LEADERSHIP BLOG
While a foundational aspect of innovation is generating and vetting ideas . . . ideas alone are not enough to lead to action. Even when you've narrowed it down and decided on the idea you want to pursue, you likely have one more step before setting the action plan in motion: “Selling the...
When leaders are working from the gifts and talents that God has given them, they will contribute with more energy, go above and beyond, and stay motivated in the work they are doing. Even so, it’s likely that not everyone on your team has found their niche and is able to bring their best...
With the many decisions leaders make every day, some decisions are left hanging. Most of the time more information is needed or the timing is not quite right. Sometimes, though, the unmade decisions are left lingering and for teams working toward a purpose this can be frustrating or even...
A proposal we’ve been working on didn’t get approved. How do I break the bad news to the team?
One of those isolating experiences of leaders is the responsibility to deliver bad news. Often taking responsibility for doing the hard stuff even when it’s not on you.
State...
Innovation is surfacing ideas, expanding on them, evaluating them, deciding what to try out, taking action, evaluating the experiments, and generating more ideas to make it better or do it differently. This cyclical process that is at the heart of innovation that leads to more thoughtful...
"What advice would you give leaders – especially those entering leadership for the first time"
In this episode, we are joined by Jay Kim to answer our leadership question. Jay serves as lead pastor at WestGate, a multi-congregational church in the Silicon Valley of California. He's the...
We may often think of ideating as synonymous with brainstorming. Yet, I would propose that brainstorming is an incomplete description. We want more than just a list of possible ideas . . . we want to hear different perspectives, see connections and make that list as robust as possible.
To enhance...
“If a team member is under performing, what steps can I take to help them improve?”
We all face those moments when someone on our team isn’t performing the way we expected. The reason for underperforming isn’t always what we think it is. What are the steps we need...
A group of people coming together to create forward momentum for the organization can be a complex meeting to facilitate! This is the experience of many nonprofit leaders with diverse constituencies who have “voice” into the momentum you’re trying to build.
I’ve been...
"It's been a surprising season in our ministry. Some great things are happening, and we've had a few setbacks, too. How do I step back and gain a little perspective and help my team do the same before we dive into this next season?"
When things are a little busy in life and things are constantly...
How do we as leaders go beyond simply generating more ideas and move towards giving voice to a broad range of ideas? It’s easy to inadvertently stunt the ideating process. People can start debating the worthiness of one idea or another too early in the conversation. Stronger voices that are...
My team is pretty new. How do I get a jumpstart on evaluating their capabilities?
This honeymoon stage of a new team is a beautiful thing. A friend of mine recently started a new job and is living on cloud nine with excitement about the work, the role and her team. Everyone around her kept...