Leading in Lean Times

 (Moving from ?if only' to ?what if' leadership)

By Edward Hammett & James R. Pierce

 

            Lean times bring forth the best and worst in leaders.  The last five years and early 2010 is characterized by lean times for many organizations, families, churches, non-profits and individuals.  A struggling economy, downsizing of businesses, evaporation of 401k plans births in many spiritual questions of ?why?' -

?why me?'; ?why now?'; ?why can't I?' and even ?why not me?'  Such powerful inquiries often fuels despair, depression, and in other these same questions seem to fuel innovation, creativity, and exploration and risk taking.  Those who are in despair cry ?if only'; those who desire to explore declare ?what if?'.  How does the ?if only' leader - who dreams of ?more money'; ?more return on investments'; ?better and more clients'; ?more self-motivated employees' ; ?less restrictions' become a ?what if' leader?  ?What if'' leaders learn from lean times and invites leanness to teach lessons and fuels innovation and creativity that transforms the leader, organization and group.

 

            After observing the ?what if leaders' who were downsized from their jobs, businesses facing years end, in the red rather than the black, and community leaders in schools, government and congregations I have noted a pattern of effective leadership for lean times.   How do the ?what if' leaders lead during the lean times?

 

?What if' Leadership Skill Sets During the Lean Times

 

            Lean times manifest themselves in similar and distinctive ways depending on the business, group or organization involved and the context in which they find themselves.  In spite of this, a common thread appears in their skill sets and focused objectives.  ?What if' are soulful-leaders that practice clarification, consolidation, customization, contextualization, and collaboration.  As a professional leadership and organizational coach the ?what if..' coaching questions become critical in moving a person, group or organization from an ?if only mentality' to a ?what if mentality'. ?What if' questions are about exploration, dreaming, and moving through fears, perceived and real barriers that keep persons and organizations stuck in what has been rather than what can be! Consider..

 

·        Clarification - is more about knowing your mission, destiny and focus from within you than finding out what is going on around you.

Possible Coaching Questions To Consider:

1.    What is your destiny/mission?

2.    How much of your energy is focused here?

3.    What if your day/energy were reallocated now?

4.    What would make it better?

 

·        Consolidation - manifests itself in streamlining, simplifying, and doing more with less.  This might be with staffing, programming, marketing or services.

           

            Possible Coaching Questions to Consider:

1.    What needs streamlining now?

2.    What if we streamlined now?

3.    How will streamlining impact things?

4.    What streamlining would make the most impact now?

5.    What would streamlining look like?

6.    What is needed to make it happen?

 

·        Customization - has to do with adapting or adopting products, programming, or services to the community and demographic available. Grant McCracken's new book Chief Culture Officer: How to Create a Living Breathing Corporation, suggests that corporations need to focus on "reading" what's happening in the culture around them - a task at which Steve Jobs and Martha Stewart excel.

            Possible Coaching Questions to Consider:

1.    What if we focused on what is requested that we do not currently have available?

2.    What is going on that we need to be part of now?

3.    How do we focus our resources to make this connection?

4.    What would make us more user-friendly for our customers?

5.    What would it look like if we did this now?

 

·        Contextualization - has to do with aligning products, programming or services to the target group or mission statement.

Possible Coaching Questions to Consider:

1.    What if I understood more about those we are not attracting now?

2.    Who are they? What do they like? Dislike?

3.    What am I doing that is against my calling/gifting?

4.    What would happen if I aligned to my calling now?

5.    What/who can make this happen?

6.    What alignment(s) would make the most impact for me now?

 

·        Collaboration - is about building partnerships, alliances and channels with those who share similar missions, products, services rather than seeing them as only competitors. In lean times collaboration not only involves sharing common mission but creating funding sources that benefit all.  It has been suggested that there are "10 Non-Profit Funding Models".  They include: 1)Heartfelt Connector; 2)Beneficiary Builder; 3)Member Motivator; 4) Big Bettor; 5)Public Provider; 6)Policy Innovator; 7) Beneficiary Broker; 8)Resource Recycler; 9)Market Maker; 10) Local Nationalizer.[i]  A careful exploration of these collaborative models of funding is likely to not only open new potential but new solutions to major societal issues.

 

Possible Coaching Questions to Consider:

1.    What if we discovered more ways to partner rather than compete?

2.    Who else is about our mission?

3.    What are the possibilities?

4.    How would this alliance benefit/challenge us/me?

5.    What would happen if we collaborated rather than compete with them now?

 

                        Lean times call forth the best in many organizations and leaders. The challenges are many but the rewards are empowering as leaders and organizations focus in ways to create more impact, have more influence that creates transformation.

 

What Kind of Leader Are You in Lean Times?

