Category Archives: Brand You

The Case for Organizational Health

Posted on by

The single greatest advantage any company can achieve is organizational health. Yet it is ignored by most leaders even though it is simple, free, and available to anyone who wants it.

– Patrick Lencioni, The Advantage

With that bold statement, Patrick Lencioni delivers perhaps his finest work to date – no mean feat considering that his eight business fables remain required reading for leaders in any organization – especially ChurchWorld.

Instead of trying to become smarter, Lencioni asserts that leaders and organizations need to shift their focus to becoming healthier, allowing them to tap into the more-than-sufficient intelligence and expertise they  already have.

What’s the secret to discovering organizational health? Or to put it more bluntly, why do leaders struggle to embrace it?

According to Lencioni, it’s because too many leaders quietly believe they are too sophisticated, too busy, or too analytical to bother with it. In other words, they think it’s beneath them. Before leaders can tap into the power of organizational health, they must humble themselves enough to overcome the three biases that prevent them from embracing it:

  • The Sophistication Bias: organization health is so simple and accessible that many leaders have a hard time seeing it as a real opportunity for meaningful advantage. It doesn’t require great intelligence or sophistication – just uncommon levels of discipline, courage, persistence, and common sense.
  • The Adrenaline Bias: becoming a healthy organization takes a little time; unfortunately, too many leaders suffer from adrenaline addiction, hooked on the daily rush of activity and firefighting within their own organizations.
  • The Quantification Bias: the benefits of becoming a healthy organization are difficult to accurately quantify. It requires a level of conviction and intuition that many overly analytical leaders have a hard time accepting.

To close this post, possibly one of the boldest, most audacious quotes you will ever hear or read:

Once organizational health is properly understood and placed into the right context, it will surpass all other disciplines in business as the greatest opportunity for improvement and competitive advantage. Really.

Tomorrow: Would you rather be smart or healthy?

Level 5: Lead from the Pinnacle

Posted on by

Definition of a Level 5 Leader: People follow you because of who you are and what you represent

Leadership at Level 5 lifts the entire organization and creates an environment that benefits everyone in it, contributing to their success.

–          John Maxwell, The 5 Levels of Leadership

Today’s post is the final in a series of five that takes a closer look at John Maxwell’s latest book, The 5 Levels of Leadership. As indicated in the introduction to this series, “5 Levels” has been five years in the making. I’ve been in leadership development in ChurchWorld for over 30 years – and I’ve been looking for a resource like this.

To whet your appetite and convince you to drop everything and get your own copy today, over this series I’m going to quote Maxwell’s top 3 points in each of five sections for each of the 5 Levels. In math shorthand, that’s 3 x 5 x 5. The product of that equation is a leadership development gold mine for you!

 Level 5– The Pinnacle

The Upside of the Pinnacle

  1. Pinnacle leadership creates a Level 5 organization
  2. Pinnacle leadership creates a legacy within the organization
  3. Pinnacle leadership provides an extended platform for leading

The Downside of the Pinnacle

  1. Being on the pinnacle can make you think you’ve arrived
  2. Being on the pinnacle can lead you to believe your own press
  3. Being on the pinnacle can make you lose focus

Best Behaviors on Level 5

  1. Make room for others at the top
  2. Continually mentor potential Level 5 leaders
  3. Create an inner circle that will keep you grounded

Help Others Move Up to Levels 4 and 5

  1. Identify and create the crucial leadership lessons they must learn
  2. Look for unexpected crucible moments they can learn from
  3. Use your own crucible moments as guidelines to teach others

Guide to Being Your Best at Level 5

  1. Remain and humble and teachable
  2. Maintain your core focus
  3. Create the right inner circle to keep you grounded

Developing leaders to the point where they are able and willing to develop other leaders is the most difficult leadership task of all. But here are the payoffs: Level 5 leaders develop Level 5 organizations. They create opportunities that other leaders don’t. They create legacy in what they do. People follow them because of who they are and what they represent. In other words, their leadership gains a positive reputation. As a result, Level 5 leaders often transcend their position, their organization, and sometimes their field.

If you are a leader in ChurchWorld asking “How can I develop leaders?”, then John Maxwell’s book The 5 Levels of Leadership will certainly provide you with proven steps to answer that question.

 

 

Level 4: Lead by People Development

Posted on by

Definition of a Level 4 Leader: People follow you because of what you have done for them personally

Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.

