Next Generation Archives - Passion for Planting

CNLP 413: Francis Chan on Escalating Division, Asian Hate, and Why Influence in the Church Can’t Come from Self-Promotion

Sean Cronin — Mon, 03 May 2021 13:27:23 +0000

By Carey Nieuwhof: Francis Chan has become convicted that division in the church is escalating and causing deep harm. He also thinks it’s tied to the desire for celebrity and influence so many leaders have.

Francis also talks about racial division and his experience as an Asian-American who has been the target of discrimination.

Welcome to Episode 413 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

Plus, in this episode’s What I’m Thinking About segment, Carey shares a few thoughts on unity, division and the Church.

Guest Links

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Episode Links

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Generis

Most churches have experienced stability in giving over the last year—that is some of the best news the team at Generis has heard during the pandemic.

But, a new concern is growing—will the other shoe drop in 2021? Will the economy shift? Will giving begin to trend down?

The truth is, whether it is next month, next year, or in five years, a shoe will drop, the economy will shift, and there will always be a new mission, need, or challenge that will require resources. It’s just a part of the natural ebb and flow of church finance. So, wouldn’t it be great if you could be prepared by understanding how healthy your church is no matter what financial reality you might face?

The team at Generis is offering a FREE opportunity for church leaders of this podcast to do exactly that with their Generosity Pulse Report.

Think of the Generosity Pulse Report as a quick snapshot of the health of your culture of stewardship and giving. Wouldn’t it be super helpful to know where you stand today, identify what needs improvement, and what you can do to move the needle on greater generosity?

No matter what lies ahead with the economy, giving or that other shoe…now is a great time for financial clarity, and Generis can help you achieve it.

Schedule your FREE Generosity Pulse Report today, an exclusive offer for listeners of this podcast, by going to generis.com/carey.

Conversation Links

Until Unity by Francis Chan

Erasing Hell by Francis Chan

You and Me Forever by Francis Chan and Lisa Chan

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

Letters to the Church by Francis Chan

Forgotten God by Francis Chan

CNLP 313: Francis Chan Clarifies What’s Next for Him, Talks About the Impact of Social Media on Real People, Apologizes for the Confusion, and Talks About the Future of the U.S. Church

CNLP 218: Francis Chan on Battling Pride and Fame, Why He Left His Megachurch, and his Airbnb Church Experiment

ChurchPulse Weekly, Episode 038: Francis Chan, Part 1

Carey on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

After the U.S. Election: 3 Things the Culture Needs Right Now That the Church Can Give by Carey Nieuwhof

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Insights From Francis

1. When it comes to racial justice, be quick to listen

During the interview, Francis talked about how he has been somewhat unaware of the depths of the struggles of the Native American people in America until a few days before the time of recording. He’d went and stayed the night on a reservation. Going there, seeing how they live, and asking questions about them opened his eyes to their struggle.

He thinks that this year has started a listening and learning process for many similar to what he experienced, and would encourage all of us to lean in and listen to those with a different experience than us.

2. As Christian leaders, decreasing our own name is a great way forward

When Francis was serving the underground church in China, a Chinese pastor told him:

“You Americans keep thinking that you have to become popular to have an impact. But in China and the underground church, it was those who were most hidden that had the most impact, the greatest impact, because we couldn’t be found.”

This made Francis ask himself, “Could it be possible that me being quieter, and in the presence of God and doing more things that are unseen, will actually have a greater impact in lifting up the name of Jesus?”

As a Christian leader, ask yourself whose name you are working to increase. Yours, or Christ’s?

3. The Western Church is being deeply damaged by division and outrage

So much of the Western church has been hijacked by ideology, political division and outrage. This has caused pastors to blacklist each other, entire denominations to split repeatedly and nearly an entire generation to walk away from the church.

This isn’t helping the gospel reach more people. If we’re going to move forward, we need to move forward together—even if we disagree.

Quotes from Episode 413

No one ever hears the apology as loudly as they hear that initial biting, angry thought. @crazyloveClick To Tweet

If you feel nothing for people outside of your little circle, I’ve got to question whether the Spirit is in you. @crazyloveClick To Tweet

I think most leaders in America are thinking, ‘I must increase so that He can increase.’ We think it’s up to us. @crazyloveClick To Tweet

I had a very casual attitude towards Christian unity, and I think it’s because it just felt like it was impossible. @crazyloveClick To Tweet

I thought I was pretty sensitive to the Black Lives Matter movement. But you really can’t understand it ’til it’s you. @crazyloveClick To Tweet

It was the first time it really hit me and hurt me and it’s like, ‘So just because of my nationality?’ It was devastating. @crazyloveClick To Tweet

Anyone who pursues unity will be accused of, ‘Oh, you just want unity at the expense of truth.’ Well, would it be possible that you want both? @crazyloveClick To Tweet

Could it be possible that me being quieter, and being in the presence of God and doing more things that are unseen, will actually have a greater impact in lifting up the name of Jesus? @crazyloveClick To Tweet

It’s easier to be divisive than it is to be unifying.Click To Tweet

A blaming culture needs a confessing church.Click To Tweet

You’ll never address what you don’t confess.Click To Tweet

A divided nation needs a united church.Click To Tweet

If God has all the same opinions you do, you’re probably not worshiping God.Click To Tweet

In a divided culture, Christians should be the help and the hope, not the hate.Click To Tweet

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 413

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.

WHAT WILL IMPACTFUL PREACHING LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE?

Every time I preach, there are 10 things I check to make sure that my sermon is ready to go.

I outline those 10 things inside the Preaching Cheat Sheet.

If you want a step-by-step process to craft clear sermons that are relevant to your audience, this is for you.

The Preaching Cheat Sheet is just one small part of Mark Clark and I’s course The Art Of Better Preaching. If you want world class-training that will make your preaching better, you can find more information here.

Watch Back Episodes of The Podcast on YouTube

Select episodes of this podcast are now on YouTube. Our YouTube Channel gives you a chance to watch some episodes, not just listen.

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Spread the Word. Leave a Rating and Review

Hopefully, this episode has helped you lead like never before. That’s my goal. If you appreciated it, could you share the love?

The best way to do that is to rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave us a brief review! You can do the same on Stitcher and on TuneIn as well.

Your ratings and reviews help us place the podcast in front of new leaders and listeners. Your feedback also lets me know how I can better serve you.

Thank you for being so awesome.

Next Episode: Tim Keller

Tim Keller shares some personal reflections about his recent battle with pancreatic cancer and how it’s causing him to rethink his beliefs about God and suffering, drawing him even more deeply into truths he used to only partially understand. Tim also reflects on what a year of crisis has done to the church, and shares some thoughts on the future of the church, how culture has changed in the last year, and what needs to happen next.

Subscribe for free now so you won’t miss Episode 414.

The post CNLP 413: Francis Chan on Escalating Division, Asian Hate, and Why Influence in the Church Can’t Come from Self-Promotion appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 413: Francis Chan on Escalating Division, Asian Hate, and Why Influence in the Church Can’t Come from Self-Promotion

The post CNLP 413: Francis Chan on Escalating Division, Asian Hate, and Why Influence in the Church Can’t Come from Self-Promotion appeared first on Passion for Planting.

The Western Church Needs A New Evangelism Strategy: 5 Promising Options

Sean Cronin — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 10:00:23 +0000

This post is written by Dillon Smith, a Gen Z team member at Carey Nieuwhof Communications.

By Dillon Smith

Even before the pandemic struck, the western church has been filling fewer and fewer stadiums over the last few decades.

As Gordon Macdonald talked about in this interview, the days of Billy Graham’s evangelistic crusades where he packed out arenas are long over.

According to Gordon:

“Billy Graham’s way of saying the gospel doesn’t work anymore. Bill Bright’s doesn’t work anymore. So get ready for something new.”

Sadly, I think we’ve needed a whole new evangelism strategy for the last 10-20 years, and COVID-19 is finally forcing us to figure out what it should be.

So, in an age where…

The Gospel isn’t filling very many stadiums,
Sunday morning church attendance is at all-time lows,
and our best evangelism strategies are producing diminishing returns,

…what can your church do to reach more people?

As a young church leader who has had the privilege of working closely with Carey Nieuwhof and seeing behind the scenes of A LOT of churches and church models, I see 5 promising options:

We’ve needed a whole new evangelism strategy for the last 10-20 years, and COVID is finally forcing us to figure out what it should be. – @Dillon_M_Smith

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1. Online influencers that talk about their faith

In case you haven’t noticed, It’s pretty difficult to grow a following on YouTube. Especially if you’re a church.

Why is that?

I’ve spent the last year and a half trying to figure out why some content is performing well online, and other content isn’t.

What I’ve realized is that there are 2 types of binge-worthy content that will allow you to grow a massive following online.

Those 2 types of content are:

Entertaining Content

This would include channels that are based on gaming, sports, comedy, and a long list of other things that we would classify as entertaining.

Helpful Content

This would include channels that are based around “How-to” videos, educational videos, makeup tutorials (Which are HUGE on YouTube,) and anything else that makes the viewer feel like they have learned something new from watching.

If a channel can consistently produce one of these types of content, it has the potential to become huge.

Sadly, many online church services aren’t densely packed with helpful or entertaining content, and that’s one reason why they aren’t growing.

Many preachers, myself included, take 35 minutes to solve a problem that a different Youtube video would only take 10 minutes to solve. This is likely one reason why our YouTube channels aren’t growing.

But, there are a lot of Christian influencers that have built a massive following based on some other helpful or entertaining topic.

And when they talk about their faith, millions of (mostly young) people are watching.

Some examples:

One of the world’s largest YouTube Channels is called DudePerfect.

Because of their early start in YouTube, and explosive growth, they have 54 MILLION YouTube Subscribers today. (And that’s just their main channel.)

That’s huge, and as you follow them for the entertaining videos, eventually you hear them talk about their faith, and how it’s the most important thing in their lives.

So, just by creating entertaining YouTube videos, they’ve been able to talk about Jesus to tens of millions of people. It’s easy to see how God is using them.

Another example is Matt Carriker of DemolitionRanch, OffTheRanch, and VetRanch.

