Month: June 2016

180’s Are Possible | One Man’s Journey from Homelessness to Leadership

Posted on June 22, 2016 by - Church & Faith-Based, North America, Stories

Have you ever witnessed someone do a complete 180? Go to a hope-of-the-world church.

When a church is strategically planted in an urban area, and sets its sights beyond its walls into a community that desperately needs hope, it opens up a multitude of opportunities for God to touch lives in transformational ways.

f49665_c3b9098f93614400a7cfcbb3ad44fabbLarry Willman has been the pastor of Payne Avenue Evangelical Free Church in the urban center of St. Paul, Minnesota for the past 30 years. With the vision to ‘help people be loved, set free and changed by Jesus on the East Side of St. Paul,’ he has witnessed people completely turn their lives around after being introduced to the God who loves them. This is the story about the 180 that happens in individual lives when by God’s grace, He works through the church and people realize their unique role as a leader within the body of Christ.

“I’m not sure our church is ever ‘working right,’ but somehow with the grace of God, He uses us feeble people to touch others and see Him work miracles,” said Larry. “It’s a never-ending journey with many rough spots, challenges and discouragements—and we are always learning. Every now and then we get to catch a glimpse of God’s grand work!”

Kent first came to Payne Avenue Evangelical Free Church three years ago. “He was waiting across the street for an AA meeting and one of our guys went over to talk with him and invite him to our church,” Larry said. “He had recently moved to St. Paul from Minneapolis because he got new housing over here and was working on his sobriety. He’d been struggling with alcoholism and being homeless. Since that time, God has done a great work in his life. He told me when he came to our church, he found the love of God and a spiritual family where he could belong.”

Each week Kent continues that legacy by inviting people from the community to the church and by being in the welcome ministry. “His goal is to meet all new people and help them find the same love of Christ he met when he first arrived,” said Larry. “He absolutely lights up when a person he invites shows up!”

Recognizing that Kent had a unique untapped leadership gift, Larry invited Kent to attend the Global Leadership Summit in 2014 with one of the three sponsored tickets he received from Eagle Brook Church. “Kent was super inspired. Just being in that setting and hearing and seeing people who wanted to live and lead for God, plus some practical ideas – gave us a kind of spawning ground for future ministry ideas and inspiration to keep plugging along,” Larry shares. “And after the GLS was over, Kent exclaimed, ‘I am a leader!’ Now he’s taken on the leadership of the men’s group, and continues to own the welcome ministry with new vigor. He has a vision for this ministry and for our church to reach our urban neighborhood.”

To help people be loved, set free and changed by Jesus on the East Side of St. Paul.

That is Kent’s story. He found the love of Christ through the love of God’s unique people in the church.  He was taught and encountered the Gospel message that set him free from sin and guilt and shame. He was changed by Jesus’ power – and now has a new purpose for life, which is the same ministry vision and purpose of the church. “He lives and breathes it, even when it is tough,” Larry said. “He wants to help others be loved, set free and changed by Jesus.”

God continues to work through Larry’s church to serve their urban community, and with leaders like Kent, this vision is being leveraged across the congregation. “Kent continues to be an inspiration to me and the church. My goal and prayer is to have more people (Elders and other leaders) attend in 2016, and multiply the energy and solidify and unify the vision God has given us.”

20160503_153847A prayer request for Kent:

Kent has been in and out of the hospital, and has nearly faced death in recent weeks. Larry asks for prayer for his ministry partner. “I would really appreciate your prayers! I can really relate with what Paul said in Phil. 2:27 about his friend and fellow minister who almost died. Losing such a great partner in ministry would truly be sorrow upon sorrow for me. God is merciful and His will is good, no matter what.”

“And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him—and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another.”

Stop Serving the Feedback Sandwich

Posted on June 22, 2016 by - Articles, Communication, Conflict Management, Leading Others

How do you give feedback to a CEO who’s twice your age? I was 25, a new professor called in as a last-ditch, Hail Mary effort to save a dying company. They had already fired three consultants, so why not try me?

The CEO had been leading longer than I’d been alive. After several weeks of watching him in action, interviewing his senior team, and gathering data from his employees, it was time for me to bring down the hatchet. His company had merged with another firm and he was still trying to figure out where to go. His team desperately needed him to outline a vision.

When I went to colleagues for advice, they all told me the same thing. Put a slice of praise on the top and the bottom, and stick the meat of your criticism in between. It’s the compliment sandwich, as Stewie Griffin called it on Family Guy—a technique for giving feedback that’s popular among leaders and coaches, parents and teachers.

