All posts tagged Leader

Saying No

by Ryan Marcum on January 18, 2012 in Blog, Leadership, Ministry Helps with No comments

So, the first blog of the year comes eighteen days after the fact….

There are all sorts of leadership blogs, breakout sessions and books devoted to the art of saying, no. Most leaders will advise people to say, no every once in a while, in order to be more effective. However, in this short blog/thought, I would like to pose a different perspective on the matter. Imagine if you were a leader trying to accomplish a given task, and all you hear is, no… Now, imagine that you were the staff or someone directly involved with the task and all you heard from the leader was, no… Continue reading →

Leadership On the Go “Think”

by Ryan Marcum on January 6, 2011 in Lead on The Go with No comments

Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more
hope for a fool than for him. Proverbs 29:20

Simple: Think before you speak.

Do not throw words around haphazardly; instead meditate
on the Word of God before you toss around exhortation, rebuke and
everyday conversation. The words we use can “build up” or “tear
down.”

Application: Some ways to meditate or think before speaking/advising are:

1. Journaling – write down your thoughts and read over them. This will help bring clarity.

2. Accountability - have a close friend who can give solid feedback and or rebuke.
You need someone who can tell you, “No.”

3. Role Reversal – before you say something, put yourself in the audience. What “might” your
audience “hear” you say.

Feel free to add some tips/helps for those struggling with speaking too fast.

If Leaders are Learners… Traits

by Ryan Marcum on May 7, 2010 in Blog, Leadership with 1 Comment

…then what are they EXPECTED to LEARN?  This is the second post in the series, if leaders are learners… In this series I will explore the art of leadership and what exactly leaders need to know to be effective. I will examine common practices of leaders, a few traits of leaders and what happens when a leader stops learning. In this post, I will be defining leadership from a Christian perspective, feel free to join the conversation and post your experiences in leadership in the comments section.

Before we begin with traits of a leader, we must define what we call, traits. There are three broad types of traits, Biological, Cultural and Physical. Biological traits, involve genes and characteristics of an organism. Cultural traits encompass the characteristics of a culture group. And Physical traits are specific to an object and its characteristics. There are many other types of traits, however we will look at Physical traits. So, if physical traits pertain to ones characteristics, then what characteristics are needed to be an effective leader?

When talking about leadership, the question that always arises is when is one a leader? To put it a different way; Does one learn to become a leader? Or is one a born leader? Personally I believe both, a leader is born and one can learn to be a leader. Born leadership is seen in many ways, for instance, my daughter is a leader in the sense that she can command my attention at any moment of the day. My daughter is also learning leadership when trying to do the right thing if other boys and girls are disobeying the teacher.

Culture tells us that leaders are good-looking, charismatic and generally out-going people, however when we look at Scripture and even history, leaders come from a myriad of backgrounds and experiences. The Bible gives many examples of unlikely leaders from Moses, Gideon, a Prostitute to Peter. Even History tells of ordinary men shaking the cultures around them from Abraham Lincoln, Harry Truman and many more!

For the purpose of this post let’s look at some KEY traits that are essential for effective leadership. Here is a list, non-exhaustive, that I have come up with.

Traits: (Some people are born with these naturally and others can LEARN these.)

Integrity: The NUMBER ONE trait in leadership, and life, is integrity. Integrity is in its simplest form is practicing what you preach. Who you are when no one is looking defines your integrity. Are you consistent in how you teach the Scriptures and how you live out the Scriptures?

Humility: Leaders are often seen as cocky or over-bearing. A humble leader accepts mistakes, instead of passing the blame on to those under them. Humility, when practiced produces godly leaders.  Matthew 23:12 – For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Teachable: Do you know it all? A leader who thinks he knows it all will be an ineffective leader. Those under your leadership will begin to seek counsel/advice from someone willing to learn with others. LEADERS ARE LEARNERS!

Passion: Are you passionate about what you are leading? There are many in positions of leadership who have become apathetic to what they are leading. If you are not passionate about where you are, maybe it’s not where you are supposed to be. Your leadership will be effected if you are not passionate about your area of leadership. P.S. those under you will see how passionate you are, or how not passionate you are about your leadership.

Communicator: This one is debatable. Before I realized that I had been running from my call to the ministry (for another post), I was not a good communicator. In fact, I was deathly afraid of getting up in front of anyone to speak. But when I get up to preach a sermon, or teach a Bible study class, something clicks. I KNOW that God has called me to teach and my ability to do so is FROM HIM ALONE. With that said, should I neglect to practice teaching? NO, just because I have the gift of teaching doesn’t mean that I should not practice and hone my speaking skills.

Creative: Another debatable trait. Most leaders would say they are creative; however they do the exact same things every year expecting the same results (definition of insanity, Albert Einstein). There are some leaders with natural creativity and others who surround themselves with creative people; both of these scenarios are good. Even if you are not creative you can learn! Go to creative places, a park, coffee shop, movies, listen to indie music etc.

Flexible: This is a broad trait that I am using for not only flexibility but for also embracing change. Things CHANGE. If asked, most ineffective leaders will tell you that, if you don’t keep up with the changing culture around you, you’ll be left behind. It’s especially true in ministry. Have you ever been a part of a church or an organization that is playing catch up with the culture? Flexibility in leadership is a must to keep up with change.

