The Four Disciplines of Getting Things Done, Part 1

by: Eric Geiger

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A great strategy without execution is merely wishful thinking, a dream on paper that is never translated into real life. I have found that many leaders, organizations, and ministries struggle with execution, with actually getting things done.

The book Four Disciplines of Execution has provided a sticky mental framework for me on leading teams to execute. Over the next couple of posts, I will share “four disciplines of getting things done.” I have seen these four disciplines bear fruit with ministries and teams I have led and am leading.

1. FOCUS ON THE WILDLY IMPORTANT

Many churches and organizations run after too many goals or initiatives at a time. Thus, they never realize the power of focus, of leveraging resources and people toward an overarching and important goal. Instead of having a list of 10 things, have a list of 1-2 really important goals. Run after these hard for a season. And once they are accomplished, effectively embed them into the regular and essential ebb and flow of work. Some questions emerge:

But how do you focus on 1-2 important goals when there are other important aspects of the ministry or organization?

Just because something is not the priority for a season does not mean it is not important. The regular, ongoing aspects of the work/ministry are absolutely essential. But raising an initiative to the top for a season of sustained focus will always rally a team around a clear direction.

One possible way to think of the wildly important is to imagine the current ebb and flow as 80 percent of each team member’s work. The additional 20 percent of energy is allocated toward the wildly important goal. Once the goal is complete, it is moved into the ongoing ministry/work and you have a healthier and more effective “new normal.”

From a church perspective, the wildly important goal may be an initiative: launch a campus, start a church, serve our city over the next several months, launch X number of new groups. Or it could be a value you are seeking to further drive into the culture: hospitality, worship, etc.

Why don’t more leaders do this?

Admittedly, it is risky. It feels much safer to hedge your bets and focus on a plethora of things. When you focus on a few at a time, you feel like you put your leadership on the line for everyone to see. The reality is that focusing on everything is more risky. Because few great things are accomplished when everything is the priority. When everything is the priority, nothing really is.

Read Part 2 of this series here.

Read more from Eric here.

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The Four Disciplines of Getting Things Done, Part 2

by: Eric Geiger

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Winston Churchill famously said, “However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” Execution is the hard work between designing the strategy and the results, the impact. Here are some additional thoughts on the four disciplines of getting things done (read Part 1 here.)

2. SET LEAD MEASURES

After the team has agreed to an overarching important goal for a season, help the team set lead measures that will, by God’s grace, result in the fulfillment of the goal.

To understand lead measures, you must understand the difference between lead measures and lag measures. Lead measures are predictive. Lag measures are outcome based. For example, imagine you set a goal to lose 15 pounds by June 1. The 15 pounds is the clear lag measure. You know the goal and the due date. But to execute well, you need lead measures. It may be your caloric intake, the number of times you hit the gym each week, and the number of cheat meals you are allowed. If you don’t have the right lead measures, you will not hit the lag measure.

John Calipari, the coach of the UK Wildcats, demonstrated a wise understanding of lead measures as he led his team to the NCAA championship last season. If you watched the pre-game footage, you noticed him giving clear lead measures to his players in terms of the number of turnovers to force, rebounds to grab, and foul trouble to avoid. He understood that he needed to do more than tell his players to win; he needed to give them clear measures that would result in a win.

In summary, don’t just set and declare an important goal. Set lead measures underneath that goal. Otherwise team members will know the “what” but they won’t understand the “how”  and their role.

3. KEEP THE GOAL (AND THE SCORE) IN FRONT OF THE TEAM

When you set a clear goal for your team, you must identify what success will be. How will you know the goal is accomplished? Keep “the win” in front of the team in a compelling way. Surface it in meetings, discuss as a team, and ensure it is before the group at all times.

4. CREATE A CULTURE OF ACCOUNTABILITY

In a culture of execution, there is also a culture of accountability. When people on the team set lead measures underneath the overarching goal, there must be freedom to discuss the progress, trust to quickly put problems on the table, and courage to confront issues. A culture of accountability does not mean people are knighted to be jerks. But it does mean the team understands the expectations and is willing to hold each other accountable, without the leader needing to be the only one providing the accountability. If the leader is the only one providing accountability, there is a leader of accountability, not a culture of accountability.

Read Part 1 here.

Read more from Eric here.

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Characteristics of Great Teammates

by: Brad Lomenick

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Great teams are a joy to watch. OKC Thunder, LA Kings, Miami Heat, New England Patriots, and more. And of course my beloved Oklahoma Sooners!

Reality is, we are all part of some kind of team, wherever we are in life. Family, church, volunteer, sports, business, community, social. As Leaders, it’s equally important for us to know how to follow and be a great team member as it is how to LEAD and be a team leader. In fact, many believe to be a good leader, you must first be a great teammate. And I would suggest that great leaders are equally in tune with how best to be a teammate, along with how to lead well.

So here are a few thoughts on being a great team member:

1. Good teammates are great finishers. They get the job done. They take projects across the finish line.

2. Good teammates anticipate. They understand what needs to be done next before others, and are always looking for ways to make the process better.

3. Good teammates criticize their leader in private, and praise in public. Enough said on that.

4. Good teammates are trustworthy. When given an assignment, a leader can be assured that it will get done. This is incredibly important.

5. Good teammates are vision copycats. They take on, embody and live out the vision and mission of their leader, and of the organization.

6. Good teammates make their leader better. They push their leader, and know how to lead up appropriately and intentionally.

7. Good teammates make their other teammates better. They know how to lead their peers and lead across in an organization, and don’t rely on the leader to be the only one motivating the team, as well as holding the other teammates accountable.

8. Good teammates lead themselves. They don’t need to be managed, and aren’t needy. They don’t need all the attention from the leader.

Excerpted from the upcoming book The Catalyst Leader by Brad Lomenick, releasing in Spring 2012 by Thomas Nelson.

Read more from Brad here.

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Leadership is More Than Leading

by: Larry Osborne

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I find that one of the most common missing ingredients in the leaders I work with is adequate training. I don’t mean that they haven’t received adequate training. I mean they fail to provide adequate training to those they lead.

Leaders like to lead. We love to come up with a vision and then marshal the troops to get the job done. But as leaders, we often fail to explain the whybehind the what. The result is often a team that knows what to do but has no clue why they need to do it – or do it that way.

Over the years, I’ve found that one of the most important things that I do as a leader is to pass on the reasons behind the decisions I make and actions I expect others to take. It’s the difference between raising up a team of worker bees or a self-directed team capable of maintaining and operating within a consistent corporate culture and organizational DNA that is so important to long term success. It’s also the difference between a team that can function well in my absence or one that is totally dependent upon my constant physical presence and detailed direction.

So how do you on the whys as well as the whats? It’s really rather simple. Start with asking yourself why? And then ask 3 to 5 more whys? Write down your answers. Then let your team in on your thinking.

• Why did you make that decision? And why is that?
• What is it you want a staff member to do? And why is that?
• Why do you want it done that way? And why is that?
• And so on.

Asking the “Why” and then letting your team in on your thinking will go a long way toward creating a team that is capable of making the decisions you’d want them to make even when you can’t be physically present – a self-directed team that makes decisions and carries out its work based on principles rather than memos.

Read more from Larry here.

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10 Things Leaders Need to Know About Effectively Leading People

by: Perry Noble

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Pastor Perry Noble of NewSpring Church gives the following list for leaders who lead people:

#1 – A leader cannot effectively lead people that he does not love.

#2 – A leader cannot effectively lead people that he does not listen to.

#3 – A leader cannot effectively lead people that he does not always assume the best about.

#4 – A leader cannot effectively lead people that he secretly hopes that they fear him.

#5 – A leader cannot effectively lead people that he does not take the time to explain things to.

Read the rest of the list here.

Read more from Perry here.

Tags: Leadership Engine, Perry Noble, Staff

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The Burden of Church

by: Vince Antonucci

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I was inspired to post on this topic because I keep reading all of these blogs from pastors called, “I love my church!!” and “I love pastoring!!” and “If I loved my church and loved pastoring any more than I do, my nipples would burst!!” And I think it’s cool that they feel that way, but I often don’t. Yesterday I explained WHY I pastor anyway, but for me it’s not because I get a lot of joy out of it. So from what do I get my joy?

Well, in my opinion, from the right places. As far as I can remember, God never teaches us to get joy from pastoring or from our church. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. If you can, more power to ya. But there are two places (that I can think of) where we’re told where we’re to get our joy. (1) Nehemiah 8:10, “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (2) Proverbs 5:18, “…rejoice in the wife of your youth.” (I’m not going to mention the fact that the next verse says, “may her breasts satisfy you always.”) (Whoops, just mentioned it).

I don’t acheive this perfectly, but I want my joy to come from my relationship with God and my relationship with my wife. Personally, I don’t look to pastoring or my church for joy. If I do get any joy out of that, that’s just icing on the cake.

So, maybe my “confession” has encouraged you. At least, if you feel like I do, you can know that you’re not alone.

Read more from Vince here.

Tags: Leadership Engine, Staff, Vince Antonucci

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The Burden of Church

by: Vince Antonucci

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In the Bible, the Apostle Paul talked about the “burden” of the church. This week I’ve been confessing that, while I read lots of blogs where pastors rave about how great pastoring is, and how great their church is, I resonate more with Paul and often find it more of a burden than a joy. So why do I do what I do?

Well, first, because I’m called to it. This is what I believe God wants me to do. If He asked me to cheese grater myself to death, I’d do that too. He’s wiser than I am, and loves me more than I do, so I’d be pretty stupid to not do whatever He wants.

Second, because I can’t imagine doing anything else. Seriously, what else could I do that would have even a small proportion of the eternal impact that I get to have doing this? Nothing! There’s lots of things we choose to do, even though they’re not fun – exercising, dieting, studying. The wise choice isn’t always the easy choice.

And, third, because even though it’s incredibly difficult, it’s also the most rewarding thing going. Yes, it’s a burden, but being a part of changing lives is the most gratifying thing life has to offer. Does that make the difficulty worth it? Absolutely!

So I do it for those reasons, but it’s not always a joy for me. In fact, it’s often not a joy. So where do I get my joy?

Read Page 4.

Read more from Vince here.

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The Burden of Church

by: Vince Antonucci

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After hearing the pastor at the conference admit that he didn’t love pastoring and dreamed about doing something else, I decided to investigate. Just about every time I got to spend one-on-one time with a pastor I really respect I asked them, “Do you enjoy what you do? Is this like … fun … for you?”

I’ve asked about ten pastors that question. One said, “Yeah! Absolutely! This is the greatest!” The other nine said, “No, not so much.” One confided, “I think God made me a pastor to make sure that I go to church. I wonder if I wasn’t a pastor if I’d go at all.” I totally understood what he was saying.

It’s not that any of these guys are complaining or throwing a pity party. Each is just admitting, “This is really tough. So often the work of the church is a real burden.” And I agree.

So why do I do it?

Read Page 3.

Read more from Vince here.

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The Burden of Church

by: Vince Antonucci

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One thing I’ve noticed in the pastor blogging world is that most rave about how much they love their church, how much they love pastoring, how it’s the greatest thing in the world.

That is not the case for me. I don’t always love my church, I don’t always love pastoring, and I think there are approximately one thousand things I would rather do than this. I’m not confessing that to get your pity, or offers of counseling. I’m admitting it because maybe some people can relate.

A few years ago I was at a conference and a (mega-church) pastor I really admire admitted that he often daydreams about leaving ministry and going back to his high-school job of mowing golf courses. He explained that one day he got up his nerve and confessed that to a pastor he respected. He asked that pastor, “Do you ever do that?” The other pastor said, “No. … For me it’s working at an ice cream stand. No one ever leaves angry from an ice cream stand.”

I was shocked. I thought it was only me. That led me to start doing some research.

Read Page 2

Read more from Vince here.

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How to Survive – and Thrive – in a Crappy Culture

by: Build Network

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Everywhere you turn, you hear about the great cultures at Apple and Zappos and other organizations on those endless “best places to work” lists — and you’re urged to do what they do.

But what about organizational cultures that are irreparably poor? How are leaders supposed to function? A recent blog from Dan McCarthy, a former exec at Paychex and Eastman Kodak, addressed this common reality head-on.

“It’s easy to be a great leader in a company that values leadership, develops leaders, and is full of role model leaders to learn from,” he writes. “What about the rest of us? What about those aspiring wannabe leaders [who] happen to work at one of the other organizations that don’t make the leadership honor roll? Is it impossible to develop into a great leader, and to be a leader, in a bad organization with a crappy culture?”

His answer is no. He offers various tips to managers who find themselves in this situation, including:

1. Clarify your non-negotiable leadership principles and stick by them, no matter what. “In a tough economy, [it’s possible that you] just can’t afford to leave (at least for now),” McCarthy notes. “If you’re in a situation like this, you have to ask yourself, ‘How much are you willing to sacrifice when it comes to your leadership principles and values?’ …If you haven’t already, take the time to develop your own list of leadership principles, values, or rules. Then, given your current culture, ask yourself, ‘Which ones am I willing to be fired over?’”

2. Establish and maintain your own standards of performance and behavior. “Sure, the company may have set the bar so low that any warm body can meet expectations. High performers can give up and poor performers can settle in. That doesn’t mean your standards can’t be higher — much higher. Assess your team using a performance and potential grid and put a plan in place to develop those with potential and gradually weed out the bad apples.”

3.  “Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi When it comes to developing and encouraging leadership, actions speak louder than words. Be a safe haven for other aspiring leaders to come out of the closet. In a crappy leadership culture, role model leaders are few and far between. If you’re being a leader, people will be lining up at your door looking for advice, coaching, and mentoring.

Read more here.

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