The church needs different kinds of leaders. It needs leaders that are good at leading teams of people. It needs leaders that come up with ideas. It needs leaders that are good at accomplishing tasks. It needs leaders that know how to effectively lead worship. It needs leaders that communicate well. It needs leaders that understand numbers. It needs leaders that understand people.

You and I cannot be all these things. If we try to be all these things, we will never excel at any of them. If we think we are all these things, we are deceiving ourselves.

Early on in leadership, I fell into the trap of trying to be a “well-rounded” leader. If I could do it all, then I was a “real” leader. That was short-lived because it was exhausting and because my strengths, passions, and successes kept pushing me toward specific areas of leadership.

While over the years I’ve become more focused on my strengths, in the past year I’ve learned to answer a very tough question that helps me know where I need to be going. It’s a question we all could benefit from, one we need to answer:

Where do I add the most value to my organization?

Until you honestly answer this question, you can waste a lot of time and energy pursuing things at which you will never be the best. You will not experience doing what God created you to do. And you will prevent others from following you—because you are leading in ways in which you do not provide the most value to your organization. A great example of this is communication.

In most churches, communication is the holy grail of leadership. As a communicator (you don’t even have to do it well), you are considered a top-tier leader. Therefore, many leaders pursue opportunities to speak and say yes to every invitation they receive. They think the more they communicate, the better leader they become and, even more appealing, the more others will perceive them as a great leader.

I used to feel this way. I enjoy communicating. As I’ve become more self-aware, I’ve realized that communication is not an area where I add the most value. So I no longer pursue speaking opportunities or spend large amounts of energy in that area. Yes, I still communicate, but only when I’m asked to do so and only in a setting and with an audience where I can be most effective. Overall, though, communication is not where I add the most value to Browns Bridge Community Church or to North Point Ministries.

Where have I determined that I add the most value?

• Leading teams of people
• Achieving results
• Problem solving
• Providing perspective

I will always have to do things that do not fall into one of these areas. But the more I understand where I add the most value, the more I develop in and give attention to these areas.

Determining where you add the most value to your organization is not a matter of where you wish you added the most value. It’s a matter of honestly looking at yourself and realizing who you really are. You can start by answering these questions:

• What am I doing that creates energy in me?
• What am I doing that feels most natural?
• What am I doing that elicits the most positive feedback from others?
• What am I doing that makes me feel like I am working twice as hard to produce normal results?

By Jeff Henderson, Campus Pastor of Buckhead Church

When I worked in the marketing department at Chick-fil-A, one of the questions we asked Owners/Operators was: “What are you doing today to build your business?”

Not yesterday. Not last month. Or last quarter.

Today.

It’s a great question because it underscores the daily need to stay focused on the most important tasks. And often, the less important tasks beg and scream for our attention.

The same is true for church leaders. The question I ask myself, as the campus pastor of Buckhead Church, is similar to the one I asked Chick-fil-A Operators:

“What did I do today to cast vision for Buckhead Church?”

Bill Hybels is correct. Vision leaks.

It’s not enough to have an annual vision Sunday, or an impassioned vision speech. All of that is great. But it doesn’t answer the daily question:

“What did I do today to cast vision for the church?”

Now, let me be honest. There have been plenty of days when I have no answer. Still, the question keeps me on my toes and moving forward. After all, it’s not about perfection. It’s about progress.

This is one of the many reasons church leaders should continue to take advantage of social media. At Buckhead Church, we have our own Twitter account and Facebook Fan Page that allows us to celebrate victories and cast vision daily. One recent example of this is when we twittered this question: “Okay everyone. Vision test. What is the vision of our church?” It was so encouraging to see a flood of Twitter responses with the right answer.

Another powerful way to cast vision daily is through thank you notes. I am constantly looking for stories where our staff and volunteers have lived out our vision. These stories allow me to both celebrate and reinforce the vision of our church. My goal is to write three thank-you notes a day, the old-fashioned kind with ink and a stamp. (I’m not a big fan of email thank-you notes. But I guess it’s better than nothing.)

Finally, the most important way I can cast vision daily is for me to live it out in my own life. If I don’t have any stories about how I am inviting people to Buckhead Church, why should I expect the church to do differently? If I am not in a small group, why should I expect people to carve out time for it? If I am not giving to the church, why should I expect others to?

In this way, vision isn’t a leadership tool. It’s a way of life.

Lived out daily.

Have you ever felt that way? Your ministry is going well. You’re doing your job well and you like what you’re doing. But you feel like something’s missing. You know there is a larger story being told, but you do not get to contribute to it.

