I previously wrote, Bad Culture Eats Good Vision. It doesn’t matter how strong your vision is…you can have the greatest strategy, but if the culture is bad…forget it. You aren’t going to be as effective as an organization as you could be.

Working with a couple of churches recently, I discovered some more ramifications of bad culture. It was obvious from an outside view.

Bad culture:

Corrupts – the organizational structure.

Controls – the growth potential.

Confuses – the team’s communication.

Collides – with good vision.

Curtails – any future momentum.

Contaminates – good team members.

Condemns – the team to mediocrity.

As leaders, we try to make our organizations bigger and better. The truth is, however, that many times, it’s the culture that is holding the team back from growing. It’s the culture that keeps things from being healthy. It’s the culture that’s frustrating people and causing burnout.

Do you want to improve the organization’s effectiveness?

Most often, you’ll need to improve the organization’s culture.

Many times, it’s the culture that is holding the team back from growing. It’s the culture that keeps things from being healthy. It’s the culture that’s frustrating people and causing burnout.

Have you ever worked in an environment of bad culture?

I often get asked, what’s the difference is between leading leaders and leading followers. Great question. It really is a paradigm of leading. It’s really in how you lead.

As a leader of leaders…

I say, “I don’t know, I’ll have to find out” a lot…

I often “didn’t know about that” until a decision is made, but you won’t hear me say that…because I support my team’s ability to make decisions…

I encourage learning from someone besides me…

I let people make mistakes…

I try to steer discussion more than have answers…

I believe in more dreams than my own…

I say “we” more than I say “me”…(except in this post)

I strive to empower more than I control…

I’m not afraid of being challenged by those on my team…

I seldom script the way to achieve the vision…

Do you lead leaders? What would you add?

I had a great illustration of leading under pressure recently.

Or, to be more honest, the need to do so.

I met a friend at a local restaurant for breakfast. The place is normally busy and this seemed like a typical day, but the obvious leader (person in charge) was in stress mode. Apparently, several of her employees hadn’t shown up for work that day. Well, not, apparently, she made that quite clear as she complained rather loudly throughout our visit.

Suddenly the place was swamped, which is not an unusual happening for this restaurant, and the young girl running the cash register was overwhelmed. She had to ask for help a couple of times. She was probably sorry she did…both times. She was making mistakes, but she seemed to make more the more agitated her boss became. Her boss continually “barked” back half answers, displayed constant frustration, and grumbled excuses about the lack of manpower. She never apologized. She just complained. Several customers displayed their equal frustrations. My friend and I wondered how we could best help, but, honestly I was afraid of her. We stayed, tried to be nice and patient, but leaving almost seemed the more helpful option.

I know firsthand the pressure of leading under stress. I’ve been there many times where it seems everything is going wrong at the same time. Honestly, however, from an outside perspective, the employee on the cash register would have performed better, less mistakes would have been made, customers would have been less tense and the overall environment would have improved, had the boss simply led through the moment, rather than overreacted.

It reminded me of an important leadership principle.

The way a leader reacts under pressure, determines how a team reacts under pressure.

If the leader remains calm under pressure. Keeps smiling. Pushes forward the best he or she can.

The team will likely remain calm. Keep smiling and push forward the best he or she can.

If the leader panics…everyone panics.

The role of a leader in times of stress may be more important than when times are good.

Leading in good times is easy (easier). When the world is stretched…when we are under-staffed, under-funded, overwhelmed, that’s when we most need leadership.

Here is your chance to help other leaders. Do you have any tips for remaining calm under pressure?

One of the most dangerous forms of leadership, and one of the most frustrating, in my opinion, is the controlling leader. I have worked closely with a controlling leader, so I guess I may me sensitive to the issue. I’ve written about this issue previously, including:

7 Suggestions for Confronting a Controlling Leader

3 Results of Controlling Leadership

3 Ways to Respond to a Controlling Leader

7 Warning Signs You May Be a Controlling Leader

And others.

Under a controlling leader’s watch, leadership development is virtually non-existent. Pride is rampant. Ideas are squashed. Momentum is curtailed. It never works well.

