Tag: Leader

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Yes, You Are Called to Be a Leader for Christ

Yes, You Are Called to Be a Leader for Christ

Times are changing, and so are the ways people work and collaborate.  The idea of being a leader can be daunting.

When you consider the word  “leader  who and what comes to mind, perhaps your Pastor?  The BBC show the Apprentice? Your manager? A colleague at work in another team perhaps  or  an individual  who literally has “Project Leader”  on a business card or email signature?

Well, it may not be part of your job title, and you may even struggle to find the words in your job description, nevertheless, the call to follow Christ is a call to leadership.

In the Oxford ditionary a project Is defined as “an individual or collaborative enterprise that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim”

When you think “project”, you typically think about big things, such as:

  • Church building developments
  • Developing a new product
  • IT system integration
  • Writing a tender

But actually, many smaller activities  can also be classed as a project, such as:

  • Creating and delivering an internal training course at church
  • Creating and sending a church e-newsletter
  • Creating new  team processes

In fact, according to David Allen,  pioneer  of the productivity system Getting Things Done (GTD), a ‘project’ is  any multi-step action. In other words, creating a new ad campaign, outreach planning, feeding the poor initiative, even buying a new car or making a 3-course dinner for your significant others are  all different  types of daily projects  you manage.

What does this mean for people  not called project leaders?

Well, failing to realise this could mean that you are missing out on important lessons that the  people with the ‘project leader’ label on their business cards know only too well.

If  you  approach  your daily tasks  and projects with the mindset, “I can do this in a structured, organized way,” then the outcome will substantially improve. Additionally, it may seem glaringly obvious, but someone needs to own a project, and not  every church  organisation or team  has a certified project leader to call upon.

1.   Change your approach

“Stake Your Claim That This Is Now a Project You‘re Managing”

Professional project leaders have formal training on the best way on approaching a project and use methodologies which take time to master. However, this  just isn’t appropriate for people who are juggling the role of unofficial project leader alongside many other tasks.  

Simply changing your mindset can make a difference in how you approach the work.

2. Create an action plan

“Make a List of the Actions It Will Take to Get You to the End Goal”

It’s very easy to jump straight in and get moving on  a project. Spending time planning can seem like wasted time, but in fact, without good planning, you could be wasting your  time and energy on things that just aren’t needed. In other words, skipping the planning phase of a project is a sure-fire way of encountering problems  down the line. The basics of what you’ll need to establish include your project vision (or guiding light), what your project will deliver, the risks to the project as well as your budget, resources, and timescales  and don’t forget to pray before you start.  Prayer is the portal that brings the power of heaven down to earth. It is kryptonite to the Enemy and to all his ploys against you. Pray in the Spirit at all times and at every stage of the project.

3.  Set a realistic deadline

Without a Deadline Your Project Will Sit at the Bottom of Your To-do List and Will Go Nowhere

When it comes to assessing your timescales, you need to figure out what is realistically achievable, while not padding out your timelines too much.

4. Communicate regularly

Developing a Project in a Bubble Will Result in Problems Later On

Regular communication is vital.  Meetings, emails and even a quick trip to your colleague’s desk are all needed to make sure you have not missed anything important and  that  everyone in on the same page.

5. Faith is not a spectator sport.

The Opportunities are Endless and Harvest is Plentiful.

Finally, please remember aside from managing projects that faith is not a spectator sport. It’s easy to come to church to be entertained and not invest time in serving the church community. But Jesus isn’t here for our amusement. He didn’t die so we could experience cool sermons  alone. The Christians we remember throughout history were the men and women who did not wait on the sideline when there was work to be done.

There are many places to lead. The opportunities are endless and harvest is plentiful.

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19 Inspirational Quotes to Create a Wise Leader

Some of  the most inspirational quotes ever uttered to stir you and get you moving through the day. Whether you feel stuck or just need a good dose of inspiration from great minds. Be sure to feed your brain inspiring quotes and phrases daily.

