Leading through change: Eight dumb taxes to avoid

All leaders must lead their constituency through change at one time or another. And, those of us who have done so have often learned some hard lessons along the way. Here are some of the lessons I have learned or watched others learn that constitutes dumb tax we don't need to pay.

1. Don't surprise people with big changes. Surprise brings with it fear, anxiety and the feeling that our security has been upended. If there is going to be major change, develop a process to bring people into discussion rather than simply dumping it on them and then trying to explain after. Once surprised, people are unlikely to hear your explanation. Lead into change over time and prepare people for what needs to come rather than surprising them.

2. Don't get so far ahead of people that they balk at following. Change need not be and often should not be all at once. Start with those things that you believe your constituency can understand and will follow you on. Some changes will take time and should be set aside for a day when you feel you will have greater support. This may mean talking to people of influence ahead of time to ascertain whether the changes you are proposing have a likelihood of meeting strong resistance. Go where you can go with the support of people rather than where it is going to face fierce resistance.

3. Determine what coinage you have before you propose major change. All leaders have a bank of good will. You need relationship and trust in order to convince people to go places that are uncomfortable. Moving too quickly may overspend your account which can take a long time to redeposit. Be smart about how much trust and relationship you have as the greater the change the more trust and relationship it requires. Don't overspend your account!

4. In explaining change, don't announce, dialogue. People don't like announcements that rock their world. Most, however will enter into a dialogue with you around strongly held values that if understood can help them move toward doing things differently. A conversation is very different than a pronouncement. The former invites understanding and discussion while the latter says "this is the way it is" and sound very much like an ultimatum - which are rarely helpful.

5. Be willing to be flexible on issues that are not essential. You don't want to die on a sand-hill but on a mountain. If you get major push-back on a non essential element of your preferred future, back off and show people that you are reasonable and can listen. Even leaders don't always get their way and probably shouldn't.

6. Talk to wise people. Don't ignore those who have been around for a while in leading through change. If they are resistant, take note. If you cannot get the key influencers on board with you to help you they will likely hurt you. I am not talking about laggards on the change scale but wise individuals of influence whom one needs to navigate successful change. If they balk, you may want to think about what you are proposing or the timing. 

7. Don't lose people you don't need to lose. It is a truism that some people will get off the bus when there is major change but one can minimize the fallout by paying attention to the principles above. Yes, some may leave but don't give people a good reason to leave - which us usually by not leading change wisely, pushing too fast, not running process, or not identifying one's coinage properly. They more you lose the more potential fallout you have on your hands to deal with.

8.  Never start to think this is my ministry and therefore I can get my agenda. No ministry is ever "my" ministry. It is "our" ministry together under the Lordship of Jesus. Just because I lead it does not mean I always get my way. If I expect others to be flexible and teachable so must I be. When leaders don't show the same flexibility they expect of those they lead, they are bound to get themselves into trouble.

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.

Seven reasons why passing along gossip is so deadly and sinful

Gossip is one of the most devastating problems within many congregations. Think about these seven reasons why passing gossip along is so deadly and then ask if you want to be a target of gossip. If not, don't make others a target either!

• It is usually unverified information and always denigrating to others. Gossip is "idle talk or rumor, especially about personal or private affairs of others" (Wikipedia). Gossip is different than sharing our opinion for it goes to the motivations or actions of others and is generally destructive in nature. Scriptures are clear that gossip is wrong. Gossip includes questioning the motives of others, passing along third party information as fact, and denigrating others. Disagreement or stating our views is not gossip, it is simply defining what we are thinking.

• It is nearly impossible to take back. Even when we recognize that we have done wrong in participating in gossip it has now been passed along to others whom we don't know about and thus it is nearly impossible to take back. Gossip quickly takes on a life of its own.

• It harms another's reputation and they can do nothing about it. The target of gossip hears the rumors of what is being said but they don't know where it is coming from or who has shared it and therefor they cannot do anything about the false information being shared. All those who have been targets of gossip (and I have) know how discouraging it is to have non-truths or half-truths being shared that are harmful to one's reputation without a way to counter that information.

• It is a coward's way of communication. Cowards share information that they do not know to be true from first-hand knowledge to people other than the one they should be talking to if at all. If I have an issue with an individual, or a question about their actions my responsibility is to talk to them, not others about them. With gossip, rather than doing just that we talk to those who we think will agree with us and who will take up our cause. It is cowardly, and slanderous.

• It harms the reputation of Jesus when it takes place within the Christian community which it does all the time. It hurts the reputation of Jesus first because it is bad behavior by those who bear his name. Second, since it is often malicious and untrue, but targeted at other believers it hurts their reputation unfairly and therefor that of Jesus whom they represent. I suspect that Jesus is not happy when His reputation is sullied by His people!

