The ProvenWay Leader's retreat was the best women's event I've ever attended or been a part of. By far. What a blast to spend 2 days with women who really think about leading well, hungry to learn how to lead well, and who work hard to lead well. God showed up and showed out! And He blessed my soul in so may ways....
By complete suprise Christian recording artist Kim Hill crashed the conference and offered to give us a concert and lead worship! Amazing blessing. Turns out she is best friends with our key speaker Lisa Harper and so she tagged along for the ride. They made for a divine dynamic duo!
I had a ball teaching one of the breakout sessions - The Powerful Influence of Followership. I truly do feel God's power and presence when I'm teaching leadership like no other time. There is nothing I do that is as effortless, energizing and fulfilling as teaching leadership. No nerves, no lack of confidence....just uncork and go. It all pours out from the overflow....it's as if all the stuff that God has been teaching me is pent up inside of me accumulating, germinating, growing and maturating. Just waiting for an outlet while it grows bigger and bigger inside. In some (strange kind of) ways it's a relief to be able to pass it on to someone who can use it to minister.
Several women went out of their way to tell me that what they heard and learned was very helpful....that does it for me. If even one woman says she was helped then my day is made.
But I can honestly say that even if no one had said a word I knew that I had done the very best I could to share what the Lord has taught me. And I felt that sweet, private affirmation that only the Lord can give.
I got to hear lots of stories about ministry in all kinds of churches...met at least a dozen fascinating women. I got to diagnose, brainstorm and problem solve at round table discussions. How fun was that!
God gave me a special treat when a woman named Mary approached me and said she felt prompted to pray with and for me. What a precious time we had together - what a precious gift to have someone sit with me and pray over me specifically.
It's been way too long.
If you are reading this and you were at the retreat - I hope you will add your comments to this thread and share your experiences, impressions, thoughts and learnings from the retreat.
In the next few days I will post my notes from my Followership workshop.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Followership
I'll be leading a workshop next week on Leading Up! The Powerful Influence of Followership. Many years ago I was on staff at a church- actually this was before I was on staff and was a lay leader in the church – and was seeing God do a lot of things through me in the church much to my astonishment. One of the pastors on staff made the comment that I do remarkably well leading up – he said “you’re not just a leader of followers but you lead up very well.”
I’d never heard that term before - but it really stuck in my mind. I didn’t ask him for much clarification but just really spent some time thinking about it. I knew that leadership was influence and so as I began to sort of observe what God was doing through me and the gifts He’s given me as I led up the people above me- of course EVERYone was above me since I wasn’t on staff -- but I just began to see that I did seem to have a voice at the table in many decisions.
I also noticed how people were coming to me to get their ideas heard by those above us, on staff and all the way to the Senior Pastor.
So I knew there was something to this. And then in about 1995 I heard someone name Pat MacMillan give a talk on followership - the first time I’d heard it termed quite that way and it tremendously impacted me and changed the way I thought about followership as a real thing that we can intentionally engage in.
What I know now is that good leaders follow- and good followers lead!
I’d never heard that term before - but it really stuck in my mind. I didn’t ask him for much clarification but just really spent some time thinking about it. I knew that leadership was influence and so as I began to sort of observe what God was doing through me and the gifts He’s given me as I led up the people above me- of course EVERYone was above me since I wasn’t on staff -- but I just began to see that I did seem to have a voice at the table in many decisions.
I also noticed how people were coming to me to get their ideas heard by those above us, on staff and all the way to the Senior Pastor.
So I knew there was something to this. And then in about 1995 I heard someone name Pat MacMillan give a talk on followership - the first time I’d heard it termed quite that way and it tremendously impacted me and changed the way I thought about followership as a real thing that we can intentionally engage in.
What I know now is that good leaders follow- and good followers lead!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
New Leaders
I love to sit next to someone who is just studying leadership for the first time. It's like taking a friend to one of your favorite travel destinations that they have never been to. You sort of take everything in with fresh eyes and ears as you watch their reactions to the new information and surroundings.