“The sad thing is employees are often hired to fulfill a function.
They’re not hired to be part of an organization. They’re not hired
to be part of a dream. They’re hired to be part of a function. Like a
chair. The chair in which you are sitting is fulfilling a function. You
don’t want to be a chair.” - Horst Schulze, founding president and COO
of Ritz-Carlton in a talk to the Buckhead Church staff in 2007

We don’t want people on our teams who are just performing a function. But when we hire, we often focus most on the duties of the job. What will they do each day? What experience do they bring to the job? How will we train them? How do we evaluate their performance? Can we get them to do more?

Of course, to justify any role we want filled, we need to know what functions this person will perform…what skills and experience he or she will bring to the job. Those are easy to observe. This discussion usually revolves around “how.”

We must have people on our teams who are passionate about the mission and see how their roles are vital to accomplishing that mission. We need people who are bought-in and who get “it.” In reality, though, we often hire for function and hope they catch our mission along the way. And we don’t understand why, one day in the future, they are not as passionate about the mission as we are.

It’s more difficult for us to explain the mission than it is to describe the job, because mission engagement is intangible and measured by the heart. In explaining the mission, the conversation usually revolves around “why.” The answers to the “why” questions reveal someone’s heart. Catching a glimpse of someone’s heart will help determine whether he or she is the right person to join you in accomplishing the mission. So, we must become more adept at “selling the mission.”

I’m fortunate to work in an environment now where I am not just fulfilling a function. Yes, I’m doing my job, but I am also part of something much bigger. I’ve been invited locally to help Browns Bridge Community Church lead the people in our community into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. And in a larger sense, I’m part of fulfilling the mission of North Point Ministries . . . to lead people all over the country and the world into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. And I’m becoming intentional about helping my team feel connected in the same way.

I have a friend I spend a lot of time with, but he doesn’t know me. If you asked him what was going on in my life, he would have a hard time answering. The reason is simple; he doesn’t ask questions. I know all about him. I could tell you about his hopes and dreams, because when we’re together, I ask him questions. And that simple tale of a somewhat disinterested friend embodies a valuable principle.

In our lives, in our families, in our organizations, questions accomplish two critical things. They reveal values and they reinforce values.

They reveal what matters. Questions tear through all the clutter and get at the heart of what we care about, what’s crucial to our day, and what we’re ultimately invested in.

They reinforce what matters. They keep us focused on what’s critical. They keep us talking and monitoring the core values on which our families or organizations are built.

But how do you know which questions to ask? How do you move beyond, “Did it get done? How did it go?” As leaders, one of the greatest things we can do for our teams is to attach the right questions to the things we do. Why? As great leaders have noted for decades, what gets measured gets done and what gets rewarded gets repeated. It’s impossible to measure or reward if you’re not asking the right questions and getting the right information. We all need to develop questions we ask repeatedly.

When it comes to asking the right questions, there are three areas in particular that leaders should focus on. As you read, ask yourself what questions you need to be asking your team members.

Organizational Questions

Which gauges should we be watching?

We’re all familiar with gauges. Gauges are designed to help us anticipate and avoid breakdowns. In our cars, they show us how much fuel we have or if our engines are overheating. And although we might not stare at them when we’re driving, we keep our eyes on them and understand the role they play. Same with your organization; you have to determine which gauges to monitor.

You need to identify three or four gauges to watch. Attendance is an obvious one. As a church, there will always be a need to know that particular number. But if we laser in on attendance and ignore everything else, we’ll get such a small picture of the real health of our churches. I encourage you to dig deeper and think about things like: How many leaders vs. apprentices do we have in our ministries? How many seasoned leaders are helping vs. newcomers that need help? As you find the correct gauges, you’ll discover that they help monitor health as well as growth.

Where are we manufacturing energy?

Is there a ministry area where you have to pretend a little bit? An area where the excitement has died and although you’re still doing it, you’re not really invested in it.

This question quickly exposes dying or dead areas in your organization, giving you the opportunity to fix them or kill them. It’s that simple.

Don’t continue to ignore them. The attitude of “we do it that way because we’ve always done it that way,” doesn’t benefit anyone.

Staffing Questions

Who needs to be sitting at the table?

You make better decisions when you have the right people at the table. Period. Cut through the red tape and the org chart and ask, “Whose input do I need to make the best decision possible on this issue?” Who is going to feed valuable input into the decisions you’re facing?

As you ask this question, you’ll learn that all people are not created equal. We all have different skills and experiences. I can’t dunk a basketball, and I’ve accepted that. I’ve found that there are two broad groups of people: initiators and completers. There are people you’ll want to brainstorm with, but they would be horrible participants in the “get it done” meeting. Other team members thrive on completion. Understand who on your team fits within those groups and make sure they are at the right tables at the right times.