He has 15 Million Subscribers across his 3 channels and has built a very personal relationship with his followers through his OffTheRanch vlog channel.

Anyone who’s followed him for a while knows that he has had a few tragic deaths in his friends and family recently. The closest of which has been the passing of his little brother Mark.

In the video titled “Rest In Peace Little Brother”, Matt talks about why his entire family got baptized during his Brother’s cancer journey.

This 33-minute video has been seen 4.5 Million times by Matt’s followers.

Essentially, Matt preached the gospel to 4.5 MILLION people even though his YouTube Channels have nothing to do with the Church or faith.

Forward-thinking churches should see online Christian influencers as a part of their evangelism strategy.

Whether it’s creating great content online yourselves or partnering with online influencers in your area that already have a following, you can’t afford to miss this opportunity.

Forward-thinking churches should see online Christian influencers as a part of their evangelism strategy. – @Dillon_M_Smith

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2. Multiplying churches reaching college-age people

This one isn’t so much an “evangelism” strategy as it is a “stop losing so many teenage Christians when they go to college” strategy, but I’m including it anyway.

There are very few church models that give me as much hope as churches that are focused on multiplication. And that “multiplication” effect is amplified further if they’re actively reaching college-age students.

I don’t have enough room to explain exactly how the model works, but the best example of this that I’ve seen is CityLight Church in Omaha, Nebraska.

They’ve planted 10 churches over the last 10 years, and have reached thousands of people with the gospel.

You can listen to an interview with Chris Hruska, their lead pastor here.
Or, you can listen to Carey’s recent ChurchPulse Weekly interview with their newest church plant here.

Here’s the bottom line: Millions of Christians are becoming stagnant in stagnant churches. Multiplication-focused churches might hold the key to solving this problem.

Millions of Christians are becoming stagnant in stagnant churches. Multiplication-focused churches might hold the key to solving this problem. – @Dillon_M_Smith

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3. Apologetics online

Today’s young people are taking their hardest questions to Google, not their parents, friends, or pastors.

So as they begin to ask serious questions like “Is there a God?” “Why do I need to believe in God?” or “Which God is the real God?” they end up typing it into a search bar rather than asking a person.

And what is your Church doing about this?

…

Most churches have no clue what to do about this.

But there is a massive opportunity here. According to VidIQ, 5400 people search “Is there a god?” on YouTube every month.

What if your church was on that first page of results?

Now here’s a warning:

When you try to answer this question, you’re competing with the world’s best minds because their video will pop up next in the “recommended” section right after yours.

So, whether you create the video yourself, or you send your people to your favorite apologist’s video, make sure your video and argument stands a chance at competing with Steven Hawking or Sam Harris.

Today’s young people are taking their hardest questions to Google, not their parents, friends, or pastors. – @Dillon_M_Smith

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4. Calling people to unity (because technology is dividing us)

The internet is becoming a more and more divided place.

I know you know that. Just look at what happened with the election.

Because of all of the things we’ve seen online, the US (where I live) is more divided and destabilized than it ever has been since the civil war.

To find out why, we have to look at the algorithms that run our social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.

Because they want more ad revenue, these algorithms are prioritizing whatever content that keeps you on their platform the longest.

Sadly, the content that keeps people engaged the longest (and gets them to see the most ads) is proving to be whatever content is more and more extreme.

Tristan Harris does an outstanding job of explaining this on The Joe Rogan Experience here.

So why is this an opportunity for the church?

Roughly 40 million people have seen Tristan Harris’ Netflix Documentary The Social Dilemma.

That’s 40 million people whose eyes have been opened to the dangers of social media and division online.

If you start producing intentionally unifying content, some of these people will take notice, and they will be quick to share your unifying content and tell their friends about what you’re doing.

We at Carey Nieuwhof Communications are “trying to create a place for the good people on the internet.” Your church can and should be doing the same.

5. Felt-need marketing

This might be the most doable of these 5 options for your church. And most churches are doing this already on a small scale.

But here’s what’s true about every single person that you’re trying to reach:

They have needs.

Whether it’s financial, mental, relational, or spiritual needs, your community has them. Your church should be helping them with those needs.

But, as Carey has pointed out for years, most churches have been answering questions that nobody in their community is asking.

When you write sermons and produce resources that help people with specific problems and then market those sermons to your community, you’re practicing “felt-need marketing.”

And if you want to start bringing new people into your church, you need your communities to know about the felt-needs that you can help them solve.

So what Christian organizations are doing this well? Look at organizations like Griefshare, Alcoholics Anonymous, or Dave Ramsey and Ramsey Solutions.

These organizations see a need and are filling it. Your church can do the same.

If you want to start bringing new people into your church, you need your community to know about the felt-needs that you can help them solve. @Dillon_M_Smith

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There are 2 major ways that your church needs to be broadcasting the felt-needs that you can help with:

Word-of-mouth/person-to-person marketing based on your weekly services

Rich Birch does a phenomenal job of outlining how a church can do this well here.

Using digital ad space and social media to reach people with specific struggles.

Some larger churches can afford to hire a digital marketing/social media agency to run these ads for them. But the majority of churches don’t have 10’s of thousands of dollars to spare.

Many of the more normal-sized US-based churches are putting their resources together into a nation-wide ad campaign called GlooConnect.

Here’s a bit more information about them:

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TURN ONLINE VIEWERS INTO REAL RELATIONSHIPSn

Ever wondered how to turn a viewer into a real relationship? n

Every day, people visit your church website and access your content, but few ever really identify. n

GlooConnect is a solution that gives people showing interest in your church online an opportunity to connect with your church. n

It will help your church: nnGet a steady stream of introductions to people that are ready to connect nBuild relationships with the people visiting your church’s websitenSupport people who are looking for guidance and hope through life’s challengesnParticipate in done-for-you digital campaigns to reach people in your community nn

GlooConnect lets you pastor and focus on what you do best. No additional staff. No complex tech. Plus, it’s way more cost effective than doing it on your own. n

Get started in as little as 15 minutes and make 2021 a year of unprecedented growth for your church by joining GlooConnect today: n

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TURN ONLINE VIEWERS INTO REAL RELATIONSHIPSn

Ever wondered how to turn a viewer into a real relationship? n

Every day, people visit your church website and access your content, but few ever really identify. n

GlooConnect is a solution that gives people showing interest in your church online an opportunity to connect with your church. n

GlooConnect lets you pastor and focus on what you do best. No additional staff. No complex tech. Plus, it’s way more cost effective than doing it on your own. n

Get started in as little as 15 minutes and make 2021 a year of unprecedented growth for your church by joining GlooConnect today: n

Learn more and join now.”,”label_pos”:”above”,”parentType”:”html”,”element_templates”:[“html”,”input”],”old_classname”:””,”wrap_template”:”wrap”}];nfForms.push(form);

Which of these things will you try?

This list isn’t exhaustive, but I think these are 5 strong contenders for the church’s next evangelism strategy.

Also, I’d love for you to leave a comment below talking about which of these you’d like to try!

The post The Western Church Needs A New Evangelism Strategy: 5 Promising Options appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: The Western Church Needs A New Evangelism Strategy: 5 Promising Options

The post The Western Church Needs A New Evangelism Strategy: 5 Promising Options appeared first on Passion for Planting.

3 Ideas For Increasing Your Influence With Gen Z

Sean Cronin — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 09:00:07 +0000

This post on influencing Gen Z is written by Shane Sanchez. Shane is The InsideOut Director for Gwinnett Church (a campus of North Point Ministries.) I recently interviewed Shane on ChurchPulse Weekly. You can listen to the interview here.

By Shane Sanchez

Does the idea of influencing the next generation (Gen-Z) ever overwhelm you?

Chances are for the last decade you’ve spent time learning how your church can increase influence with millennials. You’ve tried new methods, and done your best to refine a ministry approach that connects with Generation Y. And just as you started feeling like you’re gaining traction with millennials, here comes Generation Z!

Pew defines Gen Z as individuals born between 1997-2012. What’s quickly becoming clear is that they are very different from older generations. Just look at these extraordinary insights from Barna’s Gen Z research project:

Gen Z is…

Recession Marked – Born in the midst of the early 2000’s recession.
Wi-Fi Enabled – Common Sense Media found that teens spend 9 hours a day online.
Multiracial – Most diverse generation in American history.
Gender Fluid – 48% say gender is based on “sex a person was born as”.
Post-Christians – 78% believe in the existence of God but only 41% attend weekly religious services (and that was before the COVID disruption).

If we’re going to influence a generation marked by recession, the attention economy, unprecedented diversity, identity fluidity, post-Christianity, and now a global pandemic, we’re going to need to try things we’ve never tried before.

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Well, good luck with that…

I’m kidding. I’m right there with you! In fact, I might be an eternal optimist but what I’m already seeing in the emerging generation causes me to believe that the best days of the local church are still ahead of us.

It’s easy to take Gen Z at face value and simply dismiss them due to attributes we don’t understand. However, dismissiveness doesn’t build disciples. As a millennial, I’ve heard plenty of knocks and dismissive generalities about my generation from pastors, thought leaders, and older adults. So here’s what I will ask on our behalf: Please don’t do the same thing to Gen Z. It’s time that we seek to understand what makes younger generations so unique and look at their attributes as opportunities for the gospel to work in new ways.

Dismissiveness doesn’t build disciples. – @shanesanchez

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If you seek to understand someone and assume to believe the best about them, it’s amazing how much influence you can gain with them.

Jesus took this approach with tax collectors, zealots, and prostitutes…at very least; we can do this with kids and teenagers.

This means that if you and I want to go where God is leading the church of the future, we have to choose to open our hearts and minds to methods that are built for a generation unlike any before.

Here are 3 foundational ideas to jumpstart your approach to influencing Gen Z:

Jesus looked to understand tax collectors, zealots, and prostitutes…at very least; we can do this with kids and teenagers. – @shanesanchez

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1. Develop a strategy that outlasts your personality.

It’s time for you and I to confront an underlying issue that has existed in next generation ministry for decades: the personality driven model. You know what this is. It’s the kind of kids or student ministry that dissipates as soon as the key leader moves on to another opportunity. We can do better.

The next generation doesn’t need more big personalities, they need leaders who think strategically.