Today I invited a co-worker to come with me to hear a talk on leadership. She is not a young person yet she has never given much thought to the topic of leadership. These days she's motivated to learn more. The demands of her job are making her realize her need to grow into a better leader. She wants to learn and she takes lots of notes , asks many questions, and is trying really hard to take it all in.
As I sat there and watched her reactions during the teaching I kept wanting to say "Wait till you see/hear/learn this!" and "Did you catch that?"
I love watching the face and hearing the thoughts and questions of someone as they just begin to get a glimmer of "getting it."
Today I invited a co-worker to come with me to hear a talk on leadership. She is not a young person yet she has never given much thought to the topic of leadership. These days she's motivated to learn more. The demands of her job are making her realize her need to grow into a better leader. She wants to learn and she takes lots of notes , asks many questions, and is trying really hard to take it all in.
As I sat there and watched her reactions during the teaching I kept wanting to say "Wait till you see/hear/learn this!" and "Did you catch that?"
I love watching the face and hearing the thoughts and questions of someone as they just begin to get a glimmer of "getting it."
Are leaders born or made?
I had the opportunity to hear a gentleman speak on the 12 essential behaviors of good leaders. He was with an organization called Leader's Summit. There were some good things, but also some things I didn't really agree with. He had these essentials divided into 6 "hard skills" that he said are "what a leader does" and 6 "soft skills" which are "who a leader is." So far, so good. Except that several of the soft skills were redundancies which seemed to be splitting hairs and making it more confusing than it needed to be.
But it was still quite interesting. He gave us a chance to interact, call out our answers, and ask questions which I always enjoy. (But I always get a little worried when someone wants the fact that he reads 50 books a year to be included in his introduction.)
One question he asked us to discuss is "Are leaders made or born?" The two women in my huddle said "made" but I say leaders are both born and made. When he finally gave his answer it was most unsatisfactory. Not definite or helpful at all. (I wonder why he asked if he didn't really have a strong point of view on the topic.)
When it comes to leaders, I am convinced that genetics plays a role as certain personality mixes seem more pre-disposed for leadership. More leaders are either Dominant or Inspiring relational types. I'm also convinced that birth order plays a role as well as upbringing - more leaders grow up in homes where either the mom or dad (or both) was a strong leader. Naturally, early opportunties to lead increases the liklihood and then, of course, spiritual gifting trumps them all.
Our teacher today also emphasized that anyone can become a really, really good leader. That all the 12 behaviors/skills could be learned by anyone. I wonder if he was simply trying to sell his training seminars....whatever. I couldn't disagree more.
For years I used to believe that anyone could become a good leader, but no more. I believe that anyone can become a better leader than they are. But I do not believe everyone can become a really good leader.
First of all, character is the bedrock essential for good leadership. Alan Simpson said "If you have integrity nothing else matters, if you do not have integrity nothing else matters." A person can move others to action through the leverage of her position, or through fear or manipulation, or by paying big sums of money- but people only willingly follow someone who has proven that she will do what she says she will do and who is who she says she is.
I do not believe we can train someone to have integrity - not past the age of 30 anyway. Only God can change a person's character once deception has become a behavioral pattern.
Secondly, I have worked hard to develop people who I believed were leaders only to discover over time that they really lacked the inner drive to improve and change things that all leaders have. I don't believe anyone can teach that internal strong bias toward action that is the driving engine in every leader.
But it was still quite interesting. He gave us a chance to interact, call out our answers, and ask questions which I always enjoy. (But I always get a little worried when someone wants the fact that he reads 50 books a year to be included in his introduction.)
One question he asked us to discuss is "Are leaders made or born?" The two women in my huddle said "made" but I say leaders are both born and made. When he finally gave his answer it was most unsatisfactory. Not definite or helpful at all. (I wonder why he asked if he didn't really have a strong point of view on the topic.)
