Leadership & Market Place Ministry

Sunday, December 21, 2014

15 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From X-Men: Days Of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past is a great movie! Facing a global extinction of both the human and mutant races, Wolverine, played for the seventh time by Hugh Jackman, must go back in time to stop a war with machines called Sentinals before it ever starts. This movie is one of the best comic book films ever made. You will absolutely enjoy it.
The following are 15 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From X-Men: Days Of Future Past:

Inserting Talented Young Leadership Upgrades Your Church Or Organization – Other than Wolverine, the movie’s primary characters are the younger versions of Xavier (James McAvoy), Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence). Fassbender and Lawrence, in particular, steal every scene they are in. The insertion of younger talent upgraded an already successful franchise.
Leaders Must Know Their Limitations – Wolverine acknowledged, “Patience is not my strongest suit.”
The Naivety Of Youth And Its Potential – Young leaders are often high on passion but low on life experience. Patience and a long-term view is required. Showing his concern about Wolverine’s having to interact with younger versions of themselves, Magneto tells Xavier, “We were young. We didn’t know any better.”
Leaders Must Be Given The Tools For Success – Dr. Bolivar Trask, creator of the Sentinals, says, “When you sent your soldiers to Viet Nam without the necessary weapons, you underestimated your enemy.”
Leaders Seek To Serve Rather Than Be Served – The best leaders are committed to the success of those they serve. Wolverine says, “The professor I knew would never turn his back on someone who lost their way.”
Leaders Cast A Big Vision – Great leaders give others a great vision for their lives. Xavier tells Quicksilver, “You’re going to break into the Pentagon.”
Leaders Find A Way – Leaders are resilient and keep pressing forward. Wolverine tells Magneto, “You’re like me. You’re a survivor.”
Leaders Bring People Together By Creating Common Ground – Despite their disagreements, Magneto and Xavier sat down to a game of chess to rebuild their relationship.
Leaders Can Become Dangerously Misguided – Trask tells President Nixon, “Never before has there been a cause to unite human history.” There are many great causes to unite people. However, the destruction of a race of people will never be one of them.
Failure Is Not Final – Leaders are people of second chances and extend grace to those who need it. Xavier says, “Just because someone stumbles doesn’t mean they lost their way.”
Leaders Are Dealers In Hope – Xavier says, “The greatest gift we have is to bear their pain without breaking and it comes from your most human part – hope”
It Often Takes A Leader To Talk To A Leader – Because of the commonality of their journeys, it often takes one leader to encourage another. Other leaders have credibility because they understand the struggles which come with leadership. Wolverine gives Xavier confidence by telling him, “Your best is enough. Trust me.”
Leaders Are Bridge Builders – Magneto says, “Humanity has always feared what is different.” While this may be true, successful leaders are inclusive and continually building bridges. Leaders find ways to bring people together.
Leaders Have A Responsibility To Understand The Impact Of Their Decisions – Leaders make decisions and decisions make leaders. The most successful leaders have developed a quality grid for decision-making. “Countless choices define our fate…Enough ripples and you change the tide. For the future is never set.”
Honor The Past – Leaders understand you cannot move people into their future without first touching their past. This movie provided a nice touch by bringing back all of previous film’s most popular characters.

Once again, X-Men: Days of Future Past is a wonderful movie. You will have great time watching it. Let me know what additional leadership lessons you gleaned from the movie.
Additional X-Men Posts:

