Leaders should aim not to be a bottleneck in the process of building a healthy and growing organization. In manufacturing, a bottleneck is defined as “A point of congestion in a system that occurs when workloads arrive at a given point more quickly than that point can handle them.” (Investopedica.com) In an organization, the bottleneck can be the leader. When this happens, progress stalls and growth is limited.

Here are 7 characteristics of the bottleneck leader:

• Every decision ultimately goes through the leader…
• Dreaming is limited to the pre-determined boundaries of the leader…
• Waiting for the leader to make a decision becomes awkward and wastes time…
• There is no clear vision or direction for the organization…
• The leader never delegates…
• Potential leaders aren’t recruited…they are controlled…
• Everyone waits on the leader to make the first move…

Leaders, ask yourself this question: Are you a bottleneck in your organization?

If you aren’t certain, perhaps you should ask your team.

(If you’re really serious about finding the answer to this question, consider my consulting offering HERE.)

What would you add to my list? What bottlenecks of leadership have you seen?

I write about leadership. I try to keep it personal. I don’t always accomplish everything perfectly that I write about, but my goal is to be a growing leader.

One critical aspect of leadership, in my experience, is to be aware of the values one holds. As in life, each leader has certain values that are especially and even uniquely important to him or her. Without thinking about it, we typically will favor those values in the way we lead others…when we make policies, in the way that we manage and the issues which get our greatest attention. Because we make decisions based on what we value, it’s important that a leader understand what he or she values in leadership and to recognize also that others may hold values which are different from ours.

Have you ever considered your personal values as a leader?

I’ve spent time over the years realizing the things I tend to value most in leadership. Those whom I lead can probably clearly see these displayed in my leadership. This doesn’t mean other values aren’t important…perhaps even more important…but that these are the ones most important to me.

Here are my top 7 values as a leader and why I hold them:

Responsiveness – I believe leaders are required to be responsive to those they wish to lead. If people don’t hear from you they make up their own scenarios, become afraid, and lose interest and motivation. (I’ve written about that before HERE.)

Accountability – Leaders are extremely vulnerable individuals. Sometimes the leader is the last to know there is a problem. Power in leadership can lead to problems with pride and corruption. (I believe and practice this personally and have written about it numerous times. You can read one HERE. I even offer specific consulting to help leaders in this area.)

Grace – No leader ever gets to the top without a tremendous amount of grace along the way. Isn’t it only fair that a leader reciprocates the grace received into grace given? (I write about grace and forgiveness frequently. You can find several HERE.)

Authenticity – If a leader wants people to follow, he or she must be trustable. That requires realness and transparency. (I wrote specifically about that HERE.)

Integrity – Leaders are taking people places where they may not be completely comfortable going. If a leader has been granted trust, he or she should honor that trust with honest and moral leadership. (I’ve frequently written about this value. You can find one instance HERE.)

Change – Organizations that stand still die. Change brings momentum and creates opportunities for growth. Leadership development happens best during change. (I’ve written about this in my personal life HERE and numerous times organizationally, such as HERE.)

Intentionality – Nothing happens without action. You can have the greatest dreams and they will remain only a dream without a plan, a strategy, a system and genuine effort. (Intentional is a word I use frequently with our staff and challenge it in our church. You can read a post example HERE.)

What are your personal values as a leader (or person)? I’d love to hear your top 7. They will most likely be different from mine, but that’s what makes the world of leadership so interesting. Different leaders…different values.

(I previously wrote 7 non-negotiable traits to work on my team. Those are different from values in that I can require them. I can’t always require everyone hold the same values I have…although I’m confident I subconsciously look for them in the people we hire.)

Every organization has a life cycle. In fact, over the life of an organization, there will be many separate life cycles. I have written about organizational life cycles before HERE.

Within those life cycles the successful organization develops a team skilled at separate functions.

The three functions are:

Starting – Starting involves dreaming, vision-casting, recruitment of people to follow a new idea or initiative. These are the people who embrace change and are always ready for something new. (I typically fit in this group BTW.)