Who is not keeping up?

This is a painful question to ask. I don’t like to ask this question. This isn’t about bad people or spirituality. It’s just that every once in a while, as your organization hits 60 mph, you’ll have to ask who is still moving at 45 mph.

As painful as this question is, the truth is that other people in your organization already know the answer. They are wondering if you know. If you don’t identify the problem, you’ll work around those 45 mph people and maybe even keep them locked in positions that are wrong for them.

Professional Questions

Where do I make the greatest contribution to the organization?

Where do you add the most value? How do you get to a place where you are only doing what only you can do? The goal is to spend the majority of your time doing the things that make the greatest contribution.

The reality is that as your organization gets bigger and more complicated, it will be harder to ask this question and more difficult to deal with the answer. As organizational layers expand and new positions are added, more time and energy will be required to identify the areas where your contribution is most needed.

What should I stop doing?

Are there things you’re doing that you need to stop doing? Right now? Things you’re not good at? Things that other people are better at? There might even be things you’re doing just because you enjoy doing them, but they don’t add value. And you have to make the tough decision to stop doing them.

Asking these questions or your own questions that get at the heart of your leadership and organization are really about doing a check-up. They’re about finding out and fixing what’s really going on. Sometimes, the temptation is to not ask these questions, instead to simply add more people or more processes to what you’re doing. But if you can ask the right questions, if you can get the right people at the table, and if you can make sure you’re doing the things individually that add the greatest value, you and your entire team will be better for it.

]]>

I have a friend I spend a lot of time with, but he doesn’t know me. If you asked him what was going on in my life, he would have a hard time answering. The reason is simple; he doesn’t ask questions. I know all about him. I could tell you about his hopes and dreams, because when we’re together, I ask him questions. And that simple tale of a somewhat disinterested friend embodies a valuable principle.

In our lives, in our families, in our organizations, questions accomplish two critical things. They reveal values and they reinforce values.

They reveal what matters. Questions tear through all the clutter and get at the heart of what we care about, what’s crucial to our day, and what we’re ultimately invested in.

They reinforce what matters. They keep us focused on what’s critical. They keep us talking and monitoring the core values on which our families or organizations are built.

But how do you know which questions to ask? How do you move beyond, “Did it get done? How did it go?” As leaders, one of the greatest things we can do for our teams is to attach the right questions to the things we do. Why? As great leaders have noted for decades, what gets measured gets done and what gets rewarded gets repeated. It’s impossible to measure or reward if you’re not asking the right questions and getting the right information. We all need to develop questions we ask repeatedly.

When it comes to asking the right questions, there are three areas in particular that leaders should focus on. As you read, ask yourself what questions you need to be asking your team members.

Organizational Questions

Which gauges should we be watching?

We’re all familiar with gauges. Gauges are designed to help us anticipate and avoid breakdowns. In our cars, they show us how much fuel we have or if our engines are overheating. And although we might not stare at them when we’re driving, we keep our eyes on them and understand the role they play. Same with your organization; you have to determine which gauges to monitor.

You need to identify three or four gauges to watch. Attendance is an obvious one. As a church, there will always be a need to know that particular number. But if we laser in on attendance and ignore everything else, we’ll get such a small picture of the real health of our churches. I encourage you to dig deeper and think about things like: How many leaders vs. apprentices do we have in our ministries? How many seasoned leaders are helping vs. newcomers that need help? As you find the correct gauges, you’ll discover that they help monitor health as well as growth.

Where are we manufacturing energy?

Is there a ministry area where you have to pretend a little bit? An area where the excitement has died and although you’re still doing it, you’re not really invested in it.

This question quickly exposes dying or dead areas in your organization, giving you the opportunity to fix them or kill them. It’s that simple.

Don’t continue to ignore them. The attitude of “we do it that way because we’ve always done it that way,” doesn’t benefit anyone.

Staffing Questions

Who needs to be sitting at the table?

You make better decisions when you have the right people at the table. Period. Cut through the red tape and the org chart and ask, “Whose input do I need to make the best decision possible on this issue?” Who is going to feed valuable input into the decisions you’re facing?

As you ask this question, you’ll learn that all people are not created equal. We all have different skills and experiences. I can’t dunk a basketball, and I’ve accepted that. I’ve found that there are two broad groups of people: initiators and completers. There are people you’ll want to brainstorm with, but they would be horrible participants in the “get it done” meeting. Other team members thrive on completion. Understand who on your team fits within those groups and make sure they are at the right tables at the right times.

Who is not keeping up?