–          John Maxwell, The 5 Levels of Leadership

Today’s post is the fourth of a series of five that takes a closer look at John Maxwell’s latest book, The 5 Levels of Leadership. As indicated in the introduction to this series, “5 Levels” has been five years in the making. I’ve been in leadership development in ChurchWorld for over 30 years – and I’ve been looking for a resource like this.

To whet your appetite and convince you to drop everything and get your own copy today, over this series I’m going to quote Maxwell’s top 3 points in each of five sections for each of the 5 Levels. In math shorthand, that’s 3 x 5 x 5. The product of that equation is a leadership development gold mine for you!

 Level 4 – People Development

 The Upside of People Development

  1. People development sets you apart from most leaders
  2. People development assures that growth can be sustained
  3. People development empowers others to fulfill their leadership responsibilities

 The Downside of People Development

  1. Self-centeredness can cause leaders to neglect people development
  2. Insecurity can make leaders feel threatened by people development
  3. Shortsightedness can keep leaders from seeing the need for people development

Best Behaviors on Level 4

  1. Recruiting – find the best people possible
  2. Positioning – placing the right people in the right position
  3. Modeling – showing others how to lead

Beliefs that Help a Leader Move Up to Level 5

  1. The highest goal of leadership is to develop leaders, not gain followers or do work
  2. To develop leaders, you must create a leadership culture
  3. Developing leaders is a life commitment, not a job commitment

 Guide to Growing Through Level 4

  1. Be willing to keep growing yourself
  2. Decide that people are worth the effort
  3. Work through your insecurities

 Good leaders on Level 4 invest their time, energy, money, and thinking into growing others as leaders. They look at every person and try to gauge his or her potential to grow and lead – regardless of the individual’s title, position, age, or experience. Every person is a potential candidate for development.

Tomorrow: Level 5 – The Pinnacle

 

Level 3: Lead by Production

Posted on by

Definition of a Level 3 Leader: People follow you because of what you have done for the organization

…good leaders don’t just create a pleasant working environment. They get things done! That’s why they must move up to Level 3, which is based on results.

–          John Maxwell, The 5 Levels of Leadership

Today’s post is the third of a series of five that takes a closer look at John Maxwell’s latest book, The 5 Levels of Leadership. As indicated in the introduction to this series, “5 Levels” has been five years in the making. I’ve been in leadership development in ChurchWorld for over 30 years – and I’ve been looking for a resource like this. 

To whet your appetite and convince you to drop everything and get your own copy today, over this series I’m going to quote Maxwell’s top 3 points in each of five sections for each of the 5 Levels. In math shorthand, that’s 3 x 5 x 5. The product of that equation is a leadership development gold mine for you!

 Level 3 – Production

 The Upside of Production

  1. Leadership production gives credibility to the leader
  2. Leadership production models and sets the standard for others visually
  3. Leadership production brings clarity and reality to vision

 The Downside of Production

  1. Being productive can make you think you’re a leader when you’re not
  2. Productive leaders feel a heavy weight of responsibility for results
  3. Production leadership requires making difficult decisions

 Best Behaviors on Level 3

  1. Understand how our personal giftedness contributes to the vision
  2. Cast vision for what needs to be accomplished
  3. Begin to develop your people into a team

 Beliefs That Help a Leader Move Up to Level 4

  1. Production is not enough
  2. People are an organization’s most appreciable asset
  3. Growing leaders is the most effective way to accomplish the vision

 Guide to Growing Though Level 3

  1. Be the team member you want on your team
  2. Translate personal productivity into leadership
  3. Understand everyone productivity niche

Leading and influencing others becomes fun on this level. Success and productivity have been known to solve a lot of problems. On Level 3, leaders can become change agents. They can tackle tough problems and face thorny issues. They can make difficult decisions that will make a difference. They can take their people to another level of effectiveness. 

Tomorrow: Level 4 – People Development

Level 2: Lead by Permission

Posted on by

Definition of a Level 2 Leader: People follow you because they want to

The agenda for leaders on Level 2 isn’t preserving their position. It’s getting to know their people and figuring out how to get along with them. You can like people without leading them, but you cannot lead people well without liking them.