10 Reasons I Have Come To Admire Christian Senior Adults Who Resist Change

Yesterday I heard of another friend of mine who had fallen away from the faith. We had lost contact over the years as life takes you through different seasons and directions.
This friend of mine was a great leader. We had many passionate debates about the relationship of processes and systems vs. trusting God. He was a smart teacher, wonderful small group leader and shared his faith often. But the trials of life and not being properly invited into the leadership game at our church resulted in an unfulfilling church experience and he fell away.
The truth is the Christian journey became too tough. He quit. And sadly, his story is one I have heard countless times.
God then brought to my mind the senior adults who sit in our churches every week.
As a 48-year-old Christian leader, I’m ashamed to admit I did not always have the respect for senior leaders I do now. Nothing makes you appreciate older Christians like getting older yourself.
It started for me with the worship wars. Since then, I have been through many experiences (relocations, new buildings, changing to reach the next generation, etc.) and seen countless man-hours and extraordinary effort placed into properly honoring and transitioning senior adults through change.
In addition, senior adults have also largely been blamed in leadership circles for the death of many churches because of their refusal to change.
Change is necessary. Disrespect is not.
Many senior adults have dug in their heels. And this steadfastness and determination is now what I admire most about them.
While many leaders I know have quit or been disqualified, the senior adults who sit in our pews each week dug in their heels. When I look at senior adults, here is what I think:

They dug in their heels despite countless disappointments.
They dug in their heels wondering if they were going to make it through tough economic times.
They dug in their heels while raising children and investing in grandchildren.
They dug in their heels when wanting to quit their marriages.
They dug in their heels when brokenhearted and burying loved ones.
They dug in their heels while kneeling beside the bedside of sick loved ones desperately praying for a miracle.
They dug in their heels despite the physical pain which comes from aging.
They dug in their heels when Satan told them Christianity wasn’t worth it and they should just quit.
They dug in their heels because they had great faith.
They dug in their heels because they deeply loved Jesus.

So when I look at the senior adults in our churches, they have earned every right to dig in their heels a little bit. They have earned our respect and deserved to be honored when making strategic decisions and changing ministry models. We can learn much from faithful senior adults about faith and perseverance.
I wish my friend would have. I wish he would have dug in his heels.
Your thoughts?

14 Practices Of Highly Successful Leaders

I am spending part of this Memorial Day cleaning out some files. Not surprisingly, I came across some great leadership items I want to pass on to you.
As I read analyzed the following quotes, I discovered a hidden common thread running throughout each. The following are 14 Practices Of Highly Successful Leaders:
Sports Illustrated September 2nd, 2013

Highly Successful Leaders Do More Than Is Expected – Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan says, “If you’ve gut a guy who’s got the talented arm and he can make off-scheduled plays – that gives you a chance to win Super Bowls.”
Highly Successful Leaders Have A Successful Routine - Success is determined by your daily agenda. Regarding gifted wide receiver Dez Bryant, teammate Jason Whitten says, “He’s attacking meetings the way he attacks practices and games. He’s become a true pro.” Quarterback Tony Romo adds, “Dez has made football a routine…There’s a lot of little stuff the job entails, and it can be tedious. This is an all-day job.”
Highly Successful Leaders Are Detail Oriented – Drew Brees says, “You become extra focused on the little things and the details, because (they’re) what is going to give you an edge.”

Sports Illustrated October 14th, 2012

Highly Successful Leaders Deliver When It Matters Most – James Click says, “Clutch hits exist, clutch hitters do not. There is no statistical evidence to support the idea that some hitters consistently perform better in situations defined as ‘clutch’ as compared to normal situations. Good hitters are good clutch hitters; bad hitters are bad clutch hitters.”

Sports Illustrated January 27th

Highly Successful Leaders Do Not Waste Experience – Future Hall of Famer Champ Bailey on learning from two Hall of Fame teammates playing the same position, seven different coaches, 10 position assistants and 11 defensive coordinators, “If a coach wants me to play more zone, I can do it. More man, I can do it. I can do it all. It never hurt me to have all those coaches. I wanted to pick those guys’ brains as much as I could.”

March 17th

Highly Successful Leaders Have A Proper Perspective – Upon losing to Georgetown in their legendary NCAA Tournament opening-round game, former Princeton head coach Pete Carril reminded his team, “As bad as you feel, feeling this bad is better than never getting a chance to feel this bad.” He adds, “90% of games are determined by circumstance.”
Highly Successful Leaders See What People Could Be, Not Just What They Are – Albert Chen writes, “Scouting (for baseball) is one part detective, two parts imagination.”
Highly Successful Leaders Have A Great Work Ethic – Cleveland Indians general manager says of second baseman Jason Kipnis, “We kept hearing story after story from our scouts about how competitive he was. That drive came out when he worked extraordinarily hard to make the transition (from college outfielder to second base) work.”

