Setting and achieving Goals

Sustaining peak performance in today's environment requires a commitment to developing leaders throughout the organization.

An important part of this development process includes helping people set--and achieve--meaningful goals for personal change. All too often, however, goals are not set in a way that helps ensure the follow-through needed to turn great plans into successful outcomes.
In "Helping People achieve Their Goals" Marshall Goldsmith and Kelly Goldsmith offer reasons explaining why people give up on goals, offering some insight to help you apply a little preventive medicine as you help others set goals--so ultimately they will be more likely to achieve their objectives for change.

Delegation and Trust

Delegating makes perfect sense in theory. But many of us find the practice fraught with anxiety or just plain hard. Why? It all comes down to an unwillingness to trust.

The more a manager's reputation or ministry/project success depends on someone else's performance, the more there is to lose -- and the less likely it is that trust will be conferred. But does it have to be that way? Have a read of this article by Alison Stein Wellner writing for Inc magazine.
What have your experiences been like?

About engage!

Welcome to engage!

Here you will find different perspectives, thoughts and ideas on leadership, management and LMC training to help provide you with the tools and perspectives for an influential and effective role in your ministry.

We hope that you will find ideas and resources that you can use in your own ministry.

You are welcome to post questions or comments if you want to. If your question or comment is that we feel would be beneficial to readers, it will be posted. Nasty and spam related comments will be deleted.

Prepping Tomorrow's Leaders Today

A recent article by CCL emphasizes the importance of building a leadership pipeline and the need for it to be a priority. For most people without a HR background this may not be on our to-do lists. However according to CCL's David Berke "Increasingly, managers and executives need to be hands-on in strengthening organizational talent and filling the leadership pipeline".

He also offers good reasons why it should be one of our priorities:

• Helps you get the job done. Do you have the right skills and knowledge in your group? If you don't, how will you get it - especially if you cannot hire? If you do, how can you keep it up and adapt over time? When you connect development goals to the work that needs to be done, you and the organization will perform better.
  
• Gives you ready replacements. Are you prepared for turnover in key positions? Minimize the negative impact caused by loss of key employees by creating a cadre of skilled people ready to take on new roles or additional responsibilities.
  
• Builds people skills. When your team or staff is responsible for dealing with people effectively, building leadership capacity is key. Understanding and developing the interpersonal and relationship skills that allow them to be effective leaders is part of your job.
  
• Helps you keep current. Developing yourself is not a luxury either. You and your staff need to be able to learn and adapt to change. By clarifying needs, expectations and goals with your staff, you'll gain insight into your own development opportunities and challenges. You may also gain more knowledge about the skills and competencies needed in other parts of the organization and for your future growth as well.
  
• Demonstrates your own ability to lead. Your reputation as an effective leader can only be enhanced when you are seen as someone who invests in developing others.

I also think that the ability to develop continuity, adherence to the vision, reducing learning curves, the ability to retain staff, reducing churn, saving time and avoiding unnecessary costs are also important reasons for us to keep it on our radar screens.

Have I missed anything?

Competence is the enemy of change

Have a read of popular business and marketing guru Seth Godin's article on change and change agents.
While written from a business perspective I believe it contains learning points for those in ministry management or leadership positions. What are your thoughts?

Double Vision?

Do you have double vision? Check out this great post by Mark Batterson.
What are some ways you stay grassroots?

Leadership Lessons From Michael Jordan

Came across an interesting post "Leadership Lessons from MJ" by Dave Ferguson.

Preaching and communication problems

Check out Bruce's post, "How to Fix the Most Common Preaching/Communication Problem" and "The Number One Mistake Most Preachers and Communicators Make". Good stuff.

How are your listening skills?

I've had to really work on this ever since being on the receiving end of someone be it a relative, friend or maybe a pastor who was always in a hurry and never took time to listen to me. I believe many of us are caught up in our own "agenda" to take time to listen to people. What do you think? Read more by Tommy Ham.

Developing vocabulary for change

Check out this article on Steve Sjogren's perspective of dealing with change situations - something that LMC graduates will identify with.

Leadership and the emergent generation

In the spring 2006 issue of Leadership Journal, Angie Ward (Leadership Coach, pastor's spouse, and associate director of the Innovative Community Church in Durham, NC) discusses some issues regarding differences and similarities among Gen-x (people born between 1962 & 1981, who are 25-43 years old now.) and their slightly older co-horts, Boomer leaders.

Here is a synopsis of her discussion: "Many Boomers feel that the Xers are not stepping up to the plate in the area of leadership. Xers believe that they are stepping up more than their Boomer friends believe. The difference is that Xers are stepping up in different ways. To the Gen-X leader, leadership is defined in terms of influence rather than authority of position. Tony Morgan (Exec. Director of WiredChurches.com) says that the emergent (Gen-X) generation is not dead, it's just dressed in different clothes. It's less about personality and position and authority. Instead, it's more relational. It's more vulnerable. It's more about helping people take their next steps in a journey."

