Leadership lessons from the life of Moses

 

Moses is one of the greatest Old Testament leaders, but too little attention is paid to how he got to the point where God could use him to do great things. If one looks at his life from age 40 to 80, there are ten instructive lessons that ought to inform our own lives as we think about leadership.

1. God is always on time but is never in a hurry. Think about this. When Moses was 40, he thought that he was something and God could not use him. When he was eighty, he thought he was not much, and God was ready to use him. It took forty years to perfect what God needed to do in Moses's heart before he took on his God assignment. God is always on time, but He is never in a hurry. He wants us to be ready above all things.

2. In God's work, the heart always comes before leadership. At forty, Moses' heart was not ready for his God assignment. At eighty, it was. What do you suppose God did in Moses's heart for the forty years he was a shepherd for his father-in-law? He had forty years to spend time with his father, to live in his presence, and the proof of this is the humility that Moses exhibited at eighty that was absent at forty. It took that time for Moses to have the heart material that God could use.

3. Hardship is inherent in the process. Our growth as leadership material does not come easily. It comes hard. It came in Moses' life by needing to run from his adopted father, give up a life of privilege, and take up the humble life of a shepherd - as an alien in a foreign land for forty years. It is the humbling process that strips us of the dross that will keep us from being successful for God. It is not easy, but it is necessary.

4. God's callings are holy callings. When God appeared to Moses at the burning bush, the first thing He said was that Moses should take off his shoes, for he was standing on holy ground. Holy because God was present and Holy because the assignment God was giving was a Holy assignment. All God's assignments are Holy assignments wherever He places us. That is why we should take our calling and our vocation seriously, whatever it is.

5. God does not call us to do things we can do without Him. We should never be so cavalier as to think that we can do what God calls us to do on our own. Why would He call us to do anything we can do by ourselves? His assignments require His presence, His power, and His wisdom. Moses got this, which is why he repeatedly said, "I am not qualified for the job." Of course, he was not qualified, and neither were we. God calls us to do those things that require His divine power and wisdom.

6. God reveals Himself to us as we answer His call. The first thing Moses had to do was to accept the fact that God was calling him and to say "yes" to that call. It was as he took a step of obedience that God continued to reveal himself and give Moses the resources he needed to lead the people out of Egypt. It was a "one step of obedience at a time leadership," which is what ours is as well. God did not show Moses the whole plan, but He did prove Himself faithful as Moses chose to say yes.

7. False starts are often not failures. Moses had a massive false start. Was it a failure? I choose to think not. I believe it was simply one of the learning Moments that would prepare Moses for his big assignment. We should not be afraid of false starts in our leadership roles. God may simply be teaching us what we need to learn for the ultimate leadership role He wants us to play. Moses probably thought his false start was a failure. God probably saw it much differently.

8. God infuses what is in our hands for His divine purposes. It is a comical conversation that Moses had with God - especially because it mirrors our own inner conversations with God all too often. Moses says to God, how will the people know that I am from you when I go before Pharaoh? God says, "What is in your hand?" Moses says a staff, the most ordinary of instruments. God says throw it down, and it became a snake, and Moses ran from it....and the story goes on. God takes the most ordinary stuff that is in our hands or skill set and uses it for His divine purposes. We worry about what we have to carry out God's assignments. He does not. He simply takes what is in our hands and uses it for His purposes.

9. He does not call us to do it alone! Moses did not have all the skills that were necessary to carry out God's call, and he knew it. Thus, God provided Aaron to join his team and his father-in-law along the way to give him leadership advice. When God calls us, he usually calls us to do things with others who have the skills we do not possess.

10.  We never arrive, so our hearts need constant attention. Moses learned this in the journey of leading the people out of bondage and ultimately to the promised land. His own heart was tested time and again by those he led and the circumstances he found himself in. But he continued to nurture his heart and cry out to God for his presence and His power. It is all too easy to become complacent and careless, thinking we have arrived. That does not happen until we see Jesus face to face.

Why so many leadership development efforts fail

Developing leaders is a passion for many of us. But the truth is that often, our efforts are not nearly as successful as they should be. I would suggest that there are some reasons for this that we need to grapple with and understand.

Leadership development is not primarily about a classroom experience but that is often how we approach it. In fact, I would go so far as to say that most good leadership is caught rather than taught but that goes against the grain of our western educational model which is content heavy. There is no better way to understand good leadership than to see it in action from another good leader. Doing ministry with someone is far better than doing it alone because it gives us an opportunity to have life on life influence. While there are skills and concepts that can be taught, seeing them in action is far more powerful.

Leadership development cannot be outsourced to a staff member: leaders themselves must be actively involved in the process. When people see senior leaders involved in the process of developing younger leaders they pay attention and are far more likely to do the same. When we outsource leadership development to "a staff member" we effectively indicate that it is not important enough for us to get involved. We may need a plan and logistical support but whenever leadership and development efforts do not have the full attention and participation of senior leaders they are likely to be less successful than they could be.

Leadership development that is not backed up by the actual practices and values of the organization will get little traction. People pay attention to what leaders do far more than to what leaders espouse. Perhaps we are jaded by the many values and commitments communicated that are not actually lived out in practice. What is refreshing is to see leaders living out the ethos and culture they talk about. Again, good leadership is more caught than taught.

Leadership development that does not give people a chance to try things and even fail is unlikely to be very fruitful. Most organizations and ministries are failure adverse. Yet if we don't bomb on a few things it is likely that we are not trying very many new ideas. Furthermore, how else do people learn than through trying things and even failing when a plan does not work. Others watch carefully when plans go awry to see if there is grace extended or not. If there is not, there is a high likelihood that others will be cautious rather than bold. Young leaders do fail at some things - even established leaders do.

