I recently posted an important leadership and life principle I have learned the hard way. When you get a brilliant idea, before you quickly rush to complete it, sleep on it. You can read that post HERE. I want to continue that thought process with another principle that builds from that one. Let me illustrate it with a practical example:

Launching Grace Community Church was an 18-month process from the time I agreed to obey God’s encouragement to start a new church. (I had resisted His encouragement 10 years…but that’s another post.) After we recruited our core team, we asked them to wrestle in prayer months before we had our first meeting or they even officially committed to the vision; then we made them wait 9 months before we ever met as a church. Waiting to implement God’s vision for excited people inclined inclined towards progress was difficult, but the result proved an important principle about human dynamics and organizational development. (That’s a fancy way of saying…waiting sucked, but it worked…)

In a similar fashion, although we knew small groups would be a major part of our mission, we did “test” groups with a few people for months before we allowed the entire church to join a group. We used that time to train leaders, but it also served the purpose to generate enthusiasm among those that had to wait to get in a group.

The principle at work here is what I call The Power of Caged Momentum…

Telling a person or a group of people to wait for something they really want to do and are excited about builds positive momentum. Of course, there is always the balance between waiting too long that you lose opportunity and moving to fast that you don’t build enough momentum. I can’t solve that for you in a simple post. Your situation and experience will be unique to you, but the principle here is important.

Don’t be afraid to make your church, organization or team (or even your family) wait before they get to experience something great. The power of caged momentum may even make the experience and outcome better.

Have you seen this principle at work? I’d love to hear your story.

Here is a principle you must understand for organizational efficiency:

Sometimes the best person for the job may not be the person who (you think) can do the job best.

Let me explain…

High capacity leaders struggle to let go of something they think they can do better. Most have a higher than normal sense of confidence in their abilities (this ego can be used for good or bad), so they believe they can best implement their ideas. Their drive for progress makes them doers by nature, so they often resist the process of delegation, even if they know it is the healthy thing to do for the organization, because they fear it won’t be done right unless they do it.

One key to solving this issue is for the leader to change visions from the specific project or function the leader desires to see completed to attention to the vision and overall success of the organization. Instead of seeing a project for the potential of pass/fail depending on who does it, begin to see the results of the total organization as the appropriate pass/fail scenario. In this approach, delegation becomes a key to moving projects forward, getting the entire team involved, developing new leaders, and completing all the tasks needed to successfully attain the organization’s goals and objectives.

Leader, if you tend to be a control freak, perhaps you don’t need to change your personality, as much as you need to change your vision. Delegating frees the leader to do those things he or she is most passionate about, most gifted to do, or things he or she never completes because there is never enough time to do them. Begin to see that the best person for the job may not be the person (in your most humble opinion…) who can do the job best.

Plus, chances are very good you will soon realize others can do the job equal to or better than you can.

Are you a control freak?  How do you deal with this?

Think you have a great idea….sleep on it…

If you read this blog regularly, surely you have learned that I’m a risk-taker by nature. I love to encourage big dreams and I want to be a catalyst for idea generation and innovative thought. I’m even a church planter!!! Talk about risk…

In spite of that tendency in me to act quickly, I have learned one principle of leadership by personal experience…this is one of those wisdom learned by mistake kind of things…so listen closely…

When you get the next great idea…don’t act on it immediately…even as great an idea as it may be. Sleep on it…for a day…a week…or a season…(depending on the size of and type of the idea)…before you take action towards it. (Now if you are absolutely certain it’s a “word from God” then move immediately, but in my case I have mistaken His voice for my own ideas a few times…so you might keep reading…)

I know…I know…that seems to contradict some of what you have been taught. If you don’t act immediately, someone else will steal your idea. If you don’t act immediately, you may lose valuable momentum. If you don’t act immediately, you might miss out on an opportunity.

I’m not trying to kill ideas, I’m trying to help you make better ideas. Before you throw stones, consider my rationale…keep this in mind…here’s why this is important…

You want to make the decision you are making is not based solely on emotion. You want time for emotions to subside (if they are going to) before you invest the energy and resources into the idea.