There are plenty of charismatic YouTube stars and social media Influencers that can entertain and draw a crowd of kids and students to their platform…Gen Z doesn’t need ministry leaders to try to do the same.

Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be the fullest of who you are or that good old-fashioned charisma isn’t important in next generation ministry, I’m just saying that these things cannot be the only things.

If you think the effective church of the future will be able to hang on the personality or speaking ability of a person, you’re missing the point. For older generations, the charisma of leaders and “cool” factor of the experience was often times more than enough to pique interest. Yet, Generation Z is growing up with unrivaled access to the greatest entertainers on the planet.

Personality can’t be our knockout punch anymore.

Instead, we need to be leaders who put as much emphasis on strategy as we do charisma. We should be inspiring but we should also be focused on playing the long game of building a sustainable ministry. One that continues helping kids and teenagers own their faith, far beyond our tenures.

Are you building a ministry that will last beyond your personality? Are you hiring leaders for how they think or simply how they speak? The local church needs more leaders who are willing to dive into the deep end of strategy and have thoughtful and nuanced dialogue about the best methods, means, and models of the local church for the next generation.

If you don’t have a strategy or have been banking solely on personality, it’s time to start thinking strategically. Charisma has a place in leadership but it’s only as powerful and effective as it is coupled with an effective strategy.

How much time do you spend strategizing methods for a new version of the local church (like digital reach, implementing daily faith practices, and vocational discipleship) rather than just an upgraded version of the current one?

Ok, now that you’re thinking strategically, it’s important to consider the people who are making your strategy possible, the volunteers.

We need to be leaders who put as much emphasis on strategy as we do charisma. – @shanesanchez

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2. Build a system that attracts adult leaders that are worth following.

My pastor, Andy Stanley, has said that one of the biggest steps for someone exploring faith is “trusting a Christian”. What does it look like to build a volunteer system that is focused on finding, training, and supporting the kinds of small group leaders (SGLs) you want kids and students to trust and model their lives after? (Note: Groups aren’t going anywhere. 81% of Gen Z say that community is part of their “ideal church”.)

Let me ask you something: Are your current adult volunteers the kind of adults you want students to become someday?

I know we always need more volunteers, but what if the truth is that you need the right volunteers rather than just more of the mediocre ones? This may sound a bit harsh, but the next generation deserves adults worth following.

I can tell you from personal experience that I’ve seen small group leaders take kids away from church, leave leadership vacuums that kids dissolve in when they leave unexpectedly, and create drama that rivals that of 7th graders.

On the other hand, I’ve seen adult volunteers who have engaged entire families in the local church, helped kids navigate extreme crisis, and breathed momentum into the vision of the ministry. This is why doing the hard work of identifying, recruiting and developing adults worth following is so worth the effort.

Are your current adult volunteers the kind of adults you want students to become someday? – @shanesanchez

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Here are a couple of tips for building a system that attracts the right people:

Set a high bar

I truly believe that volunteers will rise to the level of expectations you set for them.

It’s why years ago our small group leader roles shifted from a year-by-year commitment to a 4-year commitment for high school leaders. Additionally we asked all of our SGLs to commit to embodying the principles laid out in the book, Lead Small. Yes, over the course of implementing new expectations, we saw about 80% turnover of our team. However, within a couple of years we re-staffed our SGL roles with quality, consistent, and mission-oriented leaders.

As I said earlier, the truth is, leaders will rise to the level of the bar you set…no matter how low or high that is. Our adult volunteers will almost always respect what we as ministry leaders expect and inspect. Don’t expect extraordinary results when you set ordinary expectations for volunteers.

Don’t expect extraordinary results when you set ordinary expectations for volunteers. – @shanesanchez

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Develop them spiritually

One of the most important roles for next-gen ministries of the future is to create volunteer systems that help adult leaders grow spiritually.

Many of the volunteers we’re recruiting nowadays are millennial adults. Millennials are the most biblically skeptical people on earth today (even more so than Gen Z).

This means that we can’t millennials to be biblically founded spiritual mentors for Gen Z by default. Instead, what if we started taking the spiritual development of our volunteers just as seriously as that of our kids and students? What if we gave our volunteers spiritual mentors? What if we created environments where they could build their theological foundation? Or what if we wrestled with and studied the Bible alongside them instead just hoping it happens as a part of their daily routine?

We have an opportunity to help Gen Z build a faith of their own, but we also know that we cannot do this alone. We need incredible adult small group leaders that kids and students can trust. When we set a high bar and choose to believe that fostering the spiritual growth of our leaders is our responsibility, we’ll start heading in the right direction.

3. Change your perception of parents.

Ok, let me talk about the elephant in the room. Kids and student ministry leaders just wished parents would care about the spiritual development of their children a little more.

Not to pick on student pastors (I am one), but Barna’s research shows that:

68% of youth pastors say their biggest struggle is parents who don’t prioritize their teen’s spiritual growth.

Maybe you feel this deeply. Well, you’re not alone. However, if you stop here you may also be missing one of the greatest opportunities for building a next gen strategy that reaches Gen Z. Here is another fascinating insight from Barna’s research:

4 out of 5 Christian teens say they can “share honest questions, struggles, and doubts with their parents”. (79%)

This is a really big deal. Christian teenagers feel incredibly safe sharing some of their most personal and pivotal perspectives with their parents. This means that it would be foolish for us to discount the influence of a parent in the spiritual formation of a child or teenager. So, if we want to be strategic about reaching Gen Z, we have to be strategic about including their parents on the journey.

If we are going to strategically prioritize parents we have to genuinely change our perceptions.

We must choose to believe that parents care about the faith of their kids.

If we make this assumption, it means we will also take the time to build a strategy for resourcing, supporting, and encouraging parents of kids and teenagers. There are so many ways we can act out the assumption that parents care about their kid’s faith. From resources that help them navigate social media with their children, to gift cards for a hot coffee on a weary day of parenting.

If we want to be strategic about reaching Gen Z, we have to be strategic about including their parents on the journey. – @shanesanchez

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The Online Church Engagement Summitnn

So you’ve got people watching your church online. How do you turn them into engagers?nnnn

On October 8th, 2020, Carey Nieuwhof is hosting The Online Church Engagement Summit. It’s a free, 90-minute value-packed event where Levi Lusko, Nona Jones, and Bobby Gruenewald will give you their best practical strategies to turn viewers into engagers.nnnn

If you feel like you don’t even know where to begin, or if you’ve had success but want to reach and engage more people, this is for you and your team. nnnn

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The Online Church Engagement Summitnn

So you’ve got people watching your church online. How do you turn them into engagers?nnnn

If you feel like you don’t even know where to begin, or if you’ve had success but want to reach and engage more people, this is for you and your team. nnnn

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What matters to you?

These are 3 ideas to jumpstart your church’s influence with Gen Z but we could process 300 more. Continue the conversation by commenting with what you think matters most as we build ministries that will influence Gen Z.

The post 3 Ideas For Increasing Your Influence With Gen Z appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: 3 Ideas For Increasing Your Influence With Gen Z

The post 3 Ideas For Increasing Your Influence With Gen Z appeared first on Passion for Planting.

What Healthy Churches are Doing to Support Female Leaders During the Pandemic

Sean Cronin — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 09:00:05 +0000

Today’s post is written by Kadi Cole. Kadi is a top voice leading the church to better develop and support female leaders. She’s also the bestselling author of Developing Female Leaders and is the founder and CEO of Kadi Cole and Company.

By Kadi Cole

I have been so impressed with how pastors and churches are embracing tough conversations about female leaders and how we can do a better job, regardless of our theology, to maximize their gifts for the Kingdom.

But during the Covid-19 pandemic, at a time when it would be easy to make this a back-burner issue, I am proud to share there is a growing collection of strong and healthy churches using this opportunity to move their leadership culture forward for women.

Here’s what they are doing:

I am proud to share there is a growing collection of strong and healthy churches using this opportunity to move their leadership culture forward for women. – @kadicole

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1. Tangibly Rewarding Female Essential Workers

Up until now, women have made up less than 15% of leadership roles in the average church. The disruption of the pandemic, however, and the focus on “essential workers” has created a shift. Early research is showing that women tend to make up the majority of our essential workforce, and we are seeing this in the church as well.

I work with several large, conservative multi-site churches that normally employ over a dozen campus pastors and worship leaders to create engaging weekend experiences at their individual campuses, but now they’ve had to turn their efforts to a single, online weekend service.

Guess who’s leading the charge?

The Communications and Programming Arts Directors who often are women.

And these churches have stepped up to acknowledge it by offering significant raises, title promotions to fit these new levels of responsibilities, increased budgets and resources, and inviting these female leaders into higher-level meetings so they can be a part of strategic discussions and implement their vision more seamlessly.

In addition, when re-assigning pastors from the campuses to these women’s teams, they’ve been clear in the new roles of authority and responsibility (nothing is more de-motivating to a female leader than to have a male pastor assigned to “help” her department only to watch him take it over and create all sorts of havoc in an area in which he has less experience).

Churches like this are not only doing the right thing by acknowledging and rewarding their essential female leaders, but they are also watching female leaders grow in confidence and passion for ministry (and their church), and that’s a win for everyone!

Ask yourself:

Do we have any female leaders that are “essential” to our mission whom we haven’t properly acknowledged through promotion, raises/bonuses, resources, or extra vacation time?

Do we have any female leaders that are ‘essential’ to our mission whom we haven’t properly acknowledged through promotion, raises/bonuses, resources, or extra vacation time? – @kadicole

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2. Embracing Flexible Work Schedules as the New Normal

The pandemic shifted us quickly into remote work, but most experts agree these changes will last long after shelter-in-place orders have ended. This is good news for churches for several reasons.

Flexible work schedules create higher productivity, lower costs, improve retention, and increase morale (what leader doesn’t want these?) But they also nurture leadership cultures that are more independent, flexible, and results-oriented – and female leaders tend to thrive in these types of cultures, especially as they add responsibilities to their plate such as children, aging parents, or pursuing advanced degrees to further their career.

In addition, healthy churches are finding that flexible work schedules open up leadership pipelines to include many more volunteer leaders.

