By Carey Nieuwhof: Simon Sinek unpacks his back story, including how his grandfather shaped him, how ADHD impacted his leadership and how a deep, personal crisis led to him developing the ideas behind Start With Why.

Simon also talks about how existential flex is so important in a post-pandemic world, and why the church keeps losing ground.

Welcome to Episode 417 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 what the Church needs to do to stay relevant.

Guest Links

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Website

Episode Links

Pro Media Fire

Imagine waking up WOWED by the beautiful content you see on your social media platforms all week long.

Instagram and Facebook Stories filled with excitement. Custom graphics and animation to stop the scroll.

And, the best part is it is all done for you by the Pro Media Fire team.

The process is simple:

A Brand Discovery
Confirm Pro Media Fire Knows Your Brand
A Hands-Off – Done For You Social Media Management Solution

And that is how you wake up wowed by your own social media, done for you in 3 easy steps.

You can save time, grow online and be proud of your brand, without doing any work. Let the pros handle your social media while you focus on the mission.

Book your FREE consultation today at promediafire.com/growth.

World Vision

This has been an incredibly difficult season for those pastoring church congregations. Many of you—church leaders—are caring for the souls of struggling congregants only to find yourselves burnt out and in need of your own soul care.

Our partner, World Vision, is called to serve the most vulnerable around the world, but also feels called to serve the Bride of Christ. And that includes caring for YOU—shepherds of the flock.

So, World Vision has partnered with Danielle Strickland to provide a practical resource called Soul Care Prayer Postures.

In this FREE web series, Danielle will share rhythms and practices to help create space for God to tend to YOUR soul, and get tools you can use as you lead others.

The Church is a force for good in the world, and World Vision’s heart is for the Bride of Christ to be healthy and mobilized to be the church outside the four walls!

Sign up for the FREE web series today by going to worldvision.org/carey.

Conversation Links

Start With Why by Simon Sinek

Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

Together is Better by Simon Sinek

The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek

Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe – TED Talk by Simon Sinek

How to Discover Your “Why” in Difficult Times – TED Talk by Simon Sinek

How Great Leaders Inspire Action – TED Talk by Simon Sinek

Church Attendance is Dying. Here’s What’s Next by Carey Nieuwhof

Get Carey’s Content Straight to Your Inbox

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

Insights From Simon

1. True success comes from the combination of 3 things: 

When asked what led to his success, Simon outlined an interesting framework about what causes true, repeatable success. He’s found that it’s a combination of 3 things: Talent, Hard Work, and Luck. When those 3 things meet, you’re setting yourself up for repeatable success throughout your life.

2. When approaching your work, start with your why.

So many businesses and organizations focus on what they’re doing, and how they’re doing it, but they don’t focus on “why” enough. In his book, Start With Why Simon takes a deep dive into why your “why” is so important, and how to find what you or your business’ “why” is.

3. The Church’s inability to change is causing its own irrelevance.

Simon points out that a large portion of the church is behaving similar to how the music industry behaved as iTunes disrupted them. People didn’t stop listening to music, they just changed how they listened. Similarly, It’s not that people are losing their spirituality, it’s that they just aren’t turning to the Church for answers.

Quotes from Episode 417

It’s not that people are losing their spirituality, it’s that the church is losing its relevance. @simonsinekClick To Tweet

The responsibility of a church is not to get people in the pews. The responsibility of the church is to spread the gospel. @simonsinekClick To Tweet

People are spiritual and in search of community, in search of belief, in search of belonging, in search of hope, and in search of vision. They’re not getting it, and so they’re looking for it in other places. @simonsinekClick To Tweet

The church, as an industry, unfortunately looks a lot like a lot of other old-fashioned industries which is, ‘This is the way we’ve always done it.’ @simonsinekClick To Tweet

The solutions we find to the challenges we have when we’re children become our strengths as adults. @simonsinekClick To Tweet

There’s a formula for success, this zero-sum formula, which is talent, something innate, hard work, and then luck. @simonsinekClick To Tweet

We all have innate things in us, like the strengths we build when we’re kids, and if we invest in building on those talents, they become even stronger. @simonsinekClick To Tweet

We see the world through different lenses because of our childhoods and our upbringings. @simonsinekClick To Tweet

I am living proof that in adversity comes opportunity, and in hardship comes renewal and rebirth. @simonsinekClick To Tweet