Still questioning? Consider this…

You wouldn’t advise someone who is experiencing negative emotions to make immediate decisions…would you? If someone loses a spouse, you wouldn’t encourage him or her to make a random and sudden decision to sell everything and move where they know no one…would you?

Why are positive emotions anymore trustworthy?

Remember, you don’t have to act immediately to act quickly. I realize there is a great balance here between stalling out and pausing, but don’t allow your emotions to cause you to react too quickly and regret your decision later.

Pause, get wise counsel, make sure rationale is equal to emotion…then you can and should move fast…you’ll be glad the emotion is still strong…

Share your story…

Have you made too quick of a decision you later regretted making?

What did it cost you?

Recently I had the privilege of speaking to some executive pastors about a senior pastor’s expectations for their role. Part of a healthy organization is recognizing the individual roles and responsibilities of the others on the team. I felt it was important that I first help them understand the pastor better, so I shared 10 Things You May Not Know about the Senior Pastor. You may want to read that post first.

I continued my talk by sharing how other staff members within the church can support the position of senior pastor. I realize our church would have never been successful without the creativity, diligence and leadership of the staff at Grace Community Church. Part of our success has been the way our staff has assisted my co-pastor and me in our work, but the role of a senior pastor is unique also.

Here are 10 expectations I believe are important for those who serve on a church staff in supporting the leadership of a senior pastor:

Have a Kingdom perspective. It’s not really about either one of you…it’s about God and we get to play a part in His Kingdom work.

Know yourself. Some people are wired for a supporting role and some are not, which is why so many are planting churches these days. You may be able to serve in this role for a short time but not long term. It takes a great deal of humility to submit to someone else’s leadership at times. Know who you are. Being in the second (or third) position in an organizational sense doesn’t always get to make the final decision. Are you comfortable with that fact?

Support the pastor. That’s an obvious for this list, but unless the senior pastor is doing something immoral, you should have his back. If you can’t, move on… You should make this decision early in your relationship, preferably before you start, but definitely soon into the process. Resisting the leadership of the senior pastor is usually not good for you or the church.

Realize you are in the second (or third) chair. If you don’t want to be, then work your way into a number one seat, but while you are in this position, understand your role.

Don’t pray for, wish or try to make your pastor something he is not. Most likely, the basic personality of your leader is not going to change.

Add value to the pastor and the organization. Do good work. Even if you are not 100% satisfied where you are at in your career at the current time, keep learning and continue to be exceptional in your position. Be a linchpin.

Be a friend. This is a general principle when working with others, but especially true in this situation. If you aren’t likable to the pastor, he isn’t going to respond likewise. Have you ever heard, “Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you”? That works when working with a leader too.

Brand yourself in and out of the organization. Don’t wait until you are in the number one position to make a name for yourself. This helps you, the pastor and the church.

Compliment the pastor. Most likely, you are needed for your abilities that are different from the senior pastor. Use your gifting to make the church better and improve the overall leadership of the pastor. This will serve you well also.

Pick your battles. Even in the healthiest organizations, there will be conflict and disagreements. Don’t always be looking for a fight. Ask yourself if the battle is worth fighting for or if this in the hill on which to die.

Learn all you can. Most likely, the pastor knows some things you don’t. Sometimes you will learn what not to do from your pastor. Let every experience teach you something you can use later to make you a better leader.

Leave when it’s time. Be fair to the church, the pastor, and yourself and leave when your heart leaves the position, you can no longer support the pastor or the organization, or you begin to affect the health or morale of the church and staff.

I personally understand the frustration of being part of a team, but not feeling you have the freedom to share your opinions or the opportunity to help shape the future of the organization. Real leaders never last long in that type environment. There are certainly leaders who will never be open to your input. Again, I recommend discovering this early and not wasting much time battling that type insecure leader.

The goal of this post is not to sound arrogant as a senior pastor, but to help the organization of the church by addressing issues, which will help improve the leadership of the church and the working relationship between staff members.

I’d love to hear from senior pastors and those who serve on a church staff. What would you add/or delete from my list?

(I realize I have female pastors reading this blog. I didn’t try to exclude you, but went with the masculine sense for readability.)

