On Leading Well

Category: Leadership

  • How Do We Learn? How Should We Lead?

    If web 2.0 has taught us anything, it’s that there are no limits to the amount of information out there. I hear 13 hours of video are uploaded onto youtube.com every minute, 346 million people around the world regularly read blogs, and 900,000 new blog posts surface each hour. (Thanks, Kelly.) More information doesn’t necessarily make us smarter (take the current US banking/credit/economic crises for example) but it can intoxicate. The feed excites us temporarily until the next 140 character status update arrives. Then we move on. But how do we learn?

    It’s hard to keep up. For four years I lived in an remote East Asian village of 2 million where the closest English-language newspaper was an overnight train ride away. That’s when my daily news diet shifted to VOA radio and web 1.0 news sites funneled through a VPN. That was ten years or five centuries ago. Now I read book summaries online, frequently on other people’s blogs, for free. This morning I scanned multiple RSS feeds in Google Reader and MyYahoo, for free. Then I loaded my Morning Coffee into Firefox to get up to speed on world news from BBC, CNN, Stratfor and the NY Times. This process requires between 15-25 minutes depending on how many editorials I read. It’s far more efficient than parking in front of a half-hour televised CNN update and waiting through the commericials, plus I can forward meaningful links to others. This week I’ve been intently following the Somalia pirate story and praying for my friends in Ethiopia who are seeking to send Christian students on prayer/mission trips into Somalia.

    Printed news is dying. Fewer and fewer people under 30 read a daily printed newspaper. One recent study reveals that printing costs the NY Times twice as much as simply sending every subscriber a Kindle. Journalists have a few more years to decide whether they are in the printed paper business or the journalism business, then make adjustments. Ann and I take the printed Orlando Sentinel newspaper solely for the crossword and the coupons which pay for the recently doubled subscription price. (Today’s Sentinel had a grand total of 43 column inches devoted to world news – the average page contains about 100 column-inches.) Neither of my very globally-aware children (ages 16 and 19) read the printed paper – they get almost all of their news online. We shop on Craigslist and Google the solutions to most of our home-renovation challenges.

    But we digress…

    Learning takes place when we figure out a way to convert data into knowledge (via filtered, thoughtful analysis) and knowledge into wisdom (applied skill in living). As followers of Jesus we’re called to take it one more step – converting wisdom into love. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

    The great companies, churches and organizations today are the ones who have empowered their people to address increasingly complex challenges by failing fast, learning fast and sharing the wealth. These are places people love to work or serve. A sense of calling replaces the idea of a career as people get to do what they love. Work becomes more like play when we’re surrounded by an expanding network of friends with a clear mission to go after together. Humility supplants hubris. Solutions become findable.

    What would it take for CCC to remain one of the best avenues in the world for passionate, talented, risk-taking world-changers to live out their God-given calling?

    I believe we’ll need to keep shaping and reshaping our CCC culture in these final two areas:

    4. Learning Environment
    The world is constantly changing. What was effective last year may not be effective next year. We must be able to rapidly respond to those God-given opportunities to love our neighbors as ourselves and offer the love of Christ, on any scale- local or global. We need leaders with the spirit of Jonathan and his armor bearer who will take the initiative to “….go up and see what the Lord might do for us.”

    We – you and me – must create an atmosphere where people are free to try new ideas and to adapt to changing local, regional or global realities. This learning environment means that

    a. Everyone is energetically pursuing effectiveness, with the freedom to acknowledge what is not working and to seek new wineskins. Our sincere intention is to maximize our fruitfulness, so that “everyone knows someone….”

    b. We will wrestle with the healthy tension between quality and quantity.

    c. We establish channels of learning across countries, regions and the world to share best practices and to learn from each other.

    d. We actively offer coaching and stretching assignments to individuals and teams.

    5. Shared Leadership
    To pursue even our part of movements everywhere, we must share the responsibility for the work. Leadership cannot be left to a few; it must be entrusted to others. The extent of “everywhere” requires an expanding leadership base. Shared leadership means that we execute the mission through effective ministry teams at every level.

    a. Leadership teams are committed to a common goal, fully empowered to act within defined boundaries, focused on results, and growing in their effectiveness together.

    b. Each team has a designated leader, and team members are clear about their roles. They fulfill their individual responsibilities, recognize their need for one another, demonstrate cooperation, and hold each other accountable to their goals.

    c. Each member prioritizes the mission of the team first, and his strategic focus second.

    d. To function together effectively on teams, we must be leaders who serve others with grace and humility. Rather than telling people what to do, we ask, “how can we help you accomplish what God has put on your heart?” This servant posture is also expressed in sharing and offering access to needed information. It is demonstrated as we allocate our people, money and other assistance toward local effectiveness.

    What’s one recent experience that either supports or undermines this type of culture?

    What do you think CCC should look like?

    Click here for a two-page summary of all five culture change elements.

  • It’s Not Our Job to Reach Everyone

    And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…. Ephesians 4:11-13 (ESV)

    “In recent years our complexity, size and scope have masked our essence. I sense God is calling us back to our roots – the simple calling that was clearly present when we were growing rapidly. When we have been winning, building and sending, God has blessed us.” – Steve Douglass, Future Direction

    Repeat after me:

    Movements Everywhere does not mean CCC staff everywhere.
    Movements Everywhere does not mean planting CCC flags everywhere.
    Movements Everywhere does not mean it’s CCC’s job to reach everyone…
    [ ] on this campus
    [ ] in this country
    [ ] in the world. (Check all that apply.)

    Now take a deep breath. Do you feel like you just committed heresy?

    Relax. You’re going to be ok. Enjoy a weekly Sabbath. Take a nap.

