Back to a topic from a while back... politics in business and ministry leadership arenas. I have known for several years that politics are a reality in leadership. I also knew that not all politics are bad and that we all have our own natural bend toward utilizing politics to advance our ideas or agenda.
I did not realize, however, the reality that we all find ourselves on a political spectrum. I have spent some time studying politics and business and was recommended a must read called "The Survival of the Savvy". Great book by the way.
I started to recognize that there are two spectrums we live in with our natural political style. Either we are performance driven, meaning we advance our agenda and careers through performance focused politics; or we are relationship driven, meaning we focus on building strong relationships to push our concepts. Neither is necessarily bad, but there are varying levels within each camp.
Too far on one side, and you become totally naive to the reality and importance of relationships. Too far on the other, and you never get anything done, tend to come off as deceiptful, and rely only on your powerful relationships. Both extremes are horrible leadership misteps.
In ministry, most cultures fall closer to the Relationship side of the spectrum. And, if people are not careful, they may find themselves never actually making anything happen in ministry because they spend all their time trying to drum up new relationships or build bigger networks. And sometimes, if relationships take over their mindset, they may never actually carry out any specific vision or strategy. They will be too worried about their precious relationships.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
You are Not "IMMUNE" to Virtual Teams...
To continue from my last post...
We are all impacted by virtual team principles and responsibilities. For example, maybe you work in the church world. I suspect that you and your team do not share common office hours and common locations... AND I AM including your volunteer team members in that. Many church leaders these days are lay leaders or bi-vocational, so sitting around in in-person meetings are a thing of the past. Or, maybe you lead in the business world and have peers, teammates, or employees that work different shifts, different locations, or in different functions.
Ultimately, you are probably part of a Virtual Team (a team where you do not have consistent focused common in-person times together to make decisions, take action, and/or plan).
So - what does this mean for you? It means:
1. A change in communication style (more frequent, more electronic, more creative, etc...)
2. A change in mission and expectations
3. An increase in automony and trust
4. A drastic change in leadership focus (become a "boundary" leader, supporting your team to succeed in their roles and protecting them from competing priorities)
5. An even stronger reliance on a robust TEAM-focused environment where healthy confrontation is expected and significant buy-in exists for common shared goals
And so much more... STAY TUNED!
We are all impacted by virtual team principles and responsibilities. For example, maybe you work in the church world. I suspect that you and your team do not share common office hours and common locations... AND I AM including your volunteer team members in that. Many church leaders these days are lay leaders or bi-vocational, so sitting around in in-person meetings are a thing of the past. Or, maybe you lead in the business world and have peers, teammates, or employees that work different shifts, different locations, or in different functions.
Ultimately, you are probably part of a Virtual Team (a team where you do not have consistent focused common in-person times together to make decisions, take action, and/or plan).
So - what does this mean for you? It means:
1. A change in communication style (more frequent, more electronic, more creative, etc...)
2. A change in mission and expectations
3. An increase in automony and trust
4. A drastic change in leadership focus (become a "boundary" leader, supporting your team to succeed in their roles and protecting them from competing priorities)
5. An even stronger reliance on a robust TEAM-focused environment where healthy confrontation is expected and significant buy-in exists for common shared goals
And so much more... STAY TUNED!
Friday, March 16, 2007
Virtual Team Leadership
YES - Virtual Teams. They are becoming more and more a reality in our business and church leadership worlds. Virtual you ask! Virtual meaning having teams that are dispersed across multiple functions, geographies, time zones, shifts, and even locations. Virtual teams are generally right under our noses, we may even lead one ourselves, and we totally miss it.
So what does this mean for you, a leader? Well... it means that you don't lead and motivate and drive these type of teams the same way. And, if you do, it will be detrimental to the performance and productivity of the team!
Following posts will speak to virtual team leadership and best practices. What really works, and what doesn't. And, most importantly, what is most critical about leading virtual teams that if you miss it, you will probably fail.
So what does this mean for you, a leader? Well... it means that you don't lead and motivate and drive these type of teams the same way. And, if you do, it will be detrimental to the performance and productivity of the team!
Following posts will speak to virtual team leadership and best practices. What really works, and what doesn't. And, most importantly, what is most critical about leading virtual teams that if you miss it, you will probably fail.
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