Kingfisher Leadership
1st May 2017
Kingfisher Leadership news
God, not just for knowing what they are, but for developing them to their maximum potential. Are you challenging yourself to develop your gifts to the best of your ability? This is a self-leadership
You are responsible before The fourth lesson I have learned about leadership:
Leadership - and life - is all about CHANGE.
Leadership lessons I have learned- part four
"Management is about coping with complexity - it is responsive. Leadership is about coping with changeI forget that leadership is all it too is responsive, but mostly it about change and is proactive. More chaos start allowing my desire for peace and To be a leader is demands more management, and more change always stability to be the to be a changedemands more leadership‌ driving factors in my Management is about seeking agent. To be a ministry. order and stability, whereas change-agent is a leadership is about seeking costly business. It adaptive and constructive All change has cost change." (Reviewing Leadership, attached to it; cost in runs counter to Robert Banks and Bernice terms of people being Ledbetter, p17). our desire for insecure, people dealing peace and with the loss that this To be a leader is to be a change change will bring; people stability in life. agent. The role of the leader is misunderstanding or fundamentally not to bring misrepresenting our order and stability (important hearts and motives in this time of though these things are), but to steer and guide change. After a while, this can people through the process of change. However, become a heavy burden, and our change is a costly process, and what I have found is that, as time goes on, the temptation has been to leadership becomes focussed on settle for management, for bringing order and calm keeping the ship steady and people in the midst of complexity, rather than taking the happy, which makes us increasingly costly steps of leading through difficult, challenging risk-averse and resistant to making circumstances, not stopping short of the promised changes: we no longer want to pay land because of the giants that are waiting there. If the price. you are called to lead, you are challenged to recognise the cost attached to change and step forward anyway. Here are some of the main issues I have encountered which, if they are not recognised 1 will wear us down and stop us from leading effectively:
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The process of successfully introducing change: • Holy discontent Change should never be implemented just for the sake of it, but, fundamentally, out of a growing discontent with the status quo - discontent that must come from God, not our own soul.
• Vision forming This involves waiting, praying and maturing.The vision must mature within us, we must mature in preparation for the vision and God is at work behind the scenes preparing the way.
Vision casting All God-ordained visions are shared visions. A shared vision is not just the vision that the leader tells everyone else about, expecting them to comply. A shared vision implies a joint ownership of the vision God is challenging his people with. Don't mistake compliance for true acceptance. Visions need to inspire, to draw people irresistibly into a vivid picture of a better future.
1st May 2017
The opportunity/cost balance As you get a sense that God might be challenging you to move forward in a certain area, do your thoughts go initially to the possibilities that this might open up, or to the difficult conversations you are going to need to have and the responses from people who will be unsettled that you are going to encounter? There is a balance between the two, but has the balance shifted away from opportunity and towards cost as your leadership journey has developed? The credibility factor Do you have enough leadership credibility to carry this change through to the stage where it is deeply embedded in the culture of your group or ministry? If leadership is, indeed, influence, then the issue becomes whether you are going to be able to influence people enough to embrace this change. The greater the scope and degree of the change, the greater the amount of credibility needed to pull this off. Note: although we are leading in partnership with Jesus Christ...it is his church and his ministry and we are fellow disciples with those we are seeking to lead, people still look to us as leaders as they assess whether or not they will embrace this potential change. Do they trust that we have what it takes to see this change through? Do they trust us and believe us when we say that this change is for the better? The follow-through issue Research shows that the success rate for implementing major organisational change is quite low. Why is this? 1. Asking an organisation to change the way it does things is like asking an individual to change their lifestyle. It can be done, but it takes great determination, persistence, commitment and a clear plan for implementing the change. 2. Resistance to change is a natural human phenomenon. All people resist change, some more then others. Managing that resistance is an essential part of the process. 3. Change creates uncertainty. We know what will be achieved by doing what we currently do. It may be not great, but at least it's predictable. 2
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Implementation At some stage we have to have the courage to step out and put the vision into practice. Why do people find this so hard? Because no matter how exciting the vision sounds, they are being called to give up the known and embark upon the unknown. Communication is the key to implementing vision. Understanding what needs to be communicated and when is the key to being a great leader. Understand the questions people are naturally asking: • What will this cost me? • Where will I fit in this new vision? Will I have a role? • How will this vision of the future benefit me?
