Catalyst 2007 – Patrick Lencioni

“The Ministry of Management”

• Work is under-focused-on in our lives. Not in terms of time spent, but how it’s often thought of as that “other thing we do.”
  • Even in church. There’s not much talk about work. Family, poverty, orphans, etc. All admirable topics, but honestly, what takes up the majority of our time? TV clergy/priests always shown giving a sermon or leading confession, never doing paperwork.
• Ah, but it’s changing. Shows like “Dirty Jobs.” The people on those shows, the people that have crappy jobs, seem to be pretty much content. And then we look at the CEO’s and high-level managers, and they’re miserable!
  • Maybe we should be focusing on … fulfillment.
• Nobody’s immune from the “Oh, crap, I gotta go to work tomorrow…” blues.
• “People need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed.” -Samuel Johnson
• Observed an obviously cheerful young employee at an airport fast-food joint. His colleagues obviously despised him.
  • BUT… Like everyone else, he deserves to love his job. So what does he need from management to help him continue on as he is?
• We all need just a few simple things, or rather, need the absence of a few simple things:
• Anonymity
  • We ALL have a need to be known.
  • Why don’t we think we’re supposed to invest in the people we work with? (Especially those with whom we’re trusted to manage!)
    • Lencioni was wined and dined while being recruited for a consulting job out of college. Very same managers actively ignored him from Day 1 on the job.
  • Excuses for allowing anonymity: Too busy, forgot what it’s like to be
  • there, fear of suddenly coming off as disingenuous, lazy, arrogace
• Irrelevance
  • You have to know that you make a difference in someone else’s life, however large or small that difference might be.
  • Pastors have the “making a difference” market cornered, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need reminding that people appreciate the difference they do make.
• Immeasurement
  • A Fundamental Wondering: “How am I doing?”
  • We need to be able to know how we measure up, and ideally need to be able to informally measure ourselves
  • Do those you manage have the tools to know how they’re doing? They could be miserable if they don’t..
  • Example of immeasurement: pooled tips.

  Bottom line… Don’t wait to retire so you can go be a missionary, and let that be your grand legacy of influence. Don’t wait to retire to realize the impact you have at the place you’re at right now. The people you manage are more long-term impacted than anyone you’ll short-term serve on a mission trip or other retirement project!

(RPD comments forthcoming.)

Technorati Tags: Management, Patrick Lencioni, Catalyst Conference, Catalyst 2007, Anonymity, Irrelevance, Immeasurement, Work, Job Satisfaction

Catalyst 2007 – Andy Stanley, part 1

“The Most Powerful Man in the Room”

• Power has become a 4-letter word in conversations about leadership.
• If God has you in leadership, the fact is that you have power. We like the word “influence” but let’s be honest with ourselves, it’s essentially power.
  • Student ministry is a prime example of immense power. Power to build and crush with very little effort.
• We shy away from power because it’s intimidating. Churches don’t like point leadership (i.e. power concentrated in few people)
  • But really, “Follow We” is no better than “Follow Me” if those We’s aren’t properly stewarding their power…
• So, when we’re talking about power, the big question is: What do you do when you realize you’re the most powerful person in the room?
  • Side-note: Chances are that in 11,000 people, some of you will be anti-megachurch. But please hear me out because a justifiable bias probably comes from your experience with abused power, which makes you a prime candidate to go forward and leverage God’s power. You know the dangers of it and you care deeply about its wise use.
• Jesus (didn’t see that coming, did you?) gives us a prime example of how the most powerful man in the room responded: The Upper Room, John 13.
  • “He showed them the full extent of his love.” (v1) Sneak peak of what Jesus did with his power.
  • “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power.” (v3) Clearly, Jesus knew he was the most powerful man in the room.
  • “So…” (v4) As a result of this…
  • “took off his outer clothing” (v4) shed his symbols of rabbinical authority
  • “began to washed his disciples’ feet” (v5) used miracle-conducting hands to scrub crusty grime, among a culture obsessed with cleanliness
  • “I have set an example,” (v15) So maybe we should follow suit?
• Look for ways to leverage your power for the sake of others around you. Because that’s the example Jesus set for us.
• If you leverage your power for your own sake, you (un)consciously declare that you are greater than your Master (cf. v14)
• Not to apply this principle is an admission of weakness, not a display of strength.
• “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.” King George III, upon learning of George Washington’s intent to pass on emperorship, and let someone else take the reins.
• Basically, don’t fear power. Simply learn to leverage it properly.
• The legacy of your leadership will not be determined by a lifetime of applying principles and insights, but it will be the product of your reactions time after time when you realize you’re the most powerful person in the room.

(RPD comments forthcoming.)