This is a painful question to ask. I don’t like to ask this question. This isn’t about bad people or spirituality. It’s just that every once in a while, as your organization hits 60 mph, you’ll have to ask who is still moving at 45 mph.

As painful as this question is, the truth is that other people in your organization already know the answer. They are wondering if you know. If you don’t identify the problem, you’ll work around those 45 mph people and maybe even keep them locked in positions that are wrong for them.

Professional Questions

Where do I make the greatest contribution to the organization?

Where do you add the most value? How do you get to a place where you are only doing what only you can do? The goal is to spend the majority of your time doing the things that make the greatest contribution.

The reality is that as your organization gets bigger and more complicated, it will be harder to ask this question and more difficult to deal with the answer. As organizational layers expand and new positions are added, more time and energy will be required to identify the areas where your contribution is most needed.

What should I stop doing?

Are there things you’re doing that you need to stop doing? Right now? Things you’re not good at? Things that other people are better at? There might even be things you’re doing just because you enjoy doing them, but they don’t add value. And you have to make the tough decision to stop doing them.

Asking these questions or your own questions that get at the heart of your leadership and organization are really about doing a check-up. They’re about finding out and fixing what’s really going on. Sometimes, the temptation is to not ask these questions, instead to simply add more people or more processes to what you’re doing. But if you can ask the right questions, if you can get the right people at the table, and if you can make sure you’re doing the things individually that add the greatest value, you and your entire team will be better for it.

]]> http://insidenorthpoint.org/blog/2010/04/07/asking-the-right-questions/feed/ http://insidenorthpoint.org/blog/2010/03/08/collaboration/ http://insidenorthpoint.org/blog/2010/03/08/collaboration/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:01:44 +0000 Jessica http://insidenorthpoint.org/?p=567

By Casey Ross, Director of Ministry Services, Browns Bridge Community Church

As a younger leader, I oftentimes led by myself, even though I had bosses, peers, and volunteers working around me. I felt like it proved I was a leader. I processed information and made decisions in isolation. And it actually worked most of the time. But just because it worked did not mean it was the right way to lead. My desire to prove I was a leader was causing me to miss out on a better way, and it was causing others to miss out on a better way too—collaboration.

Collaboration takes a group of players and turns them into a functioning team. And like all winning teams, it’s what happens before the game that makes them champions. Collaboration is working together before the game starts to come up with the game plan. It’s relying on each person to contribute to the plan that will lead the entire team to a win. It’s gathering people you trust to contribute to the plan.

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2009/03/31/emory_healthcare_cutbacks.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab

By Casey Ross, Director of Ministry Services, Browns Bridge Community Church

My wife and I have been doing Boot Camp twice a week for the past year and a half. I’ve never dreaded something I love so much. Well, actually I love the feeling of finishing it each time. I feel such a sense of accomplishment. Most importantly, I feel healthier and stronger. Well, I did.

We recently bought a bathroom scale. It was my wife’s idea. I had not weighed myself since before we started Boot Camp. The first time I stepped on the scale, I was shocked. I felt healthier and stronger, but I hadn’t lost as much weight as I’d hoped. How could that be?

Although I thought I had the whole picture based on how good I felt, I only had a partial picture. The numbers on the scale showed me the rest of the picture—the part I didn’t really want to see.

As leaders, how do we make sure we see the entire picture? How do we know whether or not we’re truly accomplishing all that we want to accomplish?

You have to have some way of measuring your effectiveness.

One way we measure our effectiveness is by emphasizing stories. In our world, our win is life change. One of the greatest things about our organization is that we continually hear stories about people whose lives are being changed by a growing relationship with Jesus.

But if all we use to evaluate ourselves are stories, we’re only seeing a partial picture. Stories tug at our emotions and motivate us. They give us a snapshot of what our vision looks like when it’s being accomplished. But stories are also very subjective and the emotions they stir can distort reality.

Another way we measure our effectiveness is by looking at numbers. Financial numbers. Attendance numbers. Ratios. They help us compare environments and measure the growth and health of an area.

But if all we use to evaluate ourselves are numbers, we’re only seeing a partial picture. Yes, every number represents a person and his or her story, but numbers can be manipulated to say what we want them to say. They tend to be more informative and impersonal and do not connect with our heart.

In leadership, it’s important for us to have more than one way to evaluate whether or not we’re winning. Both stories and numbers give us that balance. Listen to just one, or one more than the other, and reality can become distorted. Clarity is a powerful tool for any leader.

How are you evaluating your effectiveness?

I’m very fortunate to work in a culture that values personal development. Not all organizations place a high value on their people’s growth. Whether you work in a culture that values development or ignores development, there are two questions that need to be answered.