But when I looked at the data, I learned that the feedback sandwich doesn’t taste as good as it looks.

Problem 1: the positives fall on deaf ears. When people hear praise during a feedback conversation, they brace themselves. They’re waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it makes the opening compliment seem insincere. You didn’t really mean it; you were just trying to soften the blow.

Problem 2: if you avoid that risk and manage to be genuine about the positives, they can drown out the negatives. Research shows that primacy and recency effects are powerful. We often remember what happens first and last in a conversation, glossing over the middle. When you start and end with positive feedback, it’s all too easy for the criticism to get buried or discounted.

Giving a compliment sandwich might make the giver feel good, but it doesn’t help the receiver.

Instead, try these four steps to make your criticism feel constructive:

  1. Explain why you’re giving the feedback

Recently, a team of psychologists was able to make feedback 40% more effective by prefacing it with just 19 words:

“I’m giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them.”

Rather than feeling attacked, now you feel like the person has your back and believes in your future. People are remarkably open to criticism when they believe it’s intended to help them. As Kim Scott observes, people will accept being challenged directly if you show that you care personally.

  1. Take yourself off a pedestal

Negative feedback can make people feel inferior. If you level the playing field, it’s a lot less threatening:

 “I’ve benefited a lot from people giving me feedback, and I’m trying to pay that forward.”

“I’ve been studying great managers, and I’ve noticed that they spend a lot of time giving feedback. I’m working on doing more of that.”

 “Now that we’ve been working together for a while, I think it would be great if we gave each other suggestions for how we can be more effective.”

All of these messages send a clear signal: I’m not perfect. I’m trying to get better too.

  1. Ask if the person wants feedback

“I noticed a couple things and wondered if you’re interested in some feedback.”

I’ve opened this way many times, and no one has ever declined. Once people take ownership over the decision to receive feedback, they’re less defensive about it.

  1. Have a transparent dialogue, not a manipulative monologue

Organizational psychologist Roger Schwarz suggests a thought experiment. Imagine that you’re about to give feedback to two employees, but you have to be transparent about what you’re trying to accomplish:

“I have some negative feedback to give you. I’ll start with some positive feedback to relax you, and then give you the negative feedback, which is the real purpose of our meeting. I’ll end with more positive feedback so you won’t be so disappointed or angry at me when you leave my office.”

It sounds ridiculous. It’s destined to elicit the kind of rage that I haven’t seen since Ross Geller bellowed MY SANDWICH?! Here’s what Schwarz recommends instead:

“The presentation you gave to the senior leadership team this morning may have created confusion about our strategy. Let me tell you how I’d like to approach this meeting and see if it works for you. I want to start by describing what I saw that raised my concerns and see if you saw the same things. After we agree on what happened, I want to say more about my concerns and see if you share them. Then we can decide what, if anything, we need to do going forward. I’m open to the possibility that I may be missing things or that I contributed to the concerns I’m raising. How does that work for you?”

Putting it in Action

When I was preparing for the meeting with the CEO, I learned that all three consultants had tried to compliment him, and he saw right through it. It was time to take the feedback sandwich off the menu and be radically candid.

I started by explaining why I was giving the feedback. “Your senior team all believes you’re the right guy to save this company, and I do too. I hope I’ve seen something that can help you do that.”

Next I took myself off a pedestal. “I see this as a two-way street—there’s a lot I can learn from you about leadership. Who are the leaders who have taught you the most in your career?”

He gave me a few examples, and one was a leader with a clear, compelling vision. I took the opening and asked if he wanted feedback: “Your team actually has some pretty consistent views on how you can deliver your vision. Do you want to hear them?”

He nodded and took out a pen. I shared a few of their observations and asked if he agreed. He did—he needed to clarify the vision. A few weeks later, he stood up and rolled out his vision. It was a triumph.

Later that year the company failed anyway. But if I had given a compliment sandwich, it might have failed even sooner.

Success, Intention & Vision

Posted on June 20, 2016 by - Articles, Calling, Leading Yourself

Success means to achieve your aim, turn out as expected or achieve your goals. Success is impossible without clear intentions and specific goals. Attempting to succeed without having specific goals is like playing soccer without a goal post. Scoring a goal will be difficult and one never experiences the exhilaration and fulfillment that comes from achieving a definite target. The key word that defines success is fulfillment.

