4 years ago I was leading multiple locations and local store marketing of a National Brand and Franchise. I was working with everyone from training a teenager to run the drive thru to leading managers to be better leaders to helping assess the needs of a certain store in a certain market to make the best of their local store marketing plan. That was my life for years and luckily it came very easy for me. I was a very firm, fair and consistent manager who never needed to be liked, just respected. Respected that I was making the best decisions for the business - for the team as a whole, while empowering people to leave a stronger leader/employee from the day they started to the day they left; and having fun while doing it. Customer satisfaction and the P&L drove my ambitions, but quite frankly - my employees were my number one customer. All of that was a tough balance, but one I feel I eventually was able to lead well.
Today, I find myself in a position I have dreamed of for many years at the church I grew up in. I have always felt called to ministry, just not from the front. I'm not a preacher (although some would argue based on the topic ;-) ), I am not even that good from the stage. What I feel called to do is make whats behind the scenes a well oiled machine so that the front line leaders minister most effectively. What is most fulfilling about this job is that it is not about money, its about people - and its about a church God designed with imperfect leaders leading an imperfect community of believers and seekers. God's creative that way.
Over the next week or so, I will be examining the balance of getting efficiency out of those leading in ministry, holding them to a firm/fair/consistent working environment while having heaps of trust in these amazing people with skills and talents I will never have or understand - and watching them flourish into what they do so well into the gifts He has blessed them with.
So for those of you who have never worked in ministry and those of you who have not worked in the same world your congregation or organizations members have, stay tuned - would love to hear if you agree or disagree with any of my thoughts.
To Be Continued.......
10.14.2010
What's My Line Again?
Check out this video out for 2 Sentences that can help invigorate your motivation in career, family, life, ministry:
If you really want to find true motivation, you need to ask yourself, "what's my sentence?". I love this concept.
I have come across a lot of individuals who completely understand this concept.
- Some have defined their sentence by turning tragedy into triumph, stories and life change
- Some have found purpose in their careers
- Some have found a redefined role in their families.
Sometimes, I fail miserably at my "sentence". But that is okay! Sometimes one of the hardest things to do in life is define our purpose, to clearly state God's purpose for our life. If you feel you are missing that, take some time to define your sentence. Just doing that gives you a clearer definition of what a win looks like for yourself.
What's your sentence? Life, Career, Ministry, Family?
9.23.2010
Twitter "Breaking-News Juked" Brain Williams & Friends
How very clear it was that the world is moving more rapid than we sometimes are prepared for. As bulletins began to come across to stay tuned for Obama's press conference, twitter began to light up. Not only did it light up, but it juked the television news media and proved that it is no longer the most reliable source for the most up to date news. Twitter now is.
At 10:25 p.m. Sunday night, while Mr. Obama was writing his speech, one particular tweet seemed to confirm it. Keith Urbahn, the chief of staff for the former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, wrote at that time, “So I’m told by a reputable person they have killed Osama Bin Laden." Then it all came out.
Brian Williams and his cronies were breaking news juked.
Check out this video on how quickly the world is changing and evaluate how your organization is managing the tension of shift vs consistency when it comes to your direction, vision and mission.
3 Questions:
1. Who is juking you? Is your ministry, business, church or organization keeping up with the quick changes is this world in communication and relevance? Do you know how to manage that tension?
2. Are you listening to those who are catalysts of innovation or to those who drop phrases like, "we always did it that way" or "but that's how we like it"?
3. As a follow-up to Question #2 - Is your organization on the rise or the dangerous slope of decline?
At 10:25 p.m. Sunday night, while Mr. Obama was writing his speech, one particular tweet seemed to confirm it. Keith Urbahn, the chief of staff for the former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, wrote at that time, “So I’m told by a reputable person they have killed Osama Bin Laden." Then it all came out.
Brian Williams and his cronies were breaking news juked.
Check out this video on how quickly the world is changing and evaluate how your organization is managing the tension of shift vs consistency when it comes to your direction, vision and mission.
3 Questions:
1. Who is juking you? Is your ministry, business, church or organization keeping up with the quick changes is this world in communication and relevance? Do you know how to manage that tension?
2. Are you listening to those who are catalysts of innovation or to those who drop phrases like, "we always did it that way" or "but that's how we like it"?
3. As a follow-up to Question #2 - Is your organization on the rise or the dangerous slope of decline?
8.24.2010
You want vacation? Take as much as you WANT!
I continually enjoy to watch the progression of how different organizational culture is from 50, 30 and even 10 years ago. Daniel Pink references yet another organization (netflix)in his article, Netflix lets it's staff take as much holiday as they want, whenever they want - and it works!
This may seem crazy to some of you as an avenue to invite even more chaos into coworker and peer to peer disputes or grudges. In fact, your mind probably immediately goes to person A or B who you know would take advantage of such a ridiculous policy or maybe you start to think about the fact that you have been here 20 years and have earned every bit of the vacation that you have, Why should the freshman staffer get the same benefits I get? Is that you? Where does your mind go?
The truth of the matter is this; The culture of successful organizations are ever changing and evolving to this more than you think. Successful organizations have been consistently reinventing the wheel from leadership structures, organization charts, who makes the final calls, how you meet, where you meet and when you meet.
Far out policies like taking vacation whenever you want make sense when your staff is answering calls, emails, and texts in the evenings and on weekends. In the world we live in, it is becoming unavoidable - especially in ministry.
This only works when you have the right culture in your organization. And whether you want to admit it or not, it comes from the top and those who influence them. In reality, an organization has to have to have a pretty amazing culture in order to accomplish this type of policy without anyone second guessing someone or taking advantage. Trust, respect, innovation, candor, bias for action, collaboration and selflessness are just the beginning of this type of culture.
This may seem crazy to some of you as an avenue to invite even more chaos into coworker and peer to peer disputes or grudges. In fact, your mind probably immediately goes to person A or B who you know would take advantage of such a ridiculous policy or maybe you start to think about the fact that you have been here 20 years and have earned every bit of the vacation that you have, Why should the freshman staffer get the same benefits I get? Is that you? Where does your mind go?
The truth of the matter is this; The culture of successful organizations are ever changing and evolving to this more than you think. Successful organizations have been consistently reinventing the wheel from leadership structures, organization charts, who makes the final calls, how you meet, where you meet and when you meet.
Far out policies like taking vacation whenever you want make sense when your staff is answering calls, emails, and texts in the evenings and on weekends. In the world we live in, it is becoming unavoidable - especially in ministry.
This only works when you have the right culture in your organization. And whether you want to admit it or not, it comes from the top and those who influence them. In reality, an organization has to have to have a pretty amazing culture in order to accomplish this type of policy without anyone second guessing someone or taking advantage. Trust, respect, innovation, candor, bias for action, collaboration and selflessness are just the beginning of this type of culture.
- Does your organization have the type of culture that a policy like this would work?
- If so, what are the characteristics of a culture like this?
- If not, are you a help or hurt to the culture that needs to be instituted?
7.29.2010
The Coffee We Drink and Those Who Provide It
Every cup of coffee purchased on Sunday mornings here at Grace Church is much more than a cup of coffee. Check out one of these videos to see just what buying a cup of coffee can do.
Full Version
Short Version
Cant wait to go there one day.....
Full Version
Visit Bukonya! (6 minutes - Full Version) from Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee on Vimeo.
Short Version
Visit Bukonya! (3m 30sec) from Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee on Vimeo.
Cant wait to go there one day.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)