–          John Maxwell, The 5 Levels of Leadership

Today’s post is the second of a series of five that takes a closer look at John Maxwell’s latest book, The 5 Levels of Leadership. As indicated in the introduction to this series, “5 Levels” has been five years in the making. I’ve been in leadership development in ChurchWorld for over 30 years – and I’ve been looking for a resource like this.

To whet your appetite and convince you to drop everything and get your own copy today, over this series I’m going to quote Maxwell’s top 3 points in each of five sections for each of the 5 Levels. In math shorthand, that’s 3 x 5 x 5. The product of that equation is a leadership development gold mine for you! 

Level 2 – Permission

The Upside of Permission

  1. Leadership permission makes work more enjoyable
  2. Leadership permission increases the energy level
  3. Leadership permission opens up channels of communication

The Downside of Permission

  1. Permission leadership appears too soft for some people
  2. Leading by permission can be frustrating for achievers
  3. Permissional leaders can be taken advantage of

Best Behaviors on Level 2

  1. Connect with yourself before trying to connect with others
  2. Develop a people-oriented leadership style
  3. Practice the golden rule

Beliefs That Help a Leader Move Up to Level 3

  1. Relationships alone are not enough
  2. Building relationships requires twofold growth
  3. Achieving the vision as a team is worth risking the relationship

Guide to Growing Through Level 2

  1. Be sure you have the right attitude toward people
  2. Connect with yourself
  3. Understand where you’re coming from

Moving up to Level 2 is an important development in leadership because that is where the followers give their supervisors permission to lead them. People change from being subordinates to followers for the first time, and that means there is movement. Leadership always means that people are going somewhere. They aren’t static. No journey, no leadership.

Tomorrow: Level 3 – Production

Level 1: Lead by Position

Posted on by

Definition of a Level 1 leader: People follow you because they have to

Positional leadership is based on the rights granted by the position and the title. Nothing is wrong with having a leadership position. Everything is wrong with using a position to get people to follow. Position is a poor substitute for influence.

–          John Maxwell, The 5 Levels of Leadership

 Today’s post is the first of a series of five that takes a closer look at John Maxwell’s latest book, The 5 Levels of Leadership. As indicated in the introduction to this series, “5 Levels” has been five years in the making. I’ve been in leadership development in ChurchWorld for over 30 years – and I’ve been looking for a resource like this.

To whet your appetite and convince you to drop everything and get your own copy today, over the next five days I’m going to quote the top 3 points in each of five sections for each of the 5 Levels. In math shorthand, that’s 3 x 5 x 5. The product of that equation is a leadership development gold mine for you!

Level 1 – Position

The Upside of Position

1.       A leadership position is usually given to people because they have leadership potential

2.       A leadership position means authority is recognized

3.       A leadership position is an invitation to grow as a leader

The Downside of Position

1.       Having a leadership position is often misleading

2.       Leaders who rely on position to lead often devalue people

3.       Positional leaders feed on politics 

Best Behaviors on Level 1

1.       Stop relying on position to push people

2.       Trade entitlement for movement

3.       Leave your position and move toward your people 

Beliefs That Help a Leader Move Up to Level 2

1.       Titles are not enough

2.       People – not position – are a leader’s most valuable asset

3.       A leader doesn’t need to have all the answers

Guide to Growing through Level 1

1.       Thank the people who invited you into leadership

2.       Dedicate yourself to leadership growth

3.       Define your leadership

Position is a good starting place – but great leaders are not content to stay there. Moving up from Level 1 to Level 2 requires the greatest personal change from a leader. It requires a change of beliefs and attitudes toward other people and leadership. But here’s the truth: once you decide to include others in the leadership journey, you are well on your way to achieving success at the other levels.

Tomorrow: Level 2 – Permission

Expanding Your Capacity

Posted on by

Earlier this summer, I reintroduced some thoughts on “capacity.” You can read them here.

Last night in our community group, the concept of capacity came up in our discussion of the current series our church is in. Entitled “The Prodigy in Me,” it’s all about discovering the invaluable gifts God has placed in each of us.

Picking up where the earlier post left off, our group realized last night that being emptied by serving and therefore being able to be filled again was only part of the understanding.

God wants us to have MORE capacity over time.

 If we are growing as disciples, our capacity to be filled AND to serve others should be growing as well.

How’s your capacity?

Developing Your Creative Rhythm

Posted on by

A lot of leader conversations I’m having these days center around the concepts of innovation, creativity, and ideation. The past two days’ posts here and here dealt with the concepts found in the book “The Idea Hunter.” Continuing in the same vein but with a little different focus is the book “The Accidental Creative” by Todd Henry.

