leadership Archives - Gilbert Thurston

Willow Creek Leadership Summit Part 2

August 14, 2010 by Gilbert Leave a Comment

Yesterday I shared with you my thoughts from Day 1 of Willow Creek’s annual Leadership Summit. I realized after I posted that I actually stopped too soon with the notes so here are the remaining two Day 1 speakers plus my Day 2 thoughts. Again these are not the full notes just some personal reflections on the speakers and what was said.

Dr. Peter Zhao Xiao- He is one of China’s leading economists and he recently became a follower of Christ! He shared through an interpreter the state of Christianity in China and how it’s only promising to get better!

Andy Stanley- Because the previous session went long because of the interpretation, Andy had to rush through his talk. Too bad, because as always he had a vast amount of wisdom to share. Basically he gave a talk on how as leaders we need to differentiate between problems to solve and tensions that need to be managed. As an example, there will always be debates in a church between evangelism and discipleship. Some will say we’re doing too much to win the lost and need to focus more on helping people grow and mature. Others would argue…we’re going to deep and the message has become inaccessible to those far from God. This is a tension to manage, not a problem to solve. Now that one may seem obvious, but there are other ones that aren’t as obvious and again Andy said that there are some problems that you never want to solve or you will create worse problems.

Jeff Manion- Another guy I had brief knowledge of but yet had never heard speak. His talk and newest book are entitled, The Land Between. Essentially he talked about Israel’s time wandering in the desert. Behind them was slavery in Egypt and in front of them was the Promised Land, but it was the land between where God did his greatest work in them. Jeff’s point was we will all go through the desert at points in our life which are ripe for complaints, meltdowns and God to discipline us…however it’s also a place where God provides and transformational growth in us best happens.

Terri Kelly- She is the CEO of W.L. Gore, most famous for their line of GORE-TEX products. She was interviewed by Jim Mellado, the President of the Willow Creek Association and quite frankly I could have listened to her being interviewed all day. Gore’s philosophy since it’s founding is to have situational hierarchy. In other words, whoever is best fit to lead for each project becomes the leader. They also as a company work in pods of people where you pitch your ideas to your teammates and then together you work on the best ideas. Basically you are free to work on whatever project you want that will expand the company and each year raises and bonuses are determined by your fellow peers. At Gore it’s all about team and they feel the more people who feel like they are in leadership the better they will be. Trust me, I’m not doing justice to their philosophy in this paragraph…research it for yourself and you’ll discover why year after year they get voted one of America’s top companies to work for.

Daniel Pink- He is a former White House speech writer and his new book, Drive is about what motivates us to do the things we do. This was another great talk on how companies and organizations have traditionally tried to motivate (reward/punishment: entice with carrot or beat with stick) versus how we should. The three key factors in proper motivation are offering autonomy, the chance to master their skill/craft (and get positive feedback) and having a sense of purpose (what I’m doing matters and it’s so much bigger than me).

Blake Mycoskie- First let’s get a couple things out of the way. One…this was the most emotional talk/interview…the room got a bit dusty at times. Two…this is a very good looking man. I’m secure enough in my manhood to say it…this guy is hot. Ok, we interrupt this creepy part to return you to your regular blog, already in progress. Blake was a contestant on the Amazing Race and later while on a trip to South America was heartbroken to see so many kids without shoes. Instead of saying, “Oh that’s too bad”, he instead came home and decided to do something about it. He started TOMS shoes which is a for profit shoe business that for every pair sold, will then donate a free pair to a child who is without. To date they have given over 850,000 pairs of shoes away! Blake said, “If you focus on giving, then people will always tell your story”. What a great lesson for churches…if we give, then our churches will always be full because people will tell the story of what we’re doing and will want to be a part.

Jack Welch- This guy is one of my business hero’s. For 41 years he worked for GE, culminating with him becoming CEO and turning them around when it looked like they were about to go out of business in the 80’s. If you hang out long enough with me, you will hear Jack Welch philosophies that I have applied to the church, life and ministry. It was funny watching Bill Hybels interview him and try to keep Jack from using bad language. Jack did a great job though of censoring himself…more on that later as to why that may be. Two things stood out from this excellent interview. First was Jack saying, “It’s not the loud mouths that are a problem, it’s the hallway whisperers. You’ve got to stop the meetings after the meetings where the whispers happen. These people should have had the courage to speak up in the meeting. If you don’t stop them they will poison your organization”. Second, was Bill talking live after the pre-recorded interview with Jack was done. He shared how Jack has begun attending a church and he believes is close to becoming a follower of Christ. Bill’s encouragement was to never give up on someone no matter how far from God it may seem they are.

