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Lesson 1: What’s the Difference between Leadership and Management?
Managers organize the church, leaders align the work of the church with its mission. Explore the differences between leadership and management and why that distinction is so important.
Lesson 2: Vision is Crucial to Leadership
What is God’s vision for your ministry? Seeking and sharing a compelling vision is one of the most important tasks of a leader.
Lesson 3: You Can’t Lead without Trust
Trust may be the most essential ingredient in leadership. Explore why.
Lesson 4: The Power of Vulnerability
Why is vulnerability an essential trait of leaders? Learn more as you explore the vital task of choosing between adventure and safety.
Lesson 5: Finite and Infinite Games: Which One Are You Playing?
Do you play for the sake of the game or to win? Learn more about the idea of finite and infinite games and how it can shape your next move.
Lesson 6: What Is a Level 5 Leader?
What differentiates a good leader from a great leader? Learn how Level 5 leaders set themselves up for greatness.
Lesson 7: Why Church Leaders Need a Growth Mindset
Are your skills and abilities limited or do you embrace a mindset of constant improvement and possibilities? Learn more about claiming a growth mindset.
Lesson 8: 5 Ways Church Leaders Can Develop Grit
Combine passion with perseverance and you’ll get “grit,” a quality that can be more important to leaders than intelligence or talent.
Lesson 9: Why Church Leaders Need to Think Big and Act Small
It’s easy for leaders to feel overwhelmed. The antidote? Think big, act small. It can change everything.
Lesson 10: To Lead Change You Need to Understand the Fundamental Attribution Error
Assessing the true cause of problems and whether the fault lies with the person or the situation is an important lesson in leadership and life.
Lesson 11: Three Time Management Principles that Changed My Life
Time is of the essence. These three principles offer wisdom into making the most of your time and accomplishing your most important things.
Lesson 12: How Self Determination Theory Can Make You a Better Leader
A sense of autonomy, competence and relationship are three essential components in creating intrinsic motivation – the drive to do something for inherent satisfaction, rather than acting to please others.
Lesson 13: The Power of Positive Deviance
Starting small and thinking in unexpected and creative ways leads to the power of “positive deviance.”
Lesson 14: Effective Ministry Leaders Understand the Three Types of Conflict
Conflict typically arises in three different arenas: tasks, values and relationship. Understanding the nature of a conflict can make it easier to resolve.
Lesson 15: The First Shall Be Last Is a Leadership Principle
Corporate and political leaders have discovered the value of Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 20. Practicing “other-centeredness” creates good servants leaders and produces results – in the faith community and beyond.
Lesson 16: Feeling Stuck? Try Some Little Bets
Anxiety can lead to paralysis. But taking small, experimental steps toward a goal can lead to breakthrough innovations and teach you some interesting lessons.
Lesson 17: How Agile Are You? Design Thinking Can Help
Agile is an approach to problem solving and creating solutions that puts the customer first. Then, using customer-centric thinking, experiment with a small issue or product, and next, iterate, using a number of successive approaches, to find the answers you’re seeking.
Lesson 18: The Church Needs Adaptive Leadership Now More than Ever
Adaptive leadership moves beyond authority and takes you outside traditional approaches, as it asks you to learn, collaborate, and risk.
Lesson 19: The Best Leaders Demand 85 Percent Effort
While most leaders learned to give 100 percent, or even 110 percent, effort; studies show that 85 percent effort is what produces maximum results. What does this mean for your leadership?
Lesson 20: To Be Your Best, Balance Screens with Green
Many people spend almost a third of their lives in front of screens. But people are wired for nature. Creating small strategies to restore and renew yourself by getting outside can make all the difference in the world.
Lesson 21: Beware the Quick Fix
We have become accustomed to immediate gratification, but sometimes spiritual leaders need to trust God’s grace and timing.
Lesson 22: Addition by Subtraction
When faced with people threatening to leave a church, the pastor and other leaders must respond with a non-anxious presence. This way, even if members leave, the church still grows as it experiences addition by subtraction.
Lesson 23: Three Techniques from a Former Hostage Negotiator on Being a Non-Anxious Presence
Building a sense of autonomy by encouraging a “no” answer, reflective listening, and creating reverse empathy are some of the interesting and surprising techniques to address resistant people.
Lesson 24: Four Ways Humor Can Make You a Better Leader
Humor can build trust, support innovation, promote effective learning and improve negotiations. How might you “lighten up”?
Lesson 25: Three Ways to Be Quick – But Not Hurry
Hurried people often make mistakes. But how can you be quicker? There are three quick tips: focus on efforts, not results; seek continuous, incremental improvement; and keep things simple.
Lesson 26: In Life and Work, Balance is a Verb, Not a Noun
A perfectly balanced life may be a myth. The key to balancing is focusing on the most important task at hand.
Lesson 27: Three Ways Gratitude Makes You a Better Leader
Expressing thanks can take you outside of yourself, increase your awareness of others and help you keep your priorities in order.
Lesson 28: It Is Better to Give than Receive
Studies are showing that generosity helps create well-being.
Lesson 29: The Myth of Self-Discipline
Self-control is an exhaustible resource, but there are tested strategies for keeping your willpower from becoming depleted.
Lesson 30: The Power of Keystone Habits
Keystone habits strengthen your willpower. As a leader, which keystone habits should you claim?
Lesson 31: The Power of Micro Habits
Sometimes beginnings are hard. Small, micro-habits can be a great starting point as momentum creates motivation.
Lesson 32: Progress is Your Biggest Motivator
The progress principle, or moving forward in meaningful ways, is one of the best motivators. Incremental progress can change everything.
Lesson 33: Curiosity Will Make You a Better Leader (And Four Ways to Get More Curious)
Curiosity nurtures and creates better leaders and lives. To become more curious let go of assumptions, be intentionally open-minded, value the dignity of all people, and embrace the hard things you encounter.
Lesson 34: How to Make Good Decisions
Leaders must act and that requires the clear thinking that can lead to good decisions. Two important steps to clear your mind include anticipating the obstacles that might lead to failures and eliminating negative risk.
Lesson 35: Test and Learn
Will it work? An important leadership lesson is to never assume. Rather, test and learn. You’ll be surprised.
Lesson 36: Beware of the Dip
The “dip,” which comes when energy and enthusiasm wane, can be present in every important undertaking. The important thing is recognizing the dip and not letting it stop you.
Lesson 37: Four Steps to Building More Effective Teams
Research shows that psychological safety is a crucial element of creating effective teams. To build good teams, help people normalize the opportunity to learn from mistakes, ensure all people feel seen, seek input with humility, and encourage team members to bond through daily tasks.
Lesson 38: Four Components of Intelligent Failure
Successful leaders all fail, but they fail intelligently. Intelligent failures carry opportunities to advance toward goals, are informed by available knowledge, and are as small as they be. Intelligent failures can lead to surprising innovation.
Lesson 39: Three Ways a Shutdown Routine Increase Work-Life Balance
Shutdown routines are moments at the end of the day to review any loose ends that might be outstanding and mark a final end to the workday. These intentional rituals create boundaries that lead to well-being.
Lesson 40: Diversity Matters – The Best Teams Have Three Kinds of People
Diversity matters in life and in leadership. When creating teams, three types of people are helpful to creating effective diversity: the subject expert, the non-redundant actor who comes from a different way of life or perspective, and the oddball, who adds a touch of off-beat creativity.
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