• It continues to spread regardless of its truth. Have you ever heard an urban myth? These are stories started years ago which continue to circulate on the internet like the FCC revoking all Christian radio stations generating thousands of letters to them a year over an issue that it patently false. No matter what they say the letters keep coming. This is the problem with gossip. It continues to spread regardless of its truth for years and even for decades and often becomes  known as "truth" since it has been circulating for so long. 

• When targeted at Christian leaders or ministries it often ends up on the internet which others then take as gospel! Media, whether the internet or email makes it possible for gossip or untruths to spread faster than ever before. Thus things we say or write to others can be spread far and wide making our culpability greater than we ever managed. 

Scripture has a lot to say about slander - something God hates according to Proverbs. Slander is designed to hurt the reputation of others and it is ubiquitous within many Christian circles. At the least it does not reflect the character of our God and at the worst we will one day answer for every word we have spoken, good or bad.

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.

An urgent appeal from the Supreme Council of the Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon

The following urgent appeal comes from the Supreme Council of the Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon. This council represents all evangelical movements in these two countries in governmental affairs. I am privileged to count its leader as a personal friend. The urgency of the situation of believers in the Middle East today cannot be overestimated. Please read this carefully and pray for our brothers and sisters whose lives are in danger. You may need to use your zoom feature to read this but please do so. This is a critical situation. I would also urge you to share this with others as they have asked.

Great article on eliminating church confiict

Check out this short article on how to eliminate church conflict. 

What matters most?

I know my leader is unhealthy when...

• They regularly respond with defensiveness or anger when challenged
• They discourage open and honest dialogue where people are free to share their minds in a safe atmosphere
• They threaten those whose opinions are different from theirs
• They tell one person one thing and another person a different thing
• They need to be popular and loved
• They are not fully candid but tend to spin the truth
• They intimidate or threaten staff in order to achieve compliance
• There are many items that are not safe to talk about in their presence
• They care more about themselves than the team they lead
• They take credit for what others do
• They don't work collaboratively
• They display excessive hubris
• They don't listen but rather talk
• They blame others when things don't go well
• There is no staff development
• They don't deal with unhealthy staff who get in the way of others
• They consistently don't remove barriers that need to be removed in order for me to do my job well
• They think they have all the answers
• They are not ethical

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.

Healthy staff cultures

In my work with churches and Christian organizations I see more unhealthy than healthy staff cultures. I would love to reverse that order. It is truly a gift to work in a healthy environment and can be a curse to work in an unhealthy one. Here are some of the components of a truly healthy staff culture.

1. A leader who is open, humble, non-defensive and collaborative.

2. An environment where robust dialogue is welcomed and encouraged along with unity once decisions have been made.

3. Having the right people in the right seats.

4. High EQ (Emotional Intelligence) among staff members and leaders.

5. Clarity of direction as to where the organization is headed.

6. Having clarity in one's role and the necessary tools to accomplish one's job.

7. A collegial open atmosphere from the leader on down.

8. The ability to speak into things that impact one's job.

9. Candid, honest dialogue and conversation in an atmosphere of respect.

10. High in both empowerment and accountability.

My new book, Deep Influence: Unseen Practices That Will Revolutionize Your Leadership, is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

Gag orders in the church. It is responsible for much toxic staff culture.

It is not unusual for me to hear about gag orders by senior leaders or their Executive pastors, effectively telling elders that they cannot talk to church staff and staff that they cannot talk to elders. Usually it is in the name of policy governance which states that the elders have one employee, and that is the senior leader who can manage his staff as he pleases. This is both a misreading of policy governance, an unwise thing to do and often reflects the personal insecurity of the leader.

First lets clear up the policy governance issue. Under this board management tool, what is clear is that elders cannot tell staff what to do. That is the prerogative of the senior leader. They cannot manage staff. And it is also true that staff should not go around their leader to the elders as an end run to get what they want. 

What it does not say is that elders and staff should not talk. In fact I think it foolish for a leadership board to not know the temperature of the staff. Consider this: if staff cannot talk to the board in any fashion, what do they do when they have problems that are not getting solved by their leader? 

My experience is that such gag orders are usually a sign of insecurity on the part of leaders more than anything else. This was part of the massive dysfunction Mark Driscoll created at Mars Hill Church where there were major dysfunctions on staff but staff were not permitted to talk to others about it. In a large church I did crisis management in a long string of staff had been mistreated. The board suspected but had not inquired because they were not supposed to talk to staff.

Healthy organizations are not afraid of conversation around whatever issues they face. Healthy leaders are not afraid of alternate opinions or push-back. We have intentionally created an open culture in ReachGlobal where all issues can be put on the table with the exception of hidden agendas or robust dialogue. We welcome the conversation even if it challenges our current thinking. 

I am always deeply wary of what is actually going on when gag orders appear rather than the invitation to open dialogue.

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.