Leadership development that does not include a significant opportunity for dialogue and discussion is likely to be far less effective than we would desire. This is why simply giving someone a book to read or a class to attend is not likely to produce a good leader. However, development efforts that are rich in dialogue and conversation with proven leaders is far more apt to get you to where you want to go. Dialogue creates far greater understanding than simply sharing information.

Leadership development efforts that are a "one off" are unlikely to be very effective. Leadership development is a process rather than an event. It takes place over time in the company of good leaders. The process gives one time to absorb, understand, see it practiced and even try it themselves. Events can add a piece to the puzzle but in themselves are insufficient to develop really good leadership.

Leadership development efforts that do not pay adequate attention to the inner life of a leader are unlikely to yield healthy leaders. The spiritual, emotional and relational health of leaders is a fundamental requirement for good leadership. If our primary attention is on leadership skills or techniques to the expense of the inner life of a leader we are actually sabotaging ourselves. There is no good leadership without healthy leaders. 

All of this presupposes that we are actually serious about developing our leadership bench and that we have a serious plan to get there. The vast majority of Christian organizations I work with do not. Our organization has made it a high priority because we know that we are only as strong as the leadership bench we have.

All of T.J. Addington's books including his latest, Deep Influence,  are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 per book discount on orders of ten or more.

What is the most important issue in leadership development?

Recently I was mulling on Paul's leadership development of Timothy and did a quick look at the kinds of things that he pressed into in his two letters to him. The key issues revolved around these kinds of topics: faithfulness; godliness; being an example; character; boldness; fidelity to the Word along with just plain practical advice. What stuck me once again was that the core of leadership is first what is inside rather than leadership skills themselves. The latter is important but without the former, there is no good leadership.

As I write in my latest book, Deep Influence, we spend too much time in leadership on technique and not nearly enough time on issues of the inner life of a leader. For those of us who lead and mentor others, it is a reminder of how critical the health of our inner life is: spiritual, emotional and relational. Whatever dysfunctions we carry do spill over in unconscious ways in our leadership. 

Leadership failures are not usually for lack of skill but for lack of a healthy inner life. In fact, those we lead will put up with a lot if our character and example is one of health and integrity. When that is not present there is little patience. The best leaders I know put a great deal of attention on their own inner health. Both because they desire the greatest personal health possible as well as recognizing the consequences to others if they do not.

Everyone who leads ought to have a plan for personal development. They also need people around them who can help them understand where they need to grow. We often don't see it ourselves but those around us do. This takes time but it is the best time we could ever spend and those we lead will thank us for it. 

The time factor is probably what keeps this from happening more often than it should. Leaders are busy and the more success we find the busier we often are - to our own detriment. If we don't feed the core, we will see leakage in the inner life. And that will spill over into our leadership. How much time we devote to our inner lives is a pretty good indication of our priority to become and remain personally healthy.

All of T.J. Addington's books including his latest, Deep Influence,  are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 per book discount on orders of ten or more.

The debt of thanks we owe to those who helped make us who we are

I received a delightful card recently. It said something like this: "today is my fiftieth birthday and I am writing to 50 individuals who have helped me become what I am. You have been a blessing to me and influenced me. Thank you." It was a blessing to receive both because of the thoughtfulness of the note and because it is a rare occurrence. Too often we live under the illusion that we got to where we are by ourselves. That is never true. Countless people have influenced us along the way and the more we realize that the more we have to thank God for. And those who invested in us!

Recently I sat down and made a list of all those who have positively influenced my life and it was a long list. These are people who have believed in me, encouraged me along the way in the journey or whose character and life have rubbed off on me. As I contemplated that list I was humbled and realized again that we grow and flourish in community as Bonhoeffer so eloquently wrote about. Those who remain insular are those who lose out on this wonderful blessing.

We run the race that is life with a group of wonderful fellow pilgrims. We ought to be ever conscious of how we can encourage and help them and conscious of how they wonderfully impact our own lives. And rather than taking it for granted, lets acknowledge their contribution to our lives and seek to make one to theirs. Whether we know it or not, our lives are the accumulation of those who have blessed us along the way. We do not stand alone but with  so many who have walked the journey with us.

And so, Walt, Susan, Carol, Grant, Ken, Barb, Mom, Dad, Tom, Kevin, Gary, Brian, Daryl, Dave, Jeff, Mary Ann...... thank you.
(Written from Hua Hin, Thailand)

All of T.J. Addington's books including his latest, Deep Influence,  are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 per book discount on orders of ten or more.

Without this trait we are not qualified to lead

Leaders expect those they lead to respect authority - theirs. Unless we as leaders also respect the authority above us we are are not qualified to lead. In fact one of the things I always look at when considering someone for a leadership position is whether they have respected the authority above them in the past. If they have been cynical toward leadership, disrespectful or simply acted autonomously, I will not move them into leadership. If we cannot follow well we cannot lead well and don't have the moral authority to do so.

I am troubled by senior pastors or ministry leaders who do not respect the authority of their board. There is a temptation when leading at that level to think that the board is a distraction or a necessary evil. The truth is that boards are there for our protection and the protection of the ministry and constitute our authority. 

Respecting authority is not blind followership. If I respect the authority above me I will be candid with them, push back on things that I believe may be detrimental to the organization or are poor decisions and expect that I will be treated with honor and dignity. If that is not possible I personally will look for another place to serve. However, in the end, unless there is a moral or ethical issue at stake I will do as I am asked. As one who asks respect from others I must give it myself.

There is another aspect to respecting authority and that is being accountable for our time, energy and plans. I do not want to be "managed" or especially micro managed. However, part of being accountable to authority is being clear about what we plan to accomplish and then being accountable for our performance. 