Review Look at how things are going together. Three steps to help get the timing of a review right: • Don't review until the initial 'teething problems' have been identified and worked through • Don't review until some early benefits of the new vision have become apparent • Don't review until those people who find change difficult have got used to it at least a little bit
1st May 2017
Change is unpredictable. Success often looks and feels like failure until the change is very nearly completed. Staying the course of implementing a change, which is essential for its success, meets with continuing human and organisational resistance and pressure to abandon the change before the process is completed. Because change is such a costly process, the temptation is to abandon the process too early because of the resistance we are encountering. Look back over some of the recent challenges you have made to those you are leading; have you followed through on those challenges to ensure that the changes needed have become embedded in the life of your group, or has your attention and commitment wavered, such that the changes are no longer even talked about in the group? How do we maintain our cutting edge as change agents? Ask yourself the following questions on a regular basis:
Is my calling sure?
"I consider my life worth nothing to me if only I may finish the race and complete the task The Lord Jesus has given me." (Acts 20:24). Ask: God, are you still calling me to the ministry that you gave me? Is my vision clear? How can I lead people into the future if my picture of the the future is unclear? Every leader needs a regular, internal vision-cast. Is your vision still clear? Is my passion still hot? Who's responsibility is it to keep the leader's passion fired up? Their own! This is a self-leadership issue - it is not someone else's responsibility. What are you doing to ensure that you are still passionate about your ministry? What are you reading? What are you listening to? Who are you spending time around? Am I developing my gifts? Do you know what your top gifts are? You are responsible before God, not just for knowing what they are, but for developing them to their maximum potential. Are you challenging yourself to develop your gifts to the best of your ability? 3
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Is my character submitted to Christ? You cannot lead without moral authority. Moral authority means that your character is in line with your expectations of others. All of us have character issues that we struggle with, but self-leadership is about authentically engaging in that struggle with a desire and commitment to bring your character in line with the character of Christ and with your personal life matching your public, ministry life. Is my pride being dealt with? "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (1 Peter 5:5). As leaders, we have a choice - we can choose opposition from God or we can choose grace and favour from God. It is very difficult to assess for yourself whether you have a pride issue or not...you need to ask people you trust. How hard is that? It depends - on how much pride is a real issue for you! Am I overcoming fear? Leadership is about change. Change costs - people we are leading, by and large dislike change. After a while, leaders can begin to want to avoid the confrontation and the pain of this. They fear the reactions of those they lead when they announce change. They end up leading in fear. They don’t take a public stand over issues because of the potential backlash. All change involves risk. In fact, everything to do with leadership involves risk. However, "The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." (1 John 4:4). Self leadership leads the leader to ask the question: Is God in this? If he is, then the leader needs to deal with the fear and move forward, so that our mission is not derailed.
1st May 2017
Is my pace sustainable? The only person who can ensure that we are living life at a sustainable pace is ourselves. If you are too busy, too overcommitted, the person who needs to take responsibility for this is YOU. What is sustainable for you may not be for someone else - it is a personal thing. It is your responsibility to find your healthy level and maintain it. Is my love for God and people increasing? For many leaders, their hearts, sadly, get smaller and colder. So many demands, so many issues, so much conflict... it is not surprising that passion turns to duty and people become problems to manage, solve or avoid. How is your heart? If you make no changes in your life or ministry, what is the likely outcome in terms of your heart?
Released next month: “The God of Promise�, the new book by
James Burn, Senior Pastor of Kingfisher International family of churches. There are literally thousands of promises made in the Bible; promises people make to each other, promises people make to God, and most importantly of all, promises that God makes to us. Every single promise that He makes is backed up by a particular guarantee: the honour of His name (Psalm 138:2) Kingfisher International Family stands as testimony to the truth that, when God makes a promise, He keeps it. The amazing growth and development of this Family of churches and ministries that stretches around the world is based on the outworking of a series of promises made to us by God. Coming to understand those promises and, more importantly, the promises He has made in your life is an adventure that leads to some lifechanging discoveries. Are you on that adventure with the God of Promise yet? 4