God created and designed us and He has the ultimate definition of success for our lives. Therefore, discovering and achieving God’s goals for your life is the ultimate. The Bible makes it clear that we will all account for our lives on earth (Luke 12: 16-21). Have goals within the context of God’s goals for your life. God has a purpose, a plan and a reason for creating you (Romans 8:28-29). Know that your destiny was defined before your life started (Jeremiah 1:4-5, Hebrews 4: 1-3) just as Christ is described as the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). He did not start existing 2000 years ago. We enter our rest when we bring ourselves into alignment with God’s purpose for our lives (Hebrews 4: 1 – 3).

For us, as Christians, Jesus Christ is our ultimate model of success. He found alignment with His purpose for coming to this world. He spent 33 short years on earth, yet the world will never be the same. We need to ask God “Why am I on earth?”

Find out what your purpose is. Your purpose will always involve adding value to other people’s lives. Marriage, money or careers will not bring lasting fulfillment. Redemption (being born again) is the foundation for the fulfillment of God’s intention in our lives. God is calling us to partner with Him to fulfill His plans . . . .

Another important success secret is vision. Vision can be described as a dream or a mental picture of a preferable future. To be the best God has designed you to be, you must engage your imagination. Every person has the ability to turn their thoughts into pictures in their mind. Dreams take you beyond the limits of human ability and physical constraints. Ephesians 3:20 clearly states, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Unfortunately, many people focus on the “asking” part of that verse and forget about “thinking” part, even though God places both on the same level.

Great works are products of deep thoughts (Psalms 92:5). In Genesis 15:5, God taught Abraham how to get a new vision about his descendants by bringing him out of his tent and asking him to count the stars. In Genesis 37: 5-9, Joseph had a dream and he did not let his brothers’ antagonism stop him from continuing to dream. Eventually, his dreams came to pass. Thoughts are very powerful and you attract the equivalent of your most dominant thoughts into your life. Without a dream or vision, a person is sunk. Dreaming makes it easy for God to bless you because He can then work with the pictures in your mind. You must have a God-given dream!

Letters From Prison (Part 5 of 6)

Posted on June 17, 2016 by - Calling, Government, North America, Prison, Resilience, Stories

GLS Group2The first Summit at Southeast Correctional Center in Missouri was held last August with the sponsorship and the support of the team at La Croix Church. They caught a vision to serve prisoners, unleash potential and change the culture of the prison from inside out, using the tools offered by the Global Leadership Summit (read more about the event here).

We received letters from several of the prisoners who were able to attend, and we are blown away by the powerful impact the Summit has had on these men.

Over the past couple weeks, we’ve been posting a series on our blog called “Letters From Prison,” highlighting the impact that the Summit has had on these prisoners’ lives. We hope you’re as encouraged, challenged and inspired by their words as we were when we received them.

 

A letter from Steve, GLS attendee, Southeast Correctional

Dear Willow, Thank you so much for helping this leadership Summit grow into what it has become today. All I can say is, Wow! Being a part of this year’s Summit was truly a blessing, and I want to thank you for bringing it to this institution so that I, as well as others, could pick up the necessary tools to help me be the person God created me to be. I need to have the “grit” to reach the goals I’m striving for. When others see that drive and determination, they will push themselves harder, too.

Bill, I’m glad you mentioned blind spots and broke it down for us. I always noticed something was wrong with the way I present my information and lead others, but never knew what it was or how to get others to tell me. Now others are more open and willing to help me see what areas I need to work on. For example, the way I position my hands behind me; my energy level (fear), moving to the next person too fast, and not digging deeper into what they have to say (not listening fully)….

This Summit was truly amazing and I believe everyone in the world should participate. It will build their confidence, energize them, enlighten them and hopefully, by listening to these speakers, a seed will be planted and others will come to know Christ and accept Him into their lives.

Just as Burl Cain had a “dumb idea” (that became a great idea), it totally changed Angola Prison into a God-fearing prison. That can happen in all these prisons! In fact, I think it’s already happening in this prison! We have a great warden here who is strong on programs and rehabilitation.

I look forward to using these tools to help me minister to others as well as get the best out of them at work or in class. My goals are to witness to all the new guys who come into this institution, tell them about the different programs that are offered, and to continue keeping tabs on them to see that they are still following the right path, just as Paul did when he led others to Christ. Paul knew how important it was to continue to mature new believers in the faith, and not give up on them. Forgetting about others isn’t loving your neighbor.

Again, thank you for this year’s Summit and the guidance and motivation it’s given me. Everyone who gave their time to make this happen, thank you! I hope to see you again next year! May the love of Christ continue to dwell in you richly.

Sincerely,
Steve, GLS attendee, Southeast Correctional

 

Please pray for our prison sites in 2016. This year there will be 25 prisons experiencing the GLS teaching. Imagine what God might do?