George Barna – What I Learned From the Master Leaders

» Posted by Jeremy Davidson on Nov 6, 2009 in Conferences | 0 comments

What is one of your fantasies?

What are you passions?

Why We Need Leaders to Step Up – Observations

1. The more selfish our society becomes, the more critical Godly leadership is.
   1. Leaders need to engage people with a compelling future
2. The more choices people have, without a biblical worldview as their foundation, the more confused our priorities become – and the more crucial godly vision and strategy are.
3. In times of rapid cultural change, the rules are different, the competition stiffer, the stakes higher, the opportunities greater – necessitating superior leadership to guide us forward.
4. Recent poor decisions and behavior by high-profile leaders have ushered in an era of criticism, skepticism, and mistrust, requiring a new generation of wise and godly leaders to restore public trust and confidence.
   1. Leadership has to be proven
5. In a culture that rejects absolute more and spiritual truth, and that esteems extreme choice, the results are confusion, stress, distraction, busyness, and chaos – the antidote to which is focused leaders who can make sense of reality, provide vision, and deliver direction to make the vision a reality.
6. Our culture has adopted a hyper-individualism that undermines community, nation and persona relationships, raising the need for an emphasis upon team-based leadership.
7. Churches have given lip service to leadership but suffer from a paucity of genuine leaders who are guiding people toward true Christ-like transformation.

What’s the difference between the ministry of teaching and the ministry of leadership?

Don’t confuse passion with vision.

Six Leadership Checkpoints:

1. Leaders can strategically change reality, but they cannot intentionally change people.
   
   1. Once a person reaches the age of 13 they change very little
   2. Children’s ministry is the most important
   3. Are you creating the leadership roles to meet your vision or God’s vision for your church?
   4. Are you molding leaders into what YOU need or who GOD has designed them to be?
   5. If you want to change lives then work with children
2. Nobody is the “complete leadership package” – so it’s important to work in a leadership team.
   
   1. A team always out performs the individual
   2. “None of us is as smart as all of us” –Ken Blanchard
   3. Great Teams
      1. Has to be small in number 4-6 leaders
      2. They have to spend lots of time together
      3. There is a captain of the team
      4. Built around shared vision, values, and passion
      5. Vulnerability and communication
      6. Strive to empower people to achieve the vision
3. One of the most under-value and least common skills among leaders is listening
   
   1. “I think God wants us to listen more than speak, otherwise he would have given us two mouths.” – KB
   2. “We should lead with our ears.” -KB
   3. You cannot listen effectively unless you are willing to have your mind changed.” –KB
   4. If we are going to change reality then we must listen to find out what the current reality is.
   5. “I never learned anything by talking” –Lou Holtz
   6. Bad listening leads to bad leadership.
4. Leaders must master conflict and confrontation
   
   1. Expect it, address it
   2. Seize the initiative
   3. Do your homework, know the facts, think very circumspectly about it
   4. Position yourself as a friend
   5. Ask clarifying questions and listen to what is said
   6. Seek a win-win outcome
   7. You may have to be the one to create conflict in order to change things
   8. Do people appreciate your leadership because it is safe or because you represent truth and justice and they will not tolerate anything less
5. Success is helping people achieve their potential
   
   1. What are you measuring?
   2. Make people the very best that they can be by getting them out of their comfort zone.
   3. People are going to have to change to reach their potential
      1. What got you here won’t get you there
   4. Do people understand what success in your organization is?
      1. Do they know how they are going to benefit when the organization reaches their goal?
6. Do not accept a leadership position unless you’re ready to pay a stiff price. The more significant the outcome you seek to achieve, the more substantial the price you can expect to pay.
   
   1. Pressure is having to make a decision that matters when you are not prepared to do so
   2. Pressure is valuable for a leader because it purifies you and prepares for a higher level of leadership
   3. Leadership is a full-contact sport
   4. Address internal pressure because it is probably based upon real concerns
   5. Foundations for Decision Making Under Pressure
      1. God
         1. Make sure God called you to this
         2. Is this your vision or God’s vision
      2. Convictions
         1. Know what you stand for
         2. Refuse to fold
      3. Family and close friends
         1. People you trust
         2. People who will give you the feedback you need because they love you