Browse Leadership Resources
The Unholy Divide of Character and Competence
Some of you are probably familiar with age-old cliches describing what leaders need. That leaders need character to be a person with true integrity. All while demonstrating a high level of competence in...
Organizational Conflict and the Coronavirus
You discover conflict in every type of organization, even during a crisis. And, great leaders show up in the midst of the crisis. As you steer your congregation or company during the current coronavirus, apply these principles to keep the ship moving in the right...
Leadership, Not Relying on Your Experience & Texas Chili
I'm seeing some great leadership during the coronavirus lockdown. And, these leaders don't only rely on their past experience. How do I know that? I know that because none of us have ever faced a pandemic. Especially in a pandemic, doing what you did and basing...
The Two Primary Kinds of Conflict in an Organization
One of the most challenging and most important skill sets a leader needs is Conflict Resolution. You will use those skills at every level of leadership, so learning it now pays dividends into the future. Failure to learn these skills means you hamstring whatever you...
This One Simple Shift Shifts Your Life and Leadership
I enjoy writing because I love wrestling with words and ideas. Most leaders relish ideas and many create through writing. Because, writing clarifies thinking. Carving and contouring thoughts include arm bars, half-nelsons and switches to your internal mental...
Don’t Fall for the Pastoral Fallacy
The Pastoral Fallacy pops up at pastors’ conferences, in books about the church and in some classes and seminars. The Fallacy also (unfortunately & too often) malforms the backdrop we use to view the church. Not only does it not work, but the Bible does not...
Why People Promote the Pastoral Fallacy
Let’s call him Bill (because that was his name). An incredible craftsman, I met him when he supervised a few college students (including me) while we worked our way through college doing dorm maintenance (code words for “fixing stuff”). One of those students...
What’s Your Leadership Quotient?
Check Yourself in the Three Key Areas Every Pastor Needs According to the Bible, each pastor needs to possess three sets of skills to lead well. These three areas of the pastor’s acumen and ability determine how well the church will do. The three sets of skills...
Wondering How to Gain Momentum? Try These Ten Proven Ways to Increase Your Leadership
Last time, we saw ten benefits of momentum. You may be thinking, “That’s great! I know the importance of momentum, but how do I get it?” Momentum isn’t a solo endeavor. One characteristic by itself doesn’t create momentum. It’s a compilation of the overall health and...
Ten Benefits of Momentum
Momentum grants you movement towards your preferred future. It gives a sense of accelerating accomplishment, achievement and a whole lot of fun. Momentum results from clear direction and strategy propelled by a myriad of skills. You feel it when things are rolling in...
Four Ways to Increase Your Wisdom
Wisdom makes everything better. We overcome challenges with less hassle, accomplish more and enjoy richer relationships with it. Subsequently, without wisdom, we make bad decisions that cost us stress, time, money, relationships and wasted opportunities. For me, I...
The Primary Key to Better Leadership
This one component makes everything better. We know: Better decisions create better lives. Good decisions result in better relationships. Better decisions make better churches. And, wisdom produces those better decisions. Here's the main key to better leadership:...
Do You Follow Jesus’ Four Pillars for Starting an Organization?
Your personal development forms the foundation of your leadership.But, it you stop there, you won’t develop your organization. In other words, your personal piety won’t grow a church. It cannot do it alone. Imagine a ship’s captain who studies the charts,...
Three Tools that Will Increase Your Interpersonal Capacity
Great leadership requires developing three levels (or sets) of skills: Personal, Interpersonal and Organizational. Great leadership requires three sets of skills, which build on each other. In our last post, we addressed the personal level. Today, we...
Are You Missing the 2 Reasons Churches Need Organizational Skills?, part 2
Why should your church use organizational principles? Reason #2: Because God’s requirements for the leaders include it. I realize this is a fundamental shift in the way most pastors understand their role. I work with a lot of pastors and church leaders. Most believe...
The (Only) 5 Keys You Need to Build Personal Capacity
Leaders recognize the importance of developing their capacity. Their leadership is personal before it is organizational. They also know their biggest hindrance to moving forward is themselves. Bigger leaders think bigger. Better leaders operate better. Stuck leaders...
Why Your Church Needs Your Focus
Last time, we saw Jesus used organizational skills when He was here. Today, we will see that His selection, recruitment and structure for the twelve apostles also shows He strategically organized them. Focus Your Efforts on a Few to Reach Many Jesus came to...
Why You Should Use Strategy in Your Church
You might consider using strategy in your church because the God of all creation used one. If God operated strategically, why would some avoid it? Here's another reason your church would benefit from a strategy: Jesus operated according to a strategy. Rich...
Are You Missing the 2 Reasons Churches Need Organizational Skills?, part 1
Reason #1: Jesus used organizational skills. Church leaders need organizational skills because Jesus used organizational skills. He utilized those skills to accomplish His purpose when He lived here physically. Jesus came to build an organization. Rich Halcombe...
Two Ways to Find Your Clear, Personal Purpose
Easter Week reminds us that Jesus accomplished His purpose. His final words included, “It is finished.” He said He accomplished what He came to do. Jesus’ certainty emanated from His clarity on His mission. Although He expressed it different ways, we see a clear...
Three Things to Know about Your Purpose on the Planet
Recently, I visited the microcosm of all humanity. (If you were wondering, it’s an elementary public school lunchroom.) In my hands were the third-graders’ version of the Hope Diamond: blue Gatorade, a white-breaded six inch Subway sandwich (containing...
