Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Pastor/Church Leadership
Just as CEOs, Presidents and Managers in the workplace cannot ‘do it alone’, neither can the Church Pastor. And just as in the business world, ineffective leadership and leadership staffs hold back ‘productivity’ in the church…whatever productivity means to you?
Whether a Manager in the workplace or a Pastor in the church, leadership doesn’t just come naturally. In either case, the leader achieved this role in life due to his/her own passion, calling, experience, knowledge and/or other expertise. Nothing necessarily occurred in their natural progression to develop necessary leadership and management skills. This void hurts the productivity and growth of the business and the church as well.
Experience working with both worlds assures me that there is little difference in the dynamics, needs and solution. The organization (church) is being held back due to this lack of understanding leadership and how to practice it. Leadership is again, assumed ‘stuff’ that all possess…how’s that working out for you . This assumption is 95% of the time, flawed thinking. This is not about personal leadership skills, but leadership that is involved with actually leading people, teams, organizations and churches.
The natural evolution of leaders and teams that report to them, is the initial reliance on and belief that the leader has the marketplace on the best ideas, thoughts and solutions. Unfortunately, in many cases, the leader thinks this also! This can be decisions as small as how to arrange chairs at a Prayer breakfast or as large as next years budgeting! The leader is looked upon for all decisions. Stagnation, plateau-ing and doing things the same ol’ way occur and decline in every sense, likely is on the horizon. At worst, and more the reality is a dropoff in attendance and involvement, poor morale, conflict, relationships dwindling, personal agendas, cliques, distrust, etc. You get the picture huh
- been there, done that maybe?
Leadership skills, practices and behaviors are not natural by-products of people putting in time and gaining experience. It just doesn’t happen that way. Even in positive times, where growth is occuring, people are happy, people are getting help, involvement is good, etc….effective leadership is not necessarily the reason. In many instances, sooner or later, this natural momentum just begins to slow down, and now is when untrained and ineffective leadership begins to become visible. Until then, the thinking is that we have great leadership….the people AND the leaders both fall into believing this, but sooner or late, reality will set in.
Business and organizations of all types experience these same dynamics and suffer in much the same way. The leader and/or leadership team’s flaws become evident, and just as in most all organizations, this is when leadership, relationships, communication, teamwork, conflict, managing, etc all suddenly become a priority! Where were your leaders to get this stuff anyway:
• Facilitating problem solving
• Visioning and gaining buy-in
• Managing and resolving Conflict
• Building relationships and teams
• Growing people
• Project management
• Understanding and improving systems
• Teaching / Facilitation skills
• Building organizational trust
• Understanding, facilitating and implementing change
• Strategizing and goal-setting
Know a church or pastor who might need to consider all this? Is it all working well in YOUR church?
Take care and God bless, D. Booker
Whether a Manager in the workplace or a Pastor in the church, leadership doesn’t just come naturally. In either case, the leader achieved this role in life due to his/her own passion, calling, experience, knowledge and/or other expertise. Nothing necessarily occurred in their natural progression to develop necessary leadership and management skills. This void hurts the productivity and growth of the business and the church as well.
Experience working with both worlds assures me that there is little difference in the dynamics, needs and solution. The organization (church) is being held back due to this lack of understanding leadership and how to practice it. Leadership is again, assumed ‘stuff’ that all possess…how’s that working out for you . This assumption is 95% of the time, flawed thinking. This is not about personal leadership skills, but leadership that is involved with actually leading people, teams, organizations and churches.
The natural evolution of leaders and teams that report to them, is the initial reliance on and belief that the leader has the marketplace on the best ideas, thoughts and solutions. Unfortunately, in many cases, the leader thinks this also! This can be decisions as small as how to arrange chairs at a Prayer breakfast or as large as next years budgeting! The leader is looked upon for all decisions. Stagnation, plateau-ing and doing things the same ol’ way occur and decline in every sense, likely is on the horizon. At worst, and more the reality is a dropoff in attendance and involvement, poor morale, conflict, relationships dwindling, personal agendas, cliques, distrust, etc. You get the picture huh
- been there, done that maybe?
Leadership skills, practices and behaviors are not natural by-products of people putting in time and gaining experience. It just doesn’t happen that way. Even in positive times, where growth is occuring, people are happy, people are getting help, involvement is good, etc….effective leadership is not necessarily the reason. In many instances, sooner or later, this natural momentum just begins to slow down, and now is when untrained and ineffective leadership begins to become visible. Until then, the thinking is that we have great leadership….the people AND the leaders both fall into believing this, but sooner or late, reality will set in.