This is why in our organization all staff members have Key Result Areas and Annual Ministry Plans. They are agreed to by their supervisor before the year starts and they are a part of the review at the end of the year. I also make my calendar available to my supervisor and to my senior staff. Accountability is being transparent about how we spend our time.

There is a real difference in the leadership of those who respect their authority and those who don't. Leaders first must follow.

All of T.J. Addington's books are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 discount on orders of ten or more.

Want to grow your staff or elder/leadership board?

Deep Influence, which will release on Jan 1, 2015 is an excellent resource for your staff and elder/leadership board. If you are a ministry leader these are twelve issues that you wish your staff and board understood. This book with its accompanying questions will help you grow yourself and those who work with you. The chapter titles are as follows :

Forged on the Inside

Choosing a Posture of Humility

Embracing Spiritual Transformation

Suffering and Leadership

Managing the Shadow Side

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Leading from Who God Made Me to Be

Choosing Intentionality

Thinking Like a Contrarian

Living with the Freedom of Clarity 

Powerful Transparency

Guarding our Hearts

To order at the lowest price and with $2.00 per book discounts for ten or more you can order from the author's bookstore.

Some of the book's Endorsements

“We get formed from the outside in, but we lead from the
inside out. T. J. Addington explains this process with clarity and
conviction. In an age of superficiality, he will guide you to the
deeper places of influence and change.”
John C. Ortberg
Author, speaker, and senior pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian
Church in Menlo Park, CA

“I’ve been a fan of T. J. Addington for a long time. I’m a wiser
and better leader because of his writings. But Deep Influence is
his most important contribution yet. Every young leader will
gain decades of leadership wisdom forged in the painful trenches
of reality. Veteran leaders will be inspired to finish strong.”
Gene Appel
Senior pastor of Eastside Christian Church in Anaheim, CA

“Any leader willing to offer his story authentically and invite
others to do the same is an author worth paying attention to.
T. J. is a man who has cultivated his inner life around the person
of Christ and allowed God to shape and reshape his heart, mind,
relationships, and priorities. He has led from a spiritual depth
and now is sharing his biblical and transformational insights
in Deep Influence. I’m delighted to encourage Christian leaders
to consider each chapter herein with prayerful seriousness and
godly attentiveness.”
Stephen A. Macchia
Founder and president of Leadership Transformations, director
of the Pierce Center at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, and author
of Becoming A Healthy Church and Crafting A Rule of Life


“My friend T. J. Addington is a wise leadership guru, and
Deep Influence is his most profound book on the subject! A
seasoned, reflective practitioner, T. J. masterfully tackles the most
challenging terrain of leadership—the inner life of the leader—
along with the empowering practices each leader must cultivate.
Few books effectively deal with leadership from the inside out.
This is one of the best!”
Edmund Chan
Leadership mentor at Covenant EFC and founder of
Global Alliance of Intentional Disciplemaking Churches

“As a wife, mother, and educator, I’ve been challenged and
reminded through this book of what it truly means to live an
authentic life in Christ. It begins with humility and honesty—
seeking the heart of God and living out all that He calls us to be.
It is through this personal relationship with Christ that we are
then able to be molded and crafted to become effective in our
leadership roles and to influence others. If your desire is to live
out your calling with great effectiveness as you reflect Christ to a
seeking world, Deep Influence is just the navigation you need!”
Melissa Larson
Adjunct professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at
University of Northwestern

“If you are not yet convinced that the most difficult challenge
you will face as a leader is in ‘self-leadership,’ then read Deep
Influence. My dear friend T. J. Addington sharpened his ministry
leadership out of the depths of life experience even as God
granted and grew him into a major leadership role for the global
church. Deepened by a vital spiritual relationship with God,
he enriches fellow leaders with practical wisdom toward deep influence for God’s purposes.”
Ramesh Richard, ThD, PhD
President of RREACH, professor at Dallas Seminary, and
founder of Trainers of Pastors International Coalition (TOPIC)

“Deep Influence is an invitation to listen to a seasoned leader’s
voice dripping with the life-giving wisdom of Jesus. The
practices in this book will lead to an exegesis of the heart and
guide the reader into the lifelong journey of allowing God to
mold ‘who we are,’ which informs ‘what we do.’”
Tom Smith
Pastor, husband, co founder of Rhythm of Life, and author
of Raw Spirituality: The Rhythms of the Jesus Life

“Deep Influence cuts to the core of leadership and returns
character to the central place it occupies in God’s eyes. I have
shelves full of books on leadership, but this one leaves you
knowing you can be better and lead better. It is significant
without being tedious, direct but not discouraging. Buy it, read
it, mark it up, and read it again. Addington ought to be on top
of the pile.”
David W. Hegg, DMin
Pastor, adjunct professor, and author of The Obedience Option

“Deep Influence, every chapter, was a deep dive into my
motives, methods, mind, mission calling, leadership style, and
relationships that brought me to a place of unexpected and
unconventional light, revealing a clear, fresh, exciting perspective
to press forward. T. J. humbly said it well—‘Depth matters’—
as he carefully and biblically aimed at my life through the person
of Jesus Christ and hit my inner target: the sanctum of my heart.
This book is a transparent, transformational leadership mirror
that leads to intentional joy and freedom. Ephesians 2:10 came
alive in me, and it will in you.”
Doug Fagerstrom, DMin
Senior vice president of Converge and author of The Ministry
Staff Member and The Volunteer

“With skill and clarity, T. J. Addington argues that leadership
is not about technique—it is about character. What matters
most is not how we lead but from what source we choose to lead.
Whether you are a ministry leader or a leader in the marketplace,
this book describes the practices that will enable you to lead
from the inside out. If you want to grow as a leader, this book
is a great place to start.”
George Davis, PhD
Senior pastor of Hershey Free Church in Hershey, PA

