The quote below is from Launching a Leadership Revolution by Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward:

"A critical pre-supposition all leaders must realize is that followers buy into the leader before anything else. The vision may be compelling, but is the leader worth following? The rewards may be inspiring, but can the leader be trusted? The environment may be inviting but does the leader care about his or her people? The resources may be enormous, but does the leader know what he or she is doing? These are the qualifying questions followers ask subconsciously before giving permission to be led. Leadership is not a position or title; it is a condition of permission given by followers once they buy into the leader. (bold and italics are mine) Leadership influence, like trust, must be earned and earned continually." (p. 186,187)

WOW! Do you see the bones underneath this? Unless the follower is convinced that the leader can lead in a way which benefits HIM in some way, there will be problems. This issue is one of the most significant problems with leadership from my perspective. Leaders don't take the time to develop relationships, and, therefore, their credibility is suspect. CREDIBILITY!!! The last two words of that quote are the downfall of many who have talent, charisma, and knowledge; trust must be earned continually!!! It may not seem fair or necessary, but to disregard this is to set the stage for followers to become disenchanted and potentially disruptive.

"What is being done, is what is being rewarded." If this is true, then all of our behaviors have some kind of reward attached. In most cases that reward is the comfort of pattern, i.e. we've always done it that way and see no reason why we should change - it is comfortable - it is a rut. Now being in a rut is not always a bad thing. Have you ever tried to change how you brush your teeth? Try switching to the opposite hand to hold and brush your teeth and you will experience in a small way the challenge of change, and the comfort of a rut.

As a leader, identifying the ruts which are conducive to accomplishing the mission, and those which are not, is part of the job. Someone has said that efficiency is doing things right and effectiveness is doing the right things. In other words, you can be doing things right, but those things may not contribute toward the fulfillment of the mission. The old forest and trees syndrome. Too many times the leader becomes focused on the trees and forgets the bigger picture . . . and then wonders why the mission never seems to get accomplished, even though huge amounts of time and energy are being poured out.

The benefit of understanding the GMP at the level of leadership is to see which behaviors are effective, i.e. "right" in the sense of mission fulfillment. Once behaviors or ministries are identified as being "off-track," the leader can strategize what the correct behavior needs to be AND THEN HOW TO PUT REWARDS INTO PLACE TO MOVE TOWARD THAT NEW BEHAVIOR.

This can and should include the process described in earlier posts regarding change principles - yet those principles, when augmented with this understanding have an even greater chance of success. Leaders have to be big picture people.

Another way to understand the GMP is this: What gets rewarded is what gets done OR what is being done is what is being rewarded. When we think of rewards some will automatically think of monetary rewards. Of course, this is one of the most powerful kind of rewards, but it is often impractical to reward with money. Take for instance the behavior of individuals arriving late for church. You could pay them to arrive on time but there probably isn't enough money available for that to last long.

Rewards don't have to be money. Now that that is settled, begin to think creatively of different kinds of rewards. One of the most powerful in the non-money category is appreciation. Most people crave appreciation, genuine sincere appreciation, desperately. In fact if the appreciation is genuine it can be a powerful force for changing behavior. On the other hand if it is perceived to be insincere and manipulative behaviors will get even worse.

Remember when you identify behavior patterns to connect the dots to the reality that what is being done is what is being rewarded, whether you think so or not. To change the behavior, figure out what behavior you want, and then design a way to reward that behavior. . . and be patient, it will change.

The Greatest Management Principle is simply this - that behavior is directly connected to perceived benefit. How does that fit into the Christian worldview?

The Christian worldview says that we should love others before self and sacrifice so that others might be saved. The standard is Love, but not just Love. Rather a Love which is God designed and God empowered. With this love in our hearts, the reality of the Christian worldview is possible, without it, NOT. Jesus exemplified this Love completely. His entire life was motivated by a Love which sought the Father's will and our salvation. There are notable examples of others who have also met this standard, as well as examples not so notable in every local church in America.

Yet, one would have to admit that even though these examples exist, that there are genuinely holy people among us, most of us, even in the church, fall in the sphere where the GMP applies in our lives. Those who understand this are more likely to be albe to influence and lead than are those who do not. The Holy among us do right for right's sake. Most of us have to be persuaded that the right has a benefit for us or our families before we will expend the energy.

Therefore, we see two different approaches to leadership: One which understands the Christian worldview and those few who live in it (unfortunately mos of preaching assumes, incorrectly, that all Christians live in holiness, or are even seeking it. Again, NOT). Second is an approach which deals with the un-transformed nature. I really believe this may be what Jesus referred to when he talked about being as clever as serpents and as gentle as doves. If we are holy and live by the principles of Love it doesn't preclude us from understanding the world as it is for most - and using the GMP to influence people toward the path that leads to holiness - indeed to do otherwise is a practice in ignorance or pomposity. Understand the GMP. After all, most people live under its influence. Practice the use of the GMP for the end of God's Kingdom. But live in the midst of Love.

I have been thinking of staffing for the local church. I have observed the normal pattern in most churches which focuses upon age group ministries relevant to a church's perceived need. I have read books which suggest that staffing should be more functional focused, specifically related to alleviating the load carried by the senior pastor. In both cases, there is a formulaic method to determine how many people in a congregation it takes to support the addition of a staff member.

I want to suggest another model. In this model Ephesians 4:11,12 is recognized as a guiding principle, especially, "to prepare God's people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up."(v.12) The primary focus of this model is to hire a "Volunteer Coordinator" whose role is to facilitate the identification, training and insertion of volunteers into ministry positions within the local congregation. The Volunteer Coordinator seeks to purposefully affect the usually perceived ratio of those who are actively involved in ministry (20% do 80% of the work) by actively getting more people involved in ministry, preferably within their spiritual gifting.

What do you think?

I would define leadership as: " the expressed guidance, decision, or action which is compelled by nature in the face of need, to accomplish a desired end." I know there are those who say that leadership demands followers but I would disagree. I believe that we either choose to lead ourselves, or fail to do so, resulting in an unfulfilled potential. While leadership can be broadly understood to apply to groups of any size, it starts within the individual.

The old saying is that "nature abhors a vacuum," meaning that when there is the absence of air, nature itself will do everything in its power to fill that void. I truly see this in relationship to leadership. In every situation there is a need for leadership . . . and in every situation someone always chooses to express guidance, make a decision or take action, however badly they may do so. It is not always good leadership which steps to the front - but there will always be some kind of leadership. It is a part of how God has designed the world and us.

Further, although it is nature which compels the void to be filled, it is our education and experiences which equip us to effectively provide leadership. We can learn the principles of leading and become adept at exercising those skills for the effective leadership.

It may be that we choose to allow others to lead in group situations but we cannot ignore the need in our own life to take responsibility and initiative (the major components of leadership). Even when we allow others to lead, there comes a time and a place where we have to add our influence to the process and thereby express leadership.