April 21st

Highly Successful Leaders Have A Great Attitude – Caddie Ted Scott says of Masters champion Bubba Watson, “He was flat as far as his attitude, taking the good with the bad. That’s aha you have to do to win a major championship. As soon as you get thinking the wrong way, you’re done.”

May 12th

Highly Successful Leaders Continually Improve and Are Surrounded By A Great Team - Emerging NBA superstar John Wall gives us two practices,”Getting better teammates – and me improving – put it all together.”
Highly Successful Leaders Took Time To Mature - Great leaders are made in a crockpot, not a microwave. Legendary D.C. high school coach Stu Vetter says, “People anoint stars and leadership before they’ve really accomplished anything. They expect young players to come in and be leaders and over people who might be 10 years older than they are. That’s very difficult to do.”
Highly Successful Leaders Learn From Other Highly Successful Leaders – Former Red Sox scout Craig Shipley says, “I’ve learned a lot from observing other scouts. What you do is you understand what a big leaguer looks like, and then you try to see how close a 16-year-old is to the movements of a big leaguer.”

Fast Company June 2014

Highly Successful Leaders Keep Things Simple – Dropbox designer Tim Van Damme says, “We have some of the most talented designers in the industry (working) to keep everything as simple as possible.”

10 Things Pastors Do To Lose The Confidence Of Their Leaders

My return to INJOY Stewardship Solutions has afforded me the opportunity to reconnect with many past relationships. Today I spoke with one of the most competent lay leaders I have ever met. He began to share with me how much he had lost the trust and confidence of his church leadership.
I pressed in and asked him to unpack where the breakdowns were taking place. While I will not share every detail and item he brought forth, I did receive permission to pass along 10 Things Pastors Do To Lose The Confidence Of Their Leaders.
Please note this is from a former lay leader’s point of view. It also goes deeper than the standard causes of lost confidence being lies and missed expectations. These two are hopefully obvious and assumed.
The purpose of this post is not to complain but rather provide guardrails to insure pastoral influence is not lost and/or wasted moving forward. Check out the following and tell me what you think:

Hubris – Other than lies and missed expectations, there are few things leaders can do to lose confidence more than exhibit arrogance. He said, “If you think you have it figured out, you don’t.”
Not Respecting The Previous Contributions Of Lay Leaders – As a person who will one day be a “former leader” I took notice when he said, “Honor the past. Don’t be bound by it but know the history of your church…I know guys that left the church because after they rolled off the board NO ONE wanted any of the history of what and why they did what they did…They felt tossed to the curb. There’s wisdom in their mistakes and their successes. When you step into a leadership roll don’t assume that no one knew what to do before you came along. You ain’t that smart nor are you that inspired.” Ouch.
Continual Changes In Direction – He said, “A new mission statement destroys credibility. If you have to declare it, it hasn’t happened and it probably won’t happen (just like the previous one). Do you want to know who gets excited by a new mission statement? Printers.”
Putting Processes Over People – When there is a sense that leadership is more concerned with budgets than failing marriages, confidence will be lost.
Not Communicating Why You Are STARTING A New Ministry – People are down on what they are not up on. He said, “Tell me why whatever it is (initiative- project- new ministry- whatever) is Kingdom building. I’m glad you had a new idea. Why should I participate other than being a good guy? Tell why it is important and why I need to care.”
Not Communicating Why You Are STOPPING An Old Ministry – Leaders understand change is part of ministry. They also know just because something works today does not mean it will work tomorrow. However, communication is key during the transition. He said, “If it worked well, why don’t we keep doing it? At least tell me why we stopped doing it.”
Personal Agendas – Personal agendas were discussed as an item where confidence is lost. I asked, “How do you know if someone has a personal agenda.” He responded, “Everything is filtered through what they want to see happen.”
Wasting A Leader’s Time – You should never violate a leader’s intentions by having them participate on a committee without fully intending to implement their ideas. I understood what he meant when he said, “If you ask for my opinion, don’t say, ‘Well, the leadership team said this instead.’ Don’t disguise a task. You won’t hurt my feelings.” It was a crying shame when this high capacity leader concluded, “I was given filler projects.”
Not Expanding Your Feedback Mechanisms – Leaders often mistakingly default to listening to people just like them. This is a mistake because you actually receive no additional input. You are only confirming your biases. My friend said, “Anecdotal evidence is not evidence. Ask everyone. Just because your buddies like, agree, want, and accept something doesn’t mean everyone agrees with your inner circle.” He added, “When looking for new leaders look within your inner circle last.”
Not Giving Former Leaders A Place To Serve – It is often discussed the difficulties athletes have transitioning from the glamour of professional athletics to ordinary life. While different, it is also extremely difficult for a church leader to be marginalized by being relegated to an “average person” in the congregation. He said, “It was hard for about a year (since concluding his leadership assignment). Because you understand what’s going on (at the church), you pray hard and all you get is ‘Thanks. If we need you we’ll call you.’ “It’s like being fired.”

