establishment leading something or someone. On our church staff, nearly everyone leads a staff team and/or volunteer team. Not everyone, but nearly everyone. There is one point leader, but there are nearly 65 leaders.
What I see too often (and maybe you’ve see 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’s not too many “hero” moments day-to-day.
