October 12, 2009
Leadership Tools
Hugh Ballou
LEADERSHIP TOOLS...
...Is divided into four sections:
- Foundations
- Relationships
- Systems
- Balance
In my leadership work, I have group skills and strategies into the four areas above. First, Foundations give the leader the clarity to know how to lead the team because the final result in clear; second, build and maintain effective Relationships to assist in getting to the vision; next, develop effective Systems allowing each team member to excel and to work together efficiently; and finally, create Balance in work, in life, and between work in life.
This month’s contributors bring experiences and skills from diverse backgrounds and perspectives:
- Brian Klemmer teaches us to think about transformation of the minds of Christians in our church.
- Garrett Gunderson challenges us to think about how our social beliefs hold us back.
- Demetrios Tzortzis provides a strategy for making the congregation closer using social media.
- My article on balance, gives feedback on use of time.
Enjoy!
Hugh Ballou
FOUNDATIONS
Transforming Christians Into Compassionate Samurai
(Continuation of a theme from MME September 14, 2009)
By Brian Klemmer
The second piece of scripture that pertains to transforming Christians into Compassionate Samurai is Romans 12:2 KJV which says “Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by a renewing of the mind”. For a long time the word renew had me stumped. It seemed as much an oxymoron as a compassionate samurai. How could a person re or repeat and be new at the same time? The answer to that apparent paradox is by having a revelation. In a revelation something is not new, but it is new to you. Then you have had a revelation or change in how you are seeing things. When I do a sermon I wear a ridiculous two foot wide pair of dark green sunglasses to illustrate the point. Imagine I had them on from birth, never having them off for even a second. If I looked at a piece of white paper I would say it was green because of the glasses. Perhaps my pastor wants to help me out so he tells me it’s white. How would I respond? I would tell him he was wrong and didn’t know what he was talking about and better go see the opthamologist. He could try and motivate me, but it wouldn’t change what I was seeing. He could tell me every Sunday for a year and I would still maintain it was green. Now if I went looking for the sunglasses and bumped into them then in less than a second I would have a revelation. I could see what I could not see just seconds before.
The key to transformation and large change in a short period of time (which is what Klemmer & Associates gets paid to do in the corporate world) is having people experientially discover their sunglasses around commitment, trust, abundance and 100 other beliefs. This has to happen in an experience that emotionally effects the heart. You can not talk someone through their sunglasses. So in your efforts to train an army of killer sheep or compassionate samurai around you to not only spread the gospel, but to solve real world problems everyone is facing you must involve experiences. You can either do that in a seminar designed to do that such as ours (www.klemmer.com/trainig/church.asp) or you can put them in a real life experience where they pierce the veil of the sunglasses. In one of our classes we deal with a belief called the 3 R’s that centers around the idea that people feel they need to resist to be in control. In the class I will jam on someone’s hands while they are sitting in a chair. Invariably they push back without thinking. Why? Because they have a voice inside telling them that if someone pushes on you then you must push back to survive. If you can visualize this then you know that what the person experiences is that as they push back their chair goes backwards. They now have experienced and see that when they resist they actually lose control. The exact opposite of what their sunglasses are telling them. Take a few moments and think what other sunglasses or beliefs you have that are creating your current success, but are preventing you from your next level of success.
Brian Klemmer is founder of Klemmer & Associates a character and leadership development training company. He is the author of four books including, The Compassionate Samurai, which was a #1 business book in 2008 in both the Wall Street Journal and Business Week magazine.
Brian Klemmer, Founder & CEO
Klemmer & Associates Leadership Seminars, Inc.
http://www.kelmmer.com
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RELATIONSHIPS
Creating Your Own "Olympia Academy"
by Garrett Gunderson
Principled Philosophy
No doubt, the social aspect of our lives is one of the most important aspects of existence. A life without any meaningful relationships would be empty and sad, regardless of how much success one attained in other areas. A sense of community helps us feel like we do “fit in” somewhere, and can empower us to make a positive difference in the world.