Business and organizations of all types experience these same dynamics and suffer in much the same way. The leader and/or leadership team’s flaws become evident, and just as in most all organizations, this is when leadership, relationships, communication, teamwork, conflict, managing, etc all suddenly become a priority! Where were your leaders to get this stuff anyway:
• Facilitating problem solving
• Visioning and gaining buy-in
• Managing and resolving Conflict
• Building relationships and teams
• Growing people
• Project management
• Understanding and improving systems
• Teaching / Facilitation skills
• Building organizational trust
• Understanding, facilitating and implementing change
• Strategizing and goal-setting
Know a church or pastor who might need to consider all this? Is it all working well in YOUR church?
Take care and God bless, D. Booker
Giving the WRONG person the Message...
Here’s a dynamic that I run into frequently in consulting/helping teams, office staffs, departments and/or organizations; even at the very top management levels!
COMMUNICATING MESSAGES (ISSUES) TO THE WRONG PERSON! This is indeed relevant to everyone of us—we’ve all seen it…done it…and had it ‘done’ to us as well! This goes on all the time, but if your team can control this one…enormous strides can be made toward increased teamwork, trust, less strife/conflict, more productivity and improved relationships all the way around.
Is it just part of human nature and inevitably going to be there?… probably, if that’s what you think and your teammates think!!! IT WON’T BE EASY, BUT FIXING IT IS POSSIBLE…it simply takes realization of the negative impact and a commitment by the team to change it.
As a facilitator, I see this within groups from top to bottom...
Situation: You have a problem with someone (what they said, what you thought they said, their opinion, something they did that impacted your world, etc…get the picture?) What do we typically do when this occurs? We go share it with someone else—a peer, a boss, everyone except the person who really needs to hear it!
[Starting to connect aren’t you… ?] Teammates (employees within the same office-under the same manager/supervisor) frequently will even take it straight to the leader. Think of the impact and fallout of doing things this way -- first of all, the person you are taking it to can do nothing but listen to you bellyache….what are you expecting them to do with it? If they go do something with it, then they have broken your trust!?! If you allow them (or push them to do it for you) all you are going to do is lose respect and your relationship with that individual.
Teams that are ready to fix this dynamic have to honestly sit down, look each other in the eye and say “we all have our gripes with each other for good reason, but why don’t we agree to start doing things in the right way in the right spirit…?” After all, if you tell me what your issue is or what you don’t like that I did or whatever, haven’t you actually done something positive regarding our relationship and the team overall? But we tend to take confrontation and disagreement as world-shattering stuff instead of the good that can be gained. If we can habitually do it in a respectful, tactful & non-confrontational way…it can drastically improve a team in ways we cannot even imagine.
As a facilitator and trainer, I frequently have this very same thing happen to me. After I have worked with a team (again even exec leadership teams do this stuff) for some period, I begin to see myself as one of the team. It never fails, that eventually someone will take issue with how I am performing or maybe an opinion that I express (as if I do not have a right to my opinion also, huh? :). Instead of taking issue with me and tossing it out there for the good of our relationship…the person shuts down, creating a barrier to any further learning or communicating on that person’s part…and then later, takes it to someone that wasn’t even there!!! YIKES, you've never done anything like this, have you ?
What I just described here, that happens to me is the very thing that people do to each other all the time. It tears down relationships, discourages communication, kills trust and makes life miserable for all around the issue. Not to mention all the wasted time that these kind of things end up taking,……because we took it through a cycle and circle of ‘the wrong people’.
“AS LEADERS, MENTORS AND TEAM MEMBERS, WE CAN HELP OTHERS BY STEERING THEM IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION (AFTER A FEW MOMENTS OF EMPATHETIC LISTENING OF COURSE). AND HOPE THEY WILL HAVE THE INSIGHT AND COURAGE TO RETURN THE FAVOR WHEN YOU COME CALLING!?!”
So who needs to hear a message in your world?... Take care, DOUG
COMMUNICATING MESSAGES (ISSUES) TO THE WRONG PERSON! This is indeed relevant to everyone of us—we’ve all seen it…done it…and had it ‘done’ to us as well! This goes on all the time, but if your team can control this one…enormous strides can be made toward increased teamwork, trust, less strife/conflict, more productivity and improved relationships all the way around.