I didn’t set out to tell anybody anything. I set out to share something that had profoundly changed my life and my view of the world. @simonsinekClick To Tweet

As a species, we are constantly searching for explanation. The most confounding things are things that seem to lack explanation. @simonsinekClick To Tweet

A why comes from the past. It’s where we come from, it is objective, and it never changes your whole life. @simonsinekClick To Tweet

I imagine a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do. @simonsinekClick To Tweet

The obsession with the finite game means we see more and are more short term-ism. @simonsinekClick To Tweet

Finite-mindedness dominates business theory and political theory of the day. @simonsinekClick To Tweet

Wall Street breaks economies because they are making decisions for the good of themselves in a finite manner, rather than allowing companies and allowing executives to make decisions that are for the good of the whole. @simonsinekClick To Tweet

Existential flexibility is the capacity to make a 180 degree strategic shift in order to better advance your cause. @simonsinekClick To Tweet

If you don’t have the just cause and you don’t have the trusting teams, that existential flex will probably fail. @simonsinekClick To Tweet

In the future church, the church is going to meet anytime, anywhere, sometimes.Click To Tweet

Consumer Christianity isn’t about what you bring to the mission, it’s about what you squeeze out of it.Click To Tweet

Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 417

Looking for a key quote? More of a reader?

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

Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.

/* FORM STYLES */

#nf-form-82_1-cont .nf-form-title h3 {
font-size:35pt;
}

/* FIELDS STYLES */

.nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-1023_1-wrap {
display:block;
}

TODO: Move to Template File.
var formDisplay=1;var nfForms=nfForms||[];var form=[];form.id=’82_1′;form.settings={“objectType”:”Form Setting”,”editActive”:true,”title”:”Church Outreach Assessment – End of Blog”,”default_label_pos”:”above”,”show_title”:”0″,”clear_complete”:”1″,”hide_complete”:”1″,”logged_in”:””,”wrapper_class”:””,”element_class”:””,”key”:””,”add_submit”:”1″,”currency”:””,”unique_field_error”:”A form with this value has already been submitted.”,”not_logged_in_msg”:””,”sub_limit_msg”:”The form has reached its submission limit.”,”calculations”:[],”container_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”title_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”row_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”row-odd_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”success-msg_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”error_msg_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”conditions”:[],”formContentData”:[{“formContentData”:[{“order”:1,”cells”:[{“order”:0,”fields”:[“the_pivot_ready_cheat_sheet_1602862985838″],”width”:”100″}]}],”order”:0,”type”:”part”,”clean”:true,”title”:”Part Title”,”key”:”txugtmhf”}],”changeEmailErrorMsg”:”Please enter a valid email address!”,”changeDateErrorMsg”:”Please enter a valid date!”,”confirmFieldErrorMsg”:”These fields must match!”,”fieldNumberNumMinError”:”Number Min Error”,”fieldNumberNumMaxError”:”Number Max Error”,”fieldNumberIncrementBy”:”Please increment by “,”formErrorsCorrectErrors”:”Please correct errors before submitting this form.”,”validateRequiredField”:”This is a required field.”,”honeypotHoneypotError”:”Honeypot Error”,”fieldsMarkedRequired”:”Fields marked with an * are required”,”drawerDisabled”:false,”container_styles_border”:””,”container_styles_height”:””,”container_styles_margin”:””,”container_styles_padding”:””,”container_styles_float”:””,”title_styles_border”:””,”title_styles_height”:””,”title_styles_width”:””,”title_styles_font-size”:”35″,”title_styles_margin”:””,”title_styles_padding”:””,”title_styles_float”:””,”row_styles_border”:””,”row_styles_width”:””,”row_styles_font-size”:””,”row_styles_margin”:””,”row_styles_padding”:””,”row-odd_styles_border”:””,”row-odd_styles_height”:””,”row-odd_styles_width”:””,”row-odd_styles_font-size”:””,”row-odd_styles_margin”:””,”row-odd_styles_padding”:””,”success-msg_styles_border”:””,”success-msg_styles_height”:””,”success-msg_styles_width”:””,”success-msg_styles_font-size”:””,”success-msg_styles_margin”:””,”success-msg_styles_padding”:””,”error_msg_styles_border”:””,”error_msg_styles_width”:””,”error_msg_styles_font-size”:””,”error_msg_styles_margin”:””,”error_msg_styles_padding”:””,”repeatable_fieldsets”:””,”mp_breadcrumb”:”1″,”mp_progress_bar”:”1″,”mp_display_titles”:”0″,”breadcrumb_container_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”breadcrumb_buttons_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”breadcrumb_button_hover_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”breadcrumb_active_button_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”progress_bar_container_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”progress_bar_fill_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”part_titles_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”navigation_container_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”previous_button_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”next_button_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”navigation_hover_styles_show_advanced_css”:”0″,”allow_public_link”:0,”embed_form”:””,”ninjaForms”:”Ninja Forms”,”fieldTextareaRTEInsertLink”:”Insert Link”,”fieldTextareaRTEInsertMedia”:”Insert Media”,”fieldTextareaRTESelectAFile”:”Select a file”,”formHoneypot”:”If you are a human seeing this field, please leave it empty.”,”fileUploadOldCodeFileUploadInProgress”:”File Upload in Progress.”,”fileUploadOldCodeFileUpload”:”FILE UPLOAD”,”currencySymbol”:”$”,”thousands_sep”:”,”,”decimal_point”:”.”,”siteLocale”:”en_US”,”dateFormat”:”m/d/Y”,”startOfWeek”:”0″,”of”:”of”,”previousMonth”:”Previous Month”,”nextMonth”:”Next Month”,”months”:[“January”,”February”,”March”,”April”,”May”,”June”,”July”,”August”,”September”,”October”,”November”,”December”],”monthsShort”:[“Jan”,”Feb”,”Mar”,”Apr”,”May”,”Jun”,”Jul”,”Aug”,”Sep”,”Oct”,”Nov”,”Dec”],”weekdays”:[“Sunday”,”Monday”,”Tuesday”,”Wednesday”,”Thursday”,”Friday”,”Saturday”],”weekdaysShort”:[“Sun”,”Mon”,”Tue”,”Wed”,”Thu”,”Fri”,”Sat”],”weekdaysMin”:[“Su”,”Mo”,”Tu”,”We”,”Th”,”Fr”,”Sa”],”currency_symbol”:””,”beforeForm”:””,”beforeFields”:””,”afterFields”:””,”afterForm”:””};form.fields=[{“objectType”:”Field”,”objectDomain”:”fields”,”editActive”:false,”order”:1,”idAttribute”:”id”,”label”:””,”type”:”html”,”default”:”