“Deep Influence draws an effective map for exploring the inner
life so often neglected by today’s image-conscious leader. T. J.’s
emphasis on personal integrity, authenticity, and emotional
intelligence offers a healthy antidote to the toxic influence
of every leader’s shadow side. His practical, personal counsel
encourages, challenges, and inspires every leader to pursue the
slower, more intentional, inside-out path to deeper, lasting
impact in ministry.”
Russ Kinkade, PsyD
Psychologist and executive VP of Shepherds Ministries

Helping others become all that they can be

One of the fallacies of spiritual formation and spiritual mentoring is that if we can convince individuals to follow a specific set of disciplines that they will become everything God wants them to be. This thinking ignores a number of core principles:

It ignores the fact that each one of us is absolutely unique. As unique individuals we relate to God individually and differently, we learn and grow differently, and we are at different places in our spiritual lives so no one program or set of disciplines or formula is going to help everyone grow spiritually. In Ephesians 2:9-10, Paul calls us God's workmanship or literally, God's work of art - each unique, each special, each a creation of God.

Growing up in Asia I had my own personal "chop." It is my name in Chinese engraved by hand in a piece of soap stone. The cool thing about chops is that each one is unique and even though some of the Chinese characters may be the same, since they are carved by hand, no one is the same. That is true for each of our personalities, God given wiring, the place we are spiritually and the next place we need to go in our relationship with Christ.

This has implications for those of us who preach! We can give people specific instructions as to how they should relate to God or we can give Biblical principles and encourage people to apply them to their lives in ways that work for them.

For years my dad rose at 4:00am in the morning for his devotions. That is great but it does not work for everyone! Some love to journal (I do) but for many it never really works and is a chore, not a pleasure. Some can spend long periods in prayer, others cannot and when they try they end up discouraged and feeling guilty.

But even these practices miss an important part of spiritual formation. It is possible to do all the things one is supposed to do and still not live a transformed life. Practices by themselves do not translate into transformation.

I remember an elder in a church I pastored who was as legalistic as anyone about the Christian life yet he left his wife because she didn't make him happy?  He had the practices down (and was ready to impose those practices on others) but his heart was untransformed and hard. Nor would he listen to those who tried to reason with him. All of us have stories like that.

Transformation means that we are regularly becoming more like Jesus in our relationships, our intellect, our experiences, the desires of our hearts, in the shedding of those elements of our lower nature and the embracing of the fruit of the spirit.

Helping people get to transformation is the key to spiritual formation or mentoring. The place to start is where people are and not where we think they should be. I am always amazed at how impatient we can be with people - and how patient God is with us.

One way to find out where people are at is to explore the areas of difficulty or unhappiness in their lives which is often an indication of where they are "itching" and looking for solutions. The Holy Spirit has a gracious way of getting our attention through difficulty and unhappiness.

I think for instance of the many couples who are struggling with their finances today and looking for solutions. Helping them understand Biblical principles for finances is obviously a part of spiritual transformation and it is the place where they are looking for solutions today. So that is a great place to start and as they see God's transformation in their financial life they become open to His transformation in other areas of life. We start where people are open, and looking for solutions. That is exactly what Jesus did with the people he came into contact with.

I think that one of the barriers in spiritual growth is that we often believe that those teaching us, mentoring us or preaching to us want us to become a version of them. It is easy to extrapolate that since we are "mature" that others will be mature when they look like "us."

The truth is that God wants us to look like the best version of us that we can be through the transformation of our hearts and lives - not like someone else. God made us unique. Now he wants to infuse our uniqueness with His Spirit and make us supernaturally unique. A better, supernaturally changed version of who He already made us to be. That is the end goal of transformation because it infuses our uniqueness with His Spirit, character, mind, and passions. We become like Him but remain like us as the "work of art" he created us to be.

The armed services says, "Become all that you can be!" Jesus says, "become all that I made you to be." That is our challenge to others as we help them to grow spiritually.

Spotting your future leaders is often counterintuitive

Every organization needs good leaders and a leadership bench. Often, however, the very people we need to help us lead in the future are under our nose but we miss them because they are "leaders in the raw" whose behaviors don't look like leadership material today. In fact their behaviors today may cause one to assume that they are not potential leaders. It is counter intuitive but here are some of the traits of your future leaders that should cause you to pay attention.

They have strong opinions
All leaders do. In the case of leaders in the raw however, those opinions have not yet been tempered by diplomacy so those opinions may come off as sounding arrogant or obnoxious. Now some people are arrogant and obnoxious but often what sounds like such is actually a future leader who is yet unpolished.

They have lots of ideas
People with lots of ideas are obviously thinkers. Granted there are people with lots of ideas and no ability to carry them out but it may be that they are on to something and we should pay attention.

They question the status quo
That is what leaders naturally do. This can be threatening to us because they are questioning how we currently do what we do. There is no need to be threatened - and there is reason to pay attention even if some of their analysis may sound naive. Those who question the status quo are often leaders in the making.

They are not afraid to get in your face
Truth is, you may have to get in theirs to talk about attitude or how they express themselves. But the very fact they are willing to go head to head with you is an indication that there may be a leadership gene that does not yet know how to finesse the message.

They are passionate about what they think
Passion is a trait of a leader. They believe deeply and that belief can easily come out in less than helpful ways when they are young. I am not talking about those who are inflexible in their beliefs but those who have a passion around their opinions and actions.

They want to change the world
Those of us who have been around a while know that none of us can change the world. But we can change something in the world for the better. Those who want to change the world when they are young may not know that life is not that simple but we should pay attention to the underlying desire that is expressed.