Is it just part of human nature and inevitably going to be there?… probably, if that’s what you think and your teammates think!!! IT WON’T BE EASY, BUT FIXING IT IS POSSIBLE…it simply takes realization of the negative impact and a commitment by the team to change it.
As a facilitator, I see this within groups from top to bottom...
Situation: You have a problem with someone (what they said, what you thought they said, their opinion, something they did that impacted your world, etc…get the picture?) What do we typically do when this occurs? We go share it with someone else—a peer, a boss, everyone except the person who really needs to hear it!
[Starting to connect aren’t you… ?] Teammates (employees within the same office-under the same manager/supervisor) frequently will even take it straight to the leader. Think of the impact and fallout of doing things this way -- first of all, the person you are taking it to can do nothing but listen to you bellyache….what are you expecting them to do with it? If they go do something with it, then they have broken your trust!?! If you allow them (or push them to do it for you) all you are going to do is lose respect and your relationship with that individual.
Teams that are ready to fix this dynamic have to honestly sit down, look each other in the eye and say “we all have our gripes with each other for good reason, but why don’t we agree to start doing things in the right way in the right spirit…?” After all, if you tell me what your issue is or what you don’t like that I did or whatever, haven’t you actually done something positive regarding our relationship and the team overall? But we tend to take confrontation and disagreement as world-shattering stuff instead of the good that can be gained. If we can habitually do it in a respectful, tactful & non-confrontational way…it can drastically improve a team in ways we cannot even imagine.
As a facilitator and trainer, I frequently have this very same thing happen to me. After I have worked with a team (again even exec leadership teams do this stuff) for some period, I begin to see myself as one of the team. It never fails, that eventually someone will take issue with how I am performing or maybe an opinion that I express (as if I do not have a right to my opinion also, huh? :). Instead of taking issue with me and tossing it out there for the good of our relationship…the person shuts down, creating a barrier to any further learning or communicating on that person’s part…and then later, takes it to someone that wasn’t even there!!! YIKES, you've never done anything like this, have you ?
What I just described here, that happens to me is the very thing that people do to each other all the time. It tears down relationships, discourages communication, kills trust and makes life miserable for all around the issue. Not to mention all the wasted time that these kind of things end up taking,……because we took it through a cycle and circle of ‘the wrong people’.
“AS LEADERS, MENTORS AND TEAM MEMBERS, WE CAN HELP OTHERS BY STEERING THEM IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION (AFTER A FEW MOMENTS OF EMPATHETIC LISTENING OF COURSE). AND HOPE THEY WILL HAVE THE INSIGHT AND COURAGE TO RETURN THE FAVOR WHEN YOU COME CALLING!?!”
So who needs to hear a message in your world?... Take care, DOUG
Friday, February 26, 2010
Assumptions about YOUR workplace!
ASSUMPTIONS, my book series deals with!?!
Management is not about bad people; and a good person doesn’t necessarily make for a good manager.
Management and managers are marginally effective at getting productivity and results from their people. Effectively developed leadership makes a difference. This is not only a matter of low productivity, but also the primary cause for high organizational turnover.
Most people believe that leadership, relationship building and teamwork are simple concepts and common sense stuff. Most of us are never really taught these dynamics. The workplace assumes people will practice them effectively regardless. It makes no sense to expect people to perform without training first.
Increasingly, workplace leadership and teamwork worsen as the family deteriorates. In today’s culture, fewer people grow up with strong leaders in the home. Couple that with a deteriorating educational system and you have a culture of broken individuals who lack the people skills to manage effectively.
Many people 'exist' within a work environment that they do not appreciate, enjoy or care about. The result is less than stellar productivity on their part. Most folks complain about their job and their boss more than any other relationship.
'Management' and HR departments are for the most part ineffective and incapable of identifying, hiring, growing, mentoring and practicing leadership. This is logical, since they came from this same ineffective model (set of assumptions). If they don’t know it themselves, how can they fix it? ruh roh :)))
Ineffective communication is what most organizations focus on as their number one issue. In fact, 'ineffective relationships' is actually the biggest obstacle. Think about this one for a moment...
Culture is changed when leadership is changed. Attitude, climate, environment, values and morale are influenced and determined by those leading the organization.
Contrary to common belief, attitude is not completely a matter of choice. This is a cop-out used by managers with no leadership understanding and capability. The leader is capable of ruining someone’s attitude. Conversely, a leader can vastly improve someone’s attitude.