Bonus Thought – To Earn The Confidence Of Leaders Show Them Respect – My friend said what would have really honored him and give him confidence in leadership was an effective on-boarding and off-boarding process. He would have loved an exit interview. An exit interview would have given him an opportunity to share what he had learned during all his years of faithful service.
Pastor and church leaders, make continual communication with your past and present leaders a priority. Nothing will deepen confidence and trust more. And once this is achieved, these leaders will accelerate the multiplication of your mission and vision.
Your thoughts?

Pastors, 9 Things Your Wealthy People Think As You Meet With Them And How To Attach Them To BIG Vision

Many pastors struggle in their dealings with their wealthy members. As a result, many pastors have spiritualized their lack of discipling and outright ignoring of those in their church with affluence.
This is a missed opportunity for the Kingdom because wealthy people can flood the church with resources making ministry go farther faster
To help pastors prepare to engage those with wealth, the following are 9 Things Your Wealthy People Think as you meet with them:

Wealthy people are honored their pastor would meet with them. Surprised? Don’t be. Kings talk to kings.
Wealthy people are not pressured in this environment. They do it everyday.
Wealthy people are looking for their pastor to connect with who and where they are at this age and stage of their life.
Wealthy people are familiar with significant commitments. So invite them in to what God is doing at the church.
Wealthy people have experienced multiple personal and financial defining moments. Therefore, they understand defining moments at their church better than anyone.
Wealthy people are inspired by the magnitude of a great vision of God’s work.
Wealthy people are moved by the urgency of the moment. So communicate why action is required NOW.
Wealthy people are awed by the opportunity to be personally involved. It may sound counter-intuitive but most financial leaders are humble and understand every good and perfect gift comes from God.
Wealthy people measure performance and potential for Kingdom impact. So communicate the ROI.

To assist you in painting a clear and compelling vision for your financial leaders, here are seven things to remember:

Clear vision makes plans for the future certain. It is the compass set which allows you to lead the church in God’s clearly marked path.
Clear vision makes the mission meaningful. For instance, are you simply stacking bricks or are you building a structure which facilitates eternal life change?
Clear vision allows you to tackle the unknown, relying on God, His plans, and His economy.
Nothing of consequence has ever been accomplished for the Kingdom without godly leaders who are committed to embracing God’s vision for the future!
Clear vision means that as leaders, they see what you see, feel what you feel and hear what you hear as you look to the church’s future. So describe what you see, feel and hear.
For vision to be realized, leaders must sense their importance and significance.
The vision can only be realized if leaders feel and accept responsibility, then invest meaningfully.