In an organization the unwritten rules are just as, if not more, important than the written rules. If you are considering making changes, implementing something new, adding staff, or any of dozen other decisions in your organization, you need to also consider the unwritten rules of the organization.

Here are a few examples:

The culture of the organization…How it responds to change…How it addresses problems…How it plans for the future…

The leader’s accessibility and temperament…Is he or she considered approachable?  Does he or she participate with the team normally?  Would he or she know if there was a perceived problem in the organization? Do team members trust the leader?

The relationships of team members to each other…Is there a friendship or just a working relationship?  Is conflict acceptable?  Do team members feel freedom to speak freely?

The sense of job satisfaction within the organization…Are there long-term team members?  Are team members generally happy with the organization?  Is there current unrest among team members?

The common and expected practices of the organization…Is there a way it’s always been done? Has change usually been accepted or resisted?

The way information flows…How does communication really happen?  What are the circles of influence?  Who drives discussion?  Who has influence with peers?

As a leader, it’s important that you not only concentrate your attention on what is easily measured, written in a policy manual, or even spoken as a value. Other considerations may be more important, even though they may have never been expressed formally.  When change occurs or is to be implemented in an organization, paying attention to these unwritten rules is necessary for success. BTW leaders, most likely you helped write these unwritten rules.

What are some of the unwritten rules of your organization?

I tweeter recently a question. What is one non-negotiable characteristic of a leader you are willing to follow?

Here are some of the responses:

@JohninColorado Passion for the lost
@KevinDeShazo Honesty
@TN_SmartGirl Humility
@HireLianne Attentiveness to every rung of the ladder below him/her.
@John4Him Honesty
@Christfollower an integrity rooted in profound sense of dependence on God
@danscott smokes what he sells
@strategicsense Empathy
@RobertBlas ability to admit when wrong.
@TeriSWillis Healthy marriage
@dwaynehutchings Integrity
@Jill_Shaw Trustworthy
@taylors2belgium Integrity
@DistantLShaw Sticks close to God especially when it’s tough & when it’s good.
@elissekipe Integrity
@LAHSWORLD Integrity
@ericwschmidt Godly humility
@ YvonneMcLaren Integrity

@NoNameHere Must be a Twitterer (But he was just joking….see I didn’t sell you out…actually he gave a serious one above)

Keep in mind these were answered quickly, so answers may have been expanded or even changed had they had time to think about their answer more, but I think these are heartfelt responses.  I see a few trends and similarities in the answers…do you?

I think as leaders we should pay attention to things like this. Granted your staff may be different, but I suspect this is representative in many ways. As a leader, it’s important to know what is important to the people you want to lead. Sometimes we focus too much of our attention on things of lesser importance.

What do you think is one non-negotiable characteristic of a leader you are willing to follow?

BTW, this will give you a few more people to follow.

There is a big difference the way you lead someone who wants to be led and how you lead someone who wants to be a leader.

It requires a different approach.

The person who wants to be led desires structure. They want to follow the rules. They need someone to tell them how to do what you want done. He or she needs specifics and details, not ambiguities. They stress more during times of uncertainty.

The person who wants to be a leader needs space to dream, freedom to explore, and permission to experiment. He or she desires less direction and more encouragement. They continually need new challenges. They get bored easily.

There is nothing wrong with either person. Most teams need both types of team members. Know your team.

Do you see the difference? Which are you? What would you add to my descriptions?

Read THIS POST and THIS POST for similar thought processes.

So maybe “need” is too strong of a word. Perhaps you can do everything I will suggest as reasons to be involved with social media without social media (Although I would question how well you can these days) but I don’t think anyone could argue social media is not a large part of our culture today. Because it is such an influence, today’s successful leaders, including those in the church, must figure out how to make it work for them and make their ministries even more successful.

For me that currently means Twitter, Facebook and blogging. Not everyone has to do all three, but I have found them to each have unique benefits in my ministry.  (I have written about how I use these tools HERE and HERE.)

Here are 7 reasons you should be using social media:

Networking with people who are making a difference. I get to interact with and learn from church leaders who have already walked where I am walking. Most of these connections would never be possible apart from social media.