Maintaining – Maintaining involves setting up and managing systems in an effort to continue the progress already begun by others. These people sometimes resist change, but value things which are organized, structured, and understandable. (Starters, don’t complain. We need these people. )

Finishing – Finishing is different from starting or maintaining, because it’s not beginning new, nor is it staying the same, but it involves taking an established idea and carrying it to the next destination. It could be to improve things, or to close them gracefully. These are people who have the ability and desire to make existing things better and to finish things well.

Here’s why this matters in an organization:

In my observation, people tend to lean towards one of the three, but may be comfortable in two of them. It is rare to find someone gifted in all three. It goes along with the thoughts in THIS POST.

I love being a starter. Since I was in high school, I’ve wanted to start clubs or initiatives, alter the direction of something, or stir up some intentional change. I can live in the finishing role for a time if it involves development or innovation, but I always drift back to starting something new. I burn out quickly in the maintaining position. It’s one reason I’m consistently tossing out new ideas to our team. (It’s also how I frustrate them most. )

One goal of a team should be to balance out the strengths of the team members around each of these, so the team is always starting, maintaining, and finishing well, recognizing that each of these functions of a life cycle are equally important.

It requires all three.

Which are you wired for best?

(If you say all three, you might want to ask people around you to help you evaluate your answer.)

Solving a problem is often a matter of perspective….

Some days leaders feel as though all we do is address problems other people have. It could be a personal problem, a problem with a program, someone on our team, or it could be a problem no one can even identify…just a problem. Leaders often serve the role of problem solvers.

It’s frustrating, as a leader, when we do our best to address a problem, but people still have a problem.

Ever been there?

That’s because fixing a problem…addressing the problem…doesn’t always solve the problem…at least in the mind of others. You see…solving a problem is often a matter of perspective.

I remember the time my family ate at a very popular chain restaurant in Chicago. I won’t tell you the name, but if I did you’ve probably heard of it. It’s a wonderful restaurant and people often stand in line for hours to eat there. We continue to patronize the restaurant today.

Anyway, my son ordered milk. I don’t know why…who orders milk at a restaurant? When they set the milk down on the table, my son, who is somewhat picky about certain things, noticed a huge fly floating in his glass of milk. He wouldn’t drink it!

We called the waiter over and showed him the fly. The waiter simply grabbed a spoon off the table, scooped the fly out of the glass of milk, and tossed the fly onto an empty plate on the table. With that he walked away…problem solved.

It was solved, right?

Seriously, this story remains funny to us today. In no way did we feel this problem was solved. It may have been fixed…there was no longer a fly in the milk, but the problem wasn’t solved. My son wanted a new glass of milk. I know…he’s picky. We decided we weren’t up for an argument and had made a funny memory together, so we simply ignored it, my son drank his water, and we left feeling as though we had an unresolved problem at our table.

Our server, on the other hand, felt he had fixed our problem, so everything was good…no fly…no problem. He never apologized or addressed it again, but continued serving us.

That story…as silly as it is…is a good reminder as a leader. Just because you fix a problem from your perspective, doesn’t mean you’ve solved the problem in the eyes of those you lead.

Solving a problem is often a matter of perspective.

Understanding this principle means a few things for me:

• As a leader, whether or not you’ve solved a problem…or even addressed it in some people’s eyes…may be based more on a person’s perspective, their personal interests or desires, and even their emotional investment at times, than it is on some measurable reality.
• I should keep trying to fix the problems I agree need fixing…just knowing I may not solve everyone’s concern with the problem. I can’t make everyone happy…as hard as I may try to solve their problems.
• More importantly, I should attempt to understand the real problem from other’s perspective and what solving that problem would even look like. At that point, I can determine whether I can truly solve the problem to their satisfaction. Sometimes I’ll be able to and sometimes not, but everyone should at least know what’s considered resolution to the problem. That keeps me from spending time and resources attempting to fix a problem I can never solve.

In the case of the milk, if the waiter had asked, “Do you want a new glass or should I just scoop the fly out?“…he would have learned how to move from fixing the problem to solving the problem from our perspective.

Have you ever tried to fix a problem but still experienced upset people? Please share your story to help others.

Recently I wrote 7 Ways to Motivate a Leader. Leaders need to remain motivated so they can help motivate their team, but I believe leaders also need to be keenly aware of how motivated their team is at any given time.

