October Review on Leadership

End of month is rolling around again, time for a look at some of the more interesting posts I've read. This time I'll focus in on those dealing with leadership (since that's a subject I'm fired up about since Catalyst).

My favorite is Steven Furtick's "Unfiltered Thoughts on How We're Going to Get Better at Developing People." Key points there were:  1. Make a distinction between isolated development opportunities and a deeply embedded emphasis on development. "The desire to develop people must color every conversation, and factor into every encounter."  2. Leading with an attitude of "what do you need from me to improve" instead of what's wrong with followers.  3. Likewise, an attitude when problems are seen of "I believe you're better than this" not just "fix it or else."  4. When fixing something, don't just identify the problem, don't just drive towards a solution, but over-communicate the reasoning behind the decision making to avoid ongoing decision dependence issues.  5. High commitment to developing others - it's not a luxury or a distraction from the 'real work', it is the key continued growth.

Perry Noble has an excellent series on "Seven Things Staff Members Wished Their Senior Pastors Knew." That is an excellent complement to his other series, "Seven Things Senior Pastors Want Their Staff to Know".

Kem Meyer mentions and summarizes a book called The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make by Hans Finzel. Kem also pointed out a wonderful 2nd grade student council campaign speech!

Tom Cocklereece on Leadership Communication on how noise really distracts from your message.

News that Mark Waltz has written a follow-up to First Impressions called "Lasting Impressions: From Visiting to Belonging".

James Higginbotham of Agile Ministry, "Our Church Has a Management Problem," (also Part 2) emphasizing the need for churches to let volunteers step up and lead (and contrasting leading with managing).

David Helbig on "Writing Effective Emails" using the acronym MADE. Hmm... communication is a big part of leadership isn't it? Bill Reichart points out "Vision is Always Speaking!"

Ed Stetzer's Leadership Book Interviews with Thom and Sam Rainer, and Brad Waggoner. What's so interesting about these interviews is the excellent discussion via question and answer in the comments.

Another good 'discussion' post is Tony Morgan's "Are You Effectively Raising Up Leaders?"

One link that has nothing to do with leadership (or with me in any way, really) is "Too Good for Girl Time?" by Sharon Hodde at She Worships. Why just plain girl time is both good for your health and a scriptural mandate.

Finally, a video "Before He Speaks" pointed out by a classmate at Rockbridge Seminary, Ben Durbin - something you pastors should keep in mind before you use your wife's behavior as an example in your sermon!!