JesusBloggers.com » Leadership

Leadership Summit | Dan Pink

tony — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 17:37:23 +0000

These are the key thoughts from Dan Pink’s session at the Leadership Summit that grabbed my attention. Dan is the author of Drive, a book I’ve highlighted here and here in recent weeks.

“If-then rewards work really well for simple tasks. However, they don’t work very well for more complicated creative tasks.”
“One of the problems that we have in our organizations is that we make the wrong assumptions about people.”
“One of the false assumptions is that people are machines.”
Another false assumption is that “human begins are blobs.”
“Our nature is to be active and engaged.”
People need: autonomy, mastery and purpose
“Management wasn’t delivered to us from God.”
“Management is a technology designed to get compliance.”
“We want engagement. Management doesn’t lead to engagement. Self-direction leads to engagement.”
“Give people autonomy over their time, team, task and technique. That leads to engagement.”
“Making progress is the single greatest motivator at work.”
“We want challenge.”
“Performance reviews are not authentic conversations.”
“I think we are seeing the limits of the profit motive. The profit-motive is a good thing, but it’s not the only thing.”
“The only way people will be enduringly motivated is if they’re animated by something bigger than themselves.”
“I’m convinced that anything good in life began with a conversation. That’s what changes the world.”

Leadership Summit | Terri Kelly

tony — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:55:30 +0000

Here are some of the highlights from an interview with Terri Kelly, the President and CEO of W.L. Gore & Associates.

“To be innovative, you have to create an environment of collaboration.”
“Gore is a peer-based organization.”
“You want to encourage everyone to connect to everyone in their network.”
“We don’t tell people what to do, and we don’t tell people what projects to work on.” …instead leaders use influence
“We believe everyone can make a significant contribution.”
“Not all ideas bubble up to be great ideas.”
“We use a peer review process to make sure great ideas bubble up.”
“The notion that the leader is responsible for coaching and mentoring the whole organization is very limiting.”
“One of the important roles of leaders is to figure out how to divide in order to multiply.”
“Who doesn’t want to be believed in?”
“The leadership sets the tone for the values. The organization is watching to make sure their actions truly align.”
“They are only a leader if there are people who want to follow them.”

Leadership Summit | Andy Stanley

tony — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 22:23:45 +0000

Andy Stanley wrapped up day one of the 2010 Leadership Summit. Here are some of the highlights from his talk:

“Every organization has problems that shouldn’t be solved and tensions that shouldn’t be resolved.”
“If you resolve some tensions, it’ll lead to other tensions.”
“Progress doesn’t depend on the resolution of tensions but on the management of those tensions.”
“If it’s a problem that keeps resurfacing, it’s a tension to be managed.”
“The role of leadership is to leverage the tension for the benefit of the organization.”
“Often times the right person doesn’t win the argument, but someone wins the argument.”
“Certain tensions are the key to progress.”
for leaders… “Continually give value to both sides, and don’t weigh in too heavily with your personal biases.”
“Don’t allow strong personalities to win the day.”
“Don’t think in terms of balance – think in terms of rhythm.
“As a leader, never try to be fair.”

Leadership Summit | Adam Hamilton

tony — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:17:03 +0000

These are some key thoughts from Adam Hamilton, the senior pastor at Church of the Resurrection in Kansas:

> “None of us is immune.” …talking about sexual sin in the church

> “The church exists for broken people.”

> “I’m praying you’re the kind of church that welcomes sinners with the grace of Christ.”

> “No matter how you handle this, people will leave your church.”

> “You can develop all the policies in the world, and it won’t prevent these things from happening.” …but you still need to put these guidelines in place.

> “It’s a short distance from communicating your feelings to acting on them.”

> “We haven’t always felt in love with each other.” …talking about his 28-year marriage with his wife

> “Remember who you are.”

> “Remember the consequences of your actions.”

> “Reveal your struggle to a trusted friend.”

> “Remove yourself from the situation.”

> “We are held to higher standards as leaders.”

> “No one is beyond redemption.”

Leadership Summit | Tony Dungy

tony — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:30:43 +0000

Here are some highlights from the interview with Coach Tony Dungy.