They attract others to follow them
This is the definition of a leader (whether a good one or not - others are following). Leaders must lead and there is something about them that causes others to follow. 

They have strong personalities
Yep, that is what leaders have. The strength of their personalities when young can be irritating and cause them friction with others but it is a sign that there are deeply held beliefs and passions that lie beneath the surface. Leaders are not shrinking violets after all.

The behaviors of a potential leader or leader in the raw may seem irritating, caustic, arrogant, or cynical to more mature leaders. And, indeed, that is often the case in terms of how they come across. Because they have strong personalities it is often necessary to "get in their face" and talk about how they come across, how they are perceived when they speak passionately and about behaviors that are counter productive. 

None of that, however, should keep you from paying attention, developing them, giving them opportunity to lead something at an appropriate level and to mentor the underlying leadership piece toward greater health and maturity. The very behaviors you may not like today are the ones that you need in a more mature form tomorrow. If you are a leader think of your younger days and you get the drift.

All of T.J. Addington's books including his latest, Deep Influence,  are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 per book discount on orders of ten or more.

The challenge for leaders in their fifties and sixties

Leaders in their fifties and sixties face some unique challenges. How they handle those challenges determines whether they continue to grow as leaders and lead well or coast toward retirement.

It is easy for all of us to move toward our comfort zone and lose the leadership edge as we age. Furthermore, somewhere in their fifties someone who has led fairly well is often situated with a comfortable job, salary and having paid their dues can go on autopilot and for a time, no one will notice. For a time - but not forever.

The temptations are many. There is the temptation not to take on new challenges because of the physical and mental energy that new challenges take. There is the temptation not to make hard choices that will require one to cause waves. There is the temptation to not continue to pour oneself into new learning but to rest on what we have learned in the past. There is the temptation to stay where one is even when we know that we are not leading well because we are paid comfortably.

It takes a wise leader to realize that they are too comfortable, need a new challenge and are willing to take the steps to continue to grow, develop and stay energized. That does not necessarily mean a new job - although it may. It does mean a focused effort not to move into the comfort zone or to coast but to stay in the game as long as we are leading.

The signs of coasting include boredom, not taking on new initiatives, not pressing the missional agenda as we once did, questions from staff like "where are we going?" and the inability to make hard calls that need to be made.

When we are no longer willing to pay the price of hard calls that are necessary to be made we have moved from leading to comfort. One pays a price for hard calls, whether it be staff transitions or strategic decisions and when we are no longer willing to pay that price we have lost our ability to lead - even though we still have the title.

Leadership is a trust. Leaders are stewards of that trust. Good leaders don't violate that trust by moving into the comfort zone. Many do.

Growing our leadership effectiveness

For those leaders young or mature who desire to grow their effectiveness - and the need for growth never diminishes as long as we are leading - here are some suggestions.

Spend time with other good leaders
It is amazing what even excellent leaders learn in dialogue with other good leaders. In fact, it will rub off both ways. Really good leaders are really good thinkers and I always learn new insights when I am around other good leaders. 

Reflect often
Leaders are busy and busyness robs us of the opportunity to reflect on critical issues we are facing. Simply slowing down for a day or a season so that one has time to reflect will harvest many ideas that would not otherwise come.

Stay focused
The best leaders do a few critical things well and don't allow themselves to be distracted by the ancillary or urgent in place of the important. One of the benefits of reflection is that it allows focus. Lack of reflection leads to lack of focus. Put on paper those truly important things for you to pay attention to and keep that in front of you.

Know what your big rocks are
There are big rocks, little rocks, pebbles and sand. For leaders, the majority of their time needs to be on the big rocks rather than the place that many leaders gravitate too. It is part of staying focused.

Think future
Leaders must lead their team or organization into the future. That means we need to be identifying the way forward. No one else will think of the future for us. Again time for reflection becomes critical.

Don't ignore threats
Effective leaders have a radar for threats to the health of their team or the success of the organization. Often threats are not pleasant but the more effectively they are addressed the better the future. This is an area of needed growth for many.

Read selectively
Maybe ten percent of what is on the market in the leadership arena is worth reading. Swap articles and blogs with other leaders you know that will stimulate your thinking. we are looking for that one good idea that is worth applying - in our way.

Lead from who God made you to be
God wired and gifted us uniquely. The more we understand our own gifting the better we will lead - if we are willing to lead out of those strengths. We can never lead like someone else. We can learn from them but we must lead from who God made us to be. The more we understand us, the better we will lead.

a messy world and messy leaders

We often think of our Biblical heroes as people who were born that way. Just the opposite is true. We have always lived in a messy world and our Biblical heroes were no exception.

Take Moses, for example. We know him as the guy who rescued God's  people from slavery, as a deeply humble guy and one who talked to God face to face. I can't compete with that. But what we forget is that he too had a messy background and it took God 80 years to prepare him for his life assignment.

Everyone has issues and so did Moses. Consider this. While he grew up in wealth, splendor and privilege as a member of the Pharaoh's household he knew who he was: an Israelite who should have been a slave rather than royalty. Talk about identity issues!

Those issues came to a head when at 40, Moses took justice into his own hands, killed an Egyptian who was mistreating an Israelite and was forced to run for his life, ending up as a shepherd in another land. In one day he went from privilege and wealth to working as a shepherd with nothing to his name. In addition he now was a felon and a wanted man. Obviously he had an anger management problem.

I would guess that for the forty years he worked as a shepherd (he didn't even have his own flock but looked after the flock of his father in law) he felt like he was a has been. He had blown his chance, God would never use him for anything and he was consigned to a forgotten existence and a wasted life. 