On the other hand, societal beliefs and expectations can also hold people back from their true potential. Some people falsely assume—at least on a non-conscious level—that because none of their close family or friends are doing incredibly great things, then they probably can’t, or won’t, do incredibly great things in their own lives either.
Many of the world’s biggest dreamers (who eventually became some of the world’s greatest achievers) have mentioned that even their own teachers and family members didn’t think they would amount to anything. Perhaps some of us have even been guilty of thinking the same way about others. Maybe we’ve discouraged our loved ones from doing “overly” ambitious things because we don’t think they can do it. Maybe we don’t want them to get hurt, or maybe we are secretly afraid of being left behind.
What would you guess that Albert Einstein‚ has buddies at the patent office where he worked as an unknown clerk would have said if he’d mentioned, “I think I just figured out one of the biggest mysteries of the universe”?
It’s easy to imagine them laughing at him. Surprisingly enough, Michele Besso, Einstein's closest friend at the time (with whom he walked home from the Patent Office every day) didn’t ever laugh at him. Einstein later said he was "the best sounding board in Europe". In fact, Einstein gathered around him open-minded and supportive friends, (although none of them were known in the academic world) to meet regularly to read and discuss books on science and philosophy. They jokingly dubbed themselves the Olympia Academy, since it sounded “official” enough for the exclusive institutions that dominated science at the time. Einstein later accredited much of his success to having surrounded himself with these open-minded and supportive people who believed in him—long before the “establishment” ever did.
Capitalizing Potential
During the Social portion of your next Producer Power Hour dream up your own “Olympia Academy”. Think what friends might be interested in the same kind of achievement that you are, whether that is in entrepreneurship, wealth creation, gardening, or whatever else you want to excel at. It’s hard to be great at anything without a support structure. The higher you rise, the more some people will try to tear you down. You’ll want some great people on your side. If you don’t know where to get started, the Hour of Power events are a great resource, because they end with mastermind sessions (in person or online) with other supportive and encouraging people—people like Michele Besso. You don’t have to be a genius to know that’s a smart idea.
“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”
~ Albert Einstein
Garrett B. Gunderson is a successful entrepreneur who started his first company at the age of 15 and became a multi-millionaire by the age of twenty-six. He is the owner of The Accredited Network, an Inc 500 company and winner of Utah's Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. Garrett coaches elite business owners throughout the country. Garrett coauthored the Curriculum for Wealth, and is the author of the New York Times Bestseller Killing Sacred Cows.
Garrett B. Gunderson
Founder, The Accredited Network
http://www.garrettbgunderson.com
Check out the new stuff on The Singer Link - An Online Choral Community
ActorCor: Interfaith Choral Composition Contest:
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Ask the Expert – How do I tell someone in the worship team that we won’t be using her any more?:
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SYSTEMS
Using Social Media to Build Bonds With Your Congregation
by Demetrios Tzortzis
Social media marketing is profoundly necessary for driving targeted traffic and creating a loyal following online that translates to your offline following. Your online presence has the potential to build relationships and provide value to your congregation while they are not at service. You also have the ability to attract others who may have never otherwise known about your ministry if it had not been for your online presence.
There is no magical way to drive the targeted traffic that you desire. It takes work and a multifaceted strategy.
Everyone on the planet is either already wired (get online) - or they want to become wired. Social media techniques produce massive results when it comes to driving targeted traffic. At a minimum, you need to integrate the following social networking sites into your comprehensive marketing plan:
➢ FaceBook
➢ YouTube
➢ Twitter
In fact, many ministries have gained more benefits from social media marketing efforts than they do from offline marketing (TV, magazine, bulletins) and email marketing, article marketing, press releases and SEM combined. It is now a critical piece necessary to keep in communication with your congregation and allow them to pursue their spirituality at all times. Social media advertising techniques do more than help you create a loyal following and drive targeted traffic; they dramatically increase your relationships. And that's what you want to do with your congregation.