Question 1: Who should be responsible for my personal development?

I am. No need to beat around the bush on this question. You are responsible for your development. Regardless of whether or not your boss or your church is pouring into your development, you must take responsibility for it. If you rely on others to develop you, you will eventually lose interest. You may even develop some unhealthy dependence habits. You’re the only person who can truly determine where you want to go, so you must take responsibility for getting there.

Question 2: Who should be involved in my personal development?

You should not be the only person interested. Ideally, your boss and your organization should take your development seriously. Hopefully, they have a plan to help you grow as a person and a leader. If you are part of a team or an organization that wants to develop you, celebrate that! Take full advantage of what is offered.

If you are not surrounded by people who want to help you grow, begin by trying to develop the people who work for you. Pour into them. Make them better. Maybe your plan and their growth will spark those above you. Also look for outside influences. Find people ahead of you in different areas of your life and ask them to help you develop in the areas you need the most growth.

It’s been years since I picked up an instrument, but I’m still convinced that there’s something inescapable about music. It transforms words into lyrics. It changes walls into bridges. It turns listening ears into listening hearts.

As a performer, as a listener, as a visitor who might end up in a most unexpected place on a Sunday morning, music has a transformational power. And it moves people in ways that even the best communicator cannot.

Music matters.

It’s not just songs. Or musicians. Or lights and equipment. Music is much more than that. Music is a doorway to worship.

And as a pastor, one of my greatest honors is to point to that doorway. To announce the band and then step out of the way while we as a church, as a community, as individuals, answer the call to worship. A call that music sends out like nothing else.

Today, I have the distinct privilege to offer you that same invitation.

Sure, I’m not on stage, but I want to use this digital platform to do one of my favorite things—invite you to worship.

We regularly gather at our campuses for extended times of worship. We recently captured one of these experiences and the result was a new live worship album called Awake.

The songs on Awake go beyond rehashed clichés. Instead, they point listeners and participants toward a lifestyle characterized by obedience and surrender—a lifestyle of worship. These songs are being used in local churches around the country to connect minds and hearts.

Take a listen for yourself. We’re giving away free downloads of “It Is Well” from Awake.  Let us know what you think of the new arrangement of this age-old hymn.

Happy New Year!

Andy

I have a long way to go as a husband, dad, leader, coworker, boss, friend . . . you name it. That’s why I have to take my development seriously. Over the years, I’ve used different methods to try to become better. I’ve read books and blogs and articles, attended conferences, met with others, taken classes, and listened to podcasts (and even cassette tapes back in the day). All of those can be very valuable.

For the most part, though, those things involved hearing, writing, memorizing, thinking, and/or discussing. While all were worthwhile, something was missing. In my case, my development was usually slower and did not stick long-term when I was lacking this one piece.

Several years ago, I learned a valuable lesson when it comes to accomplishing lasting development. As I noticed some growth and received feedback from others about areas of my life in which I was becoming consistently better, I realized it was in those areas that I had added this missing piece.

So, for the last few years I’ve read less, attended fewer conferences, met with fewer people, and listened to fewer podcasts (and zero cassette tapes). It’s not that I’ve stopped doing these things; I’m just doing less of them. It helps me focus.

What have I started doing more of?

Raising my hand. Signing up. Taking risks. Attempting more. Bottom line: I’m doing more. I’m experiencing more—all in an effort to grow. And it’s working. No, I haven’t reached the finish line. I never will. So I will keep raising my hand and doing more.

Look around. What can you raise your hand to do that will cause you to grow?

By Dan Stonaker, Associate Director of Ministry Services, North Point Community Church

“I can’t believe he did that again!”

“Are you kidding me? What were they thinking when they bought that?”  

 Do you find yourself having conversations like this in your head when you hear things that just don’t make sense to you?

I know I do and it happens more than I care to admit. If I’m honest, I really don’t give OTHERS the benefit of the doubt, at least initially. I also know that I expect OTHERS to give ME the benefit of the doubt and an opportunity for ME to explain. Are you with me on this?

Here’s what helps ME and OTHERS in our organization. Whenever ME starts having those imaginary conversations in my head with OTHERS, it’s time to PICK UP THE PHONE. The more I don’t want to have the conversation, the more important it is for ME to have it. What do you say when it’s time to have that conversation?

I try to start those conversations with “Can you help me understand . . .?” It’s not accusatory and it builds a bridge between ME and OTHERS. Nine times out of ten, those conversations reveal something I didn’t know and I leave truly understanding. In the end, it builds trust one relationship at a time. Every one of those interactions in our organization is a tiny thread that eventually weaves a culture of trust.

How do you approach these situations in your organization? Does it work?