If you doubt that, think of Moses' conversation with God at the burning bush. Finally God was calling him to something and Moses kept pushing back. Why? He felt unqualified, lacked the confidence to say yes, and gave all manner of excuses with a final comment, "O Lord, please send someone else." Of course, God never calls us to do anything that we can do by ourselves but only in His power but it took quite a while for God to convince Moses of that.

Of course God had different ideas. God is never in a hurry and he is always up to something. During those year from 40 to 80, while Moses felt he was stuck on a shelf, God was developing a relationship with Moses that would sustain him through the next 40 years in the wilderness leading a people tough to lead.

Four lessons emerge from Moses past. First, God can redeem any past for His divine purposes. Even our pasts! Second, while we may think we have been put on a shelf, God is always up to something, preparing us for what He has for us. Third, God never calls us to do anything we can do by ourselves. Why should He? His work is a divine work that requires divine power. Fourth, God uses regular people to do His divine work in the power of His Holy Spirit. 

Moses had a past with a lot of issues, just like we do. Yet he used Moses just as He desires to use us. 

Advice for young leaders

I love the energy, passion and creativity of young leaders. Helping young leaders grow and flourish is one of the most important things more mature believers can do. I want to leave a leadership bench behind me that is better than the one with me. That is success for current leaders.

As we work with young leaders there are some foundational leadership principles that we can help them understand. These go to their leadership EQ which is critical to their success.

Humility. Leaders are simply using gifts that God has given. They are given in trust to use on his behalf. Leaders are not more important than others, they simply have a different role than others and are called to be faithful to the role God has given. Leadership is not about us but about our faithfulness to the one who gave us the gifting to lead, the care of those entrusted to our leadership and the God given mission we have.

Self awareness. Understanding how we are wired, how we are perceived by others, what are strengths and weaknesses are is critical to good leadership. The more we can help young leaders become exegetes of themselves the better leaders they will be. This includes knowing where our sweet spot is and playing to our strengths as much as possible.

Dark sides. Every leader has a shadow side. Those who do not understand their shadow side and where they are vulnerable may easily become victims of their own sin or dysfunction. We ought to help young leaders understand their shadow side and encourage them to spend as much time dealing with the shadow side as they do their strengths. Those who don't deal with their vulnerabilities end up hurting themselves and others.

Honoring others. Great leaders honor other people and help them become all that they can be. Remember it is not about me but about us. My success is directly connected to the success that I help others achieve. Leaders are developers of others. They value healthy relationships, honest feedback and giving the praise to the team rather than taking the spotlight for themselves

Approachability. Young leaders need to learn how to separate their personal pride from their work. Feedback on their work is not an attack on their person, although many people see it that way. Developing a "nothing to prove, nothing to lose" is critical to healthy leadership. Unapproachable leaders cannot be healthy leaders. Remember, it is not about me, but about us and the mission God has given us.

Teachable. Leaders who are teachable grow and develop. Those who are not often run the risk of ending up as narcissists, concerned only about themselves and resistant to honest and needed feedback. This goes to humility and approachability. The most brilliant leaders who are not teachable or approachable will end up hurting others and the organization they lead.

Hearts toward God. In ministry, nothing matters more than having a heart that wants to please the One on whose behalf we exercise leadership. Maintaining hearts that are tender toward God, want to follow Him and hear from Him, please him and know Him is the most important leadership requirement of all.

If you are a young leader you may want to ask those around you how you are doing in these seven areas. If you are a mentor of young leaders, consider talking to those you mentor about the importance of these issues. They will make all the difference as to their future success.

And I need to remember as a mentor of others that these qualities are as much caught as they are taught. So, how I lead and live will impact how they lead and live.

Why should anyone follow you?

That is a fascinating question if you are a leader. Do you deserve to lead others? Are you functioning as a healthy, effective leader whose priority is the team you lead or are you really more interested in your things and priorities? The truth is that there are many leaders who frankly don't deserve to lead others and don't have the best interests of others at heart.

What are the characteristics of leaders who deserve to lead? First, they are committed to leading through their team. It is not about them but about what they and the team can accomplish together. Their team is not an afterthought or distraction but a major commitment and priority. They have made the transition from being an individual producer to leading through team.

Second, they have clarified the boundaries for the team: They are crystal clear on the mission they are are committed to, the guiding principles by which they work, their central ministry focus - the thing they need to do all the time and the desired outcomes of their work. Without definition in those four areas, we do not deserve to lead because those who work for us deserve to know the boundaries.

Third, they are leaders who empower rather than control others. Controlling leaders are selfish leaders and insecure leaders. Their lack of confidence keeps them from allowing good people to figure out how to accomplish their work in line with the clarity defined above. Neither Jesus nor Paul were selfish or controlling leaders - they defined the boundaries and empowered.

Fourth, they are leaders who mentor and coach their reports, helping them become all that they can be. This is not a monthly quick check in but it is an attitude and practice of understanding the wiring and strengths of their reports and helping them become all that God made them to be. That takes time. It is an unselfish use of our time and energy. Supervisors who will not mentor and coach in ministry do not deserve to lead others.

Fifth, they model what they teach and require of others. They are people of integrity, accountability, focus on results and keep their commitments. Leaders who do not model those four characteristics do not deserve to lead others.

It is an interesting question that each of us who leads ought to ask. Why should anyone be led by us? Don't take the question for granted. If you do you should not be leading. And trust me, our team members have an opinion on it.

The advantages of engaging a coach

Many of us would benefit from a formal coaching arrangement from someone who can help us ask the right questions, think strategically and improve our personal effectiveness. I am aware of one large denomination that has every one of their senior executives in such a coaching relationship.

Many executives in the business world do the same thing and pay several thousand dollars a day for day long sessions. The good news is that one can find a coach who can be in touch monthly for an hour or two using the phone or teleconference.