As churches grow it’s easy to fall into a staff-centric mentality where all leadership meetings and decisions are made between 9a-5p by the “professionals” on staff and in the office.

By embracing a more flexible work mindset, your team can begin accessing leaders at all levels of your pipeline, including volunteers.

This is a great opportunity to begin inviting leaders from your congregation – both female and other minorities – to begin leading in your church, rather than simply attending or serving. And we all win when every leader in our church begins investing their gifts toward our Kingdom mission.

Ask yourself:

What fruit are we seeing from our teams working from home that we want to keep? How can we embrace flexible work schedules in order to include more of our church’s leaders moving forward?

Ask yourself: What fruit are we seeing from our teams working from home that we want to keep? – @kadicole

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3. Acknowledging and Practically Helping Moms

Not every female leader is a mom, but those who are, are feeling the weight of the pandemic more than most – especially the moms on your staff and those in your congregation who have kids under the age of twelve.

Although we clearly see men stepping up to help with children and housework more than ever, women are still carrying the majority of the responsibilities, with an average investment of 71 hours per week (keep in mind, that’s 71 hours in addition to her actual professional work).

Early research is showing the pandemic is hitting the average woman harder than the average man with 31% of women reporting they have “more to do than they can possibly handle”, while only 13% men feel the same. And, although half of men believe they do most of the homeschooling, only 3% of women agree.

Healthy churches are talking about this reality – in their staff meetings and in their weekend sermons.

A few years ago, Barna reported that nearly half of women (43%) said they do not feel any emotional support at all from church.

This is a serious problem and, I believe, one of the reasons we are seeing such a decline in church engagement overall. (How many families go to church if the mom doesn’t find it valuable?)

If women are being pulled in more directions and under more stress than ever, shouldn’t her church be the first place to acknowledge and bring comfort and encouragement? Keep in mind, women are also 30% more likely to volunteer.

So we are not only talking about your female staff leaders, but likely the majority of your volunteer base (by the way, these same women are likely the ones deciding where to send their family’s tithes and offerings, so this has huge financial implications as well!)

Meeting the emotional and spiritual needs of moms right now is not only good ministry to women and the “next generation”, it’s also a critical strategy to keeping your church leadership base strong, engaged, and wanting to come back when you re-open.

Ask yourself (and the working moms in your church):

Are we adequately acknowledging the increased stress for the women on our team and in our congregation? What can we do to practically relieve their burden?

Not every female leader is a mom, but those who are, are feeling the weight of the pandemic more than most. – @kadicole

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4. Not Letting Female Leaders Quit Too Easily

In my book, Developing Female Leaders, I write about the “Sticky Floor” – those internal dialogues and limitations women place on themselves that keep them from flourishing in leadership opportunities. And let me tell you, nothing flares up the sticky floor like a crisis.

Scarcity thinking sets in, choices are limited to “either/or” options, and women easily double-down on what they know they can do well. Please don’t let her perspective on what she thinks is possible limit what actually is possible.

I’m not saying to dismiss a female leader’s decision if she wants to quit her job or take a demotion, but I do want to encourage you to have a direct, leadership conversation with her first.

Challenge her assumptions. Find out what the real issue is. Offer her resources. At the very least, see if she’ll take a leave of absence or go part-time instead of completely ending her role.

You could keep her title and pay her the same hourly rate, but allow her the flexibility to make her life work while still leading in ministry.

Most guys don’t quit when life gets bigger or they are offered a promotion, but women do it to themselves all the time. Help her see the possibilities you see.

You can also proactively help your female leaders stay in the game.

When Covid hit, most churches cut staff development money. I get it – it’s an easy “want” versus a “need.” And I agree.

However, I’ve had over twenty churches reach out to me in the last 3 months to either keep their female leaders engaged in development programs (which aren’t cheap!) or begin coaching to make sure their top performers stayed that way through the pandemic.

This not only was a shot in the arm to their female leaders who felt valued and supported, but we were able to solve some of her biggest challenges in real-time and move her and her ministry forward at a time when many are shrinking back.

Ask yourself:
Have I let any female leaders take themselves out of the game too easily? Is there any way I can invest in our female leaders to grow their leadership to meet the demands of the pandemic rather than shrink back?

Most guys don’t quit when life gets bigger or they are offered a promotion, but women do it to themselves all the time. – @kadicole

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The juggle is real

All of us are feeling the impact of the pandemic on our life and leadership – but for women, this season could make or break their leadership and impact in the Kingdom for decades to come.

As leaders, we have the opportunity to challenge and support women to not only rise to this challenge, but to fully fulfill all the callings God has placed on her life.

If you have a story or example of how your church is moving the ball forward for female leaders, please let me know at www.kadicole.com or @kadicole on social media.

Learn more about my book, Developing Female Leaders, including The Eight Best Practices you and your church can implement to better steward the leadership gifts of the women in your life and congregation, or download our free Theological Cheat Sheet to help you move this conversation forward with your team at www.kadicole.com.

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Have you ever thought the only way to get better results is to micromanage your team, do the important work yourself or even start over again and get a whole new team?nnn

In this FREE two-part video teaching series, you’ll learn: nnnnnnA system of accountability to help your team actually achieve the goals you setnnnHow to deepen employee engagement by creating a productive team culturenn

nnnnnnn

HOW TO BOOST YOUR TEAM’S PRODUCTIVITY AND PERFORMANCEnnn

Have you ever thought the only way to get better results is to micromanage your team, do the important work yourself or even start over again and get a whole new team?nnn

nnnnnnn

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So what do you need to change?

Have you found any of these questions convicting?

CNLP 360: Bryan Miles on Why Your Team Won’t Want to Come Back to the Office, How to Lead Virtual and Hybrid Teams, and How to Motivate Your Staff

Esther Ritchey — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 09:00:00 +0000

By: Carey Nieuwhof

Bryan Miles has been leading virtual teams for over a decade. He shares the best practices for leading virtual teams, what the future of work might look like, how to motivate your staff, why no one should be allowed to mute audio or video during a Zoom meeting, and how he’s led his businesses through the disruption so far.

Welcome to Episode 360 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

Plus, in this episode’s What I’m Thinking About segment, Carey talks about five reasons why your team doesn’t crush their goals.

Guest Links

Instagram | LinkedIn | BELAY

Episode Links

Lead a Better Team

Things are so crazy right now, you can’t afford not to develop your team. You and I are going to need all the help we can get to move through the next few months.

I used to think hiring a better team was the best way to develop your team, but ultimately I learned that world-class teams are built, not bought.

So, to help you build your world-class team in all the craziness that’s happening right now, I’ve created a brand new course called Lead A Better Team.

Lead a Better Team is the step-by-step approach to:

Get far better results with the same team
Create a system of accountability so you can actually achieve the goals you set
Boost the performance of your staff so you can stop micromanaging

All while freeing up time for you to do what you do best.

Get access today at LeadABetterTeam.com.

BELAY

It seems we always are running out of time. But what if I told you that you can have an extra 15 hours every week? Think of five tasks you can delegate—maybe emails, scheduling, booking travel, planning meetings, and expense reporting. That may sound scary, but delegation is the cost of your sanity, and the lynchpin to the survival of organizations everywhere.

BELAY—the incredible organization revolutionizing productivity with their virtual assistant, bookkeeping and social media strategist services for churches, non-profits, and businesses alike—is offering a free download of Things to Delegate to Save 15 Hours This Week to our podcast listeners today.

Text CAREY to 31996 to get your free download of Things to Delegate to Save 15 Hours This Week.

CONVERSATION LINKS

Virtual Culture by Bryan Miles

Own Not Run

NoFo Brew Co.

CNLP 348: Patrick Lencioni on How Virtual Teams and Events are Often Better, His Best Advice for Church Leaders and Preachers, and Why So Many Leaders Abdicate Their Responsibilities

5 Reasons Your Team Isn’t Crushing Their Goals by Carey Nieuwhof

Text CAREY 33777 to join more than 70,000 subscribers to our leadership content

Text BETTERVALUES to get Carey’s 3-Step Guide to Developing Better Value Statements

3 INSIGHTS FROM BRYAN

1. Responsiveness is one of the most underrated qualities in a great hire

Bryan’s company, BELAY, receives thousands of job applications a month for people to join their team as a remote contractor. They hire less than 2% of them. It’s actually easier to get into Harvard than it is to get hired by BELAY. So, what do they look for in a hire? And, why do some make it and some don’t?

Bryan says that one of the most important factors he looks for in hiring someone is responsiveness. If you find someone who is overly qualified, but takes four days to respond to an email, they aren’t a good hire for your company. In our modern, fast-paced world, you need team members that respond quickly, especially if they are a remote employee.

2. Your culture isn’t a building, it’s a vision

One of the things that Bryan has seen throughout his years of championing remote work is that many bosses believe their culture is found inside of the amazing office building they’ve built with ping-pong tables and killer break rooms. Bryan has found that usually, the real thing that those buildings are holding up is the owner’s ego.

He’s found that your company culture is found in your company vision, not the building. It’s the “why” behind what you do and the reason that you even exist. Bryan is concerned that a lot of bosses are going to force their employees to come back to the office unnecessarily after COVID because of how much money and pride they’ve invested into their buildings. Don’t be one of those leaders.

3. What makes for a great home work environment

When you are working from home, where you write your checks and read your mail might not be the best place to set up your office. If you want a place where you will be productive, you need a few things:

A solid internet connection
A good enough computer that won’t slow you down
A dedicated workspace that you can always work from (50-100 square feet is all you need)
You also need to keep your dedicated workspace clear of clutter so that your only role while there is to be productive
Good lighting (studies show that sunlight is good for productivity)
If you are a parent, you’ll want a way to signal if you can be interrupted or not

Quotes from Episode 360

Culture is not an actual office. Culture is not a physical location. Culture is shared vision. – Bryan Miles

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Half of the American workforce right now is working from home. – Bryan Miles

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Crisis really reveals a lot inside teams. – Bryan Miles

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Responsiveness is becoming a bigger thing that businesses are looking for, especially now because you have to over-communicate when everybody is working from home. – Bryan Miles

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Now more than ever before, people are discovering what it means to work from home, and a lot of people are enjoying it. – Bryan Miles

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One of the best things you can do, as a leader, is elevate your mission, your vision and your set of values. @cnieuwhof

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Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 360

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.

