Take 2.0 Ministry for the Next Generation

I am sitting here with my wife watching our TiVo’d show of “Undercover Boss” where they are at White Castle. I enjoy this show for many reasons, bt I always ca walk away from watching this show learning something new or having lessons reinforced for me.

Here are the fly overs of some of the lessons that I picked up while watching the show this time.

1. Supervisors need to work o the front line with their teams. Often times the atmosphere of the team can be down and that is when the supervisors need to make sure they know the pulse of their teams so they can make sure they move from their “breakrooms” (the place a supervisor on the White Castle episode was found often) to the front line with their teams. It is really during these times that the teams need to feel the support and see the leaders lead.

2. We need to make sure regardless of the type of business we need to focus on the people we serve. The show had a drive through cashier who really stood out because of his love for the people. He really kept this goal of making the peoples experience of driving through White Castle as good as he could. What a thing for us to keep an eye on as people come into our churches, fr us to make sure we can do what we can to make the experience a good one.

3. The last one I will make mention of with this post is that with every position this undercover boss went to work in, he was always trained with/alongside someone doing the position with him. What a lost art form that we in the church have a let go. More often in churches we may see people come in and we throw them in, give them a manual, or something along those lines and call them trained. The we go on our way. Instead, what a great difference it would make if we really “Trained” or “Did ministry with them/alongside of them” for a period of training time before allowing them to do it alone.

Who else is watching this show? What do you enjoy about it? What lessons are you seeing or enjoy seeing it reinforced? 

I am siting here in my home office updating Kidology’s Blog watch when in comes my daughter. She is showing me her new drawings from some shows she has been watching this morning as she had to stay home due to a fever. I took a look at the drawings and was very surprised to how much she has really improved improved in her drawing abilities.

This great improvement drew me into asking, “How did you draw these?” She goes on to explain how since we have TiVo she pauses the shows and then draws what she wants from the paused frame and then hits play to finish watching the show.

What a genius!! This made me begin to think so much that I had to take a break and come over to my blog here and post this reinforced lesson that my 9 year old daughter just taught me again with out her knowing.

We have to have tools or systems set up in our life (TiVo in this case for my daughter) that can be used to “pause” life for a while. During this paused time we need to use it to get a better picture of some of the details of our life in proportion. It really isnt until these “Paused” times can we really get a clear picture. Nor can we really spend the time we need to, to invest properly into things.

So what systems or processes do you have set up to help you Pause life for a while?
What tools do you use?

I have been a huge fan of Michael Hyatt the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers ever since I first found out about him. Michael is one of those guys who has a way of thinking that is contagious, inspiring, and just down right good. Today Michael posted on his blog site: “What the Bible says about Leadership and Delegation”. Of course it was a fantastic article and one I will briefly just give the main points to here and encourage you to actually go to his site and read the whole perspective of his. But it was this blog post of his that inspired my thinking about the “delegation” part.

Here’s a quick glimpse of Michael’s blog post -

Jethro had pulled Moses off to the side to make some candid comments about leadership and delegation and here they are:

1. Admit that working non-stop is unsustainable.
Jethro didn’t pull any punches. He said matter-of-factly: The thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself” (vv. 18:17, 18)

2. Understand your unique calling. 
He exhorted Moses, saying: “Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do” (vv. 18:9, 20)

3. Select qualified leaders to assist you.
“Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, [and] hating covetousness” (v. 18:1a)

4. Give these leaders responsibility and authority.
He provided an outline: “… and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all times” (vv. 18: 21b–22a)

5. Only do those things which others cannot do. 
He said, “Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you” (v. 18:22b)

So here are 5 great points that Michael blogs about. But I can hear many of my friends now and those that I coach through Kidology Coaching asking and saying, well that is great by theory. Then they would follow up by saying that I delegate all the time but do not see those kind of results. Well my simple answer on this would be that you have not completely done all of the above fully then.

See I have learned through the years that regardless of the results I get if the Bible tells me…do this and this will happen, and I “think” I did it but do not see the results the Bible talks about, then it usually if not always my “thinking I did it” that is incomplete or wrong. Often times with the missing results in delegation it is due to not fully doing all of the above steps with delegation. There is a huge difference between delegation and dumping.

Now quickly here lets review the steps above.

1. We are to “...show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do” (vv. 18:9, 20) Often times people don’t turn out what we were hoping because we short changed them the full explanation of what and how and why they are doing what they are doing. And training them properly according to those values, but instead we dump on them and expect them to do it.