Three Benefits of a Clear, Personal Mission Statement, part three
Writing your clear personal purpose produces a number of benefits in your life. We explore three of them in this series of posts: Benefit #1: Your clear personal purpose gives direction. Benefit #2: Your personal purpose provides consolation in the dark times. And,...
Three Benefits of a Clear, Personal Purpose Statement, part two
Why are you on the planet? What makes you tick? What do you count as success? A clear personal purpose statement answers these questions. Your statement of personal mission also guides your day, every day. That necessarily means it also guides your...
Three Benefits of a Clear, Personal Purpose Statement, part one
For me personally, creating a personal purpose statement stands as the single most impactful piece I have written. Writing it granted me a clear direction. At one time, it prompted me to move halfway across the country. And, now it informs this site and my coaching...
What To Do When You Are In-Between, part three
Five Perspectives of Living in Limbo that Will Lessen Your Angst During the In-Between Times Today’s post helps us through the desert by sharing the final two perspectives. Remember Perspective #1: View it as a Solid Step in Your Future Direction. And, part of that...
What to Do When You are In-Between, part two
Five Perspectives of Living in Limbo that Will Lessen Your Angst During the In-Between Times In-Between what? Between here and there. Now and then. What is and what will be. Today and tomorrow. Your morning coffee and your ultimate contribution. Those “In-Between...
What to Do When You Are In-Between, part one
Five Perspectives of Living in Limbo that Will Lessen Your Angst During the Desert Times The time sandwiches itself between now and then. Occurs between here and there. You move out of the past but not quite into the future. It seems to happen more often for leaders....
In Conflict, Do You Follow These Keys (part three)?
This marks the third practical key in navigating a conflict towards resolution. Unlike the mindsets, which guide your thinking, you do the three keys. Actual, practical words and behaviors that will increase your skills to resolve conflict. Add them to your leadership...
In Conflict, Do You Follow These Three Keys? (part two)
When encountering conflict, your mindset matters. Those three mindsets prepare you internally. They put you in the best possible situation to bring health and to remove pain from the situation, and from your organization. Similarly, the three keys help you...
In Conflict, Do You Follow These Keys? (part one)
Through the years, I have been called upon to resolve various conflicts. Sometimes a conflict was already in full boil. At other times I saw the pot getting hot and intervened before the water started bubbling. Various people conflicted with each other. The people...
One Secret Ingredient to Increase Your Impact
Most leaders I know are sincere, committed people. With few exceptions, they work really hard to meet the needs of people and to do their jobs. For those in the church world; they pray, visit, share the gospel, preach, serve others and fulfill their other duties. Yet,...
Why You Are Getting The Results You Are Getting
If you are like most leaders, you want to accomplish certain things. No matter your ministry or organization, you desire better. Or more. Most leaders lead because they want to accomplish something. Now, what you want to get may be quite different from someone...
Five Things You Do When You Don’t Respond
One commonality in businesses, non-profit corporations and churches is that people guide them. These “organizations” are groups of people discovering a purpose, developing a plan, doing the work, creating formats and renewing themselves. Whatever the business, people...
Three Mental Shifts to Make When You Discover a Problem
So, what happened? It seemed like things are going well, people are happy, areas are moving along nicely, feeling good about life and ministry…and then all of sudden, WHAM! So-and-so isn’t happy with such-and-such. And, the leader has a problem that needs to be...
Coach: One Key to Increasing a Leader’s Performance
One of my coaches was a Manager of Continuous Performance Improvement at one of the world’s largest companies. Another was president of a software company. Yet another managed $1B at the time, and went on to oversee $18B in annual revenue in his career before he came...
Three Quick Reasons You Should Encourage Others
Mrs. Marie Romine taught 5th grade at Burlington Elementary School in southern Ohio. She was a boundless woman over six feet tall, topped with an expansive shock of white hair. She loved teaching and loved her students, which fortunately included me. Mrs. Romine...
How Fear Increases Your Impact…and We Learn It from Christmas
It has been over 15 years since I first became the director of a network of churches. In the interview process, I was told they were in a solid place financially. They believed it. And, I believed it, until I arrived and discovered the income was dropping –...
GOAL = Grow Oneself, Acquire Later
Where you are today – mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally – is a result of what you did last year. Your destination in life is determined by your direction. And your direction is what you think and how you act. Goals help you set your direction, to get...
Three Keys to Dealing with Conflict
What happened? It seemed like things were going well, people were happy, strategic objectives were being met and exceeded…and then, WHAM! So-and-so isn’t happy with such-and-such. And, leader, we have a problem. Problems occur in the functioning of any organization....
One Primary Key to Leadership You May Be Missing
One of the leader’s key responsibilities is to see his/her ministry/organization grow. For that organization to grow, people have to behave differently, do different things or do the same things in a different way. One of the leader’s key discouragements is that these...
Why No One Really Holds You Accountable
I heard it again…”Do you have a small group to hold you accountable?” The answer is “no”. “No,” not because the person was not in a group. “No” because it is not possible for a group to hold you accountable on a personal level. "Accountability" = account + ability. It...
How The Ten Units of Time Make You More Efficient
In the early days of my career (and marriage and life) I wanted to work efficiently. Still do. Mistakenly, I thought that meant to handle each interaction as quickly as possible. Cut to the bottom line, and each of us could go on our way, equipped with the same...
Three Elements to Lead Staff Meetings Wisely
Staff meetings. You may not conduct them every week, but when you do lead meetings, do it wisely. For us, they typically happen weekly, although we adjust it to fit the current reality. We may not have a staff gathering if a few staff people are on vacation (for...