Ward says that both generations need to look at what the other has to offer as a member of the Body of Christ and strive to maximize leadership influence by working together. Boomers need to be open to more fluid systemic models. "Emergents tend to emphasize organic process over linear organization, and relational networks or webs over hierarchies."

"Leadership ladders need to give way to leadership bridges."

Xers, "... Need to remember that both the gift of leadership (Romans 12:8) and the office of leadership (1 Timothy 3:1) are biblical concepts. The Bible does not speak against formal authority structures. A group of people, by definition, becomes an organization, and the structure and culture of that organization can be shaped by those in positions of authority. But neither the organization nor authority are inherently wrong constructs."

As church leaders...We need to keep our eyes on the goal! There is a need to be ever evaluating our current situations and insure that we are doing all we can to maximize the gifts and abilities God has given us for His glory. It can be a challenge for some of us to make an inter-generational connection with another leader in our community. But, are we able to intentionally seek to initiate an open dialogue that fosters collaboration and nurtures personal growth for God's glory? Yes, we are different. But, isn't that how God created us?

Are we upto the challenge in making sure we do our part and lead/influence others find theirs?

Blessing and Results

The course has been a great blessing to me and the team. The team talks a lot about a Plan of Action and are implementing it for the summer campaign planning. Also in devotions, sermons etc, I can say LMC and then we look at each other and smile knowingly.

It has been very difficult for me to get into the Central Jail for a service. While we were waiting for the prisoners to gather, I went through the message in my mind, adding a few more stories. Suddenly I remembered the 'C' of AICDC and I wondered if this would be the only time in a long while where the inmates receive a "challenge to a commitment" for Jesus.

So I gave an invitation (usually not my style) to believe in Jesus as the one who truly sets free and let him change and rule their lives. To my great amazement over 40 for the 70 stayed back to pray with me. Praise the Lord.

Blessings,

Wolfgang

Quote

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.
- Dwight Eisenhower

What does the LMC cover?

The course focuses on 7 key elements of leadership:

1. Gaining an understanding of what Vision is. The importance of living with vision and the 'how to' of seeing a vision develop in both your personal life and ministry. An important aspect of this is to have the ability to lead your team to do 'Creative Thinking' together and to have the tools for times of vision giving, refreshing and energizing solitude.
2. Developing the skills in the area of Communication. A leader does not only need a vision, but also needs to be able to communicate that vision. Workshops in Public Relations, public speaking, story telling and motivating to change and to own the vision of the leader and/or the ministry. Also to be able to prepare a talk, message, paper or letter in such a way that it addresses the needs of the audience in such a way that there is a positive response.
   
3. Developing skills in the area of Shepherding the people that are under the leader's care, through affirmation, understanding the different learning styles that people have, developing skills, learning to be more of a non-threatening questioning person and therefore a good listener and gaining experience in the use of these training tools.
   
4. Developing skills in the area of Management, such as Decision Making, Planning, Organizing, Delegating, 'following through' and Evaluating. Visions need to be turned into reality. For this to happen basic management skills are absolutely essential, both in the ministry and in the personal life of the leader.
   
5. A leader needs to be a continual Learner. This course is in itself one way in which learning can take place in the life of a leader, but the learning needs to be on-going and life-long. The participants will be able to watch trainers 'in training'. There will be mentoring throughout the course and they will experience a change in attitude towards being an on-going learner. The course is designed to be transferable so that they will also know how to pass skills on to others.
6. Accept and understand that Pain is inescapable for a leader. For that reason the environment of the training is one of encouragement, but also a preparation to reality by addressing this issue. Relationship building and effective management skills can greatly help to reduce the pain in many cases. Other skills acquired in the training can be of help also.
   
7. The need for God's Anointing in Christian leadership is evident - the realization that the hand of God needs to rest upon a leader's life and ministry. The trainers will be inspiring examples. Daily devotions will help focus upon God. The training is constantly Biblically based and immersed in much prayer.
   

ITA Mission Statement

The International Training Alliance (ITA) is an alliance of participating organisations partnering together to provide training courses and training for trainers with a unique philosophy of training, committed to the skill development of experienced and potential leaders.

About Us

The International Training Alliance is an organisation which has come into being in response to the deep need for Leadership training amongst Mission and church leaders, both amongst the expatriate missionaries and nationals in the developing world. Several mission leaders responded to the need to develop training for leaders, specifically focusing on delivering an interactive course where skills rather than mere knowledge would be passed on to the trainees. It was recognised that while there is a plethora of books on the subject of leadership, the problem is not being solved by making them available to leaders or potential leaders.

Leaders from Operation Mobilization, Wycliffe Bible Translators, The Christian and Missionary Alliance, Caleb Ministries and Tentmakers USA, have joined together in cooperation to seek to supply an answer to the acute need there is for leadership training.