Organizations periodically address these flaws of leadership by trying every trick in the book, including fad programs, things like throwing FISH, having MICE MOVE CHEESE, PENGUINS falling off ICEBERGS, motivational speakers, pizza n’ picnics, team building workshops and every other imaginable gimmick to raise morale and productivity. Nearly everything is tried except the one thing that will truly cause sustainable change--organizational leadership development.
People do not naturally resist change. There is nothing natural about an immunity to change. Past ineffective leadership (work, bosses, school teachers, church, parents, etc.) has influenced this resistance. With no knowledge of change management, leaders just cram change down folks’ throats..
Managers are charged with the thinking and decision making, while those whom they supervise are charged with the doing. If managers continued to be hired based solely on what they know (about operations, business or service), this dichotomy will persist.
Ineffective/untrained organizational management impacts culture, productivity, teamwork, morale, and the bottom line to the tune of 'at least' 15%-25%.
>>>>What would addressing the people-system/leadership mean to your company, office, staff or team's bottom line?
Management is not about bad people; and a good person doesn’t necessarily make for a good manager.
Management and managers are marginally effective at getting productivity and results from their people. Effectively developed leadership makes a difference. This is not only a matter of low productivity, but also the primary cause for high organizational turnover.
Most people believe that leadership, relationship building and teamwork are simple concepts and common sense stuff. Most of us are never really taught these dynamics. The workplace assumes people will practice them effectively regardless. It makes no sense to expect people to perform without training first.
Increasingly, workplace leadership and teamwork worsen as the family deteriorates. In today’s culture, fewer people grow up with strong leaders in the home. Couple that with a deteriorating educational system and you have a culture of broken individuals who lack the people skills to manage effectively.
Many people 'exist' within a work environment that they do not appreciate, enjoy or care about. The result is less than stellar productivity on their part. Most folks complain about their job and their boss more than any other relationship.
'Management' and HR departments are for the most part ineffective and incapable of identifying, hiring, growing, mentoring and practicing leadership. This is logical, since they came from this same ineffective model (set of assumptions). If they don’t know it themselves, how can they fix it? ruh roh :)))
Ineffective communication is what most organizations focus on as their number one issue. In fact, 'ineffective relationships' is actually the biggest obstacle. Think about this one for a moment...
Culture is changed when leadership is changed. Attitude, climate, environment, values and morale are influenced and determined by those leading the organization.
Contrary to common belief, attitude is not completely a matter of choice. This is a cop-out used by managers with no leadership understanding and capability. The leader is capable of ruining someone’s attitude. Conversely, a leader can vastly improve someone’s attitude.
Organizations periodically address these flaws of leadership by trying every trick in the book, including fad programs, things like throwing FISH, having MICE MOVE CHEESE, PENGUINS falling off ICEBERGS, motivational speakers, pizza n’ picnics, team building workshops and every other imaginable gimmick to raise morale and productivity. Nearly everything is tried except the one thing that will truly cause sustainable change--organizational leadership development.
People do not naturally resist change. There is nothing natural about an immunity to change. Past ineffective leadership (work, bosses, school teachers, church, parents, etc.) has influenced this resistance. With no knowledge of change management, leaders just cram change down folks’ throats..
Managers are charged with the thinking and decision making, while those whom they supervise are charged with the doing. If managers continued to be hired based solely on what they know (about operations, business or service), this dichotomy will persist.
Ineffective/untrained organizational management impacts culture, productivity, teamwork, morale, and the bottom line to the tune of 'at least' 15%-25%.
>>>>What would addressing the people-system/leadership mean to your company, office, staff or team's bottom line?
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Workplace Team Potential
My experience and research tells me that the vast majority of workplace teams involve only about 30-50% of the people on the teams. Regardless of the reasons and there are reasons, this leaves 50-70% of the people not being actively involved in decisions, solutions, creativity, continuous improvement, morale-building, communications, etc.
This says to me that the potential value that the leader 'could' add to the team is huge! It is the leader that allows those 50-70% to remain in their cave, vs bringing them out and making the team truly demonstrate that PEOPLE ARE OUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE. Leaders are the difference makers or not.........
Booker
This says to me that the potential value that the leader 'could' add to the team is huge! It is the leader that allows those 50-70% to remain in their cave, vs bringing them out and making the team truly demonstrate that PEOPLE ARE OUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE. Leaders are the difference makers or not.........
Booker
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