> “I wasn’t there to be their boss. I was there to help the players get better.”

> “Football and winning weren’t the most important thing.”

> “Don’t mistake hours worked with productivity.”

> “We have to be available to mentor.”

> “You can be mentored from a distance.” …referring to reading books

> “You don’t have to be a successful business leader to be a mentor.”

> “The Lord puts a lot of people in our paths.”

> “I don’t see myself going back to coaching.” …talking about his passion for his current ministry

> “Christ is the best mentor.”

That was a fun interview. Dungy is a true man of character and integrity.

Leadership Summit | Jim Collins

tony — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:57:06 +0000

Here are the highlights from the Leadership Summit session with Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and other leadership books.

“Good is the enemy of great.”
“You can be sick on the inside and still look strong on the outside.”
“You can be going through the first three stages of decline while still looking healthy on the outside.”
“Bad decisions taken with good intentions are still bad decisions.”
Great leaders = “it’s not about them” + “they never give up”
“The signature that separated the Level 5 leader from the Level 4 leader was their humility.”
“Do we have all of our key seats filled with fantastic people? If the answer is no, we must resist growth until that happens.”
“Greatness is not a singular event. Greatness is a cumulative process.”
on success… “If it’s just money, it’s not enough.”
“The signature of mediocrity is not the inability to change, it’s chronic inconsistency.”
“You have to be willing to change.”
“There is a core that has to be held tight, but on the other hand we have to have progress.”
“Confront the brutal facts of where you can do better.”
“What is your questions to statements ratio and can you double it in the next year?”
“Reach young people by changing your practices and not your core values.”

By the way, here are my reading highlights from Jim’s most recent book, How the Mighty Fall.

Leadership Summit | Bill Hybels

tony — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:35:30 +0000

Here are some of the key thoughts that grabbed my attention from the opening session of the Leadership Summit with Bill Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago, Illinois.

“Leaders move people from here to there.”
People need to hear “we can’t stay here” speeches to catch vision for the future.
“Your job is to convince people ‘we cannot stay here.’”
“It takes fantastic if your going to move an organization from here to there. You can’t do it alone.”
“One of the joys of leadership is knitting together teams of fantastic people.”
“What kind of person flourishes in our unique culture?” (Something Bill looks for in people in addition to character, chemistry and competency.)
“How do you inspire people to stay on the journey from here to there?”
“Refill their vision bucket. Everyone’s vision bucket leaks.”
“You have to celebrate every mile-marker you possibly can on the way to the destination.”
“I think God still speaks to you every single day.”
“The smartest moves I’ve made as a leader didn’t come from my human wisdom.”

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

tony — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:00:38 +0000

I recently finished reading Daniel Pink’s most latest book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. If you lead people, this book will probably change the way your approach leadership. The book highlights a number of scientific research projects that challenge our traditional approaches to managing and motivating employees.

Here are some of the thoughts that grabbed my attention:

“Rewards can perform a weird sort of behavioral alchemy: They can transform an interesting task into a drudge. They can turn play into work. And by diminishing intrinsic motivation, they can send performance, creativity, and even upstanding behavior toppling like dominoes.”
“For more right-brain undertakings—those that demand flexible problem-solving, inventiveness, or conceptual understanding—contingent rewards can be dangerous.”
“Carrots and sticks can promote bad behavior, create addiction, and encourage short-term thinking at the expense of the long view.”
“Goals that people set for themselves and that are devoted to attaining mastery are usually healthy. But goals imposed by others—sales targets, quarterly returns, standardized test scores, and so on—can sometimes have dangerous side effects.”
“The people on your team must have autonomy, they must have ample opportunity to pursue mastery, and their daily duties must relate to a larger purpose. If these elements are in place, the best strategy is to provide a sense of urgency and significance—and then get out of the talent’s way.”
“The more feedback focuses on specifics (“great use of color”)—and the more the praise is about effort and strategy rather than about achieving a particular outcome—the more effective it can be.”
“Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives.”
“People must be paid well and be able to take care of their families… But once a company meets this baseline, dollars and cents don’t much affect performance and motivation.”
“Researchers at Cornell University studied 320 small businesses, half of which granted workers autonomy, the other half relying on top-down direction. The businesses that offered autonomy grew at four times the rate of the control-oriented firms and had one-third the turnover.”
“Encouraging autonomy doesn’t mean discouraging accountability. Whatever operating system is in place, people must be accountable for their work.”
“The more that people share a common cause—whether it’s creating something insanely great, outperforming an outside competitor, or even changing the world—the more your group will do deeply satisfying and outstanding work.”