Is Your Church Ready For Future Evangelism? Take The Free Church Outreach Assessment To Find Out.

Almost every church leader wants to grow their church by reaching more people.

As culture continues to change rapidly into a post-Christian era, though, itu2019s left many leaders feeling like theyu2019re not accomplishing their mission. For too many churches, things arenu2019t going as hoped.

After you complete the assessment, youu2019ll receive a detailed breakdown of your results and get access to a free teaching series that will help you take practical steps forward in each of the five areas.

When youu2019re done, youu2019ll be far more equipped to accomplish your mission.

Donu2019t be discouraged. You can still reach people.

Take the Church Outreach Assessment now!”,”container_class”:””,”element_class”:””,”wrap_styles_border”:0,”wrap_styles_width”:””,”wrap_styles_margin”:””,”wrap_styles_padding”:””,”wrap_styles_float”:””,”wrap_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”label_styles_border”:””,”label_styles_width”:””,”label_styles_font-size”:””,”label_styles_margin”:””,”label_styles_padding”:””,”label_styles_float”:””,”label_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”element_styles_border”:””,”element_styles_width”:””,”element_styles_font-size”:””,”element_styles_margin”:””,”element_styles_padding”:””,”element_styles_float”:””,”element_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”cellcid”:”c8551″,”key”:”the_pivot_ready_cheat_sheet_1602862985838″,”drawerDisabled”:false,”wrap_styles_background-color”:””,”wrap_styles_border-style”:””,”wrap_styles_border-color”:””,”wrap_styles_display”:”block”,”field_label”:””,”field_key”:”the_pivot_ready_cheat_sheet_1602862985838″,”id”:”1023_1″,”beforeField”:””,”afterField”:””,”value”:”

Is Your Church Ready For Future Evangelism? Take The Free Church Outreach Assessment To Find Out.

Almost every church leader wants to grow their church by reaching more people.

As culture continues to change rapidly into a post-Christian era, though, itu2019s left many leaders feeling like theyu2019re not accomplishing their mission. For too many churches, things arenu2019t going as hoped.