Why consider a coach? We see what we see and know what we know. A coach is not there to tell us what to do but to ask questions that help us think about options we might not think of, to challenge our presuppositions and to help us figure out how to be more effective.

There are trained coaches for pastors and ministry leaders, or one can ask someone who you respect and trust to coach you. It can be formal or informal.

The greatest barrier I find to entering into a coaching relationship is the fear of greater accountability. That is in fact one of the benefits of such a relationship because having that regular conversation with someone who is helping you focus on what is most important and to be disciplined in our use of time fosters accountability. But it is accountability from someone who is in your corner and is there to help you be more effective.

Monthly coaching from someone outside your organization is a great way to help you keep growing personally and become more missional and effective in the process

The value of being circumspect

Circumspect: thinking carefully about possible risks before doing or saying something. (Webster)

Wise leaders understand the value of circumspection. They are not risk adverse or afraid of trying new things. In fact, their willingness to do so is what allows them to think outside the box and embrace new ideas. However, they do so only after considering the possible risks, unintended consequences and carefully weighing the costs.

Circumspect leaders are thinkers. Deep thinkers. They are not adherents to the idea of the month, don't readily jump on the popular trends and don't accept common wisdom as necessarily wisdom. They solicit the views of many on critical issues before making a decision. This is not about being cautious but about being wise - and understanding the ramifications of a proposed course of action.

Wise leaders understand the value of "thinking grey." While others are ready to quickly decide an issue, circumspect leaders often wait for a period of time, evaluating all sides of the issue, being neither proponents or opponents but simply keeping an open mind so that when a decision is made it is a wise decision. It allows them to evaluate with objectivity rather than taking a position. When they do decide it is with the value of having considered all possible angles and outcomes.

Many people believe that the best leaders make quick and decisive decisions. Actually the best leaders make circumspect decisions.

Understanding what truly motivates us in ministry

For those of us who lead others in ministry, understanding what motivates us and drives us is a complicated but important question. There are many possible answers to even ministry motivation. They can include joining God in His work, our own ego, recognition, the applause of others, fulfilling someone else's motivations, personal ambition, or just wanting to be successful. On any given day or period in our lives, the answer could be different. 

Every leader is building something. That is the nature of leadership. Who we are building for is a far trickier question. Here is the issue that should give us pause. The pull of our lower nature is strong and when we are not highly sensitive both to the call of God on our lives and are not intentionally staying in close fellowship with Him, our inner motivations gravitate toward us and our own fulfillment rather than keeping Him and His call preeminent in our leadership. In other words, it is very easy for us to be meeting our own needs in our Spiritual leadership rather than leading on His behalf. It is a subtle but massive shift in motivation.

Why does it matter? Because we lead people toward the individual we lead for. If we are truly motivated by God's call and mission we will lead people on behalf of and toward Him! If we are actually motivated by our own ambition and a personal mission we will lead people on behalf of and toward us. Thus the motivations of our hearts have very real consequences for those who we lead. It is a subtle but it is real!

How do we know what really motivates us? It takes a great deal of introspection, thought, personal evaluation and being aware of our own drives and needs as they intersect with God's call on our lives. Ultimately the closer we stay to Jesus, the more sensitive we will be to Him. When we become distracted from Jesus (even by ministry) we become less sensitive to His call and are easily diverted by our own "shadow mission." It is possible to start our leadership with high sensitivity to leading on His behalf but over time to allow it to become about us rather than Him. 

Never take your motivations for granted. We are all building something and motivated by something. Knowing who we are actually building for and whose motivations we are fulfilling is vitally important. We don't want to get to the end and realize we were chasing the wrong thing. Our hearts are deceitful and we are easily deceived unless we are constantly being transformed by Jesus.

Cutting through the fog of what good leadership looks like!

For those of us who lead, there are constant voices telling us how to do it, what good leaders look like, the secrets to leadership success and the din can be loud. Even disheartening! We know that we will never be as good a leader as (fill in the blank) or achieve what (fill in the blank) has done or have the influence as (fill in the blank).

So let me be perfectly frank: Much of what we hear and think about leadership is - well - crock! Ezra was not Nehemiah, who was not Esther, who was not Deborah, who was not Paul who was not David who was not Barnabas who was not you who is not me.

Here is what we do know about leaders. We are all made differently and all lead from the wiring and gifting that God uniquely gave to us. We should not expect others to lead like we do  and we should not expect to lead like others. Period!

In addition, because I lead a larger or smaller team than someone else is not a measure of my leadership skill. It is where God has placed me and my job is to lead as well as possible.

Finally, there are some universal characteristics of good leaders. They clarify the future and where the group needs to go. They develop, empower and release people into meaningful ministry and responsibility. They model the character and practices that they expect of others. They develop those they lead. They keep the team focused on the main thing and measure results. They give away credit for success and take responsibility for failure. They build teams of competent people.

How they do these things will be a matter of how they are gifted and wired. That they do these things indicates that they can lead well. Oh, one other thing, when they look behind them they see people who are willingly following.

If you lead, don't get caught in the comparison trap or try to lead like others. If God wanted you to be them He would have made you them. Instead He made you you for a specific reason. Learn from others but lead from the way in which God made you.

Three keys to people development

The development of staff is one of the most important responsibilities of leaders at all levels. That development involves three important skills.

Critical analysis
This is the ability to evaluate staff members and identify areas of strength, weakness, EQ (Emotional Intelligence) health and areas where EQ growth is needed. In addition, evaluation of how they interact with others, lead others, respond, do team, and ability to produce results are all important factors. Critical analysis is not about being critical. It is about the ability to objectively evaluate a staff member in order to appropriately coach them for personal and professional growth.

