Too many teams, small groups, and staffs fail to meet each other’s needs or reach their peak effectiveness due to a lack of trust. In their book The Courage Way, Shelly Francis and the Center for Courage and Renewal share ideas about creating spaces of greater trust among people of different backgrounds, perspectives and/or beliefs. They have identified eleven “touchstones”... Continue Reading
I have observed that lots of leaders in today’s organizations are “controllers.” They believe they know what is best and so impose an agenda on people and expect compliance. And nowhere is this more prevalent than in church leadership. All of the reasons for this behavior we listed in our last post, What Makes A Control Freak Boss, can be... Continue Reading
Most of us at one time or another have encountered a control freak. You are especially unlucky if they happen to be your boss. You know the type. You can’t set up a meeting or send out an email without checking with them first. Every presentation has to meet with their approval. There are constant requests for check-in and updates.... Continue Reading
Context switching is a silent killer of focus, accuracy and productivity. What is context switching? Context switching is constantly moving from one task to another. It is rapidly changing the context of your focus. The term arose in computer science, but it is applicable to human behavior as well. In this article we’ll show you the true dangers of a... Continue Reading
Most church leaders are familiar with the church life cycle diagram and find it helpful to chart where their church is on that cycle. An equally helpful cycle illustration is called the Adaptive Cycle. The Adaptive Cycle is a model of God designed natural patterns of change found in ecosystems, social systems, businesses, civilizations, organizations, and even churches. It consists... Continue Reading
As I stated in my last post, 5 Effects Powerful Leaders Are Blind To, cult status hierarchal religious leaders have and will abuse their power. It’s a given. It can be a by-product of their theology, personality, character, experience, or philosophy of leadership. But mostly it is a by-product of any hierarchal system, religious or otherwise. Abuses of power are... Continue Reading
It happened again last month. Another well-known church leader was accused of sexual abuse. And the story had a familiar ring. The male church leader claimed the relationship was consensual, the female that it was sexual abuse. It seems that almost daily stories emerge of high visibility movie stars, sports figures, business leaders, politicians, priests and pastors being called out... Continue Reading
Is office work dead? There is no doubt that the COVID pandemic has accelerated the move to working remotely. But I fear what this is doing long term, especially to those young people right out of college and seminary who may never experience a work environment. Some of my very best work experiences were in college and seminary working as... Continue Reading
I remember well my mother consistently warning me to remember “you are who you are with.” It was her way of saying that we tend to take on the same attributes as our friends, so we better choose our friends wisely. My mother knew that few adolescents have the strength of character, discipline, will or conviction to withstand peer pressure,... Continue Reading
Recently I read a Facebook post from a well-known church leader explaining to his followers the multiple moves he had made in recent years. One of those moves involved serving a church for a year before resigning. His explanation? “I’m a change-agent leader. That didn’t sit well with a very established and process driven church. I was frustrated as much... Continue Reading
Recently we wrote about The Power of Abundance Mentality and The Power of Scarcity Mentality. In this article we will examine the power of a minimum allocation of resources. The Minimum Allocation of Resources Principle is an approach to resource management that every effective and efficient manager understands. The principle suggests that the minimum number of resources that are required... Continue Reading
In the article, The Power of Abundance Mentality, we examined how an abundance mindset is a prerequisite for visionary leadership. In this article we will look at how a scarcity mindset is an essential trait of effective and efficient management. Scarcity mentality is the opposite of an abundance mentality. Scarcity is typically viewed as a negative trait. It is associated... Continue Reading
Jim is a Church Organizational Leadership and Management Coach, Consultant and Trainer. Throughout his career Jim has demonstrated a passion for showing Pastors and Ministers how to use organizational tools for church and personal growth and health.
More About Jim“For I may be absent in body, but I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see how well ordered you are and the strength of your faith in Christ.” Colossians 2:5