(Check all statements you find yourself making regularly)

 

        If only I had more skilled workers?

        If only I had more time?

        If only I had more energy?

        If only I had options?

        What if I/we explored options?

        What if I/we moved?

        What if I/we used our time/energy differently?

        What if workstyle moved to less of  ?I' and more of ?we'?

 

Coaching Questions:

What does this tell you?

What then are next steps for you? Your Organization?

What would be the benefit of shifting from ?if only' to ?what if' now?

 

Resources for your consideration include:

            Harvard Business Review, January-February, 2010 edition.  www.HBR.org

            Reinvention Theme for This Edition: Articles include:

            "Accelerating Corporate Transformations: Don't Lose Your Nerve!: Six   Mistakes that can derail your company's attempts to change" by Robert H.      Miles, p.69-75.

            "What Really Motivates Workers: Understanding the Power of Progress" by      Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer.

            "Strategy Tools for a Shifting Landscape by Michael G Jacobides. P. 77-84

            "How to Bounce Back from Adversity" by Joshua Margolis and Paul Stoltz. P.   87-92.

            'Rethinking Marketing" by Roland Rust, Chrstine Mooreman and Gaurav         Bhalla. Pg. 94-99

            "Fundraising in Tough Times: How to Survive a Challenging Econony" by        Mal Warwick. Stanford Social Innoviation Review, Spring, 2009.     www.ssireview.com pg. 23f

            Making Shifts Without Making Waves: The Coach Approach to Soulful Leadership, Hammett & Pierce. 2009 www.soulful-leadership.com

            "Helping Children Cope in Unsettling Times: The Economic Crisis Tips for        Parents & Teachers", 2008 www.nasponline.org

Coach Approach to Ministry

From Fix It Focus to Fulfillment Focus

 

 

The coach approach to ministry provides excellent additions to clergy and lay leader's toolkit that empowers all to live into the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers and move from a fix it' focus to a fulfillment' focus in ministry. This type of coaching is not about a sporting event. Rather Christian coaching is a sacred relationship that empowers others to achieve their destiny and calling. As of November I will be serving Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina as a Church and Clergy Coach.  Prior to this I served 19 years as a Christian coach, coach trainer and consultant through the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.  During this time I have been privileged to coach pastors and leaders from 12 different denominations from across the country. 

 

Why Coaching is Needed In Church Life

 

            Coaching has been and continues to be a powerful tool in the business world to help executives, managers and employees move forward and face a rapidly changing world where doing more with less is the challenge. Now churches face similar challenges and more. While coaching pastors and others over 1200 hours I was reminded of several reasons coaching is needed in church life. Reasons include:

·        the loneliness and isolation many experience in ministry,

·        the steep and frequent learning curves many face,

·        the need for support and encouragement to keep going during those tough days,

·         and the power of providing a safe and sacred place through a formal coaching relationship.

 My new challenge and opportunity is to provide a toolkit for pastors/staff and lay leaders of CBFNC that will release them from feeling they have to fix people and churches and move them to fulfilling their gifting, calling through a coach approach to ministry.

            The power of Christian coaching for those in church, denominational and judicatory leadership is that it creates a safe, confidential and sacred dedicated space where those being coached can slow down, focus on what needs to be done now, find encouragement and hope to move leaders, pastors, staff, teams from where they are to where they desire to be.  Fast lives, complicated challenges and ever steepening learning curves for leaders creates the perfect landscape for coaching. So many churches and leaders are so overwhelmed by their, and others, expectations. In our fast-moving world and churches - often with dwindling resources and even increased expectations on their staff that burnout if on the rise and frustration among church leaders is paramount!

 

What is Distinctive About Christian Coaching?

 

            Some will likely be skeptical of bringing into the church something from the business world.  There are many distinctives we cannot ignore for Christian leaders. Christian coaching provides a sacred space and trustworthy relationship for the Spirit to work to bring about movement through fear, companionship for a journey through trials and challenges and healthy accountability. The Christian coach prays for their clients regularly, chooses to be genuinely affirming when needed and a truth teller when that is needed. A coach earns trust, respects the client's beliefs and values and commits to being the client's cheerleader and professional coach. In coaching the agenda is always that of the person being coached and not that of the coach. The coach is not there as the expert or a consultant sharing their expertise or a mentor sharing their experiences. A coach is there to hold the client's agenda and provide powerful questions, not answers, to move them from where they are to where they want to be and accomplish their goals. For instance, some often want to move from feeling burdened by needing to or being expected to ?fix people and churches' to experiencing more fulfillment' in ministry.     

