Month: June 2017

7 Crucial Steps to Lead Others Through Change

Posted on June 23, 2017 by - Articles, Change Management, Leadership Development, Leading Others, Learning Agility, Supervising People

Healthy Change Management = Sustainable Growth.

 Change is essential to growth. The greater the growth, the greater the change required.

One of the most important roles of a leader is to lead followers through seasons of change. Embracing change on an individual level is truthfully a lifelong practice, but if you are tasked with leading a team, the process often accelerates. Your goal as a leader is to find that graceful pace through new changes, and avoid stagnation. It will threaten even the best teams. Consider this example:

Kristin led a large function within a rapidly growing organization. As a pioneer in the organization and an early leader of her function, she had built the structure, systems and processes to support the body of work. However, after over 20 years of leadership, Kristin had transformed the function and had selected, grown and developed a team that was ready for more responsibility. For Kristin’s own growth, it was time for a change and she began to think about options that would provide the opportunity for her and others to grow.

For Kristin, the most difficult part of change was not deciding what she would do next, but in helping her team to discover what they could do in the next season with healthy change management.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, here are a few tips to successfully manage change within your team:

  1. Prepare for Change. Don’t wait for change to be needed before preparing others for the change. Continuously prepare for growth and change by honing skills of all the talent available to you. Create development plans and consider the future needs of the organization.
  1. Be Clear. Explaining change with clarity is paramount for successful change management. Be sure all the decisions related to the change have been made and that there is a consistent and clear message to communicate the change to everyone impacted directly or indirectly.
  1. Counsel Team Members Individually. Consider not only the work impact, but also the social impact to the change. It is respectful to be sure no one is surprised by changes that impact them most. Hearing about change for the first time in the presence of others is often difficult. Take the time to speak to impacted team members before sharing with the entire team.
  1. Allow Team Members to Process Change. Everyone responds differently. Give each person time and space to process their thoughts, feelings and ideas. The greater the change, the more time that is needed. Some need to process alone and others will need to talk through what they have heard. Give space and be available.
  1. Cast a Vision for the Next Season. Growth requires change and change fuels growth. As long as that cycle continues, there is limitless opportunity for the business and individuals. Be prepared to help others see a vision of where the change is taking the organization and what their opportunities are in the new season
  1. Display Courage to Move On. While displaying patience for others to process change is vital to change management, it is also important to make the call when it is time to move forward. Allow for feelings of loss, grief, anxiety, challenge and excitement to run their course, but when it’s time to move on, it’s time. Lead the way for your team.
  1. Make Your Decisions Right. One of my mentors often told me, “You won’t always make the right decisions, so make your decisions right.” When making change-related decisions, sometimes the leader gets it wrong. If you make a mistake, correct it. Don’t get stuck in the wrong decision. Do what you need to do to make it right.

Socrates said, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” As leaders, it is our role to move our teams in the healthiest way possible from the old to the new. In that process, we must preserve the core of the culture and usher people carefully and intentionally into a new vision of the best future.

Successful organizations develop and strengthen the muscle of this skill to grow their teams and create lasting impact.

Behind-the-Scenes Interview with Jared C. Wilkins—GLS Podcast Host Spotlight

Posted on June 22, 2017 by - News & Updates, The Global Leadership Summit

Don’t you love the NEW Global Leadership Summit Podcast? Great reviews are pouring in every day! And everyone keeps asking about Jared C. Wilkins, our host whose cool, smooth voice is heard on every episode. We recently had a chance to sit down with Jared to ask about his story and where his passion for leadership started.

Q: Tell us about two leaders who have influenced you.

Jared Wilkins (JW): First, my Dad. He was a sharecropper, then at the age of 15, he moved north where he worked to provide for his mom back home. He had a tenacious work ethic and overcame difficult circumstances and became the first member of his family to attend college. Later he became pastor of a large church in North Carolina and an executive coach. My Dad taught me the value of never giving up and always giving it your all.

Another powerful influence in my life is Oscar Muriu, a pastor in Kenya who spoke at the Summit in 2013. He spoke about viral leadership and multiplying impact. I was a do-er—someone who likes to get stuff done quickly by running in, working like crazy and harvesting as much as I could. Pastor Muriu’s talk challenged me to be better at bringing people with me—bringing the next generation into the leadership pipeline.