  1. For the wise person, there are only two types of experiences on life’s road: winning and learning –  Greg Henry Quinn
  2. Successful people are EXTREMELY self-disciplined. When they set their mind to something, they do it. No questions asked –
    Jacob Reimer
  3. To those who retain their zest, old age has much to offer. From them the world has much to gain –  Lord Beaverbrook
  4. You must be the change you wish to see in the world  –  Gandhi
  5. Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm  –  Winston Churchill
  6. Dream big and dare to fail  –  Norman Vaughan
  7. Make each day your masterpiece  –  John Wooden
  8. Once you choose hope, anything’s possible  –  Christopher Reeve
  9. Every moment is a fresh beginning  –  T.S. Eliot
  10. Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear  –  George Addair
  11. A year from now you may wish you had started today  –  Karen Lamb
  12. It is never too late to be what you might have been  –  George Eliot
  13. There are no traffic jams along the extra mile  –  Roger Staubach
  14. If there is no struggle, there is no progress  –  Frederick Douglass
  15. If you can’t outplay them, outwork them  –  Ben Hogan
  16. The best way to predict the future is to invent it  –  Alan Kay
  17. Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you  –  Arnold Palmer
  18. If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all? –  Joe Namath
  19. Choosing a goal and sticking to it changes everything  –  Scott Reed
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The Hard Side of Change Management

Change management is an approach to transition individuals, teams, and organisations to a desired future state. For over three decades, academics, managers, and consultants, realising that transforming organisations is difficult, have avoided  the subject.

My Way or the Highway

Major organisational change is profoundly difficult because the structure, culture, and routines of companies  often reflect’s persistent and difficult-to-remove ways of working, which are resistant to radical change even as the environment of  organisations change.

What started out as a financial buzzword in the early nineties  has become fundamental business practice, with executives recognising the need to keep abreast  with the competition in a rapidly developing corporate new world.

Navigating  change

Globalisation and the constant innovation of technology result in a constantly evolving business environment. There is an ever-increasing need for Change Management Lead’s / Senior Managers who can help organisations successfully navigate change in today’s business environments. The focus of this movement to date has been on how to  partner with organisations to define education, training and communication platforms that help to support the change initiatives and concerns of company employees. The critical aspect is a company’s ability to win the buy-in of their organisation’s employees on the change initiative.

While a project team is important for success, a senior level advisor is invaluable and can work  with an organisations  leadership team to avoid common pitfalls that change management projects often fall into. There are four key areas where an Advisor should act as this resource as follows:

1. Defining A  Strategy  

Executives should start by asking themselves  what exactly needs  changing and why? Organisational change directly affects all departments from entry level employees to senior management and  must be aligned to a  companies  strategy. Too many programs are heavy on the jargon and light on the substance.  Executives are often sold on an idea only to realise as the change initiative begins that they need a different outcome, tool or process to be successful.

In this situation the strategy for change needs to be re-aligned with the organisation and its goals.

An outside senior advisor with a unique perspective of the organisation will  play an important role in helping an executive to explore and shape the strategy they are defining and highlight whether it will truly create the outcomes they desire. This upfront partnership can save money  on the back end of a project, by avoiding costly re-scoping of initiatives.This relationship  between senior advisor and executive should therefore begin as early as possible in the process.

2. Coalition Building

Its important to give  people multiple opportunities to share concerns, ask questions, and offer ideas  and to make following up with answers and updates a top priority.  Executives must reach out across their functional work streams to build a large cohesive team to support the project once the correct strategy has been set and the urgency for the project has been established. A good senior advisor will be able to guide an executive though these interactions.

As a senior change management professional, it is important that you help leaders of the organisation craft the correct message. While leaders often know what it is they want and see the urgency for themselves, the outside view that a coach provides can support the development of a team around the initiative and  help to navigate the strategic and political interests in linking the change to the interest of multiple team members.

The more people are involved in the process, the fewer will  be acting as internal saboteurs.

Communication Is Key to Successful Change Management

3. Communication

Don’t confuse process visioning, planning and endless powerpoint presentations with communication.  

Change is uncomfortable, and adapting to change is messy. A  Gantt chart can not capture  the  hard side of  change management. Why? Because tasks are easy to list, but behaviour and long-held habits are not easy to change. Gather outside information, solicit perspectives, and adapt the approaches for your organisation and group.

The importance of communication within an organisation around the change cannot be underestimated.     Executives often fall short on communication in two main  areas, not communicating the right message and not communicating it frequently enough across an  organisation. It is often thought that everyone else in the organisation is on board and understands the change, however, the  reality for an executive  is not the reality for another worker who may have lost a job because of a well intended change initiative.  A senior advisor can apply consistent pressure to the leader of the change around the need for communication and its messaging.

Quantity Is Fine, but Quality and Consistency Are Crucial

4. Share  Relevant  Information Quickly

Most CEOs and managers are quoted as saying, “You can’t communicate too much,” Part of the communication will be the support the urgency in messaging.     “My way or the highway”  is often used, but is not an effective communication strategy.     Senior Advisors can work with executives to tailor their message to each area of the organisation in order to define content that is important to them.

A study by  Towers Watson  shows that “only two-thirds (68%) of senior managers say they are getting the message about the reasons behind major organisational decisions. Below the senior management level, the message dwindles further  to  (53%) of middle managers and 40% of first-line supervisors understanding  reasons behind major organisational  change.

