Menu

Christ Like Leaders

Crowd

People Matter

,

I was re-reading my notes from attending the Hawaii Leadership Practicum back in 2012, and I stumbled upon a powerful reminder for leaders. The leader of the practicum, Wayne Cordeiro, told us

A mind can reach a mind, but only a heart can reach a heart – Wayne Cordeiro

Another way to say this is that people matter.

Back to the Source

This concept can be seen in action in 1 Corinthians 8. Paul is writing to the Corinthians about eating food sacrificed to idols (a big no-no for Jews). But Jesus’ life and death and resurrection changed the purpose and direction of many of the Jewish laws, especially those related to food. Here’s where it gets interesting. Let me list v1 and then skip to v7:

1Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
7 It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 “Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 11 So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. 12 But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.

To quickly summarize, Paul is arguing that the person who knows that the food laws have a new meaning as a result of Jesus has a higher responsibility than the one who does not know. Indeed it is the one with knowledge (the one who is “right”) who is supposed to choose the course of action that is most beneficial to the one without knowledge (the one who is “wrong”). The person and their faith walk are more important than being “right.”

An Awkard Meeting

I was anticipating an upcoming one-on-one meeting with a certain bit of apprehension. I was going to tell a leader that his ministry was causing harm rather than benefit. Moreover, I knew this leader would attack me for saying it.

I took a course at the International Institute for Restorative Practices, and they gave me a helpful tool called the Compass of Shame (link to summary). This tool helped me realize that the attacks would be automatic rather than rational. In other words, my character was going to be attacked and the reasons wouldn’t make sense. But this tool also helped me realize that eventually the automatic response would subside and we could then have a fruitful discussion.

And so, even though I was “right” in my mind, I absorbed the character attacks without defending myself. When he was calmed down enough, though, we had a real conversation. In a “happily ever after” moment we actually managed to find a role where he would be very helpful and he is still doing great work there. My mind couldn’t reach his mind at first, but my heart could reach his heart. People matter.

Conclusion

Contrary to popular belief, Paul was not denigrating learning in 1 Corinthians 8:1. Instead, he is placing the burden of acting in a loving way on the one who has greater knowledge. If you are “right” but you behave in a way that belittles or attacks or ignores others, your knowledge is puffing up rather than love building up.

Discussion Starters

  • What conflict are you trying to engage (or avoid) right now?
  • What knowledge is needed?
  • How can your heart outshine your mind in engaging the conflict?
  • When have you experienced conflict in a way that built up rather than puffed up?
Wrist-Watch

Continuous Improvement or Continuous Control

, , ,

I am a geek. Moreover, I am a systematic geek. In fact, I am a geek about the very idea of systems. This might make me a sick individual, but at least I’m systematically sick.

One evening while I was geekily reading research articles about systems and productivity, I came across this article about the Seven Myths of Performance Management by Dr. Pietro Micheli of the University of Warwick. His basic observation boils down to this:

Few would challenge the assumption that gathering and analysing data is a value added activity. But actually those few would be right. Value is generated when data is used

As Rev. Alf Halvorson sometimes says, don’t fall prey to stewing without doing.

I was planning a church event one time and was delighted to find a series of debrief files from the last few years. As I read, my keen eye noticed a repeating phrase:

  • T-1 year…have kids bring more than $10
  • T-2 years…have kids bring more than $10
  • T-3 years…have kids bring more than $10
  • T-4 years…have kids bring more than $10

I’ll have you know, I had kids bring more than $10 that year!

The Point of a System

One of the downsides of being systematic is going into auto pilot mode. For example, I use my car keys as the universal reminder system. Before I leave the house, I pat my pockets to double-check that I have my phone, my keys, and my wallet. If I am missing one of these items, I go to their predictable communal living space on my desk. If my keys are not there, however, I must remember that I (for example) placed them on top of the refrigerator to remind me to grab my lunch from the fridge before I leave. Without a disruption to my normal system, I would hum merrily along on autopilot until my stomach complained at lunchtime.

Long story short, I have a system to remind me to bring my essential items with me. I also have a system that disrupts my normal system so that I will bring special items with me. My system needs flexibility on the location of my car keys to reach my desired outcome: bringing everything I need with me today.

So let me ask you: what is the point of your system? Is it to make sure that the TPS reports are filled out and filed correctly? Or is it to improve communication? To use my example, is the point to have the car keys in a predictable location or to bring everything I need with me today?

Dr. Micheli calls this the difference between learning and control. If you create a system to try to control people’s behavior (let alone their emotions), your system will fail. Oh sure, those TPS reports might be tidy and nice, but people just do that because you make them. The main point is lost almost every time.

Leadership Lesson: use systems to learn and improve, not control

1 Timothy 1:5 says:

But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.

You can instruct and finagle all you want, but be sure you remember the aim of such instruction. Use systems to learn, not control. Use systems to keep you focused on your goal, don’t let the system become the goal.

Putting it into Practice

I’ll let Dr. Micheli speak for himself on this one:

Rather than spending months designing the perfect system that can produce objective, accurate and precise data, efforts should be put in communicating to all employees the reasons and benefits of such systems, and connecting strategy, measurement and decision-making

  • Generate buy-in around the “why” for your system, not just the “what” and “how”
  • Measure the desired outcome (ex: bringing everything with me today, people have the info they need to do their job) instead of the side-effect (ex: my keys are in the right place, the report is filled out)
    NOTE: this means you’ll have to live with some qualitative measures and messy data; life is complicated
  • If you measure something and learn something, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT
Knowing-is-half-the-battle

What’s the Problem?

, ,

I recently read a fantastic article at the Alban Institute by Susan Beaumont. Her article begins by telling a fable about a church with a “traditional worship problem.” Before I write anything else, let me ask you: given that description of the problem, what comes to mind?