            Another powerful distinctive is that coaching provides space to explore deep questions, a personal or group faith journey, celebrate the connections and powerful parts of the journey as well as face and move through the trials and struggles of the faith journey as a leader or congregation. Coaches help to crystallize powerful learnings through celebrations and trials of life. Coaches also creates powerful objective listening opportunities where the leader/pastor has an objective set of ears to help them grow into the leader they have the potential to be.  The aha's' and keen insights of the client is what coaches live for!!! One of my most powerful experiences, as a coach, was when a pastor. who was considering early retirement due to discouragement and lack of vision, entered a coaching relationship with me.  Three months later he declares my wife and family say I've become a better spouse, father and pastor. I'm happier and more fulfilled and effective."  When I celebrated with them and inquired, "What's the difference?" the client declared quickly - "I"ve learned to coach my church rather than carry my church!".  Wow...what a powerful learning and shift in his leadership style, attitude and leadership!  Three years later it continues for him and his church!

           

İEddie Hammett, PCC, Author of Making Shifts Without Making Waves: A Coach Approach to Soulful Leadership  and Reaching People Under 40 While Keeping People Over 60.  www.transformingsolutions.org. www.thecolumbiapartnership.org; www.soulful-leadership.com  and www.ca-ministries.com Church and Clergy Coach for Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina www.cbfnc.org

 

Coaching Churches and

 Church Leaders

By Eddie Hammett, PCC

 

            Coaching churches and church leaders maximizes time, energy and focuses around passion, calling and growth challenges in ways that seminars promise but often miss.  Leaders - whether local, global, church or denomination or judicatory, clergy or lay leaders - all face overwhelming demands these days and find it frustrating if not discouraging.  Most persons in any leadership role are faced daily with doing more with less, choosing priorities that are most meaningful, and moving from talk to action.  Coaching is about all of this.

 

            Coaching empowers, challenges, and creates environments and conversations that moves coachable persons and organizations from where they are to where they want to be. I'm constantly amazed, with a coachable person or group and a skilled coach, how much quality action can happen in a very short period of time and without an overwhelming amount of energy.  What a gift to stressed out leaders and organizations that face expectations that are over unrealistic and yet present.

 

            Christian coaching also offers an incarnational element to ministry during the tough and the celebratory times.  That is having the full presence and attention of a coach who is focused on you and your goals and desires brings a partnership and encouraging force that many need these days to face fears and push through challenging goals.  Learning to be fully present and to tune into the client is a large and vital part of all excellent coach training programs.  Learning to trust the Spirit in the midst of the relationship while listening to what is said and what is not being said brings fuel for a powerful coaching relationship. Learning to show up and be fully present in a coaching conversation is a focusing and empowering element that moves persons from just talk to action that is intentional and meaningful for them. 

 

            The impact of Christian coaching can be summarized by some of the shifts and skills it calls forth.  Moving from ?telling' to ?asking' is far less judgmental and far more empowering to help persons discover how the Spirit is moving in their life and frame it in ways that moves them into their destiny.  Another is a coach approach diffuses power struggles and builds ownership since the agenda is always that of the client.  The threat of some outsider telling you something to do that you really do not want or desire is not an issue in coaching.  The coach approach is all about discovering and building ownership of the ideas that moves you forward.  Another powerful impact is moving from talk to action! Lord knows most churches and leaders need to move from talking to action. Coaching also provides an environment where alignment can happen between the disconnects in ministry (challenges) and alignment that strengthens leadership, influence and impact of pastors and congregations. I really believe that Christian coaching can fuel believers and churches to live into the doctrine of priesthood of all believers, which as Baptists, we declare as a foundation stone for our history and heritage. Findley Edge, my mentor and former seminary professor, often declared that Baptists have talked this doctrine to death and he longed for the day we would act on it! Maybe today is the day!

 

CBFNC and the Coach Approach

 

            What will the creating a coaching culture among Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina look like? How will it impact the churches, staff and leaders in affiliated churches? These are questions we will be exploring together over the next months as we cocreate some next steps for leaders and churches.  Some possible venues of such exploration will likely include some of the following:

·        Identifying the most coachable persons/churches among CBFNC

·        Introduce CBFNC to basic coaching skills and models

·        Cocreate some coaching covenants with leaders and churches who are ready

·        Establish a peer coaching network among staff and some of the CBFNC councils

·        Offer coaching services for identified pastors/staff and churches who are ready and coachable

·        Share stories of the impact of coaching with CBFNC

·        Dialogue about the value and challenges of a Coach Certification program for CBFNC

 

 

İEddie Hammett, PCC, Author of Making Shifts Without Making Waves: A Coach Approach to Soulful Leadership  and Reaching People Under 40 While Keeping People Over 60.  www.transformingsolutions.org. www.thecolumbiapartnership.org ; www.soulful-leadership.com and www.ca-ministries.com Church and Clergy Coach for Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina www.cbfnc.org