Archives For Leader development

A Leadership Academy

February 21, 2013

Good morning from the South! I am back in my home state of Mississippi and have the privilege today of speaking to the Mississippi Community College Leadership Academy about Strategic Planning.MCCLA2013

The MCCLA was formed to begin developing the next generation of leaders for Mississippi’s community colleges. Each year they select a “class” of around 30 young leaders and take them through a year of training. They meet 3 – 4 times a year at various campuses for a couple of days and various speakers are brought in to speak on different topics.

It’s a great idea in my opinion and a blessing for me to be allowed to participate in something that is helping my home state.

By the way – what are you doing to improve your community or state?

Hope you have a great day today!
BG

In Leadership, Learning , , ,
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Don’t be a Leader – Be a Shepherd

July 25, 2012

I enjoy leader development, but I fear sometimes we make too much of it and as a result develop a wrong view of what it means to lead.

The view of a leader that the Lord keeps impressing upon me is that of a shepherd. In fact, one of my favorite “leadership” books is The Way of the Shepherd. Great little book that is profoundly important if you are interested on how best to lead others. (click here to read a post on the book)

A verse that the Lord has used in my life to inform how I lead is 1 Peter 5:2-3 which says (ESV) “. . . shepherd the flock that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.”

So – are you a “leader” or are you a shepherd? Try being a shepherd – it changes your viewpoint entirely.

BG

In Christianity, Good Books, Leadership , ,
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Boringness | A Characteristic of Great Leaders

May 22, 2012

Great leaders tend to be boring.  Does that statement somehow go against your preconceived notion about leaders?

In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins talks about how all of the leaders of the great companies in his study had a “charisma bypass.”  In this same vein, Joel Stein writes on the Harvard Business Review website about how he spent hours with leaders of all types and found that they were not these charismatic hero types, but were in fact a little boring. Following is one excerpt:

“. . . I learned that my vision of what makes a good leader was all wrong. I spent hours working alongside fire chiefs, army captains, Boy Scout troop leaders, and others who guide teams. To my surprise, the best of them tended to be quiet listeners who let other people make most of the decisions. They weren’t particularly charismatic. Or funny. They weren’t the toughest guys in the pack. They didn’t have a Clintonian need to be liked, or a Patton-like intensity. They were, on the whole, a little boring.”

The point I would like to make or question I want to ask you is – Are you overlooking some of your potentially best leaders because they don’t fit your (or our culture’s) preconceived notion of what a leader “looks like”?  Are you automatically overlooking the “boring” people?  Maybe some of your best potential leaders are quietly working away right under your nose.

Have a blessed day!
BG

In Leadership, Recommended Blogs ,
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Building Strength – An Organizational Workout

May 14, 2012

Good morning!

I enjoy working out – actually I enjoy having worked out!  For a long time I did not take care of my body, became overweight, sleep deprived and as a result became more lethargic, developed blood pressure problems and generally became less effective.  Now I have lost weight, dropped my blood pressure and am building muscle and strength and feel much, much better.  As a result, I am more productive and think much better.

I sometimes wonder if as an organization we start getting a little overweight and sleep deprived.  What does it look like to “get in shape” as an organization?  What does it look like to build muscle or strength as an organization?  How do you prepare yourself for the inevitable challenges and changes that are ahead?  Just as a long distance runner trains for months sometimes for the race that is far ahead – how do we train as an organization?

Just as with an athlete, there are many different areas to be trained, it is even more so with an organization.  So let’s just talk about people for a minute.  Following are just a few bullet points for you to consider as you think about getting into shape:

1. What are you training for?  What is the race you are wanting to run?  What is your objective?  If you don’t know the race you want to run, you won’t know how to prepare.

2. What kind of team do you need to run te race?  If the race you are running is a long distance relay race, you don’t need to go hire a bunch of world class weight lifters.  They may be great people and great at lifting weights, but they probably won’t do too well running a relay race.

3. When you have the right relay runners on your team, how are you training them?  How are you “feeding” them?  Do you give them the right environment to train in?  Is your workplace a safe place to train?

4. Are your runners clear about the course you want them to run?  Do they know the location of the finish line?  Do they know the standards for a good run?

5. Are your veteran runners training your rookie runners?  Are they showing them the ropes?  Are you nurturing your young runners looking to the future knowing that one day they will be carrying the team? Do your older runners know how to move from the field to the coaching position?

6. Are you intentionally building strength into your organization?  Are you preparing it to thrive in the midst of the upcoming challenges and changes?  Preparation just does not happen, strength does not come from just hoping or wishing it would.  It is intentional and it is hard work – but oh so worth it.

So – start working out.  You will be glad you did.

BG

In Culture, Leadership , ,
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Who Are You Having Breakfast With?

May 4, 2012

I enjoy a good breakfast – especially if the coffee is good! And I have a small town cafe I enjoy that is great for meetings and working.  Good food, they keep your coffee cup full, they have wi-fi and the booths are great for spreading out and working.

The key is, that I try to have those breakfasts with young leaders.  I have found that talking over a simple meal, especially in the morning, it is a great time to get at the heart of a matter.  People are fresh & not consumed with the worries of the day and something about sharing a meal breaks down artificial barriers. This has been some of my most productive coaching times.

My question for you – are you having these times with young leaders?  Are you investing into helping someone grow and have greater impact in the Kingdom?  If not, start scheduling a couple of breakfasts a month to invest in helping a young leader grow.  It will be a greater blessing to you than to them!

Have a great & blessed weekend,
BG

In Leadership
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What “Flavor” of Leader Are You Looking For?

April 30, 2012

How do you describe a leader?  When you think of a leader within your organization, what “picture” pops up in your mind?  Now be honest on this next question!  Answer your first and instinctive response and not what you think you ought to say – no one can hear you anyway!  When you are looking for leaders within your organization, what is the first thing you look for?

Why is this important?  It is important because none of us are completely objective.  We all have biases and we all tend to work from stereotypes to one degree or another.  If you have a bias towards a certain “type” of person or if you are working off a stereotype or a picture of an ideal leader then you will gravitate to only those types of people and possibly overlook others of a different type that have tremendous potential.

Quite honestly, when someone says leader, I automatically picture a charismatic individual, who is sharp-looking, standing in front of a mesmerized group of people exhorting them on to great things with eloquent words with great passion.  Pretty much the stereotype popular in our culture.

There is a slight problem with this picture.  It seems, inconveniently, that leaders come in all sorts of flavors.  In fact, in Jim Collins classic book, Good To Great, ALL of the great companies he researched were led by people who had what he called a “charisma bypass”.  Did you see another problem?  It has to do with classifying someone as having potential based solely upon externalities – not their character.

In all organizations, but most especially ministry, it is first and foremost about the person’s character.  It is about WHO the person is – not about how they look or sound.  “Of course it is!” you say, “Everyone knows that!” I know, I know – however, in over thirty years too often I have seen people who espouse these values and say that these things are important begin conversations on spotting potential leaders with things like, “He speaks well and is very persuasive, so he is bound to be a good leader.” or “He is a sharp-looking man and is involved in so much.” or “People really like being around her!”  Looks, image and verbal ability too often subtly trump character, even in organizations where it is of utmost importance.

Leaders truly come in all sorts of “flavors” regarding how they look and sound and personality type.  If you have one stereotype (or one flavor) in mind, you will overlook some highly gifted people with great potential.  However, things that should be the same in regards to leaders are the things on the inside – WHO they are.  This should be consistent and as a developer of future leaders, you should be looking deep inside people and not basing your decisions on the externalities.

Just some food for thought for you as you start this week.

“For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

Blessings on your week,
BG

In Leadership
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