2. “Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, [and] hating covetousness” (v. 18:1a) Here is another place that we weaken our potential and hurt others under our leadership. We try and put privates in charge like they were generals and we put our generals in charge of things that privates should be over. We are rushed and take what ever comes our way and slap them in place. I love the word “select”. This word means “pick, draft” not “request, plee”. Those we “select” should be prayed over and intentional.

3.  “Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you” (v. 18:22b) I think we often feel we are more important than we are and that more things need our opinion than really do. Through this “I am important and must give my input” we train people alright, to not be self thinkers or problem solvers, but to be dependent on us.

Bottom line for me is I really feel that usually people are getting the results that they are structured for. Moses was getting burnt out, would not have made it in the long run under his current structure. Jethro helped him change how he was structured so that he could get different results.

What results are you getting? Maybe it’s not so much the people as it is you the leader. Examine your delegation closely.

I must start off this review with a confession. This book took me longer than any other book to read for only one purpose: My life became very busy from the moment I took on this book. This book is an easy read and one that should keep you engaged.

Ralph de la Vega is the author of “Obstacles Welcome” and the president & CEO of AT&T mobility and consumer markets. As the tagline of the book, ‘turn adversity to advantage in business and life’ suggests this book comprises of writer’s lifetime experiences and the theories and attitude he followed to achieve his goals.

I enjoyed how every chapter of the book ends with ‘Takeaway Messages’, giving points to spark continued thinking about through our daily struggles or opportunities in life. His way of looking towards life is admirable and can provide inspiration in thought.

Obstacles Welcome outlines a simple set of strategies for people at every level of society who face challenges in their businesses, education and personal lives.

1. First, de la Vega says, when faced with a challenge we must assess the situation, examining our strengths and weaknesses.

2. We must establish a vision, what we have decided we are going to accomplish.

3. We must create a plan for success, listing the steps necessary to make the vision become reality. “Hope,” de la Vega points out, “is not a strategy.”

4. Lastly we must put the plan into effect, monitoring and adjusting it with incoming information as we progress toward the goal, keeping in mind a solid foundation of values. Ethical practice is not only “the right thing but the wise thing to do,” de la Vega declares.

As the book ends, so I want to end this the same way..

“So now my work continues…creating experiences to convince the youth of the world that life can be more than they ever dreamed if they get an education and use it to bring their own best ideas to reality.

I want this ongoing journey to be their own plane to freedom, helping to lift them above their limitations and landing them where their opportunities have no limits.”

Read this book and maybe you too will pick this heart beat of the author up.

The four Stages of team development were originally identified by educational psychologist Bruce W. Tuckman in the mid-1960’s. Still valid today, they are:

  * Forming
  * Storming
  * Norming
  * Performing

Forming is what happens at your leadership retreat or first meeting. Everyone comes with company manners and is nice to each other. You might do some bonding games or talk about all you will achieve together. Hopefully you leave pumped and feel almost like you’ve found a fresh love.

Back home and back in the trenches, reality hits. The turf wars begin. Team members begin to jockey for acknowledged expertise in an area. Things get tense. You may wonder what you were thinking when you agreed to be a part of the team!

The storming phase has begun. Teammates are diligently working to identify who does and knows what. Pressure increases on how the team works together and challenges how the team deals with differing opinions around the table. Successfully working through this uncomfortable season will establish group norms. Just like after any storm, calm follows, relatively speaking that is.

Norming is building on the outcomes from the storm. This leads to growing trust within the team, and real forward progress begins.

With clear norms, performing becomes doable because the team is attuned to the same wavelength. It’s almost as if you can read everyone’s mind. The team delivers high-performance, and life is good.

Unfortunately, the process doesn’t always work quite this smoothly. Many teams never get beyond storming. Not quite understanding what is going on, leaders risk allowing things to get personal. This can become a de-motivator, and team members may start jumping ship, stalling progress. Teaching your new team the four phases can help them knowingly and successfully move through the storming phase.

Since most teams experience some turnover in their life span, it is vital to be aware that whenever a new member joins the team or someone drops from the team, the process will usually revert back to the storming phase. Be sure your team members are equipped to survive the storming process and work through to norming.

Awareness of what’s going on in your team and what phase you are in can smooth the growth of your team.
Smith, M.K., Bruce W. Tuckman, 2005

So what do you agree with or disagree with? What have been your experiences in “team”?