Bill Hybels- Bill then gave some parting thoughts before introducing the final speaker. First, read as a discipline…you may not always want to, but you’ve got to. Second, get around other leaders who are better than you and learn all that you can. Next, make sure you intentionally place yourself in places where leadership is taught. Finally, keep leading strong no matter what the cost.

TD Jakes- If you’ve ever heard TD Jakes in his element, you know he is a master communicator. On this day though I think he had two things going against him. First, he seemed to not be feeling well. Second, the crowd was too white. He feeds off the emotion/energy/talk-back that African American’s are more known for in encouraging a pastor. With that said though…even on an off day, TD Jakes can preach better than 99.9% of today’s pastors, yours truly included. He had lots of great tidbits but my favorite was this, “If you only bring people on your team who are like you, they will COMPETE with you, not COMPLETE you.

Willow Creek Leadership Summit 2010 Recap

August 13, 2010 by Gilbert Leave a Comment

I’m way behind on stuff but still wanted to post a couple of thoughts from last week’s Global Leadership Summit that Willow Creek hosts each year. I don’t have time to post my full notes so I’ll just give a highlight or two from each speaker. Today I’ll give you the day 1 line-up and then tomorrow I’ll give you the day 2 notes:

Bill Hybels- I wouldn’t be who I am today if not for him. From the first time I heard him speak to even today, he makes me cry when he talks. There is just something that deeply resonates within me as he talks about lost people and how the local church is the hope of the world. Bill’s talk at the Summit was about a recent time in his life when he was struggling to lead and went back and reminded himself of what he’s learned in 30+ years of leadership. Again I won’t go into each of them, but the thought that struck me most was this…Leaders move people from “here” to “there”. Often times though the mistake is spending too much time talking about the “there” (vision) before you’ve adequately made built the case for why it’s unacceptable to stay “here”.

Jim Collins- To be honest since my first degree was in business and marketing, I probably read as many “secular” business books per year as I do Christian ones. Jim Collins wrote a classic a few years back called, Good to Great. He has gone on to write other books including a new one he just released on why successful businesses sometimes fail. What was interesting in his talk was that in the first 3 stages of decline (of 5 total), the company or organization is still growing and looks good on the outside. Once you hit step 4 then it’s the real wake-up call where everyone finally admits what was obvious but ignored because of the apparent look of continued success. It’s here that either you make the necessary changes or you go on to Step 5 which is “Irrelevance or death” of the business or organization.

Christine Caine- I’ve been hearing about her a lot recently but hadn’t had the opportunity to hear her or read any of her writings. My bad! She is a huge bundle of energy packed into a tiny body. She’s a part of Hillsong Church (one of my favorites). She heads up many organizations, including one that cares for and helps heal those that have been victims of human trafficking. My big take away from her was actually one of those Holy Spirit moments where she said something that then led my mind down a similar path so that God could speak to me exactly what it was that He wanted. Here it is…”Don’t shy away from the darkness. Run to it, because that’s what I’ve called you to do.”

Tony Dungy- Tony of course lead the Indianapolis Colts to a Super Bowl a few years back. I knew he was a Christian, but how differently he coached the team as a result was amazing. He refused to coach like all the other coaches and insisted his assistants coach the same way. I love one of the things he said, “Hours worked doesn’t equal productivity”. What he was getting at was how some coaches stay until 2-3 am working on game plans thinking that more hours will mean more success. I see this (and at times have done myself) in pastors all the time. Instead of sticking to a set schedule, they instead allow the urgent to crowd out the important, but then since the important still needs to be done, they end up working way too many hours. I told one of my staff the other day…and I’m paraphrasing Jesus, “What does it profit a man if he has the world’s best ministry but sacrifices his marriage”. Tony got this when it came to coaching and I pray other coaches, business leaders, pastors and myself would keep this in mind.

Adam Hamilton- I had never heard of him before the Summit but the topic he talked about was one that many need to hear. He was asked to speak because recently two of the staff in his mega-church were caught having an affair with one another. Adam talked about how to navigate through these difficult times. Unfortunately you hear more and more about this in churches all the time. I remember John Bradford’s famous words, “But for the grace of God go I”. In other words, all (especially males) are capable of this very deadly sin. That’s one of the reasons I have always had such stringent guidelines for myself when it comes to dealing with the opposite sex. In fact I’ve had others, including fellow staff members, laugh at me because some of them seem ridiculous, but that’s how seriously I take this. Something Adam said will be one more tool for tool belt to help me and others. “You’ve got to recognize the Moment of the Maybe. That’s when in your mind you start to rationalize, ‘What if’ and fail to imagine the consequences”.