Perhaps even more important, a leader needs to recognize when a team is decreasing in motivation so he or she can work to keep momentum from declining beyond repair. When a team loses motivation, momentum is certain to suffer loss.

With that in mind…

Here are 8 killers of motivation and momentum:

Routine – When people have to repeat the same activity over and over again, in time they lose interest in it. This is especially true in a day where rapid change is all around them. Change needs to be a built-in part of the organization to keep people motivated and momentum moving forward. (You may want to read 7 ways to implement change successfully.)

Fear – When people are afraid, they often quit. They stop taking risks. They fail to give their best effort. They stop trying. Fear keeps a team from moving forward. Leaders can remove fear by welcoming mistakes, by lessening control, and by celebrating each step.

Success – A huge win or a period of success can lead to complacency. When the team feels they’ve “arrived” they may no longer feel the pressure to keep learning. Leaders who recognize this killer may want to provide new opportunities, change people’s job responsibilities, and introduce greater challenges or risks.

Lack of direction – People need to know where they are going and what a win looks like…especially according to the leader. When people are left to wonder, they lose motivation, do nothing or make up their own answers. Leaders should continually pause to make sure the team understands what they are being asked to do. You may want to read THIS POST for more help with this one.

Failure- Some people can’t get past a failure and some leaders can’t accept failure as a part of building success. Failure should be used to build momentum. As one strives to recover, lessons are learned and people are made stronger and wiser, but if not viewed and addressed correctly, it leads to momentum stall.

Apathy – When a team loses their passion for the vision, be prepared to experience a decline in momentum. Leaders must consistently be casting vision. In a way, leaders become a cheerleader for the cause, encouraging others to continue a high level of enthusiasm for the vision.

Burnout – When a team or team member has no opportunity to rest, they soon lose their ability to maintain motivation and momentum stalls. Good leaders learn when to push to excel and when to push to relax. This may be different for various team members, but everyone needs to pause occasionally to re-energize.

Feeling unvalued – When someone feels his or her contribution to the organization isn’t viewed as important, they lose the motivation to continually produce. Leaders must learn to be encouragers and champions of the people they lead.

If you see these at work in your organization, address them now!

Which is these is hardest for you to recognize or address?

Which have you experienced firsthand as a killer of motivation or momentum?

Have you ever wondered how to motivate a leader? It’s not difficult. Most leader-types share some common traits. They may lead entirely different…they may have different causes and interests…but most leaders are motivated by similar influences.

Here are 7 ways to motivate a leader:

Challenge – If there’s a task that would be a huge accomplishment, you’ll likely grab a leader’s interest. Be careful telling a leader it “can’t be done”, unless you want to see some motivation accelerate. (I wrote about this principle in my life HERE.)

Results – When a leader gets to celebrate a win, he or she will soon want another. Leaders thrive on accomplishments.

Enthusiasm – Leaders are motivated by those who have a passion and drive to achieve. Show a little excitement towards the vision and you’ve likely got a leaders attention.

Risk – Tell a leader something is “dangerous” and he or she is likely motivated to attempt it. Leaders love a challenge.

Change – When things get stale, throw a little change in the mix, and a leader has a new motivation. (I wrote more about this HERE and HERE.)

Chaos - I wrote about this before HERE, and I know it sounds strange, but leaders love to fix things…improve them…make things better. It could even involve conflict or controversy, but a leader loves when situations need a leader.

Dreams – Leaders are visionary. They want to accomplish something bigger than today. The bigger the dream, the bigger the motivation for the leader.

Are you a leader? Which of these motivate you most?

What would you add to my list?

Do you want to be a leader valued by the ones who follow?

There are plenty of leaders…or people who have leadership roles. Not all are valued as leaders. I hear from people every week who don’t feel they follow a valuable leader. If you are going to lead…lead in a way that creates value in the lives of others and the organizations you lead.

Here are 12 ways to be a leader of value:

Be open to challenge…

Be quick to share credit…

Be mindful of what’s missing…

Be consistent to offer praise…

Be accessible to followers…

Be willing to embrace change…

Be slow to condemn…

Be diligent in matters of character…

Be looking for what’s next…

Be a servant to all…

Be an example to many…

Be ready to take risks…

Try those dozen things and see how quickly you become a leader of value.