After you complete the assessment, youu2019ll receive a detailed breakdown of your results and get access to a free teaching series that will help you take practical steps forward in each of the five areas.

When youu2019re done, youu2019ll be far more equipped to accomplish your mission.

Donu2019t be discouraged. You can still reach people.

Take the Church Outreach Assessment now!”,”label_pos”:”above”,”parentType”:”html”,”element_templates”:[“html”,”input”],”old_classname”:””,”wrap_template”:”wrap”}];nfForms.push(form);

{{{ data.renderProgressBar() }}}
{{{ data.renderBreadcrumbs() }}}
{{{ data.renderPartTitle() }}}

{{{ data.title }}}

{{{ data.renderNextPrevious() }}}

{{{ ( part.errors ) ? ” : ” }}} {{{ part.title }}}

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.

SUBSCRIBED YET?

Subscribe for free and never miss out on wisdom from world-class leaders like Brian Houston, Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel, Nancy Duarte, Henry Cloud, Patrick Lencioni, Francis Chan, Ann Voskamp, Erwin McManus and many others.

Subscribe using your favorite podcast app via

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Google Podcasts

Stitcher

TuneIn

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: Tony Morgan

Tony Morgan returns to the podcast to share the latest data on church attendance trends, best and worst practices for creating a digital strategy, and how to track online metrics that actually matter so you can connect with people who find you online.

Subscribe for free now so you won’t miss Episode 418.

The post CNLP 417: Simon Sinek on Why the Church is Losing Ground, the Importance of Existential Flex and How Deep, Personal Crisis Spawned Start With Why appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: CNLP 417: Simon Sinek on Why the Church is Losing Ground, the Importance of Existential Flex and How Deep, Personal Crisis Spawned Start With Why

The post CNLP 417: Simon Sinek on Why the Church is Losing Ground, the Importance of Existential Flex and How Deep, Personal Crisis Spawned Start With Why appeared first on Passion for Planting.

By: Discipleship.org

Discipleship-first Friends,

The United States is the midst of big change. First, it was COVID-19 and all the changes around which everyone had to adopt. Then, it was economic shock. And now it has moved to public protests, demonstrations, and civil unrest.

Now, it has moved even further with changes in police departments, sponsorships, corporations, and many public institutions.

What are disciples and disciple makers to do in such times?

Natasha Crain recently published a very helpful post entitled, “5 Ways Christians are Getting Swept into a Secular Worldview in This Cultural Moment.” As she points out, many people around us are jumping on a bandwagon of some kind, and the dominant bandwagon is not rooted in values consistent with a biblical worldview.

As I pointed out in my blog on this topic last week (click here), we must be aware of the cultural moment in which we are living and realize that we must do what the apostle Paul described in 2 Corinthians 10:5—and take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

But how do we do that?

I would like to recommend twelve key resources that can help guide us as disciples and disciple makers of Jesus.

1. Podcasts on Emotional Health, we must engage at an emotional level to understand and listen. Our friend Pete Scazzero has a couple of great podcasts on why we must get under the surface and empathize with our hearts at the level of hurt, emotion and grief. As Pete points out, if we do not carefully enter in at this level, then we will likely not be able to talk meaningfully about practices or beliefs or the worldviews that may be guiding the narrative. Check out Pete’s June 8th and June 15th podcasts at emotionallyhealthy.org/podcasts.

2. An Empathetic Biblical Posture, I want to mention a great conversation I had recently with a friend of mine who is an African American. She pointed out why so many African Americans are attracted to Critical Race Theory (which is a sub-set of Critical Theory) and the book White Fragility.

She said, “It describes our narrative.”

She said that Critical Race Theory (White Fragility) explains the experience of African American better than anything else she has seen out there. It is hard to listen to another perspective if it does not adequately describe your personal narrative. She wants church leaders to show her a better lens – she wants a Biblical perspective that connects with her experience. I believe that it is important to listen to her. It is important that we do not come across as being opposed to understanding their systemic mistreatment and experience, as we look at the important underlying philosophical factors at work in our society.

There are two resources that I recommended to her. The first one is Tony Evan’s book, Oneness Embraced: Reconciliation, the Kingdom, and How We are Stronger Together. Tony is a widely respected African American preacher and he does a good job describing the teaching of God’s Word in light of the black experience in America—you can click here to look at his book.

The second is a draft church position paper that the leaders in our church have been working through as we seek to provide an alternative posture to the world based upon the teaching of God’s Word (click here to read).