The forwarding and cascading of information does not work as  consistent communication around the change will be necessary at all levels of the organisation using a variety of communication pathways and vehicles.  As a trusted advisor it is important to encourage executives to lead by example in both their messaging and communication of the change  agenda.

Only 25% of Change Management Initiatives Are Successful over the Long Term

Maintaining The Change

Many leaders and managers underestimate the length of time required by a change cycle. It is paramount  that as the  change effort reaches its completion that  leaders of the change recognise that the process does not end there.   The role of a Senior Advisor will be to guide them to the idea that work must be undertaken  to maintain the change over time. Maintaining change does not mean that an executive must own the initiative  forever, just that they take the necessary steps to ensure that change has a lasting impact by integrating the change into the corporate culture and measuring the benefits  and highlighting areas for future improvements.

The outside unbiased view is  that a Change Management Lead is crucial to the success of a change management program.

This article  provides food for thought rather than counsel specifically designed to meet the needs of your organisation or situation.  Please use it mindfully.

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43 Great Quotes To Inspire You To Be a Better Christian Leader

Anyone who has responsibility for the work of others understands the unique challenges that come with managing people.

Over the years, various thought leaders have come up with pearls of wisdom in the form of quotations that when given some thought, have a lot to teach us.  Sometimes a simple quote is just the thing to lift our spirits, to make us smile or to give us the energy to keep going when we’re feeling low.

Here are 43 such quotes to make us better Christian leaders.

  1. “The Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self.” –  Unknown
  2. “In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way.” –  Unknown
  3. “The good news is, God has provided us with a LifeBook to help us – the Bible.” –  Unknown
  4. “Encouragement is the oxygen of the soul.” –  John Maxwell
  5. “There’s only two things you can start without a plan: a riot and a family, for everything else you need a plan.” –  Unknown
  6. “Rejection is an opportunity for your selection.” –  Unknown
  7. “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” –  John Maxwell
  8. “Leadership is getting people to work for you when they are not obligated.” –  Fred Price
  9. “Running a project without a work breakdown structure is like going to a strange land without a roadmap” – J Phillips
  10. “You don’t have to hold a position in order to be a leader.” –  Henry Ford”
  11. “Have a good plan, Execute it violently, Do it today” – General Douglas McArthur
  12. “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that is has taken place.” –  Unknown
  13. “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”  –  Winston Churchill
  14. “A project without a critical path is like a ship without a rudder.” – D. Meyer
  15. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
  16. “What’s measured improves.” –  Unknown
  17. “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” –  Antoine de Saint Exupry 1900-1944, French writer and aviator
  18. “If it is not documented, it doesn’t exist. As long as information is retained in someone’s head, it is vulnerable to loss.” –  Unknown
  19. “It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things.”  –  Machiavelli 1446-1507, Italian statesman and philosopher
  20.  “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra.” –  Unknown
  21. “Luck is for the ill-prepared.” –  Unknown
  22. “Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I’ll understand.”  –  Chinese Proverb
  23. “Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is  coordinating the talents  of those who work for us and pointing them towards a certain goal.” –Unknown
  24. “PMs are the most creative pros in the world; we have to figure out everything that could go wrong before it does.” – Fredrik Haren
  25. “Why do so many professionals say they are project managing when what they are actually doing is firefighting?” –Unknown
  26. “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.”  –Unknown
  27. “Ensure your documentation is short and sharp and make much more use of people-to-people communication.” –Unknown
  28. “Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” –  Henry Ford
  29. “Leadership offers an opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life, no matter what the project.” –  Bill Owens
  30. “Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.” –  John C. Maxwell
  31. “Leaders have two characteristics: first they are going somewhere, and second they are able to persuade other people to go with them.” –  John Maxwell
  32. “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” – Kenneth Blanchard
  33. “The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.” – Warren Bennis
  34. “The best example of leadership is leadership by example.” –  Jerry McClain
  35. If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” –  John Quincy Adams
  36. “The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve.” –  John Stott
  37. “We can be tired, weary and emotionally distraught, but after spending time alone with God, we find that He injects into our bodies energy, power and strength.” –  Charles F. Stanley
  38. “Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” –  Mark 10:45
  39. “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” –Unknown
  40. “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” –  Mother Teresa
  41. “The greater your knowledge of the goodness and grace of God on your life, the more likely you are to praise Him in the storm.” –  Matt Chandler
  42. “Continuous effort  – not strength or intelligence — is the key to unlocking our potential” –  Winston Churchill
  43. “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” –  John Piper

If you know a great quote or scripture that will inspire others to lead their churches better, please feel free to share it in the comments below.

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7 Signs that Suggest You Should Step Away from Managing the Church Project

Signs That You Aren't Cut-Out To Be A Project Manager

The lack of project management training or experience of many Christian leaders can be an enormous stress factor for them. Whilst natural organizational ability is enormously helpful, in itself it is no guarantee of any project being both successful and low stress.

As a Project Manager, you will need to manage every aspect of the project from start to finish, working on a series of pre-determined goals and objectives.  Not everyone is cut out to be a Project Manager.  It’s not even necessarily a highly desirable job.   You get a lot of visibility, but not necessarily a lot of recognition, unless the project is very successful and highly visible. As such project management is  not  for the faint-hearted.

Although specific responsibilities vary from industry to industry, the role of a Project Manager will generally include the following:

  • Defining the project
  • Scheduling
  • Budgeting
  • Risk assessing
  • Project control
  • Providing direction and support to the team
  • Quality checking
  • Reporting progress, problems, and solutions
  • Assessing results of the project
  • Closing down the project
  • Managing and working with multiple stakeholders

When it comes to project managing, it is important to have certain skills to be the most effective Project Manager you can be. Some people have these skills and others do not. Here’s our list of indicators that you may not be well suited to be a Project Manager in no particular order:

1. You’re a poor communicator

More than 50% of a Project Managers time is spent on some aspect of communication.  The majority of conflicts in a team involve problems in communication, either as a cause or an effect. A lack of understanding can result from ineffective communication and can then lead to further communication issues. Communication skills are ranked first among a job candidate’s ‘must have’ skills and qualities according to a 2010 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

Poor communicators will often believe that giving people facts about a situation will be sufficient to influence them into following a particular course of action. However as Richard Nixon said,

“People Are Persuaded by Reason, but Moved by Emotion; The Leader Must Both Persuade Them and Move Them.”

Avoiding communication is a common occurrence when a difficult conversation is anticipated. Project Managers  with low confidence will tend to ignore opportunities to pass on difficult messages with the result that the communication vacuum only serves to increase the size of the problem in the team. The old adage that “no news is good news” doesn’t usually apply in such circumstances as the  team  on the receiving end of the silence will fill the void with their own perceptions, doubts, and fears.

Poor Project Managers  also  tend to react emotionally and erratically when communicating with the team which can make it difficult for the team  on the receiving end to anticipate how the communication will progress. Lack of honesty and not sharing how you really feel can also lead to a lack of trust in the  team.

2. You don’t work well with people

Good Project Managers make an effort to spend a lot of time with clients, stakeholders, and team members.  If you don’t like working within a team and prefer to stay in one location and focus on your own work, you probably don’t have the collaborative ability to be a good Project Manager.  While one person working alone can have an impact, your role as a leader is to guide your team to accomplish bigger goals than they could achieve on their own.

A Great Person Attracts Great People and Knows How to Hold Them Together — Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

3. You don’t like to manage people

You don’t have much of a project if you’re the only resource. If you want to be a good project manager, you need to be able to manage people well. You will probably never have a  100% responsibility for people, but you will need to show leadership, hold them accountable, manage conflict, etc. Some project managers say they could do a much better job if they did not have to deal with people. If that’s how you feel, project management is probably not for you.

Earn Your Leadership Every Day – Michael Jordan

4. You don’t like to document things or follow processes

Many aspects of project management requires documenting things, including status reporting, communication plans, scope changes, and project plans.  A Lack of process  increases the risk that tasks related to the project will fall through the cracks, that projects will have to be re-worked, and ultimately that a project won’t be completed on time or on budget. A good project manager needs to be effective at process and information management.

The Art of Leadership Is Saying No, Not Saying Yes. It Is Very Easy to Say Yes —  Tony Blair

5. You cannot tell the client “no”

Clients aren’t the same as customers. Sometimes they need to be guided in the right direction. This is your job.  Clients who change project requirements all the time or who demand unreasonable working hours need to be managed.

A Leader is One who Knows the Way, Goes the way, and Shows the way — John Maxwell

6. You don’t like to  plan and  are not organised

The project managers job is to organise everyone in the team. If you cannot plan, you can hardly be an effective leader.  When a client gives you a project, if your first inclination  is start working, you probably don’t have a project management mindset.  The Project Managers overall task is to keep the project on budget and on target. Sticking to deadlines is very important.

The Key to Successful Leadership Today is Influence, Not Authority — Kenneth Blanchard

7. You Micromanage the team

Babysitting the team.  It’s very common for poor Project Managers to treat their job like an enforcer, policing the project team for progress and updates.

 

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