When it comes to leaders, I am convinced that genetics plays a role as certain personality mixes seem more pre-disposed for leadership. More leaders are either Dominant or Inspiring relational types. I'm also convinced that birth order plays a role as well as upbringing - more leaders grow up in homes where either the mom or dad (or both) was a strong leader. Naturally, early opportunties to lead increases the liklihood and then, of course, spiritual gifting trumps them all.
Our teacher today also emphasized that anyone can become a really, really good leader. That all the 12 behaviors/skills could be learned by anyone. I wonder if he was simply trying to sell his training seminars....whatever. I couldn't disagree more.
For years I used to believe that anyone could become a good leader, but no more. I believe that anyone can become a better leader than they are. But I do not believe everyone can become a really good leader.
First of all, character is the bedrock essential for good leadership. Alan Simpson said "If you have integrity nothing else matters, if you do not have integrity nothing else matters." A person can move others to action through the leverage of her position, or through fear or manipulation, or by paying big sums of money- but people only willingly follow someone who has proven that she will do what she says she will do and who is who she says she is.
I do not believe we can train someone to have integrity - not past the age of 30 anyway. Only God can change a person's character once deception has become a behavioral pattern.
Secondly, I have worked hard to develop people who I believed were leaders only to discover over time that they really lacked the inner drive to improve and change things that all leaders have. I don't believe anyone can teach that internal strong bias toward action that is the driving engine in every leader.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Feeding Hungry Women
I've been preparing for next week's leadership workshop at the ProvenWay Retreat. Looks like there will be close to 100 women there to be encouaraged and equipped to lead. The women who will come are mostly from north Texas, but there will be some from Louisiana and central Texas as well. Almost all of them are serving in a women's ministry in a church.
It's such a blessing to get to serve women who have been gifted and/or called to serve in a leadership role in ministry. There is precious little available to equip women leaders and sadly the churches do little to nothing to help us. One could get the idea that they don't really want women to grow in their leadership, but I prefer to believe that just as with so many other wise and valuable activities, the church simply mis-applies their resources. In other words, I prefer to assume ignorance over malice.
One of the major frustrations for me while I served on staff was the lack of development for women in the church. I prayed and begged for a mentor for over two years - so hungry I was for someone to help me develop the gift He's given me. My pastors said they were at a loss to find someone who they felt could really challenge me. I wonder.
I made some calls to several churches, the denominational headquarters and even the seminary - no one seemed to know where to point me. My journal reflects the lonliness I felt as a woman trying to find other women who could 'get me' and teach me. I also begged God to explain to me why He would give me such a gift and not provide a mentor to help me develop it in a healthy way.
Little did I know that down the road I would have the opportunity to help other women avoid that same frustration. It's no wonder I'm so excited about next week's retreat. I thank God for the way He let me experience that pain and frustration as preparation for relieving it for others.
What a mighty God we serve.
It's such a blessing to get to serve women who have been gifted and/or called to serve in a leadership role in ministry. There is precious little available to equip women leaders and sadly the churches do little to nothing to help us. One could get the idea that they don't really want women to grow in their leadership, but I prefer to believe that just as with so many other wise and valuable activities, the church simply mis-applies their resources. In other words, I prefer to assume ignorance over malice.
One of the major frustrations for me while I served on staff was the lack of development for women in the church. I prayed and begged for a mentor for over two years - so hungry I was for someone to help me develop the gift He's given me. My pastors said they were at a loss to find someone who they felt could really challenge me. I wonder.
I made some calls to several churches, the denominational headquarters and even the seminary - no one seemed to know where to point me. My journal reflects the lonliness I felt as a woman trying to find other women who could 'get me' and teach me. I also begged God to explain to me why He would give me such a gift and not provide a mentor to help me develop it in a healthy way.
Little did I know that down the road I would have the opportunity to help other women avoid that same frustration. It's no wonder I'm so excited about next week's retreat. I thank God for the way He let me experience that pain and frustration as preparation for relieving it for others.
What a mighty God we serve.
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