I find that many leaders in the ministry arena are not skilled at critical analysis of their staff. We tend to over emphasize strengths and under emphasize weaknesses - especially of our own staff. This may be Christian nice, it may be a sense of loyalty that causes us to gloss over necessary areas of growth or it may just be an underdeveloped skill. However, if we cannot do critical analysis of our staff we are unable to coach them for growth. Glossing over areas of needed growth is a disfavor to our staff.

Coaching for growth
Helping staff grow is one of the marks of a leader who serves his or her staff. It is also painfully absent in many organizations and teams. This coaching often comes in the form of an ongoing dialogue with a staff member based on our critical analysis. It is designed to help them maximize their God given potential and is a deeply intentional process to help a staff member grow.

Coaching for growth requires a level of courage to provide honest feedback where behaviors or responses are problematic. Supervisors who want to be best buddies with their staff will not go here and it is one of the downsides of a needy supervisor. But without honest feedback our staff members will not grow. This can be done diplomatically and with sensitivity but honest feedback is the only way any of us become aware of areas of necessary growth.

Positioning for effectiveness
Jim Collins popularized the term "the right seat on the bus." We often pay too little attention to the positioning of staff so that they are most effective. Often, a staff member who is struggling in one seat shines in another. Again, this is where critical analysis is so important because it is in understanding the unique wiring and strengths of a staff member that we are able to position them best for effective and fulfilling work.

While there are often things that we prefer not to do it does make sense to minimize the areas where staff are working from weakness rather from strength - if it is possible to do so. Staff should be working a minimum of 60% in areas of strength in order to be effective and the optimum is 80%. The right seat on the bus does matter - a lot.

Take time to ensure that your leaders and supervisors are able and committed to these three keys to people development. It is a great loss to leave potential on the table because we are not serving our staff in this area.

Self Knowledge and leadership

Few skills are as critical for a leader as that of accurate self-knowledge. I stress the word accurate because all of us have a view of ourselves but that view is not always accurate. When it is not accurate we often get in the way of ourselves.


What does self knowledge entail? First it means that we know what our strengths are. Each of us has two to three strengths where we shine and everything else is a weakness. If we can identify our strengths we have also by default identified our weaknesses (everything else). Humility is knowing how God designed us and giving him the credit. And, understanding how badly we need others to compensate for our weaknesses.


Second, self knowledge means that we understand the shadow side of our strengths. Every strength has a shadow side. Three of my five strengths identified by Strenghfinders are strategic, maximizer and achiever. They are a powerful combination. However, their shadow side can include a lack of patience and irritation when others don't move as quickly as I would want them to, or "get it" when the answer seems so simple.


Understanding our shadow side allows us to manage it. We cannot change how we are wired but we can manage our attitudes and behaviors so that our shadow side does not impede our leadership by negatively impacting those around us.


This goes to the third area of self knowledge - understanding how we are perceived by others and how our wiring impacts them. One of the ways that leaders get themselves into trouble is when they don't understand how others perceive them. They may think that they are decisive, for instance but others read them as arrogant. They may want a harmonious relationship with everyone but it is read as lacking clarity because different things are said to different people in order to please them.


The gap between our perception of ourselves and others perception of us is what we need to be aware of. Often we can learn something from testing where both the strengths and shadow side are identified which can give us clues to how others might see us. Feedback from others whom we trust is also a critical factor which means that we must be open and non-defensive about that feedback. The smaller the gap between our perception of ourselves and others perceptions of us, the better we can lead.


The fourth area of self knowledge is understanding our vulnerabilities to sin and when they are most likely to show up. We are vulnerable in different ways and different circumstances and a keen awareness of those ways and circumstances allows us to put in place safeguards to keep us from the "roaring lion that seeks to destroy us." 


Self knowledge requires introspection and a desire to understand ourselves fully. Some won't go there because it makes us uncomfortable. Henry Nouwen said that the reason many of us don't like silence is that it is in that place we see the scaffolding of our lives the most clearly - and there are parts of that scaffolding that we don't like. Yet, the path to health is understanding our dishealth as much as our strengths. 


For leaders, self knowledge is a high priority. It impacts themselves and those they lead.

Fear based leadership

There are ministry leaders whose primary leadership trait is that of fear. Before any decision is made, there are endless discussions of whether the decision is right, lots of second guessing, revisiting of the issue, dragging feet on pulling the trigger and anxiety about whether they should move forward or not. If some leaders are too impulsive, fear based leaders are so risk adverse and fearful of something going wrong that they become paralyzed by that fear.


This is crazy making for staff who want to get on with things and become frustrated when their decisions or recommendations get the same scrutiny, questions, and reservations as their boss's. Endless meetings are had, issues rehashed time and again, decisions made and then revisited. 


Why? Because the senior leader is so driven by not making a mistake, not communicating something improperly, not doing something that might fail. It is caution gone amok. It causes him or her not only to scrutinize their own decisions but those of others and leads to micromanaging the work of others out of the same fear. It is fear based leadership and is not true leadership at all.


Fearful leadership comes out of a lack of self confidence, deep anxiety about making a bad call and fear of what others will think if they make a poor decision. The fear paralysis of the leader becomes a paralysis for the organization as a whole. Because leading is about being in front of others, leading them into the future, fear based leadership is not leadership at all but is really just the opposite: keeping the organization from moving forward out of an abundance of caution. 


Fear based leaders need serious coaching or counseling to get at the root of the fear that haunts them. Unless they can understand those fears and face them they will not be able to lead or if they do will not attract and keep other good staff. 


If you suffer from decision making fear ask yourself, "What is the absolute worst thing that could happen if the decision went south?" How likely is that worst thing to happen? If it did would it be so bad? One soon realizes that the fear is not only unfounded but silly when you play out the scenario.