Q: How has the Global Leadership Summit made an impact on your leadership?

JW: I was introduced to the Leadership Summit in 2005 when I attended a host site at a church in North Carolina. As I listened to messages and teaching from high-level leaders, I couldn’t believe a church was behind an event like this. Seeing a church that’s influencing people at this level put fire in my leadership.

Q: When did you first realize you had a leadership gift?

JW: When I was 9 or 10, I was asked to give remarks at a Christian gathering of about 800 people. When I was a little older, I realized that while I was talking, people were listening. It helped me recognize that I must have something of value to say.

Q: What aspect of leadership excites you?

JW: Like WCA, I believe the church is the greatest institution in the world. It’s at the forefront of leading people and it can make the world a lot better.

Q: What is your priority as a leader?

JW: Caring. Leaders must care about and value the people who are giving 40-50-60 hours a week for them and their vision. As a leader, I want to make sure people know that I want more for you than from you. If I live that out, I should be able to get things done.

Q: What are you learning about leadership?

 JW: I’m a visionary, and I have to admit, I haven’t always been great on executing the vision. I’m reading “Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done” by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan. And I’m studying how to achieve vision.

Q: What is your advice for younger leaders?

JW: Don’t sacrifice people for your vision. It’s not worth it. Enjoy life. Be fully present with your family. Put the phone away. Play catch. Go bowling. Be present.

Q: What are your hopes for the GLS Podcast?

 JW: I am proud of the fact that WCA is unashamedly Christian. We need business leaders whose ministry is their workplace. I pray people use these podcasts as a tool that makes them better leaders. It’s only 30 minutes long and everyone can find 30 minutes to set aside for development!

 

Jared C. Wilkins is a champion for community life. He leads leaders in developing strategies for creating authentic mid-sized and small group communities at Willow Creek Community Church. He is also the host of GLS podcast. He served as a teaching pastor in North Carolina before coming to Willow Creek.

Are You Mentally or Spiritually Dehydrated? The Summit is Your Fire Hose

Posted on June 21, 2017 by - Because of the GLS, North America, Replenishment, Stories, Team Building, Vision

One comment we often hear after The Global Leadership Summit is, “The Summit is like drinking from a fire hose!” For this first time attendee in Wisconsin in 2016, it was no different. Through The Summit, God reminded her that it is just as important to fill her spiritual bucket as it is to stay physically hydrated.

After The GLS last year, I went for a run in hopes that a few key takeaways would rise to the top that I could ponder on while I ran. What came to mind was a strong realization of just how thirsty my soul has been for good, biblical, truth-telling teaching.

I’m thirsty.

It’s no coincidence that this came to me while running. You see, I live most of my life dehydrated. I know that proper hydration is important for so many reasons. Yet, even as a runner, I don’t drink enough water. Most days, I’m fine. I maybe get a foot cramp in the evening, or in rare circumstances, I might get a headache. Otherwise, I think I am just fine.

But here’s what’s interesting. When I finally do start drinking water, I can’t stop. I want more and more and more. I think the same is true here.

In my 20s and early 30s, my spiritual life was well-hydrated. Besides attending church on Sunday, I was having quiet times every morning. I was in a small group. I went to midweek services at church, and I had a mentor. When I wasn’t at work, I was surrounded by wise, grounded Christians who spoke truth into my life.

But as life became fuller with marriage, kids, more kids, more demanding jobs, a new community, new and even more demanding jobs, many of the things that used to fill me up fell to the wayside. What once provided the hydration my soul needed, was gone.

Like the lack of hydration in my body, the lack of hydration of my spirit is similar.

Most of the time I don’t notice it. Like a cramp in my foot, there may be little things that creep into my life—I become crabby, I use foul language, or I vent just a little too much. I tell myself it’s not so bad.

Going to church and being in a small group has provided enough water to keep me going. But as it turns out, it’s not enough to keep me hydrated.

While at the Summit, I kept saying “it’s like I’m drinking from the fire hose.”

Wow! Little did I know that two days later, God would bring this metaphor to life during my run. I was, in fact, drinking from the fire hose. And the more I drank, the more I wanted.