Financial Leaders do not respond to vision when unanswered questions exist. The following questions, if answered effectively, will provide financial leaders clarity and allow them to become attached to BIG vision:

Why are we here as a church?
For whom are we here?
Where have we come from?
Where are we now?
Who are we now [how have we changed over time]?
Where are we going?
Why are we going there?
What will it feel like going there?
What are the critical factors for success?
How will we do it?
What can WE do?
What is the win for our church? For the community? For the nation, world, and Kingdom?

Pastors, if you struggle with connecting with financial leaders, feel free to connect with me. I would be glad to coach you through the process.

20 Things Pastors, Coaches, and Business Leaders Must Know About Leading Young Leaders

Having young leaders in your church or organization gives you a hope and chance at a productive future. Young leaders bring energy, enthusiasm and new ideas. But they must be developed because they do not arrive as finished products.
I recently completed the new book The QB: The Making Of Modern Quarterbacks by Bruce Feldman. Being a quarterback is the most leadership intensive position in pro sports. Modern NFL quarterbacks must possess high intelligence, handle complex information, have quick and accurate decision making skills, be leaders of leaders and handle significant conflict and disappointment with excellence.
As I read Feldman’s account of making a quarterback, I realized it was a picture of what is necessary to develop young leaders in any environment. The following are 20 Things Pastors, Coaches, and Business Leaders Must Know About Leading Young Leaders I gleaned from the book. Many of the quotes are from ESPN analyst and quarterback coach Trent Dilfer.

You Must Have Realistic Expectations When Leading Young Leaders – There is high-risk and high-reward when leading young leaders. From 1994 to 2013, 50 quarterback were selected in the first round. 40% were busts. Only six ever started and won a Super Bowl. The 2010 high school class of quarterbacks contained 31 players deemed to be blue chip prospects. Only four (13%) won starting jobs in college.
Find Young Leaders With Passion And Get Them On Your Team – Dilfer said, “I don’t care how smart they think I am. I want you to love football more than you already do. Because I love it. I love the purity of it. I want you to love it as much as I do.”
Make It Your Goal As An Experienced Leader To Maximize The Potential Of Young Leaders – Dilfer says about coaching, “It’s getting the most from the least and the best from the best.”
Young Leaders Underestimate The Power Of Influence – Dilfer added, “it’s (the quarterback) also the most influential position in sports. What the dude with the ball does affects the lady in the office across the hall. It affects everybody.”
Young Leaders Can Often Process Large Amounts Of Information – Dilfer said, “Your soul has more to do with your success than your arm strength. You ability to ‘chunk’ and process large amounts of information in real time is probably more important than how quick your feet are. How about your ability to walk into a room and everybody in there feels your presence?” He calls this a leader’s “competitive disposition.”
You Must Teach Young Leaders The Importance Continual Development – Dilfer said about Aaron Rodgers, the best quarterback in the NFL, “He was good – not great. He was fiercely competitive, though, and he wanted to be the best and was willing to learn anything. So, his body developed, and he thought outside the box in terms of his development…This guy is the perfect example of what can happen when you never stop developing. You’re not what you were when you came out of college, or at least you don’t have to be.”
You Must Teach Young Leaders About Perseverance – Struggle is necessary for strength. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Young leaders do not realize how difficult leadership is and often quit just before a significant breakthrough. Dilfer teaches at “the edge of uncomfortable is greatness.”
You Must Help Young Leaders Develop A Big Picture View Of Life – Dilfer continued, “You never let circumstances around you affect what you do.”
Young Leaders Often Suffer From A Sense Of Entitlement – This is arguably the top issue with today’s young leaders. Dilfer would agree. He says, “The biggest problem that you get as an athlete is not about where you came from or if you come from a single-parent home; it’s about growing up with a sense of entitlement.”
Arrogance Will Cause Young Leaders To Fail – You must deal with arrogance and disobedience. Nathan Fitch said, “It’s his (Johnny Manziel) nature to not listen to anyone trying to tell him what to do.”
You Must Teach Young Leaders Talk Is Cheap. Results Matter – Dilfer said, “(The) best thing my dad ever said to me was, ‘Don’t tell me. Show me.'”
You Must Teach Young Leaders The Value Of Relationships – Elite 11 coach Jordan Palmer said, “I told ‘em the two biggest things he (unnamed high school quarterback) has to work on are coachability and likability.”
You Must Teach Young Leaders Little Things Done Well Yield Big Results – Dilfer learned, “Consistency comes with doing the little things, mechanics, discipline; all that will allow your athleticism to come out.”
Young Leaders Often Do Not Know The Difference Between A Starting Line And A Finish Line - Dilfer said, “The biggest mistake was feeling like I’d gotten there (NFL), like it was about the culmination of the hard work instead of the beginning of the hard work.”
Young Leaders Will Fail – The question is whether they can learn from failure. Dilfer noted, “From humiliation comes humility.” He added, “I teach 95% from my failures, not my successes.”
Young Leaders Need Simplicity – Dilfer tells us about his former coach in Seattle, “Mike Holmgren (former NFL head coach) is the most gifted person I’ve ever been around at taking the super complex and making it digestible.”
Young Leaders Need Nurture – Dilfer feels nurture more than nature produces great quarterbacks. He said, “I’m 100% sold on nurture, ’cause the streets are littered with talented kids, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame is littered with guys who aren’t that talented. They have great ‘figure-it-outness.’ They make great decisions. They develop.”
Young Leaders Need Clarity – George Whitfield said, “If you’re not specific, something can mean different things to different people.”
Do Not Underestimate The Potential Of Young Leaders – June Jones said, “I had this conversation with (former Denver Broncos head coach) Dan Reeves. He wanted to get rid of John Elway. He said (a Stanford graduate) Elway couldn’t learn the playbook. But guess who was so great in the two-minute drill? John Elway. Guess who was calling the plays then? John Elway.”
Give Young Leaders Responsibility And Let Them Lead – Jones continues, “In two-minute situations, let him call his own plays. In those heated situations, (Jim) Kelly went no-huddle; (Brett) Favre, Elway, (Dan) Marino – they all called their own plays. Let them lead.”

