Leadership
5 Ways Great Leaders Keep Hope Alive When Hope is Fading
We leaders are dealers in hope. Not hype, which is completely different. But hope. One of our key tasks is to move people toward a promise that’s real. Toward a better day. Toward a future that is better. But how…
How to Tell If You’re an Organizational or Relational Leader (And Why It Matters)
A friend of mine from seminary days told me that every leader has a number on his (or her) back. 50 100 200 1000 10,000 His theory? Basically everyone has a natural number that reflects the size of organization (or…
9 Reasons It’s Hard to Attend a Church Once You’ve Been Involved in Leading One
Why on earth would pastors and church leaders have a hard time attending church of all things? Kind of a strange thing to ask, isn’t it? After all, wouldn’t leaders who have led churches be the most anxious to attend them? Strangely, not always.…
Top 10 Habits of Leaders Who Effectively Guard Their Hearts
If someone asked you how your heart is, what would you say? I know, it’s a weird question But what I told you that the answer to that question would determine: How long you’ll last in leadership. How effective you’ll…
4 Kinds of Thinking That Can Sabotage Your Leadership
Chances are a big chunk of what you’re going to do today in leadership is think. Really, thinking is a big slice of what a leader is paid to do. You try to solve problems, analyze opportunities, listen, facilitate and…
5 Things Your Pastor Wishes They Could Tell You
I don’t know why I wanted to write this today. But I did. Other than a brief time in law, pastoring a church is what I’ve been involved in for my adult life. I’ve probably had thousands of conversations with…
5 Ways to Connect with Your Audience (Like a Rock Star)
I am so not a rock star. And you may not be either. But as a leader I’m a communicator and that means that like you, I want to connect with the people I’m speaking to. On that note…ever feel…
How To Get Your Church Passionate About Your Mission
One of the dreams of almost every leader is to see every person within an organization motivated by the same mission and vision. The reality is very few organizations—and very few churches—function that way. Most leaders have had an unsettling…
How To Write Things the People You Lead Actually Want to Read
Chances are this week you’re going to write something you hope people will read. An email to your volunteers A blog post for your organization Social media updates A note to parents Teasers outlining your next message series or big…
25 Smartphone Apps Every Leader Should Know About
Confession: I really like technology. As a child of the 70s who remembers having to get up off the couch to change TV channels, I am in favour of anything that makes life more productive, more rewarding or more fun.…
5 Reasons You Don't Have More Volunteers
So many church leaders struggle to recruit volunteers and get them fully engaged in the mission. It just seems like every church leader I know is always looking for more volunteers. I’ve never met a church that said, “You know…when…
3 Essential Ingredients for Every Leader’s Inner Circle
If you’re going to make it in leadership over the long haul, you need a strong inner circle. And that’s exactly what many leaders don’t have. Too many leaders I talk to are isolated, a bit lonely and as a…