My best projects have been a team effort. The coming together of two entities, units, or even individuals bring different sensitivities and perspectives that can make a good project, a great one. As I reflect on my successful as well as failed collaborations, I have come up with a few rules that must be in…
I’m fortunate to have an amazing group of talented and committed people working at The A Group. It’s truly a dream team. And with each new hire, the stakes seem to be getting higher. I like that. Talent, attracts talent and elevates the game for everyone. I have written about the 3Cs we screen in…
Firing people is never easy. I remember having to fire an employee a few weeks into my very first job. I was 20; he was 42. It was the right thing to do even though I felt sick to my stomach before, during and after the ordeal. Since then I have had to fire friends,…
Every meeting has costs and benefits. Successful organizations realize that while meetings are important, they can also be a waste of time and with it, a waste of money. Sometimes a lot of money. Not long ago I found myself in an all-day meeting with a group of 10 senior staff members of a church….
If you’re a communicator, you cannot afford not to be engaged in social media. I know this sounds like a mandate, and it is. Even if only a part of your job is to communicate the vision, mission and direction of the organization you lead, you, more than anyone else in your organization, should lead…
Good leaders are good communicators. There’s no way out of it. Happy talk is their way of casting vision but not accomplishing much. One of the primary functions of a leader is to sell a vision, a destination, or a future to his or her followers. You can’t do that without good communication skills. But…
Churches stop growing or they plateau for several reasons, too many for one blog post. So I’m tackling them in a series of posts featuring growth barriers for churches I have encountered during years of strategic consulting. I’m calling these posts “Churches Won’t Grow When.” While some of the issues that keep churches from growing…
The man to my left leaned in and with intensity in his eyes asked the question: “I’m contemplating a strategic business partnership; I want to lead my business into outliving me.” Across the table from us sat a veteran CEO with years of experience in multi-billion dollar business. The answer surprised me, but, again, it…
It’s happening all over the place: leaders are hijacking critical projects from their internal teams and implementing a “bypass” play in order to get things done. While you might question the non-conventional leadership style, the wisdom or the potential fall-out inside the organization of such tactics, these leaders are more worried about missed opportunities, missed…
Leadership drives everything we do. Great leaders take us into the future with their ability to see what’s not yet reality and inspire and motivate us to get there. As a consultant who has worked with hundreds of business and church leaders, I have noticed that often great leaders have to retool their own leadership…