University on Wheels

March 16, 2010 by Gilbert Leave a Comment

There is an old saying that, “Leaders are Readers”. However, so often in such a fast paced world, it can be difficult to read as much as you might like. So that’s why I like to say, “Leaders are Learners”. The key is to be learning as much as you can each and everyday. So what can you do when you don’t have as much time to read as you’d like? Simple…turn your car into a University on Wheels.

There are tons of CD’s and MP3’s that can be listened to while you’re driving that will make your drive time more productive. Having trouble reading the bible? Ok, listen to it instead. Need to get some more info on healthy living. Listen to something. Have a big project at work you need to have more knowledge for. Find a book that touches on the subject then buy the audio version instead.

I’m a huge fan of music and periodically you just need some music to listen to while driving, however if you’re smart you’ll start introducing some learning into the mix as well. Even just 1/2 hour per day will add up to significant amounts of learning over the course of a year. I started this habit back in the mid 90’s and now I hardly ever listen to music while in the car…between Cd’s and podcasts there is a never ending source of great teaching out there, the question is are you tapping into it? Leaders are learners…how you doing?

Personality Test

September 24, 2009 by Gilbert Leave a Comment

I took this personality test. The results describe me pretty accurately. I’ve posted them below so you can get to know me a bit better. Post yours in reply so I can do the same with you!

Organized

You like to think a task through before you embark on it. If it’s the slightest bit complicated, you make a list (even if it’s only in your mind) and methodically work your way through it. When you have a goal in mind, you’re not satisfied until you reach it.

You are not one of those people who ignore the details, and you don’t understand how anyone can get anything accomplished without thoughtful planning ahead of time.

Assertive

You behave in a confident and forceful manner, take charge of the situation, raise your hand in class, stand up for what you think is right, and lead others. Among those who have a high score on the “assertive” trait, many have jobs in which they are valued for their organizational skills as well as their talent for supervising others.

You are not interested in fading into the woodwork, leaving everything to fate, taking more time than necessary to accomplish a task, or avoiding confrontation.

Cautious

You very rarely make a move without first considering the pros and cons and, therefore, rarely do anything foolish or extravagant.

You are not rash; you almost never act before you think and, therefore, rarely end up doing things you later regret.

Conscientious

You feel it’s important to work according to a plan and finish every task, to do things correctly and thoroughly.

You are not the kind of person who abandons a project before finishing it, or slacks off when you’ve lost interest.

Competent

You strive to master everything you undertake. You tend to learn quickly and do not shy away from challenges.

You are not a “que sera sera” type of person, nor do you go easy on yourself when attempting to master a new skill or get a job done.

Authoritative

You have found that others will often do what you want them to do, without significantly pushing back. You’ve also discovered that many people will accept harsher criticism from you than they would take from anyone else. Many of those with a high score on the “authoritative” trait hold leadership positions in industry.

You do not want to be in the position of always being told what to do. You don’t choose to avoid a confrontation if, through confrontation, you could get your way.

Competitive

You’d rather win than simply get along in most situations. When you know you’re right, you would rather argue your point than compromise. Generally, those with a high score on the “competitive” trait hold leadership positions in industry and are exhilarated by risk-taking both in their professional and personal lives.

You are not always interested in getting along with others in a group, especially if it can mean losing your identity.

Focused

You know how to lock in on what’s important. You quickly prepare yourself for a task, you don’t procrastinate, and you don’t let up until the job is done to your satisfaction.

You are the opposite of scattered. You don’t procrastinate before starting a task, and you almost never lose track of what you’re doing.

Astute

You are a quick study. You generally don’t need to have things explained to you more than once. When presented with a problem, you will often have an instant understanding of where to look for the solution.

You do not take your sweet time when presented with a new task to complete or problem to solve. You don’t avoid assignments that require you to learn new skills.

Intellectual

You are thoughtful, rational, and comfortable in the world of ideas. People find you interesting to talk to. You’re the living embodiment of the saying “You learn something new every day.” In general, those with a high score on the “intellectual” trait are employed in such fields as teaching and research, and are enthusiastic about reading, foreign films, and classical music.

You do not avoid abstract conversation, experimenting with new ideas, or studying new things. It bores you to stick to the straight and narrow of what you already know.