Encourager: Plain and simple if you neglect encouraging those around you, they will leave. Leaders encourage not discourage.

Servant hood: The best leaders are servant leaders. Serve those around you instead of making those around you serve you. A professor of mine, from Boyce College, taught me an invaluable lesson. 1. Show up early to help set up, 2. Engage those around you through service, and 3. Stay late helping clean up. Thanks Dr. Adams!

Confident: Be confident in what you are leading not arrogant. If you believe in those you are leading you can be confident that they will be more apt to follow. If you’re not confident, your followers will begin to wonder if you are the right person for the job. Check out Philippians 1:6.

Visionary: Do you have a clear vision for your leadership area? If not, seek first the kingdom of God and rely on Him to provide the vision. There are many leaders who have vision but lack certain abilities to that particular vision through. This does not disqualify you as a leader. It is merely a chance to learn and grow in your leadership. Find a mentor or coach in the ministry and learn all you can about specific ways to facilitate the vision you have.

If you have other traits that you would like to share add them to the comments section below! The next post will be; What if Leaders Stop Learning?

If Leaders are Learners… Common Practices

by Ryan Marcum on May 3, 2010 in Blog, Leadership with No comments

…then what are they EXPECTED to LEARN? If you are reading this, I assume you are a leader, in a leadership position or thinking about leadership in general. There are many books and articles on leadership and I will not try to copy and paste all of it here. I am trying to explore the art of leadership and what exactly leaders need to know to be effective. I will examine common practices of leaders, a few traits of leaders and what happens when a leader stops learning. In this post, I will be defining leadership from a Christian perspective, feel free to join the conversation and post your experiences in leadership in the comments section.

These are not exhaustive lists of leadership practices and traits. To begin the task of understanding leadership, I think the best place to start is a definition. Let’s look at a few:

“Leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.” John C. Maxwell
“The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers.” Peter Drucker
“Pointing others to the source of one’s conviction” Ryan Marcum

So, when thinking about leadership we can assume three things. First, a leader has influence. Second a leader has followers. And lastly, a leader has convictions. As a leader, who are you influencing, can you define your followers and do you have convictions that move you to not only better yourself but others as well. With these in mind, how do leaders learn to be leaders? Here are some practices used by leaders. Leaders must learn…

Common Practices: (ANYONE CAN DO THESE!) some practices overlap with traits.

Build solid relationships: Leaders must have three relationships to be effective at what they do. First a leader must have a relationship with God. I understand that not all leaders are Christians, however to become the leader that God intended His followers to be, there must be a relationship. Second, a leader must have relationships with godly coaches and mentors. Find godly men/women around you that will invest in your life. Remember, God has called YOU to be the YOU he created not a replica of someone else. Early in my ministry I wanted to be the next Erwin McManus, now I want to simply be the Ryan God has created me to be. Lastly, a leader must have relationships with followers. If you don’t like people, they won’t like you. As believers we are called to love others. I have seen in church leadership the mentality of perception being the trump card. This is of Satan. When we look at the OT and the NT we see COMPASSION winning the battle of perception. Effective leaders have compassion for all in all situations.

Spiritual Disciplines: Leaders must practice the spiritual disciplines, such as, prayer, journaling, scripture memorization etc. When a leader knows where his/her strength comes from, he/she will be better equipped to guide others to the source of their strength. If you don’t connect with God on a daily basis you will experience what some pastors/ministers call, burn-out. If pastors and ministers neglect their relationship with God they will become apathetic and lazy when preparing messages and other pastoral duties. Stay focused on the things of God first, and everything else will fall into place.

Time Management: Leaders learn to manage their time wisely. When a leader has a source of conviction, he/she will be able to prioritize the “to do” lists of life. We are called to Love God and Love people, make disciples of all nations. From the Great Commandment and Great Commission we can prioritize everything that comes into our lives. Human beings cannot make time; rather we can take time from the un-important things and make room for the important things God has called us to.

Leaders are Learners: The motivation behind this post. Leaders learn everything they can about what they want to lead. If you want to be a leader in the field of mathematics, then you learn math. And if you want to be a leader in Youth Ministry you find a youth pastor to sit under or school that has a field in youth ministry and learn everything you can. Here is a quote from a long-time Youth Pastor:
“if you are to be a leader you have to be a reader. You may have to read books, culture, people, history or the world, but to effectively lead in the kingdom; you have to be a reader.” Steve Coleman (Youth Pastor, First Baptist Church, Richmond Ky.)

Leaders practice effective communication: The more you communicate the better you get at it. How do you practice communication? The simplest way is to stand in front of a full-length mirror and give a message. Observe your mannerisms; take notes on the positive and negative. Record yourself on video giving a message and play it back and take notes on positive/negative quirks you have. Also, allow a friend to watch it and do the same, without you there. Speak in front of friends, who will give you constructive feedback, not yes men. The only way to get better is to PRACTICE! Note: Even leaders who are gifted to teach still need to learn how to be effective at teaching.

Remember this is an on-going list, if you have another practice add it in the comments. The next post will be Character traits of a leader.