There are bloggers who exist (seemingly) to see churches fail. They love to headline scandals, and they sensationize their stories to support their bias that churches (especially big churches) are inherently evil. They will never write about restoration or healing or reconciliation -- all of which is happening at Willow. 

Authority is the ability to make decisions without asking someone else’s permission. So often we give a leader responsibility without also giving him the authority. Their job is clear--but for just about every decision, they must get approval from their boss, or accounting for every expense, or HR for simple personnel approvals. Or, they actually have the authority to make all those decisions, at least on paper. But in reality, they know you are going to swoop in and make changes.

When someone walks in with a resignation letter, it didn’t start that day. It started months ago. Anytime someone leaves, first their heart (passion) leaves, then their mind (thoughts and dreams), and the last thing to walk out the door is their body.

Have you ever been in a role in an organization where you used to have influence with those at the top, but for some reason, your influence has decreased? Perhaps someone new was hired whose voice now carries more weight than yours. Or maybe you are the new one, and although you have a higher position than others, you haven't been around long enough to gain influence. Sometimes it is more nefarious--someone planted the idea in your boss's head that you shouldn't be trusted.

Leaving a church is hard! Someone resigns…the pastors and leaders get their feelings hurt that he is leaving. It feels like, “John doesn’t want to play on our team any more. He took his ball and his bat, and now he’s going to play on a different team.” It feels very personal. Emotions run very high. Words get said. Insinuations are made. People are reactive…

Several years before the pandemic, the church team I was serving on went through a funk that lasted more than four years. Looking back, I would describe those years as a season of malaise. We had gone more than a decade with wind in our sails as everything we touched seemed to work without effort. But then we hit a season where it just stopped working. From the outside, it looked like business as usual. But it didn’t have the sense of “movement” and “revolution” as in the early days. 

You are gifted. You've been applauded your whole life for what you are able to accomplish. Maybe it is athletics. Maybe it is the arts. Perhaps, like Joseph of the Old Testament, you are good at everything you do. I meet some super competent leaders in the church all the time. They have fantastic communication abilities, they have effectively led teams, they are great at listening and shepherding a congregation, and they can design systems and solve problems. But sometimes this comes with a curse.

I would suggest the best leaders make very few decisions. They set direction. They paint a vision for the future. They look ahead for opportunities or threats. But great leaders make very few operational decisions. Healthy leaders are those who empower their team members, allowing them to make important decisions and welcome the resulting outcomes, even if it is a different decision than they personally would have made. They train their staff to make decisions by staying out of those decisions.

I had the opportunity to interview William Vanderbloemen from the hiring firm, Vanderbloemen, this week. I have been friends with William for a long time now and worked for him on staff for six years. He is a Founder and author, his most recent book is Be The Unicorn, is available on Amazon now.

Recent report: Those making less than $25,000 believe they will be happy when they are making $35,000. Those who had a median salary of $65,000 a year said that $95,000 would make them happy and less stressed. And the highest earners in the survey with a median salary of $250,000 believed that $350,000 would bring them happiness.

As we've all navigated the ups and downs of the past few years, it's crucial that we stay one step ahead by anticipating future norms that will inevitably shape our organizations. And yes, I understand that most of us are not running Fortune 500 companies, but cultural trends are not just for the corporate world. They echo profoundly in our church or not-for-profit staff teams as well.

I see so much at stake, especially for cause-based organizations like churches and not-for-profits. I've been a part of high-functioning, cohesive leadership teams with "average-talent" team members that crushed their goals and had success that was significant and sustained. I've also been a part of dysfunctional leadership teams with super-talented team members that could never get traction and fell far short of their potential. 

We’ve probably all worked for a leader who never made mistakes—or rather, one who wouldn’t admit to his or her own mistakes. But mistakes are a part of learning. I love to hear about the accomplishments of a successful leader, but sometimes I learn best when humble leaders are willing to share what they learned when they messed up. Here are a few notable mistakes I have under my belt…

I had the opportunity to interview Tony Morgan from The Unstuck Group this week. I have been friends with Tony for over 20 years and worked with him on staff at Granger Community Church. He is a Founder and Lead Strategist at The Unstuck Group, which he started over 15 years ago.

We live in an era of rapid metamorphosis where the only constant seems to be change itself. Just in the past five years we've lived through a global pandemic that has overhauled the way we live, work and interact with one another; we've navigated social movements such as #MeToo and Black Lives Matter that have awakened a desire in many for justice, equality and change; we've seen our younger generation pick up their bullhorns as it relates to climate change due to extreme weather events; and we've seen technological leaps forward from the advent of 5G to the rise of artificial intelligence.

I had the opportunity to interview Chris Lewis and David Lee from Thrivent Church Financing last week. Chris and David are both Senior Relationship Managers and have been sponsors for LeadingSmart several times over the past three years. Both of them brought incredible insight into the current financial situation of our churches in 2023.

One of the habits of a healthy leader is they seek first to understand. When someone disagrees with them, they strive to see the situation through the other person's eyes. When tension or frustration is rising, they drop back to see what they are missing. "What is the context or lived experience of the other individal that I need to understand?"

Last year I decided to put together a gathering that I would want to attend. It's not a conference. Rather, think “TED Talk meets Roundtable." No endless talking heads or “know-it-all” experts in the room. Intentionally limited to a maximum of 40 leaders. More than that and it starts to feel like an event rather than an intimate gathering where everyone can hear and be heard. The room is safe and the conversations are confidential. 

I joined the team at Willow Creek in early 2020, and later that year three employees passed their 40-year anniversary on staff. Forty freaking years! And guess what we did to celebrate? Nothing. We didn't even mention it in a staff meeting.

There were a number of reasons for this -- Covid definitely being a factor. But as I asked around, our church never had a history of honoring longevity. The average employee tenure in America is 4.3 years, and yet we had scores of staff members who had been with us through the highs and the lows for decades. As we went to work on improving our organizational health and staff culture, one of the most important things we did was to begin to intentionally say thanks to those who chose to stay on the team year-after-year.

By adding an unnecessary descriptor (black, hispanic, young, old, female) in a compliment, you can unintentionally diminish the person you are trying to build up. The more adjectives you use in a compliment, especially those that focus on their demographic characteristics, the less impact your words will have.