Cultivating a Culture of Growth in a Culture of Satisfaction
If I want to inspire other people to grow, I've got to keep making the non-glamorous choices. These are some simple ways that I encourage the people around me:
- We teach what we know but we really do reproduce who we are, so my biggest challenge in inspiring my team and my youth group is to keep growing myself. That means I have to keep reading. Then I talk differently, it's not like I'm warming over the same soup. It's because of that I motivate people differently, because fresh things are coming alive to me in fresh ideas.
- Another way I keep a culture of growth is by surrounding myself with key people and asking them first, "What are we doing well?" and then "How do we get better?" Never invite key leadership to make ministry better until you take time to celebrate what you did well.
- Identify "key targets on the wall" (in business you'd call them "critical success factors"), to help you know where you want to go. Remember, if you aim at nothing, you'll reach nothing.
- A goal without specifics and a deadline that are going to tell you've reached it, is nothing more than a daydream. Identify critical success factors so you know you're making progress towards your goal. I think we're afraid to do that because we don't want to show if we don't quite reach it, but that's a big mistake. Lots of times I haven't reached my goals, but I've made progress toward them and if I hadn't put the "target on the wall," I wouldn't have made any progress.
Remember, if you just get 1% better in an area of your youth ministry each week, by the end of the year you'll be 52% better one small non-glamorous step at a time.
If I want to inspire other people to grow, I've got to keep making the non-glamorous choices. These are some simple ways that I encourage the people around me:
- We teach what we know but we really do reproduce who we are, so my biggest challenge in inspiring my team and my youth group is to keep growing myself. That means I have to keep reading. Then I talk differently, it's not like I'm warming over the same soup. It's because of that I motivate people differently, because fresh things are coming alive to me in fresh ideas.
- Another way I keep a culture of growth is by surrounding myself with key people and asking them first, "What are we doing well?" and then "How do we get better?" Never invite key leadership to make ministry better until you take time to celebrate what you did well.
- Identify "key targets on the wall" (in business you'd call them "critical success factors"), to help you know where you want to go. Remember, if you aim at nothing, you'll reach nothing.
- A goal without specifics and a deadline that are going to tell you've reached it, is nothing more than a daydream. Identify critical success factors so you know you're making progress towards your goal. I think we're afraid to do that because we don't want to show if we don't quite reach it, but that's a big mistake. Lots of times I haven't reached my goals, but I've made progress toward them and if I hadn't put the "target on the wall," I wouldn't have made any progress.
Remember, if you just get 1% better in an area of your youth ministry each week, by the end of the year you'll be 52% better one small non-glamorous step at a time.
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In this Youth Leader's Coach, "The Uncommon 3%," we cover goal-setting in detail. Hopefully, understanding what setting goals can accomplish, along with guidelines for effectively writing them, will encourage and equip you to take your next step toward mastering the skill. For the results are in, our lifelong success depends on it!
Becoming intentional with you,
Have you ever met those youth pastors that seem to turn everything they touch into "gold"? While we know that life isn't perfect for them, no matter what they do, they always seem to win. Even though we may never admit it, often we feel very frustrated watching others always "get it right."
In this Youth Leader's Coach, I take a look at the "winning secrets of champions" by reviewing some of the greats of the athletic world. Standouts such as Tiger Woods, Joe Montana, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan and others are not just "great" in their fields, but truly seem to "always win." The same principles that made them amazing also apply to our "playing field" of youth ministry. Take this hour, listen, and realize that it isn't just what happens "in the ring" of our Wednesday Night service but "outside of the ring," in our everyday life, that determines a "champion." May this hour between us be one that would make you into a youth leader that "runs up the scoreboard" everyday!
Honored to have you in my life,
The reality is, how each of us choose to spend our time, will ultimately create how each of us choose to spend our life. However, it's all too easy to let our primary focus be inward, thinking of our own personal rights, to ever truly seize the day. But to be able to truly change my behavior, I must first change my perspective.
In this month's Source, "Carpe Diem," I'm challenging our students to seize the day on making some Christ-honoring choices that can set them up with a lifetime of success and happiness. Listen in, as you hear me illustrate the importance of how we spend our lives with some help from a powerful tape measure illustration, four lepers, and a clock ticking away in the background. It's my hope that we all say to the Lord, "Give me your kind of spiritual leprosy...so I don't waste my life spiritually having too much to lose."
Choosing to seize the day,
We all want to be successful. That's why in this month's Youth Leader's Coach, "Surprising Lies Separating You From Success," I'm sharing with you five common myths that we all hear, believe and try to achieve. Things such as multitasking, self-discipline, and willpower are just a few of the things that I'll address, and some of my thoughts might surprise you!
So grab a cup of coffee, throw up your feet and listen. I promise you this will be a helpful leadership resource for you.
Lovingly,
I still study lots and I love growing and hearing new things...but I also love reminding myself of things I've read many times before, but can be too easy to forget...and this topic is one of them. In his book, Good to Great, management researcher, Jim Collins reveals his findings in what makes a company not only good...but great. What ONE THING do all of these companies have in common? They were all led by a "Level 5 Leader."
A Level 5 Leader may not be what you would expect. In this Youth Leader's Coach, I examine what makes a "Level 5 Leader," how you can grow in your "Level 5 Leadership" and how being a "Level 5 Leader" applies to the church world.
Lovingly,