A friend of mine and I were discussing this issue recently. His boss is a controlling leader. It has led to burnout for my friend and caused him to start putting his resume out. He’s done. Can’t take it anymore. Knowing this young leader, I realize the business is going to suffer because the leader can’t let go of the reigns. As an outsider, it appears they will be losing a quality person if they lose my friend. At this point in the life of the business, it will be a devastating blow.

In the conversation, my friend asked an important question. “How does one become a controlling leader?”

Good question. I don’t know that I can answer for every controlling leader, (My aim has never been to speak for that group), but I have some theories.

Here are 4 suggestions:

Faith – Actually, the lack thereof. Typically, this leader doesn’t trust anyone except him or herself to do the job. They are afraid to release the vision to others. In terms of the church, our vision is shaped by Christ, and the ministry leader who struggles with their faith will always default to trying to make things happen on his or her own.

Failure – This leader has witnessed failure; either personally or in the lives of others. They are now leery of things going wrong and so they refuse to let anyone else take charge. Controlling appears to be the “safer” option.

Fanfare – These leaders thrive on attention they receive from the limelight. They want the power, prestige and privileges that come with leadership, so they shut down anyone else who may appear to be easing into a position of influence.

Fear – These controlling leaders always believe the sky is falling. They see the glass as “half empty” and don’t want to take too many risks or chances. When everything is under their control they feel a sense of security.

I don’t know that any of us can answer this question as it applies to every leader, but these are some theories I’d suggest.

Have you ever worked with a controlling leader? Anything you’d add to my list?

I believe in challenging leaders, so here goes. Leader, do you have controlling tendencies? (We all do to some extent.) Do any of these apply to you?

Here’s a time saving tip…

When you are considering a change.

First decide if you’re going to make the change.

Before you spend any time deciding how you will implement the change.

I’ve been in brainstorming meetings to decide whether or not we would make a change. The conversation quickly starts going towards the details…as if we had already decided to make the change.

I’ve learned people like to discuss the how. Yet, many times, after a brainstorming session, we decide not to make the chage at all. So, when the conversation goes to how, before the decision has even been made to change, I like to draw our attention back to the original question. “Should we make this change…or not?”

Many times there will be no energy towards accomplishing the change…regardless of how good the change seems. Sometimes its clearly not good timing for the change, and, with a quick discernment, everyone knows it. It could be the best thing is to wait, and tabling the idea for now makes more sense.

Rather than continuing the discussion of a change you aren’t going to make now, save your time and energy for another discussion.

There are exceptions, but…

Discussing the “how” before the “if” usually wastes valuable time and energy.

If its a worthy, needed change, you’ll figure out the how.

Any questions?

I was talking with a young leader. Recently he had made a pretty major decision. He prayed about it. Consulted wise counsel. Acted methodically. I walked with him through the process and was impressed with the way he handled things.

The decision was made. He communicated it to key leaders and the steps were in place to move forward.

Then reality sank in.

It was a big decision. It will alter things. People will be impacted by this decision.

His mind started to play tricks with him. He questioned himself.

What if I made the wrong decision?
What if there was a better decision.
What if I was wrong?

He began to panic.

I was glad we were still talking at this point in the process. I was able to tell him a principle I learned years ago in leadership.

Sometimes we suffer from decision remorse.

Just like buyers remorse…what happens when you buy something and then temporarily wish you hadn’t…leaders often suffer from decision remorse. With every major decision in life or leadership, decision remorse is a possibility.

It’s a temporary setback. A momentary lapse. A gut check reality that makes you question your decision. It’s natural to question yourself at this point. You’ve invested a lot of energy on a major decision and now you are faced with making it happen.

Trust the process. Trust your instinct. Trust the system of decision-making you used.

Don’t allow decision remorse to keep you from celebrating the joy of what’s to come.

That doesn’t mean you don’t evaluate. It doesn’t mean you won’t make bad decisions. But, if you strategically and methodically made the decision, now is the time to implement.