What would you add to my list?

Leadership Tip: Collaboration leads to Cooperation

When you are leading a team, the more you collaborate with your team during the planning process and before the final decisions are made, the more cooperation you’ll receive from your team during the implementation process.

Of course, you can’t collaborate on every decision. One of the reasons you are leader is to make big picture, strategic decisions.

Whenever a decision, however, impacts other people, especially if it:

• Impacts how they do their work…
• Changes the basic nature of what they do…
• Significantly impacts the future of the team or organization…

…Collaboration is advised, because it always bring better cooperation from the team.

In fact, the opposite can be equally true. A lack of collaboration naturally brings a lack of cooperation.

And cooperation rocks in organizational health!

Cooperation brings;

• Collective buy-in
• A sense of ownership and empowerment
• Less petty arguments
• Lower resistance to change
• More passion towards the vision
• Shared workload
• Fewer cases of burnout

What leader doesn’t appreciate those things?

Leader, learn to collaborate better so your team can learn to cooperate better.

Have you seen this principle in practice? Is collaboration easy for you to do as a leader?

How have you seen this principle work or the opposite effect occur in a team’s health? Help us learn from your experience.

I’ve seen it many times…

You have an idea…it’s not a bad idea…it may be a great idea…

You just don’t know yet…

Here’s my advice…

Spend your energies at first on deciding whether it’s an idea worth pursuing…

The what…

Before you spend a lot of energy on the mechanics of the idea…

The how…

You may have to talk about some of the how to decide the what, but spend your first, best and most energy on the what…

For example: Let’s say you have an idea to add a third church service to allow for more growth…or maybe you are thinking of going multi-site…or the idea could be to plant another church. Don’t spend too much time on the how…until you decide the what.

Is this an idea worth pursuing?

Are you willing to give it a try?

Yes or no?  

Spending too much time on the how before you address the what:

• Gets you bogged down in needless details…
• Wastes energy that could be used elsewhere…
• Solves problems you don’t yet and may never have…
• Creates division about change prematurely…
• Builds momentum before it’s time…

Once you decide the what, you’ll have more passion, clarity and energy to address the how.

Do you often find yourself addressing the how before you decide the what? 

I know numerous leaders with great potential…

They have all the appearance of being a good leader…

But they lack one thing…or two…

There are a few killers of good leadership…

Any one of these can squelch good leadership…

It’s like a wrecking ball of potential…

It’s not that they can’t lead, but to continue to grow as a leader…to be successful at a higher level or for the long-term…they must address these issues.

Here are 12 killers of good leadership:

Defensiveness – Good leaders don’t wear their feelings on their shoulders. They know other’s opinions matter and aren’t afraid to be challenged.

Jealousy – A good leader enjoys watching others on the team excel.

Revenge – The leader that succeeds for the long-term must be forgiving and knows that “getting even” only comes back to harm them and the organization.

Fearfulness – The good leader remains committed when no one else is and must take risks no one else will. Others will follow. That’s what leaders do.

Favoritism - Good leaders don’t have favorites on the team. They reward for results not partiality.

Ungratefulness - Good leaders value people, knowing they cannot attain success without others.

Small-mindedness – Good leaders think bigger than today. They are dreamers and idea people.

Pridefulness - Pride comes before the fall. Good leaders remain humbled by the position of authority entrusted to them.

Rigidity - There are some things to be rigid about, such as values and vision, but for most issues, the leader must be open to change. Good leaders are welcome new ideas, realizing that most everything can be improved.

Laziness – One can’t be a good leader and not be willing to work hard. In fact, the leader should be willing to be the hardest worker on the team.

Unresponsiveness – Good leaders don’t lead from behind closed doors. They are responsive to the needs and desires of those they attempt to lead. They respond to concerns and questions. They collaborate more than control. Leaders who close themselves off from those they lead will limit the places where others will follow.

Dishonesty – Since character counts highest, a good leader must be above reproach. When a leader fails, he or she must admit their mistake and work towards restoration.

A leader may struggle with one or more of these, but the goal should be to lead “killer-free”. Leader, be honest, which of these wrecking balls do you struggle with most?

What would you add to my list?

Can you think of any other killers of good leadership?