What else do you feel is important when leading young leaders?

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Why Leaders Love Movies

I have noticed a unique trend about the behavioral patterns of the readers of this website. Notice the Most Read Posts from each of the past 12 months:

June 2013 – 20 Leadership Lessons From Superman: Man Of Steel #8 Most Read
August 2013 – Should Christians See Lee Daniels’ The Butler? #2 Most Read
October 2013 – 21 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Captain Phillips #3 Most Read and went on to become the 13th Most Read Post of 2013.
November 2013 – 17 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Thor: The Dark World #2 Most Read and the 15th Most Read Post of 2013. Another Marvel movie 21 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Iron Man 3 from May was the 7th Most Read Post of 2013.
December 2013 – 25 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Saving Mr. Banks #1 and the #11 Most Read post in this site’s history.
January 2014 – 15 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Lone Survivor Movie #1 Most Read
March 2014 – 18 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From God’s Not Dead The Movie #1 Most Read and has already become of the Top 10 Most Read Posts in this site’s history.
April 2014 – 24 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier #1 Most Read
May 2014 – 15 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From X-Men: Days Of Future Past #1 Most Read and 20 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From The Amazing Spider Man 2 #2 Most Read.

Movies are WILDLY popular with readers of this site. As I began to attempt to understand why, Joe Sangl gave me great insight into this trend.
He said, “Brian, movies tell stories. Stories move people.” And that is what leaders are about – Moving people from A to B. Moving people from where they are to a brighter and more fulfilling future.
Leaders, nothing will create positive momentum and move people more than telling stories. Stories show those you serve where they fit into a something larger than themselves. Stories also allow everyone to process information from their point of view.
Next weekend I will be seeing Edge Of Tomorrow starring Tom Cruise. I expect it to be one of June’s most read leadership posts as well.
The following is a complete list of the Top 10 Most Read Leadership Posts Of May 2014:

The following are 3 hidden gems which did not make the Top 10. I hope you enjoy them the second time around: