Archives For Courage

The Opportunity Matrix

February 3, 2012 — Leave a comment

We live in an unprecedented time in history where opportunities are everywhere. And because opportunity abounds (often hidden as problems), leaders in particular wrestle with which opportunities are the best opportunities. How do you choose?

Opportunity typically works in tandem with two forces: Focus and Risk. Without focus, we tend to pursue every opportunity. But without a willingness to risk, we tend to avoid every opportunity. The following “Opportunity Matrix” illustrates four opportunity quadrants and what happens when focus and risk are at play.

High Focus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Low Focus

Low Risk                                                             High Risk

Immovable Complacency (Low Focus/Low Risk) – This type of opportunity really isn’t an opportunity at all. It’s like a giant magnet preventing any forward traction. Churches in this corner are typically disengaged, unmotivated, and on a comfortable plateau, or worse, coasting in a downward direction. Their lack of focus has made them complacent and their low risk tolerance has made them immovable.

Strategic Irrelevance (High Focus/Low Risk) – Leaders and churches in this quadrant are highly focused and deeply committed. The problem is, they’re highly focused and deeply committed to pursuing “safe” opportunities that keep them closely tied to outdated and irrelevant traditions. They resist change. These churches have tunnel vision…they’re so focused on what they are doing that they can’t see what they could do…and so they miss their greatest opportunities. They’re so married to their strategies that they’ve become strategically irrelevant.

Visionless Change (Low Focus/High Risk) – This corner of the quadrant is a bit of a paradox. The idea of taking risks while lacking focus doesn’t seem to fit together. This reality is usually nothing more than short-term infatuation. It could easily be described as vision-jumping, splash-in-the-pan leadership, or addiction to the latest fad. The problem is that nothing sticks. Churches in this scenario experience vision whiplash. You could say their infatuation with change overrides their clarity and commitment to vision, ultimately producing a high-risk, low-focus environment of “vision-less change.” They change for the sake of change without any understand of their True North. Leaders and volunteers are often worn out in this environment.

Vision-Centric Courage (High Focus/High Risk) – The top right box in the opportunity matrix is where high levels of focus intersect with high levels of risk with the greatest potential to produce high levels of impact. This doesn’t mean the risk is unwise or untested. Precisely the opposite. Leaders and churches in this corner have defined a clear vision and courageously execute tested, calculated, risk-taking strategies to see that vision fulfilled. Courage is only needed in the face of fear, and thus courage implies change. When the change is vision-centric, it keeps the organization on track.

So where are you (and your church) in the Opportunity Matrix? And what does it take to move to the top right quadrant? Consider the following as a launching point to embrace “Vision-Centric Courage”:

1. Moving from “Immovable Complacency” - Cultivate a learning posture while creating an appropriate sense of urgency. Most teams get stuck when they stop listening and learning. How can you expose your team to new voices, quality books, and fresh strategies. Do you need to acquire coaching or consulting? Before you can unlock the church, you have to unlock your leadership. And to get a sense of urgency in play, consider reading John Kotter’s book, A Sense of Urgency. Here’s a post I shared from Kotter’s book on urgency.

2. Moving from “Strategic Irrelevance” - Build momentum with small wins. You don’t have to turn the entire ship overnight, but you do need to start turning the rudder and introducing change. Small wins will give you the momentum, confidence, and trust to go after bigger opportunities.

3. Moving from “Visionless Change” - Solidify your vision and adopt the right perspective of opportunities. Solidifying your vision will be the toughest step, but it is essential if you want to keep your team energized and focused.  Once you solidify your vision, you need to take a new attitude toward opportunities. Andy Stanley framed it well when he said, ”Opportunity does not equal obligation.” Let this statement set you free from your infatuation with the latest, greatest idea.

Question: Which quadrant are you (and your church) in? What’s your next step?

In Leadership change, Courage, Focus, Opportunity, Risk, Vision
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15 Insights From Catalyst Dallas

May 14, 2011 — Leave a comment

I’ve spent the last 3 days at the Catalyst Conference in Dallas. Catalyst is such a great event loaded with great leadership teaching, fantastic worship, inspiring stories from culture-shaping leaders, and hilarious creativity. This year’s theme was “Take Courage.” Here are a few of my favorite takeaways from the event:

1.   A single act of courage is often the tipping point for something extraordinary to happen - Pastor Andy Stanley shared this thought in the opening session and then described three faces of courage:

  • Courage to stay when it would be easier to go.
  • Courage to leave when it would be easier to stay.
  • Courage to ask for help, when it would be easier to pretend that everything is okay.

Stanley observed that you never know what hangs in the balance when God says to stay while others say to go or when God says to go when it would be easier to stay. He said the only thing we should fear is waking up one day and being outside of God’s will.

2.  Our response to fear is either to seek to be safer or seek to be braver - Gary Haugen from the International Justice Mission made this observation and then observed that we want to know with certainty the path to take, how much it will cost, and be assured that it will be successful. Haugen says, “You can experience your power safely or God’s power dangerously.”

3. Creative Idea + Organization & Execution + Community Forces + Leadership Capability = Making Ideas Happen - Scott Belsky, CEO of Behance, shared this formula as a process to turn great ideas into reality.

4. We are living somebody else’s to do list. Don’t surrender to reactionary workflow - This was another great insight by Scott Belsky. He observed that most leaders live in reactionary mode and abandon the essential practice of finding quiet spaces to think and reflect. This practice helps us be proactive.

5.  You can’t equate the blessed life with the safe life. The purpose of life is not to arrive at death safely - Christine Caine, founder of the A21 Campaign, shared this principle as she championed the cause of justice.  Christine works relentless to see slaves freed.

6. Compassion is never compassion until you roll up your sleeves, cross the street, and show compassion - Another great insight from Christine Caine.

7.  Joseph’s power was not about being powerful. It was about saving lives - This quote from Donald Miller as he shared about the life of Joseph was a great reminder of the purpose of leadership, power, and influence.

8. If you’re not dead, you’re not done - These are Craig Groeschel’s words of encouragement to the older generation followed by a challenge to invest in young leaders by delegating responsibility, not just tasks.

9. You can’t speed up maturity…it takes time - Craig made this challenge to the younger generation, reminding them of the importance of maturity and faithfulness.

10. You overestimate what God wants to do in the short run and grossly underestimate what God wants to do in the long run - This was another challenge Craig Groeschel made to the younger generation.

11. If you want to be over, learn to be under with integrity - This was Groeschel’s challenge to the young generation. He also reminded the audience of Andy Stanley’s words to leaders serving under a senior leader: “Honor publicly results in influence privately.” By honoring your leader publicly, you’ll gain influence with them in one-on-one meetings.

12. Admit your failures - Although this sounds like an obvious lesson, Scott Harrison, CEO of Charity: Water, used it to powerfully illustrate the value of transparency in leadership. Scott gave an example of drilling for water and the effort failing. They posted the video to their donors and didn’t try to candy coat the failure (even though 95% of the time they are successful). This transparency has only deepened respect from donors for the organization.

13. Do you teach your people that sin is an external activity or a state of the heart? Do you train people to attack the root or the branches? - These were questions Pastor Matt Chandler posed followed by the challenge that, “Most people don’t deal violently with sin.”

14. Your fully exploited strengths are of far greater value to your organization than your marginally improved weaknesses - Pastor Andy Stanley shared these words in his closing session. Some of his ideas included:

  • The less you do, the more you accomplish
  • The less you do, the more you enable others to accomplish
  • Only do what only you can do
  • Great achievers are not well-rounded. They are men and women who play to their strengths and delegate their weaknesses. Don’t focus on being well-rounded; focus on developing a well-rounded organization.
  • Your weakness is somebody else’s opportunity
  • Stress is often related to WHAT you are doing not HOW MUCH you are doing. Your sweet spot gives you energy.

15.  Get in the habit of saying to your team, “I’ll let you decide that.” This is the greatest way to develop leaders - Andy Stanley noted that when the organization’s key leader makes all the decisions, they become the bottleneck to leadership development.

Those are my 15 insights gleaned from this year’s Catalyst Conference in Dallas.

Question: What insights could you add to the lessons above? If you attended Catalyst, what lessons would you add?

 

In Church, Culture, Leadership, Organizations, Personal Growth Church, Courage, Delegation, Execution, Failure, Leadership, Organizations, Personal Growth, Perspective, servant-leadership, Strengths
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Death in the Cul-De-Sac – Part 3

May 15, 2009 — Leave a comment

Cul-de-sac living is no living at all. I’n previous posts I defined “Death in the cul-de-sac” as well as “three distinct cul-de-sacs of comfort.” It’s inside our cul-de-sacs of comfort that we simultaneously die and grow.  How you ask?  Consider this:

  • Trust in God dies while fear of change grows
  • Risk-taking dies while comfort-seeking grows
  • Kingdom progress dies while kingdom perks grow
  • Selfless serving dies while self-serving grows
  • Vision for the future dies while traditions of the past grow
  • Bold resolve dies while bureaucratic red-tape grows
  • Personal growth dies while organizational apathy grows
  • Life purpose dies while personal regrets grow
And the list could go on.  So how do you move outside the cul-de-sac of comfort and embrace God’s bold vision for your life, ministry, or organization?

1.  Completely Surrender – As long as you insist on being in control, you will die in your dead-end street.  Jesus said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead.  You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am…” (Matthew 16:24 – The Message).

2.  Start Moving Now – Stop thinking about what’s outside the cul-de-sac and go take a look for yourself.  Look. Experience.  Serve.  Love.  Give.  Volunteer.  Take a hard look at the needs around you and then get off your butt and go do something.  The longer you think about it the quicker you’ll talk yourself back into your cul-de-sac of comfort.

3.  Become Intentional About Personal Growth – The more you grow yourself the more discontent you will become with the status quo and the less appealing the cul-de-sac will be.  The reason many churches, ministries, organizations, and movements stop growing is because their leaders and people stop growing.  They try to survive off yesterday’s growth.  Grow daily.

4.  Narrow Your Focus – The more you experiment the more you’ll come to understand where and how you can make your greatest contribution.  Begin focusing your efforts and your impact will start to grow.

I could share other ideas, but these are a great place to start to get the Lazy Boy recliner thrown out of your cul-de-sac.

In Leadership, Personal Growth Courage, Leadership, Personal Growth, Risk, Serving, Vision
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Death in the Cul-De-Sac – Part 2

May 14, 2009 — Leave a comment

In my last post I addressed the issue, “Death in the Cul-De-Sac” based on a challenge in Gary Haugen’s book, Just Courage, to move out of the safety of our cul-de-sacs of comfort.  While cul-de-sacs can be numerous, let me address three that I believe have far-reaching ramifications:


1.  The Spiritual Cul-De-Sac - When people stop trusting God, they are thick in the middle of a spiritual cul-de-sac.  It’s that place of comfort where people succumb to a faith deficit in God’s ability to do what He said He would do.  Spiritual cul-de-sacs are much of the problem with the Western church.  We fight for prosperity, success, and security and conveniently forget that following Christ is a faith journey that, as Jesus said, requires denying myself, taking up my cross, and following Him (Matthew 16:24).

2.  The Leadership Cul-De-Sac - When a leader resists organizational change, stops dreaming bold dreams, and plays it safe with leadership decisions, he is trapped in a leadership cul-de-sac.  The comfort and safety of the leader’s position combined with the past success of the organization work together to create a false sense of security for the future. In leadership cul-de-sacs, leaders play defense rather than offense, excuses become increasingly more acceptable, the growth of the organization plateaus or declines, and team members fight to maintain the status quo.  You can see how it’s a dead-end street for the leader and the organization.

3.  The Serving Cul-De-Sac - The problem with serving cul-de-sacs is that the people living in them only serve each other.  That’s great for people inside the cul-de-sac but bad for those outside it.  Many churches today are trapped in the serving cul-de-sac.  They spend so much time meeting the needs (and wants) of each other that they never look, much less move, beyond their dead-end street to the sea of human need in the world around them.  The serving cul-de-sac is one reason why the church has lost so much influence in society.  It’s hard to serve people and shape culture if you don’t interact with them.

Are you confined to a spiritual, leadership, or serving cul-de-sac?  What do you need to do to break out of it? Whatever it is, I can assure you it will be outside of your comfort zone, will feel risky, and will require faith.  But God’s greatest activity, your deepest growth, the most profound miracles, and your most meaningful contribution will always be found outside of your cul-de-sacs of comfort.
In Church, Leadership, Personal Growth Courage, Influence, Leadership, Serving, Spirituality, Vision
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Death in the Cul-De-Sac

May 12, 2009 — 2 Comments

Safety, mediocrity, and fear are the enemy of courageous leadership and the pursuit of bold, God-inspired dreams. In his book, Just Courage, President and CEO of the International Justice Mission, Gary Haugen talks about “Death in the Cul-De-Sac.”  Haugen uses the cul-de-sac as a metaphor for “the world of suburban monotony and triviality that so many Western Christians find themselves trapped in.”  

Haugen says that years ago people began moving into cul-de-sacs for safety, increased property values, and to avoid high-speed traffic. But research has shown that cul-de-sacs are actually more dangerous for children–not because of forward-moving traffic, but rather cars backing up–which is what cars do in cul-de-sacs.

Haugen makes a great comparison to the cul-de-sac when he writes, “many Christians and churches in the West, seeking safety from a dangerous world, a threatening culture and personal weakness have turned inward to the prosperous cul-de-sac, only to find a spiritual atrophy, mediocrity and boredom that is lethal to the soul.” God is calling us out of our cul-de-sacs of comfort where safety, mediocrity, and fear dwell. He is calling us to pursue bold visions that make a difference in the world.  

Do you find yourself confined to the cul-de-sac of comfort?  Are you afraid of what will happen if you, or your church, steps outside your dead-end street? While you may feel “safe,” life in the cul-de-sac often ends with disobedience and regret. Perhaps Haugen’s question states it best “Am I being brave, or am I being safe? In the end, it depends on whether we think God can be trusted.”