Watch Back Episodes of The Podcast on YouTube

Select episodes of this podcast are now on YouTube. Our YouTube Channel gives you a chance to watch some episodes, not just listen.

Help Your Team Crush Their Goals As You Move Into the Future

It’s never been more important for your organization to hit your goals. It’s also never been more difficult.

Lead a Better Team is the step-by-step approach to:

Get far better results with the same team
Create a system of accountability so you can actually achieve the goals you set; and
Boost the performance of your staff so you can stop micromanaging

All while freeing up time for you to do what you do best.

The best part? You’ll learn how you can do this even if you’re leading a virtual team.

Get instant access to Lead a Better Team here, and take your team to the next level.

Subscribed Yet?

Subscribe using your favorite podcast app via

Spread the Word. Leave a Rating and Review

Hopefully, this episode has helped you lead like never before. That’s my goal. If you appreciated it, could you share the love?

The best way to do that is to rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave us a brief review! You can do the same on Stitcher and on TuneIn as well.

Your ratings and reviews help us place the podcast in front of new leaders and listeners. Your feedback also lets me know how I can better serve you.

Thank you for being so awesome.

Next Episode: Adrian Gostick

A lot of leaders struggle with praising their teams. That, says NYT bestselling author and leadership consultant Adrian Gostick, is a critical mistake. Not just in terms of motivating your team, but in terms of boosting the bottom line and raising employee engagement. Adrian discusses why gratitude is so vital to teams, how to foster it, and why it always boosts the bottom line.

Subscribe for free now so you won’t miss Episode 361.

The post CNLP 360: Bryan Miles on Why Your Team Won’t Want to Come Back to the Office, How to Lead Virtual and Hybrid Teams, and How to Motivate Your Staff appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 360: Bryan Miles on Why Your Team Won’t Want to Come Back to the Office, How to Lead Virtual and Hybrid Teams, and How to Motivate Your Staff

The post CNLP 360: Bryan Miles on Why Your Team Won’t Want to Come Back to the Office, How to Lead Virtual and Hybrid Teams, and How to Motivate Your Staff appeared first on Passion for Planting.

CNLP 312: Jordan Raynor on the Ingredients for a Successful Start Up, the Essential Qualities of a Great Entrepreneur, and Why So Much of the Career Advice People Give Young Leaders is Wrong

Sean Cronin — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 10:00:18 +0000

by Carey Nieuwhof: Jordan Raynor is a serial entrepreneur who has bought and sold several fast-growing businesses by the time he turned 30. He’s been a Google Fellow and spoken at SXSW, Harvard and TEDx.

He talks about what makes for a successful launch, the qualities and characteristics that make for great entrepreneurs, and why so much of the career advice people give young leaders is wrong.

Welcome to Episode 312 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

Guest Links

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Website | Master of One

Episode Links

RightNow Media

Leaders are always looking for ways to develop and equip those around them. Whether you are a church or business leader, I want to tell you about a powerful tool to help the people in your church or in your company. The team at RightNow Media created the world’s largest library of video-driven Bible studies, leadership training, and personal care resources.

More than 20,000 churches, schools, and businesses already subscribe to RightNow Media’s streaming platform, giving their people access to tens of thousands of inspirational videos anytime, anywhere. Through the RightNow Media app, subscribers get unlimited access to videos from former Carey Nieuwhof guests like J.D. Greear, Francis Chan, Ann Voskamp, Henry Cloud, and Patrick Lencioni. It has Bible studies and content on topics like marriage, personal finance, and mental health, as well as shows for kids.

Visit RightNowMedia.org/Carey to get a free trial of RightNow Media today.

Conversation Links

Books by Reid Hoffman

Getting Things Done by David Allen

The Call to Mastery with Jordan Raynor

Deep Work by Cal Newport

Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Schmidt

Grit by Angela Duckworth

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Called to Create by Jordan Raynor

3 Insights from Jordan

1. You are less important to the success of your organization than you think

Many senior leaders worry that if they leave their organizations, everything will fall apart. They know that they have raised up good leaders but are worried that, without them, it will fail anyways. This is what Jordan Raynor was expecting when he left his role as CEO of the organization he in now chair of the board with.

When he left, he thought, “Oh man, there’s going to be something that blows up because I’m not here,” but nothing did. This was a humbling lesson for him that God has the ability to put the people in the right seats on the bus with or without you. Everyone in an organization is dispensable. Including the CEO.

2. If you want to succeed, you have to identify and cut out the noise

While he was CEO of Threshold 360, the leadership of the organization asked him what strength they should be looking for in his replacement. Jordan said that the most valuable ability he has is the ability to look at his daily calendar and identify and cut out the things that won’t actually push their mission forward.

As CEO, he worked to relentlessly eliminate distractions from his daily work, and he would spend good chunks of his day with his phone on do not disturb, or not even with him. Every morning, he would look at the work he had to do and decide what was most important for him to focus on that day.

3. Passion follows mastery

One of the worst pieces of advice is sadly one of the most common we are giving the upcoming generation. “Find something you are passionate about in life, and build a career around it.” What researchers like Amy Wresniewski are discovering is that people don’t become truly passionate about something until they master it.

So when we ask a high school senior what they want to do with their life, we’re asking a question that they don’t know how to respond to, because they haven’t mastered a lot of things, so they can’t tell you what they are passionate about. Often, highly successful people will have many different careers that are working towards the same discipline that they are trying to master.

Quotes from Episode 312

You’re always more dispensable than you think you are. @JordanRaynorClick To Tweet

The cheapest way to acquire more happy customers is doubling down and making sure your existing customers are exceedingly happy. @JordanRaynorClick To Tweet

The 80/20 principle is the law of the universe. @JordanRaynorClick To Tweet

Passion follows mastery. We get to love what we do by getting really, really good at it. @JordanRaynorClick To Tweet

Now more than ever before, we have more options than we’ve ever had before of what to do vocationally. @JordanRaynorClick To Tweet

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 312

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.

Watch Back Episodes of The Podcast on YouTube

Select episodes of this podcast are now on YouTube. Our new YouTube Channel gives you a chance to watch some episodes, not just listen. We’ll add select episodes to YouTube as time goes on.

Get Your Life Back in 2020

Do you want to unlock more of your potential in life and leadership without sacrificing time with your family and your health?

Sounds crazy, but it’s not. I know because I’ve lived it. A few years back, I seriously crashed and burned because the demands on my time and life were bigger than the time I had to accomplish them. I promised myself that wouldn’t happen again.

Today, I still have bigger goals than ever before, but I’ve made fundamental changes that have led to a healthier, happier lifestyle without sacrificing my family and vastly increasing my productivity at work. I’ve taken what I’ve learned during this journey and put it into The High Impact Leader course.

You can complete the three-hour course at your own pace. It’s the most comprehensive content I’ve ever created for leaders to help you reclaim HOURS every day so you can become more effective at work and more present at home. When your time, energy, and priorities are all working together for you, it’ll impact everything you do.

You become a better leader, because you’re doing what you do best when you’re at your best
You become a better spouse, because you’re focused at home
You become a better parent, neighbor, and friend, because you actually have time off to relax and engage

These principles will free you to thrive in every area of your life.

You can learn more and gain instant access today.

Subscribed Yet?

Subscribe using your favorite podcast app via

Spread the Word. Leave a Rating and Review

Hopefully, this episode has helped you lead like never before. That’s my goal. If you appreciated it, could you share the love?

The best way to do that is to rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave us a brief review! You can do the same on Stitcher and on TuneIn as well.

Your ratings and reviews help us place the podcast in front of new leaders and listeners. Your feedback also lets me know how I can better serve you.

Thank you for being so awesome.

Next Episode: Francis Chan

Francis Chan caused quite a stir when, in late 2019, he announced he was going back to Asia. Francis clarifies what he’s actually doing, talks about the impact social media controvery has on real people, apologizes for the confusion and talks transparently about the tension of living a public life where your words get misconstrued again and again. Plus, Francis gives advice on how to use social media, what young leaders should think about, and talks about his hope for the US church.

Subscribe for free now and you won’t miss Episode 313.

The post CNLP 312: Jordan Raynor on the Ingredients for a Successful Start Up, the Essential Qualities of a Great Entrepreneur, and Why So Much of the Career Advice People Give Young Leaders is Wrong appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 312: Jordan Raynor on the Ingredients for a Successful Start Up, the Essential Qualities of a Great Entrepreneur, and Why So Much of the Career Advice People Give Young Leaders is Wrong

5 Things Younger Leaders Can’t Stand About Older Leaders

Sean Cronin — Sun, 08 Dec 2019 10:00:02 +0000

by Carey Nieuwhof: As you may have noticed, there’s a bit of tension in the workplace and in the culture these days.

Younger leaders are complaining (a lot) about older leaders (who are often their bosses).

Older leaders are complaining (a lot) about younger leaders.

The ‘Okay, Boomer’ moment happening in our culture right now is just the tip of the iceberg but it crystallizes what young leaders are feeling about older leaders.

I’m one of those older leaders. As a Gen X myself, I’ve been at countless breakfasts and meetings with people my age or older who, about a decade ago, started complaining about younger leaders.

More recently, I’ve heard an equal number of younger leaders (the bulk of my readers are leaders under the age of 40) complain about their bosses and how frustrated they are with older leaders.

It shouldn’t be surprising then that, as revealed by a Gallup study, 70% of US employees are disengaged at work.

So, I decided to do a survey to get more feedback on what’s really going on.

According to the recent Gallup study, 70% of US employees are disengaged at work.Click To Tweet

I Surveyed Over 900 Leaders

I recently survey over 900 leaders about their experiences with the opposite generations at work. Rather than trying to get statistics, I solicited feedback. Attitudes. Stories. Perspectives.

And I did I get an earful from all sides.

I heard from CEOs, entrepreneurs, engineers, pastors, lawyers, office managers, teachers, accountants, project managers, church staff, EAs and many other kinds of leaders.

I asked younger leaders (Gen Z and Millennials) to tell me what frustrates them about older leaders (Gen X and Boomers), and older leaders to tell me what frustrates them about younger leaders (that post comes out next in this series).

