Spring 2013
The theme for Spring 2013 is “Authentic Leadership.”
Modeling and measuring leadership authenticity
Several years ago I was surprised and a little intrigued when our pastor introduced a new sermon series entitled, “The Three Kings.” It was not a Christmas or Epiphany series, but was in fact a deeper understanding of the character of leaders today, paralleled with the leadership style and behavior of three of the most famous kings in scripture: Saul, David, and Solomon.
As an organizational l...
Without it, nothing else matters
“You won’t believe what happened today,” a leadership conference attendee said at the dinner gathering.
“What?” I asked.
“After your talk today, about trust being built through connecting with another person’s reality, I had a breakthrough,” he said.
“Really? What happened?” I asked.
“Well, for the last year I have been s...
The five new rules of engagement
Following two days of meetings, tours, and assessment, we stood before the leadership team at the headquarters of their global ministry and broke the news to them: “You’re really great at doing the work of your ministry. But you’re really bad at telling others about it.”
I can’t say they were surprised at our conclusion. After years of helping ministries effectively tell their sto...
Four keys to effective board leadership for your ministry
Some might think it is easy for ministry boards to provide authentic leadership to their organizations. We all work for the same owner: God. We all share the same ultimate purpose: building God’s kingdom here on earth for all eternity. And we all operate under the same set of values: the Bible. Seemingly, once one ministry board determines how to lead effectively, other ministries could simply adopt...
Leading through faithfulness and obedience to God
Do you ever question your purpose? Ever wrestle with feeling confident in your responsibilities as a leader? I think we all do from time to time. But occasionally, lack of confidence can become a barrier to our leadership — and I believe it can become one of the greatest things to hold us back from fully thriving in our God-given influence.
When I entered full-time ministry, I went through a part...
Commission for Accountability and Policy for Religious Organizations issues report
On Tuesday, December 4, 2012, the Commission on Accountability and Policy for Religious Organizations presented a 91-page report to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) addressing nonprofit tax and regulatory issues related to clergy, congregations, and other nonprofit organizations.
Leaders from multiple faith groups — including mainline and evangelical Protes...
Authentic leaders get out of the way.
For Steve Richardson, authenticity is nothing new. He spoke with Outcomes about the meaning of authenticity in leadership — whether it’s on the mission field or in the boardroom — and what it means to live that out. Richardson, who has served as president of Orlando-based Pioneers-USA since 1999, was raised as a missionary kid in the Sawi tribe of Papua, Indonesia. In his time with Pioneers, the U....
CLA President and CEO Tami Heim recently interviewed Dr. Wess Stafford, president and CEO of Compassion International.
Stafford, an internationally recognized advocate for children in poverty, is author of Too Small to Ignore and Just a Minute. He has announced his upcoming retirement after 35 years of service at Compassion, including the past 19 as president. He joined the staff of Compassion in 1977 and has served as president since 1993. At the time of this ...
Three truths for authentic living
When I was passing through business school, I repeatedly questioned some people who made a big deal about leading an authentic life. Successful people near my age seemed to be “doing just fine” without putting a high value on authenticity. For them (and me) authenticity was an optional spice to sprinkle into the recipe of one’s life. It might add flavor to one’s leadership, but it certainly wasn’t a...
A CEO's life lessons on leading authentically
After more than 30 years in the CEO role, people are starting to ask me two questions: First, when am I going to retire? Second, have I learned anything in all that time? To the first question, it’s up to the Lord and my board. As for learning, here are some highlights from a guy with more than a few miles on his Nikes.
• Forget the learning curve. It’s more like ...