By using social media marketing, you are effectively able to communicate with all types of people, those who regularly attend services and those who do not. You are benefiting all. You can show perspective members exactly what you are about and what your community represents. You can get inside of their minds and touch on exactly what you know they desire. You need to get creative though. Don't be afraid! Express yourself openly and be sure to represent high quality - as well as the specific messages of value that you have to provide.
Additionally, recognize the "social" in social media marketing. Be personable. Talk with people openly. Invest some of your time and become a great communicator. People need that. They need to know that you're interested in what they're saying to you. And when you convince them that you are, that is what will bring them back to your site again and again and even drive them to your offline services.
Demetrios Tzortzis
Demetrios’ expertise in social media came through thousands of hours of assiduous research and self-taught education, and now enables him to effectively connect and build solid relationships and business with people worldwide through the power of the Internet.
Demetrios has developed several training programs, including his most successful one, a 13-week coaching program designed to educate entrepreneurs, CEOs, speakers and authors on how to build the online presence necessary to successfully build, manage and market their brand online.
Demetrios Tzortzis
Founder, Strategic Social Media
http://www.demetriostzortzis.com
BALANCE
Balancing Life's Critical Aspects
by Hugh Ballou
Life is a promise; fulfill it. - Mother Teresa
In previous months I have encouraged you to plan your day by planning your work. In order to accomplish the most, it is important to put everything into logical order, however, do not get so focused on the order of your day that you don't notice the big experiences that come into your life. There are two Greek words for time that apply here:
Chronos (Χρόνος) - Chronological or sequential time; and
Kairos (καιρός) - The right or opportune moment.
Imagine that a good friend has come to visit you. Your friend says that he or she would like to fix you gourmet meal, but before preparing the dinner, a trip to the grocery store is in order. So, you get in the car and go to the store. Once you arrive at the store you go to the produce area to get a bell pepper. Next, you go to the dairy section for some heavy cream. Then, you realize that there are some additional vegetables that are needed, so you go back to the produce area - at the far side of the store! Next, you remember that you need orange juice for the next morning. The next item is beef for the dinner - a totally new section of the store. Finally, you go to the center of the store to get rice and spices.
In this process, you have visited every section of the store multiple times! Since there was no order to your shopping, you have spent far too much time and energy shopping for the necessary items. If you had taken a few minutes to make a list and group the items by sections of the store, you could have saved a lot of time and possibly a lot of frustration.
Does this remind you of an unorganized day at work? Do you know people who live like this every day and plan each work day this way? How much more effective could you be if you just spent a small amount of time planning your schedule and grouping similar activities? A small investment in planning nets big results in effectiveness!
This is an example of chronos - chronological time. Planning activities in sequence and in chronological order. Very important.
However, you can focus so much on being efficient in your use of time and other resources, that you are not aware of how God brings opportunities into your day. This reminds me of the old saying about a person in the church - "He (she) is so heavenly minded that he (she) is no earthly good!" Meaning that an idealistic view of life sometimes interferes with the spontaneous.
God brings us unmerited favor with opportunities and options that we lease expect. Be open to these surprises in your life. If we are so busy in God's work, we sometimes are not award of God working in our life.
Be efficient in planning the best use of your time. Be attentive to God's work in your day.
Thoughts to ponder:
1. How tightly should I plan my day? How much open time do I need for "sliding priorities?"
2. How will I reschedule items on my calendar that are displaced with new opportunities?
3. There is real wisdom in understanding the tension between form and freedom. Ponder how you will balance these two paradigms.
Do you keep a journal? Start now. You life is important, record it.
Hugh Ballou
Transformational Leadership Strategist
http://www.transformationalstrategist.com
Conclusion
Arrive at your place of comfort utilizing the best of what you can learn from others. Build your foundation, maintain your relationships, utilize effective systems and keep a healthy balance in your life. Begin today. There's not an arrival point. It's simple a journey.
Grace and Peace to you in your duty and delight as a Christian leader.
Hugh Ballou
© 2009 Creator Magazine All Rights Reserved
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