The author’s quote from the book flap sets the stage perfectly:

“You go to work each day tasked with (1) inventing brilliant solutions that (2) meet specific objectives by (3) defined deadlines. If you do this successfully, you get to keep your job. If you don’t, you get to work on your resume. The moment you exchange your creative efforts for money, you enter a world where you will have to be brilliant at a moment’s notice. (No pressure, right?)”

To attempt to be perpetually brilliant and increasingly productive, without changing the basic habits and structure of your life to accommodate that undertaking, is a futile effort.

Henry develops the following elements as a structure to guide your creative potential, providing you with the stability and clarity to engage your problems head-on.

Focus – in order to create effectively, you need a clear and concrete focus

Relationships – if you want to thrive, you need to systematically engage with other people, in part to be reminded that life is bigger than your immediate problems

Energy – to make the most of your day, you need to establish practices around energy management

Stimuli – if you want to regularly generate brilliant ideas, you must be purposeful about the kinds of stimuli you are putting in your head

Hours – you need to make sure that the practices that truly make you a more effective creator are making it onto your calendar

Practices in each of these five F-R-E-S-H areas provide the foundation for a life that is prolific, brilliant, and healthy.

Wait a minute – you’ve got a problem with the “creative” label? Call yourself anything you want, but if you’re responsible for solving problems, developing strategies, or otherwise straining your brain for new ideas, you are a creative – even if you end up being one accidentally.

– Todd Henry, “The Accidental Creative”

Hunting with IDEA Principles

Posted on by

In an earlier post, the concept of becoming an Idea Hunter was introduced. Based on the work of Andy Boynton and Bill Fischer, these concepts are outlined in their recent book “The Idea Hunter.”

Understanding how to become an idea hunter starts with four foundational concepts the authors call the IDEA principles. Each of the four connect with crucial attitudes, habits, skills, and strategies.

Interested

The first principle turns on the question: Do I want to be interested, or merely interesting? In the hunt for ideas, being Interested in the world around you is of greater importance. Incredible ideas can come from anywhere; you just have to be on the lookout for them. Idea hunters understand that intellectual curiosity often leads to success. Curiosity will take you further toward your goals than cleverness or even brilliance.

Diverse

Idea Hunters are aware of the multitude of trails that can lead to worthwhile ideas. They don’t read the same magazines, browse the same websites, and compare notes with the same people. That only leads to variations on the same tired ideas. Idea Hunters bring in thoughts that are different but applicable, seemingly unrelated but potentially valuable. The operative assumption should be that ideas are everywhere.

Exercised

Idea Hunters exercise their idea muscles all the time, not just in your office or at a brainstorming session. Pursuing an idea requires daily training, keeping notebooks for recording what they’ve seen or heard. These personal experiences and impressions are then connected to their projects and proposals. Their searches are highly focused and purpose-driven. Successful idea hunters develop a wide range of skills, realizing that the pursuit of ideas doesn’t start when you are faced with a difficult problem that needs a quick solution.

 Agile

Idea Hunters don’t proceed in a straight line, because most of their ideas bounce all over the place. While it is possible to conceive of an idea and pursue it in a straight line to implementation, more than likely you will be veering right and left, maybe even backtracking, looking for ideas that come at you from different directions. Agility is required because your notions and impressions are worth little unless they are in motion, shifting in response to fresh data and conversation, evolving through stages of reflection and prototyping.

Understand and practice the IDEA principles, and you are ready to go idea hunting.

 

Brilliance Not Required

Posted on by

Idea work is a vital asset for leaders today. It is highly learnable, but that doesn’t mean you have to be a creative genius because most high-value ideas are not created. More often than not, they are already out there, waiting to be spotted and then shaped into an innovation.

It’s time to become an Idea Hunter.

High-value ideas come to those people who are in the habit of looking for such ideas – all around them, all the time. It’s a search for ideas that’s open-ended, ongoing, and always personal – dialed into who you are, what projects you are pursuing, and where you’re going in your career and life.

Brilliance is optional. Idea Hunters are not, as a rule, geniuses. They are just idea-active. They have a voracious appetite for acquiring ideas, and they are skilled at setting those ideas into motion.

Ready to go hunting?