Go where people are. The number one way my church contacts me is through Facebook. The people I’m trying to reach and minister to spend more time on Facebook than they do in the church on Sunday.

You’ll meet great friends. I have met some of my closest friends in ministry these days through social media. No, we don’t keep the friendship to an exclusive online friendship, but the friendships did begin online.

Keep updated on breaking news. Although I have limited time to keep up with all the latest fads, by following the right people and blogs through Twitter, I know quickly what is taking place around the world in the fields of politics, technology, and ministry.

Wise use of time. People think the opposite is true, but the reality is that social media makes me more effective. I have a heart to influence people for good. As pastor of a large church I’m expected to minister to large groups of people. Social media allows me to make a difference more efficiently.  You are reading this, aren’t you?  (BTW, if my social media activity is influencing you, I’d love to hear about it.)

Breaks down barriers between people. It seems harder to get to know people today. They are more guarded and less trusting. When I Tweet (which updates my Facebook) People get a glimpse into the real me and I become more personal to the people in my church and online community. In turn, people are more likely to allow me into the deepest parts of their life when they see me as authentic and approachable.

Stay current with culture. Like it or not, culture determines much of how we are able to reach people. People are doing social media. To continue to allow culture to work for Kingdom grown rather than against it we must remain current with social media.

That’s some of my reasoning. Why and how do you use social media?

I sat with a new pastor recently trying to hold a church together long enough to help it build again. The previous pastor left town, after a series of bad decisions; some the church is still finding out about each new day.

Sadly, I see it all the time. This pastor suffered from the same temptation any pastor faces. His number one problem in my opinion: He was leading in isolation. He had no one on the inside of his life who knew him well enough to know when something was wrong and could confront him when necessary.

Leading in isolation is displayed in numerous ways to the detriment of the organization. I see 7 clear dangers of leading in isolation:

Moral failure – Without accountability in place, many people will make bad decisions because no one appears to be looking. We are more susceptible to temptation when we are alone.

Burnout – There is an energy we gain from sharing life with other people. When the leader feels he or she is alone the likelihood of burning out, emotional stress and even depression increases.

Leadership Vacuum – The leader is clueless to the real problems in the organization and is fooled into believing everything (including the leader) is wonderful. (I wrote about the leadership vacuum HERE and HERE.)

Control Freak – The leader panics when others question him or her. He or she tries to control every decision.

Limits other people – The leader in isolation fails to communicate, invest, and release, which keeps others leaders from developing on the team.

Limits leader – The isolated leader never reaches his or her full potential as a leader, because he shuts out influences, which would help him or her grow.

Limits organization – In the end, the leader who leads in isolation keeps the organization from being all that it can be. Because the leader sets the bar (read more about that thought HERE), if the leader is in isolation the organization will suffer.

Leaders, are you living in isolation? Do you need to get out of the protective shell you’ve made for yourself? The health and future success of your organization depends on it.

(I realize many pastors of smaller churches feel they have no option, but to lead in isolation. You feel you have no one you can truly trust in your church and you have isolated yourself, for various reasons, from others in the community. As hard as it may seem, and as great as the risk may appear, you must find a few people to share your struggles with to avoid these dangers. If you need help, please email me today.)

What would you add to my list as a danger of leading in isolation?

I love watching the dynamics of organizational growth and leadership. It is always interesting to me how people approach the position they are given. Some step up and lead quickly…others take a short time to adjust to the organizational culture before leading…some never move from employee to a leader on a team. I personally like to surround myself with leaders. It’s harder to lead leaders.  Managing workers who are told every move to make is easier in structure, but, in my opinion, it’s more effective, more productive, and more fun to create environments that let’s people lead.  (Read a similar post about this difference HERE.)

I want to encourage you to step across the line to leadership excellence.  You don’t have to have a title or a position to be a leader in your organization.  You just have to respond as a leader.  Others will follow your influence.  Too many people never take the initiative to personally become the leader God has equipped them to be.  Moving from an average employee to one of excellence takes self-initiative.  Are you up for the challenge?

Here are a few examples of what I mean by stepping across the line to leadership excellence:

Are you willing to step across the line? What would you add to my list?