Have you ever struggled with decision remorse?

Have you ever heard the phrase “odd man out”? It means you didn’t fit. You don’t measure up for some reason. You were excluded. It hurts.

I’ve been that person numerous times. I get it because I’m pastor sometimes. People assume I can’t also be fun. So they don’t invite me to the party. I experienced it some in business circles. There are haves and have nots in many business circles. I was mostly in the have nots. I’ve even been excluded though for having too much. People assume because I’m not struggling like they are that I probably never have.

We’ve all been excluded at some point in life.

It’s one thing to be “odd man out” by no choice of your own, but it’s another to be that way by choice.

Some people choose to be ” odd man out”. Have you ever thought about that concept? I’ve led or worked with many teams and whether its a few people or many, there can easily be at least one who chooses to be “odd man out”. It may or may not be a conscious decision they’ve made, but they simply don’t fit well with the rest of the team and they got that way by their own decisions.

And it’s a problem. In fact, if unaddressed, it can be dangerous for organizational health. Trying to build consensus or form team spirit becomes more difficult. Morale is infected by the intentional “odd man out”. Spotting this as the problem early can avoid further issues down the road.

In this post, I’ll address some ways this occurs or symptoms of the issue. I will do it in a satirical fashion, but it should help spot the “odd man out” on your team. In a future post, I’ll share some thoughts on how to address it as a leader.

Here are 8 ways to be the “odd man out” on a team:

Be resistant to every change – Whenever a new idea is presented, always be the first to say it won’t work. You don’t have to have a reason. Just oppose it.

Always be negative…about everything – See the glass half-empty. Always. There’s nothing good about this…place…leader…idea…day…life.

Always have an excuse – It’s not your fault. It’s someone else’s fault. Of course it is.

Never have a solution – It’s your job to point out problems, not to help solve them. You don’t care to build…you’re here to tear down. And, you intend to do your job well.

Hold opinions until after the decision has been made – That way, no one can blame you. But, you can clearly see and say how things should have been done. Make sure you tell everyone.

Talk behind people’s back – Never go to the source. It stirs more drama if you talk about someone rather than to someone. Make sure you talk behind the leader’s back too. Negativity spreads even faster that way.

Refuse to participate in any team social activities – Who needs them, right? You’re here to work…I mean complain…why would you want to hang out with people when you have plenty of time to make life miserable for others during work hours.

Don’t buy into the vision – Actually, for best results, work against the vision. Maybe even have a vision of your own. And, you can keep it to yourself, too, as long as you work against the vision of the team.

Of course, these are written with sarcasm, but you get the idea. Have you ever worked with anyone like this? Did you spot the “odd man out” on the team? You may want to share with them 12 Ways to Make Yourself a Valuable Team Member. To be clear (and I edited this post to add this last statement), I’m not advocating always agreeing with a team. I’m often “odd man out” on my team, because I love big ideas, but hopefully I will do so in a spirit of cooperation, not a spirit of disruption.

What tips would you add for a person to be “odd man out”?

Yesterday I shared traits I look for when recruiting new leaders.

Perhaps I need to back up a bit. You can’t recruit leaders…or you won’t effectively…if you never develop a culture that reproduces leaders.

Yet, finding new leaders is critical to the successful growth of any church or organization.  Kingdom growth is greatly impacted by the numbers of leaders we can recruit.

With that in mind, we must strive to recruit more leaders and we do that by having a culture of reproduction. How do we develop that type of culture?

Here are 10 thoughts:

Catch the vision of multiplication – It’s hard to convince people to buy into something you don’t believe in personally. As a leader, you must believe reproducing leaders is a valuable enough process to make it a priority.

Be intentional – Every leader in the organization must be willing to consciously replace themselves.  Multiplication must be a part of the overall strategy. There must be a system of leadership recruitment.

Start early – Reproducing cultures replace leaders before they actually need them.

Invest in personal growth – You can’t take new leaders where the current haven’t been or aren’t going.