    One of the most common mistakes that I’ve frequently observed and personally committed during my 23 years on staff with this fantastic organization is that we tend to bite off more than our God-given share of the Great Commission. How many times have I sat with a team in front of a fresh white board during a strategic planning session to dream about reaching our scope of 30,000 students on a campus, or 30 million or 300 million in a country, or 6+ billion people in the world? There’s nothing wrong with dreaming about it, envisioning what it will be like when God brings it about, or praying toward these ends. In fact, I believe willingness to engage emotionally with that level of scope is embedded in the spiritual DNA of every true follower of Jesus. I have a huge world map in my study at home before which I regularly sit or kneel with Bible open, in the wee morning hours, praying country by country for God to raise up disciples among every tribe, tongue, people and nation. This nourishes my soul and brings my daily struggles into a much more realistic perspective.

    So, what’s the problem? The problem, viewed through an organizational leadership lens, is that when it comes to planning, we have allowed most teams to believe that it’s their job to “reach an entire campus (or city or country)” rather than holding them accountable to fulfill CCC’s unique calling and execute our mission well within their local setting.

    What has God has called CCC to do? He’s called us and historically used us to help fulfill the Great Commission by winning, building and sending in the power of the Holy Spirit and helping the body of Christ do evangelism and discipleship.     We fulfill that calling when we live out our values and execute our mission over and over and over again. And what is our mission? About a year ago, the Global Leadership Team clarified that our unique mission is launching spiritual movements by winning, building and sending Christ-centered multiplying disciples. Eleven very powerful words that bring clarity and focus to what we should be doing.

    If you want to see how this all fits together, you may want to review Steve Douglass’ Future Direction booklet or view it in a simple one-page Planning Pyramid that places all these concepts in perspective. The higher, broader levels of the pyramid represent overarching calling, values, mission and vision that should guide us as we seek the Lord and make decisions. These don’t change very often. The lower, narrower levels represent the specific, culturally relevant strategic action that needs to take place in any setting. These plans and actions change frequently as the situation requires and the Spirit freely leads. The desired result: movements somewhere, ultimately leading to movements everywhere.

    Note that nowhere will you find a requirement, expectation, assumption or call for any CCC team to “reach the entire whatever.” Think about it: when was the last time you heard of a team leader or national director losing their job because they didn’t reach their entire scope? Or, for that matter, how many times in the past 60 years has anyone heard of a team that consistently DID reach their entire scope? Hmmm…

    This brings us to the next two major shifts in CCC culture that we need to make – together – in order to move forward.

    2. Increasing Local Ownership

    “Movements Everywhere” implies that the greatest growth must happen at the grass roots level. The whole organization must adjust to ensure that the local level is growing and expanding. This means that…

    a. We have local teams who are focused on building movements, whether through direct ministry or catalytic ministry. They are fully empowered to innovate and be creative within our mission, vision, and values.

    b. Everyone is aligned to essentials and committed to multiplying.

    c. Local movements become self-sustaining, i.e., they are generating local leaders and resources.

    d. Organizational decisions are made in light of their impact on the field. Investment in local effectiveness is normal.

    3. Developing a Broader Kingdom Perspective

    Penetrating the world with true followers of Jesus will require efforts far beyond those of Campus Crusade for Christ. We must keep a Kingdom perspective. We must join forces and resources with the rest of the body of Christ to reach our goal. This means that

    a. We promote God’s heart among the nations, embracing both the Great commandment and the Great Commission.

    b. We focus on our role, while celebrating the roles of others with different callings. We realize that all of us are necessary and none of us is sufficient to accomplish movements everywhere.

    c. We actively and unselfishly work together with other organizations and leaders with an attitude of humility, so that the synergy of the Body of Christ is unleashed.

    d. While making disciples and launching movements locally, we continually entrust the ministry to others in the arenas where God has called us to work.

    e. We must have the Kingdom in our sights, rather than only looking out for our own interests.

    How might these two cultural shifts change your team’s next strategic planning session?

    What might you need to stop doing? Start doing? Change?

  • Brokenness & Transformation: A Lent Meditation


    Our old bathroom had two rooms: one for vanities, the other a toilet and tub.
    Dark and confining. Functional not inviting.
    Cheap white tile and brown stick-on linoleum,
    green walls, pickled cabinets, bisque porcelain.
    Displeasing dissonance. All must go.
    Potential: Could it be better? Brighter?

    An afternoon with Jack, Travis and a reciprocating saw begins a radical transformation.
    The right tools make the job much easier.
    Demolition brings dust and splinters and draws some blood.
    Ominous stains lurking behind the tub, the stubborn wall –
    they fought hard but they’re gone now.
    Brokenness: Things must get worse before they get better.

    Virgin wall board, stylish tile, fresh paint, polished granite, new hardware.
    Color. Space. Light. Life.
    Restoration and Invitation: Come on in and stay awhile.

    My heart has two personas: one for my vanities, one that longs to be clean.
    Anger and love. Competition and compassion.
    Functional but not always inviting.
    Stubborn habits, selfish ambitions, proud defenses, carnal passions.
    My talents, my dreams, my experiences, my strengths,
    me, me, me, me.
    Displeasing dissonance. All must go.
    Potential: Could it be better? Brighter?

    An afternoon with Jesus on the cross begins a radical transformation.
    The Roman tool of punishment makes the job much easier.
    Death brings dust and splinters and draws much blood.
    Ominous stains of my sin, my stubborn will –
    they fought hard but have been crucified.
    Brokenness: Things must get worse before they get better.

    True faith, fresh hope, pure love, new freedom.
    Color. Space. Light. Life.
    Restoration and Invitation: Come on in and stay awhile.

    klc, 3/09