If you are interested in reading more of Pink’s insights on motivation, you can pick up Drive by following my Amazon link.

Three Arguments That Sound Spiritual But Are Actually Stupid

perry — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 11:38:07 +0000

#1 – “The Church Is Not A Business But Rather A Hospital For Sinners.”

Uh…ok, the problem with this argument is…a hospital IS a business…and if it is not ran properly then it will have to close its doors, thus losing its effectiveness in helping those it has been called to reach.

Like it or not in church world today leadership matters. God made sure we knew that leadership IS a spiritual gift and the reason it has been given was to help the church be more and more effective.

I personally believe the church should be the best ran organization on the planet because God has gifted and called leaders to lead AND filled them with HIS Holy Spirit so that they can do so.

#2 – “Too Many Churches Are Just Chasing Cool and Relevant.”

Uh…so what’s the opposite, chasing uncool, boring, predictable and meaningless?

Sure, churches can go off the deep end and worship creativity rather than the Creator. But to say that a church should not embrace creativity and inovation and leverage them for the use of the Gospel is insane.

Church should not be a place where people come and see what life was like on this planet during the 1960’s and 70’s…but rather a place where people encounter Jesus Christ and the preaching of HIS Word in an environment in which they understand. (One does NOT have to be sacrificed for the other!)

We are created in God’s image and called to be like Him…which means that we ARE creative beings. Somehow I believe that the church is supposed to be reaching kids WAY better than Disney…they have a mouse…we have the MESSIAH who gave His life and rose from the dead. Our message is SO much greater and should be told in the most effective way possible.

#3 – “Too Many Pastors Today Are Obsessed With Dressing Cool And Shopping At Buckle.”

This one always cracks me up because, well, I happen to like shopping at Buckle (they actually have jeans that fit me!) I am not so sure about the dressing cool part…but I really do like their clothes.

Honestly, I was not aware that surrendering to ministry meant that I also had to surrender to the pleated/cuffed khaki, sweater vest, comb over club! (We could really go back and forth all day on this.)

Bottom line…there is a WAR going on for the battle of the souls of men and women…and fighting over clothing styles should not be a fight we dive into! Dress how you like to dress…and if others want to obsess about it you should feel sorry for them and not fight with them.

Ed Stetzer interviews me on unpaid Christian leadership

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 17:18:29 +0000

A friend of mine recently turned the tables on me and interviewed me in a post entitled Ed Stetzer – My Interview with Adrian Warnock: Why We Need Non-Paid Christian Leaders. If I am quite honest, until recently I never really thought of myself as a Christian leader at all. Ed seems to be talking here about leadership as influence. And so, understanding that I really do not have any of the responsibility and accountability of leadership (except to a limited extent in my local congregation), by virtue of the fact a number of people read this I have come to appreciate that there is some influence that God has entrusted to me. The main effect this realisation has on me is making me concerned to wield that influence for broadly good aims. One of the best ways I can do this is to point you to helpful leaders and material. Go read Ed Stetzer’s blog right now if you havent already, and get ahold of one of his books right away! Here is the brief video we filmed together:

Watch on Vimeo.

JesusBloggers.com » Leadership

Leadership Summit | Dan Pink

Related Posts:

Leadership Summit | Terri Kelly

Related Posts:

Leadership Summit | Andy Stanley

Related Posts:

Leadership Summit | Adam Hamilton

Related Posts:

Leadership Summit | Tony Dungy

Related Posts:

Leadership Summit | Jim Collins

Related Posts:

Leadership Summit | Bill Hybels

Related Posts:

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Related Posts:

Three Arguments That Sound Spiritual But Are Actually Stupid

Ed Stetzer interviews me on unpaid Christian leadership