Tyrant leader. Ever served under one? I have worked for a few controlling leaders. The word “tyrant” in the title of this post means a cruel and oppressive leader. That may be a strong word, but I would almost place some of these within that definition. One particular season like this was hard for me and even harder for my wife. She saw me coming home emotionally drained at the end of each day. In each setting, I finally decided life was too short and I moved on from there.  Thankfully, those experiences in my career have only been for short periods of time. Looking back, as har ..read more

How do you communicate with introverted friends or family who may not want to engage as much as you do? I get that question regularly. Over two years ago now, I received an email from a reader. I saved it and changed a few details of it to keep the writer anonymous but wanted to share my response in hopes it is helpful to others. Important to know, this reader reached out to me because of my previous posts about being an introvert. My adult granddaughter is an introvert. We don’t see her often since she lives 900 miles away; however she is staying with us for a couple of months while she serv ..read more

There are some attractive traits for in successful senior leaders. If a leader has these, he or she will be more likely to have loyal followers. I’ve got a long way to go. At 60 years of age and having been a senior leader for over 30 years, I realize more of my weaknesses today than ever in my career. But I’ve also learned a few things I want to try to emulate as a senior leader.  These are some of the “best of the best” traits for those who attempt the daunting responsibility of leading others.  12 attractive traits for senior leaders: Steady – They give a calming assurance in ..read more

There are some key components if you wish to lead genuine organizational change. In my observation, many leaders want change and know they need to lead it, but they haven’t been able to actually produce change. I think there are reasons for this. The process of change isn’t easy. It doesn’t happen overnight. Some leaders move too fast. Others move too slow. Plus, not every church, business or non-profit will tolerate change – or at least to the level prescribed by a leader. The leader needs to know when to push and when to leave things alone for a while. It’s a delicate process leading change ..read more

Sometimes as a leader the hardest part is identifying – and then admitting – the real problem. In one of my first vocational leadership roles, I managed a large retail division of a major department store. The division had several departments within it and each department had a separate department manager. Most of the departments were efficient, profitable, and easy to manage. One department, however, continued to fall behind the others. It was frustrating, because I couldn’t seem to get them to improve. I was young and inexperienced, so I innocently thought the problem was me. If I could impl ..read more

There is a trick to adding new structure to a growing organization. Frankly, I think there is value in unstructured growth. We shouldn’t be afraid of growth we cannot understand. It’s messier, harder to contain, even uncomfortable at times, but it also keeps leaders energized, maintains momentum, and helps spur exponential growth. As the organization grows – and as strategy changes – additions in structure have to be added. Even entrepreneurs shouldn’t be afraid of healthy structure. Adding structure, however, can be a painful and disruptive process if not handled carefully. We must add struct ..read more

There are some things visionary leaders hate to hear. They make us cringe.  Mostly because they distract the team from the vision and from being healthy attempting to achieve it. Visionary leaders hate to hear: “We’ve never done it that way before.”  Well, of course you haven’t. See, here’s there thing about leadership. Leaders take you somewhere new – somewhere you haven’t been before. That’s in the definition of what we do.  Granted, there are times we need to rest, slow down the pace, and celebrate current wins. All that is part of a healthy team, as well. But if we want to k ..read more

There are inexpensive ways to develop as a leader. I was meeting with a young pastor who wants to grow as a leader. He lives in small town. He is young, but his staff is even younger. Additionally, there are not a lot of seasoned leaders in his church – or at least not that he has discovered. (I usually think there are leaders who simply haven’t been tapped, but I understood his dilemma.) The church looks to him to lead and, wisely, he knows he needs to develop his leadership skills. His question was simple. Who invests in me? He recognizes the need to grow as a leader, but he’s not sure where ..read more

Pastor, I like to remind (or encourage) you to plan to do a post-Easter review shortly after Easter weekend. Easter is one of a few times a year churches have a unique opportunity to reach people who do not normally attend their church. Most churches spend weeks and – hopefully – months planning for the weekend. In addition to the normal celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, I love the energy that Easter brings to a church. This energy, if channeled correctly, can fuel a church beyond one weekend per year. The problem I see with many churches, however, is they stop the work put into Easter ..read more

There are some preliminary steps when you are initiating major change. As a pastor and leader, I am continually dealing with change. Everyday. Change is a part of life – for all of us. Some change occurs without us doing anything. In my context, we adjust our Easter calendar every year – without much thought of whether we will or not. Sometimes it’s in March – sometimes April. And there is nothing we do to influence this change. There are lots of other examples of this. Some change is so routine it requires little thought or preparation by the leader. For example, leaders will move and new lea ..read more