To get us started, I asked Millennials and Gen Z respondents to complete this sentence:

My biggest complaint about older leaders at work is…

Well, they told me. Wow.

I mean I knew anecdotally from conversations with leaders that there were challenges. I just had no idea the animosity and frustration ran so deep.

So what’s going on?

Honestly, some of these criticisms hurt. But if you ignore feedback that hurts, you’ll stop growing. Leaders, being willing to hear what’s wrong is a first step toward making things right.

There’s a lot of misunderstanding, tension and miscommunication in the work place. I’ll share some strategies at the end of this post on how to handle that.

Ready to hear the complaints?

Brace yourself. Here we go…

Leaders, being willing to hear what’s wrong is a first step toward making things right. Click To Tweet

#1 They’re Not Open to Change

When you read through the hundreds of responses I got from younger leaders about their bosses, the refrain was almost unanimous.

The #1 complaint about older leaders by younger leaders (by FAR) is that older leaders aren’t open to change.

Here are just a smattering of direct quotes from young leaders about their bosses and older co-workers:

Stuck in their ways with tons of blind spots and no willingness to listen or learn. Which breeds no hope for change.

Not willing to let go of the way things were done 30 years ago, let alone 10.

Most of them what do to do it the way it always been done. I actually heard that from them.

They want everything done the way they did it in the 80’s and 90’s while saying they want innovation and freshness.

They have so much history behind them, they don’t want to try something because they did before and it didn’t work.

Living in the past, as if it were better than the future possibilities.

Change is a dirty word for older leaders.

The #1 complaint about older leaders by younger leaders is that older leaders aren’t open to change. Click To Tweet

To a certain extent, I get it. Older leaders bring a lot of experience and wisdom to the table.

At least I hope I do as a 50+ leader myself. So it’s easy to want to think we know what someone 20 or 30 years our junior doesn’t.

But, you have to admit leaders…things are changing quickly.

Two quick realities about change.

First realize the past has a nostalgia the future never does. You remember the good parts of the past, but tend to minimize the bad parts or how challenging it was.

Change takes as much courage now as it did then. Change may have been easier then because you were younger, but it’s just as important now as it was when you were 23. Maybe even more so. Why?

Because the gap between how quickly you change and you quickly things change is called irrelevance. And things just keep changing faster and faster every year.

Ignore that and you lose out on more than you think.

Guess what young leaders who see older leaders as irrelevant tend to do? They leave.

Which explains a lot of what’s happening these days. If you won’t change, young leaders will find someone who will.

If you won’t change, young leaders will find someone who will. Click To Tweet

#2 Older Leaders Are Inflexible

Again and again, young leaders complained about how inflexible their bosses and older colleagues were. Again, here are some direct quotes from young leaders:

Set in their methods, not flexible in how work gets done.

They refuse to let go of their power/authority/decision-making rights.

On the occasion that they do give up their rights, they are quick to take them back when things don’t go exactly the way they wanted.

Not forward thinking, not engaging the next generation, not adventurous.

Inability to be flexible and understand that a flex schedule, working from home, having informal meetings to discuss ideas are all a benefit to productive work, and that doesn’t mean that I’m not a hard worker or slacking off.

While there’s a lot in these comments, read that last comment again.

There’s a rising tide of young leaders who want a flexible workplace.

For so many reasons, 8-4 doesn’t work anymore in an era of wifi, cloud-based computing and smart phones. In an age where you don’t have to go to the office because the office goes to you, way too many leaders are still living like it’s 1997.

Why do you need to be in at 8 when there’s no need to be?

Tomorrow on my leadership podcast, I’ll bring on two of my young team members and we’ll talk about how to lead a thriving team with no office, timesheets, or regular in-person meetings. Believe it or not, it works. Amazingly well. (You can subscribe for free to my podcast here. Watch for Episode 306 when it goes live.)

A virtual office or team may not be right for you, but just know this: the future workplace is a flexible workplace.

If you don’t flex your methods, you’ll sacrifice your mission.

The future workplace is a flexible workplace. If you don’t flex your methods, you’ll sacrifice your mission. Click To Tweet

#3 They Think They Know Everything

This was a surprising finding on both sides. Young leaders think older leaders are arrogant. Older leaders think young leaders are full of themselves (more on that in the next post).

Here’s what young leaders wrote about older leaders:

Their way is the ONLY way.

They rarely understand what I’m saying.

A lack of curiosity — they’ve figured a lot out already.

They mention my age a ton. They’ll make off-handed comments about me being young. Though they have more experience than I do, they think they know more about social media than I do. There’s not an acknowledgment of areas where I have expertise where they don’t.

They don’t ask good questions or hear all the voices in the room.

Pride is a problem for so many of us in leadership.

Note to self: Older leaders, if you think you know all the answers, don’t be surprised if the next generation stops asking questions and simply leaves.

Older leaders, if you think you know all the answers, don’t be surprised if the next generation stops asking questions and simply leaves. Click To Tweet

#4. Too Many Rules

Ah rules. Chances are you didn’t like them when you were a young leader.

The next generation feels the same way.

Here’s what young leaders said about their bosses:

They’re more concerned with policy than people.

They are hesitant to make changes and try out new ideas. They are led more by policy and procedure than by passion.

Develops and mandates policy to manage exceptions.

Their rigidness on older rules . i.e. Tattoos in the work place.

I’m not against all rules or guidelines. You need to have a few parameters.

But here’s what’s true: Rules are often a substitute for real leadership and open conversations. They’re also a substitute for trust.

Rules are often a substitute for real leadership and open conversations. They’re also a substitute for trust. Click To Tweet

More and more organizations are moving to flex hours, flexible holidays (pick your own vacations), and outcomes-based leadership. In other words, they’re dropping old rules.

Regardless of where you land on that (I keep rules to an absolute minimum, or have none), just know that a high rules organization is usually a low trust organization.

And a high-trust workplace is a healthy workplace.

A high rules organization is usually a low trust organization. Click To Tweet

#5 Too Slow

A final complaint about older leaders is that older leaders are too slow. Again, some direct feedback from younger leaders:

They are slow. Slow to change. Slow to adopt new technology.

They are slow to make decisions

Always feeling like older leaders are moving (not literally physically moving) too slow, and that younger leaders are expected to slow down to match them.

If you’re worried about being too slow as a leader, surround yourself with younger leaders and give them permission to lead and experiment.

The best older leaders don’t restrain the next generation, they release them.

The best older leaders don’t restrain the next generation, they release them.Click To Tweet

What Should You Do About This?

I am a fan of all four generations currently in the workplace, this is far more fixable than you think.

As you’ll see in the next post, older leaders complain that younger leaders are lazy, entitled and think they know everything.

Here’s what’s true: so much of the misunderstanding between the generations in the workplace is about how we work, not whether we work. The solution is not to clear house and get rid of older leaders, or frustrate younger leaders so badly they leave or start their own thing (which more and more are doing, by the way).

I’ll be sharing a lot of new content on how to lead and manager better in your company, church or organization over the next few weeks.

And I have a brand new course launching Wednesday called the High Impact Workplace: How to Lead and Motivate High Capacity Leaders in a Changing World.

Introducing The High Impact Workplace (and My Free Coaching Guide)

There’s a talent war going on for the best leaders, a generational divide at work, and, according to Gallup, 70% of all workers are disengaged at work (meaning that they show up and only do the bare minimum.)

The High Impact Workplace will give you the edge you need to create the best team you can moving forward in an age where 8-4 doesn’t work anymore (just ask any young leader about that).

You can join the waitlist here, and get my free Coaching Guide called The 5 Questions Every Great Manager Asks.

Enrolment opens Wednesday, December 4th. And in the course I’ll give you the exact strategies you need to:

Attract and keep high capacity leaders who would otherwise start their own businesses.
Identify and leverage the currency that motivates young leaders.
Navigate flexible work arrangements that result in deeper productivity.
Master the 5 questions every great manager asks their team for deeper engagement.
Discover how to create workplace environments that multiple generations can thrive in.
Learn how to keep your company or organization relevant to the next generation of leaders.

What Are You Seeing?

Well, I know this is a loaded post. The goal is to be helpful. If you don’t see the problem, you can’t fix the problem.

And remember, older leaders have just as many complaints about younger leaders, which we’ll get to in the next post. So play nice.

The goal is to get us all working together well to move the mission forward.

So with that in mind, anything else you see or want to add that can help us create workplaces that have a much higher impact?

Scroll down and leave a comment!

The post 5 Things Younger Leaders Can’t Stand About Older Leaders appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: 5 Things Younger Leaders Can’t Stand About Older Leaders

The post 5 Things Younger Leaders Can’t Stand About Older Leaders appeared first on Passion for Planting.

5 Digital Shifts That Are Impacting Church Growth

Sean Cronin — Tue, 29 Oct 2019 09:00:42 +0000

This guest post is written by Angela Faith, Digital Strategist at one of our trusted partners, Pro WEBFIRE. Pro WEBFIRE spends every day on the edge of the digital space, and I’m excited to share what Angela and the team are learning.

The ever increasing shifts in culture seem to be at warp speed. That which would have taken years can now happen in a matter of months.

For example, a church with a few hundred attendees can reach a thousand or more when viewed online. Or a church with a few thousand people during a live service can turn into a church of hundreds of thousands. And while lots of people have questions about whether this is a good thing or not, the truth is, this is the age we live in.

In the past, the church has often been a late bloomer in cultural trends racing behind to keep up instead of being a trendsetter.

There are elements and shifts that are beyond our leadership that affect church growth.

You can be a good leader and communicator and yet your church can be in decline simply because you’re not making certain shifts toward the digital world. After all, everybody you want to reach is online. If you’re not there, you’re missing them.

After all, everybody you want to reach is online. If you’re not, you’re missing them. Click To Tweet

Here are 5 digital shifts that affect church growth:

1. Digital has become the New Normal

The new normal for many growing and multi-site churches is for people to watch the message on a video screen. The pastor preaches at one or maybe two services and the message is aired in other services or campuses on a big screen.

What was strange years ago, is now normal. We all consume large amounts of content on screens.

