If you lead other people, one of your best tools for developing their leadership skills is a directed conversation. These are conversations that are designed to deal with an issue or teach a skill or principle. Here are two tips for making these effective conversations: Clarify your intent. Let them know what you're trying to accomplish. We often assume people know our intentions (because we know our intentions), but that's not always the case. Just ask anyone who does marriage counseling! Clarify what's at stake. Once you've shared with them your intentions, tell them why it's important. Why do they need to have this conversation with you? What difference will it make? Could it make? I've found that people respond much better when they have a sense of where you're coming from and why.
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"If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less." -- General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army One of the things I've learned over my years as a pastor is this: change does not always equal relevance. Often we made changes because we were trying to answer questions no one was asking. Our answers were good; unfortunately they were also irrelevant. Yet I've always seen the wisdom in General Shinseki's words. Our task is not to keep pace with every change and breakthrough, but to speak to it in a way that makes sense and leads towards transformation. Change isn't always easy, even when it's necessary. New musical styles may not be your style of choice. I've often joked, "What will I do when rap becomes the predominant music style of a new generation?" Move to Canada, maybe. But if rap will reach a new generation…
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Ed Stetzer has posted a great blog about the importance of reaching our global cities for Jesus. His point is simple: large cities exert tremdendous influence over more than just their geographic area. At a quickening pace, large cities such as New York and Los Angeles influence areas not only across our country but across the world. Starting new churches is one solution; starting church planting movements is the best solution. Be sure to check out the links Stetzer includes in his post.
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The following is an excerpt of an excellent blog post on The Harvard Business Review by Rosabeth Moss Kanter. The best campaigns for change have five elements: Memorable messages. Campaigns, like brand marketing, start with a clear, succinct, easy to repeat, emotionally compelling message. Stories. Narrative is a powerful tool for campaigns. People remember other people and stories better than numbers ... Personal testimonials motivate people, particularly when they see that those they admire take new actions. Action tools and roles. In a successful campaign, there is a clear step anyone can take, without requiring elaborate new processes, even if more complex change is required eventually. Coalitions of partners. Change campaigns need many suppliers, distributors, and allies. "Point of action" nudges. Popular media messages get generalized attention, just as commercials for products do, but like marketing campaigns that require point of sale support, successful behavior change campaigns need to place…
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As one who speaks before a diverse audience on a regular basis, I find that two questions help me organize my thoughts: What's my point? Why does it matter? If I don't know what my point is, there's a very good chance that my audience won't know what it is either. That seems basic -- but it's often overlooked. The clearer I can be about what my point is, then the clearer my presentation will be. In the end, I also must answer the question "Why does it matter?" Another way of saying the same thing is, "Why does my audience need to hear this?" This is where preaching differs from other forms of communication. How? Because it's not just about information but transformation. The aim of preaching is not to fill the head but to change the heart. Having the right information is important; but if transformation isn't provoked…
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