I came home intending to revisit my notes in an effort to identify key next steps and workplace application. Instead, all I wanted to do was pick up one of the three books I purchased. I kept asking myself why I was seeking more when I hadn’t reviewed what I already have. The reason?

Thirst. I’m craving more truth. More wisdom. I want to be challenged, changed, renewed and refreshed. I’m done with being stagnant and parched. God wants so much more for me.

So what’s next? How do I continue to feed my soul?

First, I need to start with repentance. Repentance for foolishly thinking all of these other things (good things!) would do for my heart what only God can do. Repentance for being so full of pride that I literally thought I could get away with not having consistent time with God, and still somehow stay hydrated.

My heart is soft and vulnerable right now. More than a line item on my list of resolutions, I pray that this is what I need to get back on track and realize that I need to drink from the fountain of life every day, multiple times a day to live the life God has called me to.

“White” Is NOT a FOUR-Letter Word: 4 Ways to Trust Each Other Enough to Go There

Posted on June 20, 2017 by - Articles, Conflict Management, Diversity, Leading Others, Relational Intelligence, Servant Leadership, Team Building

I’ll never forget the time one of our staff guys came into my office and asked, “If you could live at any moment in world history, when would it be?” 

Without flinching I said, “As a black man?” Before he could respond I told him now.  

Like 1783, or 1854 or 1957 weren’t good times for me. And while things are far from perfect (look to the streets of Ferguson, or corner stores in Baton Rouge and Staten Island), I’m incredibly hopeful. The opportunities that exist for people of color today are both long overdue and unprecedented. Things are trending upward.

But these times might be troubling for our white siblings. Many perceive being white as wearing white pre-Memorial Day, in the dead of winter in Chicago—not a crime, but certainly not optimal.  Phrases like “white privilege” not only heap huge portions of shame, but make it seem as if “white” is a four-letter word, pushing our siblings away from the table of friendship, ending all hopes for real substantive discourse. How can there be any hope for authentic community when one side of the table is mute? 

What makes for a healthy relationship is the willingness to express variant opinions, and wrestle with sensitive subjects with the goal of emerging with clarity and intimacy. 

In the beatitudes, Jesus never said, “Blessed are the conflict avoiders,” but “Blessed are the peacemakers.” It’s counterintuitive isn’t it? Many times before there can be peace, there must be conflict. Before there’s health, the surgeon must wield his scalpel. In order for there to be real friendship, both sides must be okay with going there—trusting each other enough to express hard and unpleasant things.

Now is the time to trust each other enough to throw our “PC” sensibilities to the wind. The blood of Alton Sterling, Tamir Rice, Mike Brown and a host of others, demand our careful stewardship. These tragedies should precipitate real dialogue among mult-iethnic tribes. So as we bare our souls over cups of coffee, I’ve found these principles to be helpful:

  1. Love. God doesn’t call us to change people, but to love. However old you or the person you’re talking with are, is how long the cultural biases and presuppositions have been forming. One encounter will not change them or you. So what has to keep us coming back to the table is love.
  2. Humility. People love to quote the Apostle Paul who told us to speak the truth in love. But remember, when you sit down to talk about these sensitive issues with a person who doesn’t look like you, you don’t have truth as much as you have perspective. So let’s be humble enough to know we could be seeing things wrong.
  3. Posture. Many of our white friends are fearful to ask the hard question or to potentially say the wrong thing. In our “uber PC” world, I get this. But what would help is if our white brothers and sisters would posture themselves as Ask questions instead of making statements. This will set your minority friend at ease.
  4. Keep Coming Back. Talking about race with a white person is hard for me. It brings up old wounds, and if I’m not careful I can leave the table too soon, so to speak. I can take my proverbial ball and go home. My hyper-sensitivity can suffocate dialog. It’s been helpful for me to remember white people are not the enemy. (Ephesians 6:12) And sure they’ll say things wrong, but I need to commit to keep coming back to the table and coming back and coming back. Racism in America is 400 years in the making, it won’t be solved with one conversation. We need thousands of daily conversations across the ethnic divide to see the ball advance down the field.

These are troubled yet hopeful times. While Dr. King and his army were used greatly to change laws, ours is the time to take their baton and go from the White House to dinner tables, trusting each other to go there, and have transformative conversations with what Dr. King called the community of the beloved.