Younger adults have fully embraced a digital platform and are very comfortable watching the message digitally at a live service. This is revolutionary. Embracing the digital platform helps prevent burnout of the lead communicator (if you have multiple services) and allows for easier expansion to reach the community beyond the traditional 4 walls of the church building.

You may be asking, why would people attend a service to experience the message digitally? Great question.

Because they want a non-downloadable experience. People come for the community, live worship, kid’s ministry, relationships and to bring their friends.

Churches that understand that the platform has become digital are experiencing a reach that far extends the weekend services. The digital platform expands the reach of messages to thousands more online than those that walk through the doors of the building and can be re-lived and shared over and over again.

And online church is a front door. Many visitors watch online services for a few weeks to months before attending an actual service.

When you focus on the digital platform experience online, you can expand your reach which will, in turn, affect the growth of your live services.

Churches that shift to a mindset that the pulpit is not just live but is also digital, will reach more people and experience growth over the next decade.

Churches that shift to a mindset that the pulpit is not just live but is also digital, will reach more people and experience growth over the next decade.Click To Tweet

2. Apps Aren’t Your Front Door. Websites Are.

With the invention of smartphones came the rise of apps.

There was a short trend that suggested church apps would completely replace church websites. It was similar to those saying email would die. But today, the opposite has happened. Emails and websites are stronger than ever.

Surprisingly, nobody visits an app to check out a church. Why? Because they Google their question, and Google leads them to websites, not apps.

The venture through the church website creates a digital experience that allows the church to have a voice and speak into the person’s life or it repels them.

The website isn’t nearly as much for the congregation as it is for unchurched people who are searching for answers.

Surprisingly, nobody visits an app to check out a church. Why? Because they Google their question, and Google leads them to websites, not apps.Click To Tweet

In today’s culture, the main purpose of the website is for the unchurched and the first-time visitor. Sure, your church website will have information for those in the church, but you could put that on an app (for attenders) or on the back pages of the site.

Websites are the digital foyer. Your website is the gateway for new people to discover amazing leadership, preaching and a faith of their own.

Websites are the digital foyer. Your website is the gateway for new people to discover amazing leadership, preaching and a faith of their own.Click To Tweet

3. Right or Wrong, Decisions Get Made In Seconds

Digital decisions are lightning-fast decisions.

In a matter of seconds, you make decisions about whether to keep watching a video on YouTube or click away bringing the level of expectation higher than it’s ever been. Quality media is expected by those in your community for this reason.

Stopping the scroll goes beyond social media and translates into your church website.

When someone lands on your church website what do they think?

Your digital presence is sending a message from you that a generation is welcome or not welcome. This message is not done in words but the actual design of your website. Just like stopping the scroll, the decision is made in seconds.

Your digital presence is sending a message from you that a generation is welcome or not welcome.Click To Tweet

Before they watch a message or read what your church is about, the website visitor has already made a snap judgment about the church. The decision is made visually and through the power of design.

How often do you buy a product at the grocery store for the package and you haven’t even tasted it? You liked the packaging so that is the one you choose. The other product may have tasted better, but you make a snap judgment based on the package. Whether you buy it again, will depend on the taste, but trying it out was based on the brand packaging.

Today, people make a decision to visit your church because of your brand and design. Your digital presence and design matter more than the building you meet in for services.

Again, that might not be ideal, but it’s real.

Today, people make a decision to visit your church because of your brand and design. Your digital presence and design matters more than the building you meet in for services.Click To Tweet

People have already made a decision about you before ever walking through your doors. This changes the visitor experience and how you need to treat them in your services.

If the digital experience is one that greatly affects your weekend visitors at your services, it only makes sense to get digital right.

When someone visits a church today, they have already decided they like it through a digital experience. They are one step away from becoming part of the church.Click To Tweet

4. Outreach is Also Shifting to Digital-First

Some of you remember the days you would go door to door as a church to evangelize.

But today things have changed. Almost nobody knocks on doors anymore (except couriers) and when they do, it’s almost counter-productive. What if you could knock on every cell phone within 30 miles of your church?

The good news is you can through Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

You can literally reach your community digitally and single out those in need. Then with a simple follow-up strategy in place, you could call or meet face to face with those needing prayer for a personal tragedy.

Your church has the biggest opportunity in history to reach your community for Christ. But are you maximizing the digital platform of our church?

What if your social media became a beacon in your community that said, “we are here to help?”

Over the next decade, the church that invests in digital will reach more people for Christ.

Over the next decade, the church that invests in digital will reach more people for Christ.Click To Tweet

5. Rural and Urban Have Become More Equal

Digital and the internet has reshaped the world.

Even in rural communities, people have access to the same media as the big cities. It’s flattened our experience and broken down divides that used to exist because of geography and culture. While there used to be a big gap based on location, the average kid in the country has the same access to YouTube and TikTok the average urban kid does.

What does this mean for the church?

Churches that are intentional about creative media will be the ones who are heard in the future. Most young millennial couples will be reluctant to share a post from their church that has an outdated design?

Media brings the entire world together, and that means the geographical divide that impacted churches a decade ago isn’t nearly the factor it used to be.

Media has brought the entire world together. The geographical divide that impacted churches a decade ago isn’t nearly the factor it used to be.Click To Tweet

Want to Get Started? Some Help.

If it all starts with a google search for a first-time guest, the questions become: will your church’s website be the first to pop up? If so, does it make the people landing on your site want to go further not just digitally, but personally?

Most churches have room for significant improvement when it comes to their website.

A lot of churches wish they could hire staff, but just don’t have the wiggle room financially to do it.

That’s where Pro WEBFIRE steps in. They provide a done-for-you website, podcast, digital outreach, and more, for a monthly fee that’s a fraction of a staff member.

Plus, this month only they are providing up to 35% OFF plans for LIFE until October 31st. This special ends soon, choose a plan at www.prowebfire.com/carey.

When you work with the Pro WEBFIRE team, they provide:

Web design and management.
Monthly Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube Outreach.
Your own weekly podcast included for free.
Outreach campaigns for Christmas, Easter, and more.
Real growth in your congregation.

If you want to learn more about how these services can rapidly grow your church, check out Pro WEBFIRE at www.prowebfire.com/carey.

What Are You Seeing?

What are you learning about decision making, evangelism and online reach?

Scroll down and leave a comment!

The post 5 Digital Shifts That Are Impacting Church Growth appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: 5 Digital Shifts That Are Impacting Church Growth

The post 5 Digital Shifts That Are Impacting Church Growth appeared first on Passion for Planting.

CNLP 290: Max Lucado on What Causes Happiness, How to Be Happier, and How to Know When It’s Time to Leave Leadership

Sean Cronin — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 09:00:08 +0000

by Carey Nieuwhof: New York Times bestselling author, Max Lucado, talks about how he knew he didn’t have another ten years of senior leadership in him, why his passion has shifted, what causes happiness, and how to be happier.

Plus, Max shares some thoughts on the best and worst decisions he’s made over his decades in leadership.

Welcome to Episode 290 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.

Guest Links

Max Lucado | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | How Happiness Happens

Episode Links

Need help with your church’s website and digital outreach? Check out Pro WebFire, and get a FREE custom website build for the plan you choose by using the discount code Carey2019. Act now before the offer expires at the end of this month.

Carey will be speaking at the Future Forward Conference this October 1st and 2nd. If you’re a church leader or member who is committed fully to engaging the next generation in a rapidly changing world, join us by signing up here today.

CNLP 221: Max Lucado On How He’s Written Over 120 Books, Why He Never Uses Ghostwriters, How to Stay Fresh in Leadership, And His Favorite Book

Vanderbloemen Resource Center

Ten Signs of a Leadership Crash by Stephen Mansfield

Research on the pursuit of happiness

Unshakable Hope by Max Lucado

3 Insights from Max

1.Your interests and callings might come only for a season

Many leaders hold onto their leadership positions for too long. Max and Carey both have come to the place where they needed to pass on their lead pastor role to the next generation of leaders. How did they know it was time to move on? Max described it as “when he dipped his ladle into his leadership bucket, all he heard was a scraping sound.” He just didn’t have anything left for it.

Max would also want to encourage you that just because you are called to something in one season, doesn’t mean you are called to that thing in all seasons of your life. How much of a tragedy would it be if you received all of your callings and giftings on the day of your conversion? It would make the rest of your life pretty boring. Your calling is for life but your assignment might change.

2. Advantages of staying in the same ministry for 31 years

Max has been in a place of leadership at his church for 31 years, and he has been able to see a few advantages to staying in the same place for a long time. One of the biggest advantages is that preaching to the same people for so long has caused him to preach on many of the passages and topics that pastors never preach on. This has added value to him and his congregation.

Max also loves the fact that he has a very long-standing and well-respected legacy within his community that is not only paying off for him but is paying off for his wife and kids now, too. His church has invited two of his three daughters to speak, and the community of people in their church are quick to support him and his family.

3. Happiness happens in unexpected ways

The world seems to be getting less and less happy. While researching his next book, Max learned that only one in three people today report that they are happy. So where has our happiness gone? And more importantly, how do we get it back?

One thing Max realized while researching for his book was that we become happy, ourselves, when we are making other people happy. So, when we give away something that brings joy to someone else, we too are becoming more joyful. Another unexpected way that we can become more happy is by listening. If we look at the life of Jesus, we see that he was very intentional about listening to those who were hurting.

Quotes from Episode 290

I knew it was time to pass on my role when what used to energize me about our church started to drain me. @cnieuwhofClick To Tweet

It might actually be disobedient or wrong to hang on in a position to which you’re not called anymore. @cnieuwhofClick To Tweet

Happiness happens when we give it away. @MaxLucadoClick To Tweet

Everywhere I look, somebody’s trying to make me unhappy so that I’ll buy their product. @MaxLucadoClick To Tweet

Saying no to speaking or to travel is really a good yes to my wife. @MaxLucadoClick To Tweet

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 290

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.

Watch Back Episodes of The Podcast on YouTube

Select episodes of this podcast are now on YouTube. Our new YouTube Channel gives you a chance to watch some episodes, not just listen. We’ll add select episodes to YouTube as time goes on.