The “traditional worship problem” could be the color of the carpet, or declining attendance, or not enough seats because of the growing attendance, or the organ needing repair, or almost anything in between.

To look at it from another angle, how much help could you give me if I asked you to help me with my “marriage problem?” Now what if I asked you to help me with “not having enough energy to plan weekly date nights?”

Without knowing anything about me or my wife, you could probably give me a few helpful pointers to address “not having enough energy to plan weekly date nights.” That, my friends, is the power of a problem that is defined, articulated, and agreed upon. Or in the words of John Dewey:

“A problem well stated is a problem half-solved.”

Leadership Lesson: unless you’ve agreed upon the problem, everyone is trying to solve something different

I think Jesus ran into this about fourteen million times in his ministry (according to back-of-the-napkin mathematics). It seems like everyone around Jesus is missing the point. For example, Mark 3:1-6 (NRSV):

1Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” 4Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Pharisees: “the problem is that people aren’t following our interpretation of God’s Law”

Jesus: “the problem is that people are separated from God”

This *minor* difference in defining the problem led the Pharisees to seek Jesus’ death even while Jesus is making us all children of God.

Do you have a problem? Before trying to solve it, state it well. Then you’ll at least be half-way there.

As G.I. Joe used to say, “Knowing is Half the Battle!”

Putting it into Practice

  • Have I stated the problem well enough that a random stranger could understand what’s going on?
  • Has my team of problem-solvers agreed on the definition of the problem together?
  • Could I use this insight in my family, not just my work?
jumping in a field

How Many Heads Do We Need…and When Do We Need Them?

, , , ,

How many artists do you know who rely on committees, consumer research, and group brainstorming to stoke the flames of their creativity?

I come from the Presbyterian tradition, and for some reason we believe that committees are the answer to everything. Now don’t get me wrong, here, because meetings can be very productive and separation of powers can save you from many evils. But a hammer is only useful in the right situations; sometimes you need a screwdriver or a drill.

I recently read a New York Times article by Susan Cain that challenges the notion that two heads are always better than one.

For example, one study found that productivity at different organizations was primarily driven by how much privacy their employees had. The least productive organizations, by contrast, listed constant interruptions as a staple of their day. Even the physical space had an impact:

Studies show that open-plan offices make workers hostile, insecure and distracted. They’re also more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, stress, the flu and exhaustion. And people whose work is interrupted make 50 percent more mistakes and take twice as long to finish it

We even learn better when we’re alone. I never participated in study groups in school because I could make the same grade in 20% of the time it took to study in a group. According to the NYT article:

Solitude can even help us learn. According to research on expert performance by the psychologist Anders Ericsson, the best way to master a field is to work on the task that’s most demanding for you personally. And often the best way to do this is alone. Only then, Mr. Ericsson told me, can you “go directly to the part that’s challenging to you. If you want to improve, you have to be the one who generates the move. Imagine a group class — you’re the one generating the move only a small percentage of the time.

Leadership Lesson: use group discussion to progress incrementally; let individuals think on their own before coordinating to progress creatively

Now there is one huge exception to this rule of creative solitude. When people are coordinating their ideas through the Internet, productivity and creativity usually increase with bigger groups, and the bigger the group the bigger the increase. The physical distance and non-verbal communication mean each individual must work on their own before trying to coordinate with the group. It allows us to be “alone together.”

Jesus was a very relational guy, but he made a habit of spending alone time with God. For example, Luke 5:15-16 (NRSV) says “15But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. 16But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.”

There are times when we need to be together, and there are times when we need to be alone. It takes wisdom to know what is needed when.

Putting it into Practice

  • Do I need to coordinate, tweak, or improve incrementally? I should use a team.
  • Do I need to be creative, think outside the box, or move quickly? I should let individuals think on their own before coordinating.
  • Can I use the “alone together” idea by having everyone submit individual written thoughts/proposals before we meet together?
thank-you-1400x800-c-default

The Productivity of “Thank You”

, ,

Our church ran an event where a group of students donated a bunch of their time to help out a ministry they normally never interact with. The event had some extra money at the end, so I suggested they buy a gift card for the team leader to say “thank you.” They declined, fearing the other students would be angry that they were left out. I then suggested that they either buy something for everyone or find another way to meaningfully thank these students. They still said no.

I later spoke with the team leader, and he said that he probably wouldn’t ever do that kind of event again because he didn’t feel appreciated and it was outside his normal passion area.

There was one silver lining, however. One of the participants came up and told him that she saw God working through him. That stuck with him and made it worth it.

Leadership Lesson: a meaningful “thank you” is a powerful motivator

Researchers at Stony Brook University (link to article) recently looked at something similar by asking what makes people keep contributing to Wikipedia (rather than stopping), and what increases their productivity. The grand summary?

expressions of appreciation by other Wikipedia contributors, including awards, helped to fuel what they called a “spirit of generosity.”

In other words, when someone was recognized and praised for their good work by someone who was qualified to evaluate their work, they stayed connected and became WAY more productive for a very long time.

All it took was an informal digital award that gets displayed on their profile page. Not money. Not gift cards. Not a certificate or plaque. A pretty picture to show on your online profile.

How much of an impact did this make?

The team concluded that receiving a barnstar increased productivity by 60 percent and made contributors six times more likely to receive additional barnstars from other community members, revealing that informal rewards significantly impact individual effort.

Putting it into Practice

There are two basic differences between my story and the research article. In my story, the leader received a personal and private “thank you.” In the research article, contributors received a personal and public“thank you.”

  • How can I thank someone publicly? Privately?
  • Who has recently made a significant contribution? How can I thank them publicly or privately?
  • Who has recently started and hit an early milestone? How can I keep them motivated with a “thank you?”