In Leadership, Personal Growth Courage, Leadership, Vision
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How to Capture a Vision

April 16, 2009 — 1 Comment

One of my favorite leaders from Scripture is Nehemiah. His story is quite remarkable and offers enough lessons to keep any leader fully engaged. I’ve been reading his story (again) and one of the greatest lessons is found in Nehemiah 1 when the dream was birthed in Nehemiah’s heart to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. I’ve often asked myself, “How does a person capture a God-given vision?” I believe Nehemiah’s story provides five great insights:

1.   Ask Questions – In the opening verses of chapter one, Nehemiah asked his brother, Hanani, and some Jews traveling with him, about the conditions in Jerusalem. This process of asking questions unlocks the door to vision…and quickly leads to the second step.

2.  Gain Awareness of Needs and Problems – After asking about the conditions of Jerusalem, Hanani and his companions  told Nehemiah, “The exile survivors who are left there in the province are in bad shape. Conditions are appalling. The wall of Jerusalem is still rubble; the city gates are still cinders” (V. 3 – The Message). When you ask questions, you invariably discover needs to be met and problems to be solved. That’s what vision is all about–it’s a heart-capturing solution to an existing need or problem. If you want to get a vision, put yourself in places that will disrupt your comfort zone.

3.  Feel the Weight of the Need or Problem – Verse four begins, “When I heard this, I sat down and wept.” The need in Jerusalem was not a small issue. And when Nehemiah met with the king, the king immediately noticed his heaviness of heart. Nehemiah felt the weight of the need at hand. The problem in Jerusalem was almost overwhelming and something had to be done. As Andy Stanley (1999) says, “Anyone with a vision will tell you this is not merely something that could be done. This is something that should be done.”  (p .17).  And that’s how Nehemiah felt–fixing the problem in Jerusalem was a should not a could.

4.  Fast and Pray – Nehemiah’s immediate response to the news was to spend time fasting and praying. I believe fasting and prayer is where leaders gain four things:

  • First, they are able to discern a burden from a calling. Everybody is burdened when they see needs such as poverty, injustice, disease, abuse, and any number of rising global challenges. There are so many needs that feelings of paralysis can easily overtake us. Fasting and praying helps a leader sort through the ocean of need and drop anchor on the issues God has called them to serve.
  • Second, prayer and fasting helps leaders clarify the “what” of the vision. It enables leaders to bring the vast need into clear focus.
  • Third, prayer and fasting causes leaders to reflect on their own shortcomings and take responsibility for anything they’ve failed to do in response to the need. Repentance was an important part Nehemiah’s prayer.
  • Forth, prayer and fasting helps leaders understand their “next steps” in pursuing the vision. Nehemiah asked God to make him successful as he took the step to meet with the king.

5.  Act Courageously – Nehemiah knew that vision without action lacks traction. And the big separator between dreaming and doing is one word–courage. It requires an initial courageous act for vision to work itself out of our heart and into our hands. For Nehemiah, that required a meeting with the king where he expressed the need, shared his vision, and requested assistance to pursue it.

What’s your vision? Start asking questions, opening your eyes to the needs around you, letting those needs permeate your heart, seeking God, and acting courageously. The world is waiting!

In Leadership, Personal Growth Bible on Leadership, Courage, Needs, Nehemiah, Prayer, Vision
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Courageous Leadership

March 4, 2009 — 1 Comment

Daniel 3 records the story of King Nebuchadnezzar building a 90-foot statue and then ordering the people to bow in worship when “you hear the band strike up” (Daniel 3:4-6). If you’ve read the story, you know that the three young men from Judah–Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego–refused to bow to the idol. As a result, the king became furious and threatened them with the “roaring furnace.” Fully understanding the consequences, these three Israelites boldly declared:

“Your threat means nothing to us. If you throw us in the fire, the God we serve can rescue us from your roaring furnace and anything else you might cook up, O king. But even if he doesn’t it wouldn’t make a bit of difference, O king. We still wouldn’t serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18, The Message)

Daniel 3:19 says, “Nebuchadnezzar, his face purple with anger, cut off Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.” They were thrown in the fire and then God rescued them in an outrageous way. Even the king said, “There has never been a god who can pull off a rescue like this” (Daniel 3:29).  The reward followed the risk.

So here’s a thought–before you can experience outrageous outcomes you must first exercise courageous leadership. Even the king acknowledged Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s courage when he said, “They ignored the king’s orders and laid their bodies on the line rather than serve or worship any god but their own” (Daniel 3:28). The only leadership endeavors that shape history are those marked by courage. Everything else is mundane.

Question: Have you experienced any amazing, outrageous outcomes in your church, ministry, or organization lately? If not, maybe you need to courageously lay it on the line.

 

In Leadership Bible on Leadership, Courage, Daniel on Leadership, Leadership
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