Help Your Church Grow Without Compromising Biblical Integrity

Ready to start preaching better sermons and reach the unchurched without selling out? Then it’s time to start using the right tips, lessons, and strategies to communicating better.

The Art of Better Preaching Course is a 12 session video training with a comprehensive, interactive workbook that will help you create, write, and deliver better sermons. The course contains the lessons Mark Clark (lead pastor of Village Church, a growing mega-church in post-Christian Vancouver) and I have learned, taught, and used over decades of being professional communicators.

This is the complete course you need to start preaching better sermons, including:

7 preaching myths it’s time to bust forever
The 5 keys to preaching sermons to unchurched people (that will keep them coming back)
How to discover the power in the text (and use it to drive your sermon)
The specific characteristics of sermons that reach people in today’s world
Why you need to ditch your sermon notes (and how to do it far more easily than you think.)
How to keep your heart and mind fresh over the long run

And far more! Plus you get an interactive workbook and some bonus resources that will help you write amazing messages week after week.

In the Art of Better Preaching, Mark and I share everything we’ve learned about communicating in a way that will help your church grow without compromising biblical integrity. We cover detailed training on everything from interacting with the biblical text to delivering a talk without using notes, to writing killer bottom lines that people will remember for years.

Check it out today and gain instant access.

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Spread the Word. Leave a Rating and Review

Hopefully, this episode has helped you lead like never before. That’s my goal. If you appreciated it, could you share the love?

The best way to do that is to rate the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave us a brief review! You can do the same on Stitcher and on TuneIn as well.

Your ratings and reviews help us place the podcast in front of new leaders and listeners. Your feedback also lets me know how I can better serve you.

Thank you for being so awesome.

Next Episode: David Platt

There are so many deconversion stories away from Christianity these days. David Platt has seen some of the greatest suffering on earth and has again, recently, asked some of the toughest questions: In a universe governed by a good God, is hell really a place? Will so many people born into an earthly hell really end up in eternal hell? David shares how seeing profound suffering and asking those questions hasn’t led him away from faith but deeper into his faith. And, he shares what needs to change in Christianity is really going to impact the world.

Subscribe for free now and you won’t miss Episode 291.

The post CNLP 290: Max Lucado on What Causes Happiness, How to Be Happier, and How to Know When It’s Time to Leave Leadership appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 290: Max Lucado on What Causes Happiness, How to Be Happier, and How to Know When It’s Time to Leave Leadership

The post CNLP 290: Max Lucado on What Causes Happiness, How to Be Happier, and How to Know When It’s Time to Leave Leadership appeared first on Passion for Planting.

8 Things That Are Right (Not Wrong) About Young Leaders

Sean Cronin — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 09:00:43 +0000

by Carey Nieuwhof: College-aged people and young leaders in their twenties and early thirties have a bit of a bad rap.

If you listen to many Baby Boomer and Gen-X leaders talk about younger leaders, the complaints come quickly.

They

Don’t work hard enough.

Seem to want it all, now (like a month’s vacation for starters).

Have a hard time distinguishing between work and play.

Need constant affirmation.

Have no idea how to spell.

I’ve worked with a few young leaders that fit that description for sure, but far more who don’t. So many of the leaders I’ve worked with over the last decade-plus are under 30, and I have to disagree with the assessment of the emerging generations.

Sure, there are slackers out there. But I know some 50-year-olds who should get it together at some point. And besides, you can train people to spell. Quickly.

Some young leaders are slackers. But I know 50-year-olds who need to get it together at some point too. Click To Tweet

The real challenge isn’t in working with young leaders. The real challenges comes when you don’t put young leaders on your team and miss out on the immense contribution they make.

And when I say young, I mean young.

As in starting at 18 or 19, in college or right out of college.

If you don’t have young leaders on your team, both you and your organization lose.

Here’s are eight things young leaders get right, and eight things you miss out on if you stick to older leaders.

The real challenge isn’t in working with young leaders. The real challenges come when you don’t put young leaders on your team and miss out on the immense contribution they make. Click To Tweet

1. Enthusiasm and optimism abound

Remember how optimistic you were when you were young?

Optimism is something every workplace needs, and it can be harder to find in leaders over 40. As a Gen Xer myself, I have worked hard to reclaim and fuel my optimism (it is a skill), but most young leaders have a natural optimism that is frankly refreshing.

Parents told the next generation they could change the world. Not only do they believe it, they’re also doing it.

The kind of enthusiasm you have when you’re young really helps make up for the lack of wisdom you might not yet have. Young and motivated easily beats smart and lazy.

Young and motivated easily beats smart and lazy. Click To Tweet

2. They get their generation

I try to stay current, for a guy my age, I think I do all right. But I’m not 22.

Younger leaders see things differently because they grew up in a culture older leaders didn’t. There’s a difference between what you think a generation is about and what that generation thinks they’re about.

Having the voice of young leaders around the table gives me a much better sense of what resonates and what doesn’t.

If you want to connect with the emerging generation, having the emerging generation around your table is irreplaceable.

If you want to connect with the next generation, put them around your leadership table.Click To Tweet

3. They’ll challenge all assumptions

Because they are trying to figure out how the world works, they ask great questions and challenge assumptions—assumptions that so often you’re blind to because you’ve lived with them so long.

When you’re in your teens, twenties and even early thirties, you haven’t made peace with the status quo because you haven’t created the status quo (in contrast to older leaders, who by this point, did).

If you don’t like having your assumptions challenged, you’ll like irrelevance even less.

If you don’t like having your assumptions challenged, you’ll like irrelevance even less. Click To Tweet

4. Quick studies

A 21-year-old can go from good to great in a few years.

And many are motivated to do it.

And don’t underestimate what a young leader can do. You can look at a bevy of 20-something founders/CEOs who are leading organizations or companies that have changed their industries, created new industries and in other ways changed the world.

So many older leaders look down on young leaders and think they don’t have much to offer.

Be careful who you ignore.

Thomas Edison was paid $40,000 for his first invention at age 22, Mozart was composing at age 5 and died at age 35, and Braille type for the blind was invented by 15-year-old Louis Braille.

5. They’re digital natives

My friends think I’m tech-savvy, even a bit a tech-obsessed.

But put me around an 18-year-old or 25-year-old and I feel like the person who can’t figure out why their microwave keeps blinking 12:00.

Having young leaders who are both digital natives and cultural natives on your team is a distinct advantage if you’re trying to impact the next generation.

At least it beats a lot of fifty-year-olds trying to figure out what the next generation needs.

6. They are your succession plan

If you are not stacking your team with leaders 10, 20 and in some cases 30 years younger than you, you are not positioning your organization for future relevance or success.

Succession is a crisis in the corporate world and in the church.

Ultimately, though, there’s no success without succession, unless as a founder or long-term leader you want what started with you to end with you.

There’s no success without succession, unless as a founder or long-term leader you want what started with you to end with you.Click To Tweet

7. It’s all about the mission

As you’ve heard more than a few times, Gen Z and Millennials don’t want their job to just be a job. They want meaning and purpose in their work.

For organizations in maintenance mode, that will challenge you to shake off your cobwebs.

For organizations that are driven by the bottom line, you’ll have to find a bigger mission that just a sharper P&L.

But if mission drives you (as it does me), then you’ll find an amazing aligment with young leaders. Chances are your young leaders will own your mission, vision and values deeply and push it forward. It can be a win win.

They want to make a difference in the world, and they are passionate promoters of causes they believe in.

Many will choose mission over money, which doesn’t mean you should be cheap (smart employers pay a living wage), but it does tell you this matters more than it did to Boomers and many Gen X.

8. Culture has become non-negotiationable

Let’s face it, most work place cultures (including churches and non-profits) leave a ton to be desired. Way too many are toxic.

Because young leaders see themselves as free agents, they’ll demand a healthy culture, and if they don’t find it with you, they won’t hesitate to move on.

Toxic culture never keep healthy people.

Getting rid of toxic culture (not just abuse and harrassment, but boredeom, bureaucracy and dysfunction) is something that should have happened years ago.

But as you add more and more young leaders to your team, you’ll be able to accelerate the improvement of your culture more quickly.

It’s about time.

Toxic culture never keep healthy people.Click To Tweet

Too Overwhelmed to Know What To Do With This? I Get It.

Sometimes you read article like this and all you can think is “I know our culture is bad. We don’t have nearly enough young leaders, but I barely have time to breathe, let alone fix problems like this.”

I get it.

I spent my thirties pedaling harder than a fish on a bicycle, and while we were growing fast, I could never find enough time to fix the major issues I know we needed to address or I wanted to tackle.

Then I burned out.

Since then, I found a new normal that radically boosted my productivity and helped me beat overwhelm and get my life and leadership back.

I’ve published four books (and written my fifth), started blogging, podcasting and speaking around the world, all while leading a growing company, and I did it through years of experimenting with how to get time, energy and priorities working in my favour.

And in the last few years, I’ve helped thousands of leaders do the same thing.

I’ve put all my learnings so far into my High Impact Leader course.

The High Impact Leader is an online, on-demand course designed to help you get time, energy and priorities working in your favor.

Many leaders who have taken it are recovering 3 productive hours a day. That’s about 1000 hours of found time each year. That’s a lot of time for what matters most.

Here are what some alumni are saying about The High Impact Leader Course”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you for providing the course again. It has absolutely made an impact in my life and family already that I can’t even describe.” – Joel Rowland, Clayton County, North Carolina

“Carey’s course was the perfect way for our team to prepare for the new year. Our team, both collectively and individually, took a fresh look at maximizing our time and leadership gifts for the year ahead. I highly recommend this leadership development resource for you and your team.” Jeff Henderson, Atlanta Georgia

“A lot of books and programs make big promises and cannot deliver but this is not one of them. I have read so many books and watched videos on productivity but the way you approach it and teach is helpful and has changed my work week in ministry in amazing ways.” Chris Sloan, Kingston, North Carolina

“Just wow. Thank you, thank you.” Dave Campbell, Sioux Falls South Dakota

“A game changer.” Pam Perkins, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Curious? Want to beat overwhelm and have the time to reinvent yourself?

Click here to learn more or get instant access.

What are you seeing?

That’s what I see in the young leaders I work with. And how have you made young leaders an essential part of your organization?