Humble leaders – Leaders must not be afraid that new leaders could lead better than them. When leaders allow people to shine under their leadership it advances their ability to lead. The good news is today’s generation likes honesty. They will follow a leader more if they trust their integrity.

Share responsibilities early - The easiest way to learn something is to do it and the more ownership given to people the more they will be motivated to participate.

Identify potential – This was in my previous post. It’s important in a recruitment culture to always be looking for people who may someday be leadership superstars. Look for the good in people. What do they have that attracts people to them?

Create an environment conducive to leaders – Leaders don’t develop well under a dictatorship. If people are afraid to have an answer under the current leadership for fear of being wrong, they are less likely to try to have an answer. The real leaders will disappear quickly in a controlling environment.

Recruit – The “sign up” method seldom works well. The best quality people are personally recruited. Jesus found people with a personal ask.  The best recruitment in most organizations will be likewise.

Lead for life change – Some people will experience their greatest life change only when they are leading others or have some sort of responsibility for leadership. Nurture potential leaders knowing that part of their spiritual maturity will be that step of leadership.

Are you in a leadership reproducing culture? What makes it so?

One of the most important tasks of a leader is to identify potential new leaders. If a church or organization is to grow, finding new leaders is critical. Equally vital is the quality of leaders being discovered. Good leaders learn to look for qualities in people that are conducive to good leadership. If you want to have a culture that reproduces leaders, read THIS POST first.

But, where do you find these people who can be future leaders? I find it helps to look for certain qualities, which all good leaders need or qualities that, consistently over time, seem to make good leaders.

Here are 10 attributes I consider valuable traits when looking for new leaders:

Concern/Love for others – You can’t lead people effectively if you don’t genuinely love people. I’ve seen people in positions who have great power, but they don’t appear to love others. These leaders often produce followers well, but they fall short of reproducing leaders.

Not a complainer – Candidly speaking, leadership encounters complainers regardless of what we do. I certainly don’t want to add complainers to my team of leaders. A positive attitude will get my attention every time.

Teachable and open to suggestions – A person who thinks they have all the answers will repel other leaders. People with no desire to keep learning rarely find their place on my team of leaders.

Excellence in following – This is a biggie for me. I try to follow people I lead, because there are times they know more than I do. Many times. Someone who isn’t willing to follow is seldom ready to lead.

Reliability – Leadership is about trust, and trust is developed over time and consistency by doing what you said you would do. I look for people with that quality.

Interest – The people with a burning passion for the church or organization often make great leaders. You can train someone to lead others, but you can’t easily train them to have interest.

Good character – Character counts. Not perfection. Not flawless. But, good character is necessary to be trusted on a team. Integrity. Honesty. A humble desire to always be improving as a person. That kind of character.

Potential – God always saw potential in others they themselves couldn’t see. I try to have eyes to see that in others.

Confidence – Leaders have to move forward when others are ready to retreat. That takes confidence. Not prideful, but a genuine willingness to lead through the hard times; to do what others aren’t willing to do.

People skills – This goes without saying, but you can’t lead people if you can’t communicate with people. You don’t have to be the life of the party (I’m a strong Introvert), but you do have to be able to engage people and make them feel a part of things.

Well, those are some traits I look for in potential leaders.

Do you have other traits you look for in recruiting leaders?

(This is an expanded version of an older post.)

Here’s a harsh reality if you want to be a leader today.

This is a word especially to young leaders…

If you really, really want to lead…and want to be successful at it…

No one is going to hold your hand.

No one is going to tell you how to do everything.

No one is going to encourage you everyday.

No one is going to paint the picture in complete detail for you.

If you want to succeed as a leader…

You’ll have to put your big boy (or girl) pants on…

And figure it out…

The leaders in the future will be the ones who didn’t demand “show me how”…

They simply get it done. They do the hard work, figure it out, and make something happen. They find ways to stay motivated. They learn from others. They learn from trial and error. They get back up every time they fall.

And, in the process, they excel above the ones who are waiting around for someone to hold their hand.

Honestly, that’s how it’s always been, but it’s still that way today.

Perhaps even more so.