A Big World-View Problem

The vast majority of pastors, leaders, and disciple makers do not even understand the underlying philosophical change that we are witnessing in our society. In the words of a friend, “we have to help church leaders and disciple makers to easily go to school so they can understand what is happening.”

To help us all “go to school” on the new dominant philosophy that is being revealed in these times, I hope the following resources will be helpful to you. I start with those that are the most accessible for quick understanding up through the most in-depth (the last links).

3. Short Video—“Is Critical Theory Biblical?” by the Colson Center—click here. This short, animated video is the best simple introduction to Critical Theory and its conflict with biblical teaching that I have found. We showed it in church recently. (5 mins.).

4. Blog Post—5 Ways Christians are Getting Swept into a Secular Worldview in this Cultural Moment, by Natasha Crain—click here. A great summary of how the events of the last few weeks cause more and more people to be discipled into Critical Theory. (8 mins.)

5. Podcast—Critical Theory and Intersectionality: What Christians Need to Know, by Alisa Childers and Neil Shenvi—click here. Alisa hosts an excellent regular podcast, and in this episode, she gets Neil Shenvi to introduce the key points of Critical Theory. The podcast ends with a great discussion on race. (58 min.)

6. YouTube Discussion—Race, Injustice, and the Gospel of Critical Race Theory, by Alisa Childers and Monique Duson—click here. This is a dynamic interview and discussion by Alisa Childers with Monique Duson, an African American woman and former Critical Theory devotee. Monique describes the attraction and consequences of Critical Theory. (56 min.)

7. YouTube Presentation—“Social Justice, Critical Theory, and Christianity: Are They Compatible?” by Neil Shevni—click here. The best expanded explanation of Critical Theory I can find on the web, with a focus on the strengths and weaknesses. (1 hour and 15 mins.)

8. Six-Part Blog Post—“Social Justice, Critical Theory, and Christianity: Are They Compatible?” by Neil Shevni (exact written copy of the video presentation)—click here. These short posts explain in a simple by comprehensive way what Critical Theory is and how it is in conflict with the Bible. (20 mins.)

9. YouTube Presentation—Defining Social Justice, by Voddie Baucham—click here. This presentation by an African American preacher is an excellent discussion of social justice as the term is used today, as well as how people use it to twist it away from Bible teaching and how it is now being used against biblical teaching. (37 mins).

10. YouTube Presentation—White Privilege: The New Original Sin, by Thomas Ascol—click here. This teaching contrasts the teachings of Critical Theory on White Privilege with what the Bible Teaches. (33 mins.)

11. YouTube Presentation—Cultural Marxism, by Voddie Baucham—click here. This presentation by an African American preacher is an excellent discussion of the underlying philosophical battle that is occurring in our culture (1 hour and 5 mins.)

12. YouTube Presentation—The Trojan Horse, Episode 1: Deconstructing Communities, by Peter Boghassian and James Lindsay, hosted by Michael O’Fallon—click here. This is the most substantive source of information on Critical Theory. It is an interview with two atheist philosophers (Ph.Ds.) who are experts in Critical Theory. They were asked to describe the results of the Southern Baptist Denomination affirming part of Critical Theory (as they did in 2019). They describe the decision as a “Trojan Horse” because the adoption of Critical Theory will destroy the denomination. It may be the most important, substantive and terrifying presentation on Critical Race Theory you will ever hear. (1 hour and 35 mins.)

We believe the Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Let’s follow Jesus and help other people to turn away from harmful human-made philosophy to follow Jesus with us.

We want to be disciples of Jesus who love people enough to help disciple their minds in this important cultural moment.

The post Twelve Resources for This Cultural Moment appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: Twelve Resources for This Cultural Moment

The post Twelve Resources for This Cultural Moment appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Carey Nieuwhof: So how relevant are you as a leader?

Any idea how you’d answer that accurately?

You can debate how important relevance is all day long (and many do), but the truth is irrelevant leaders make almost no impact on the people or causes around them.

Why is that?

Well, it’s not about being current or cool. Relevance matters for one reason: it’s permission to speak into the culture. Our culture has a habit of not listening to people it deems irrelevant.

Relevance simply gains you a hearing. It determines whether or not people pay attention to you or whether they ignore you.

Relevance matters for one reason: it’s permission to speak into the culture. Our culture has a habit of not listening to people it deems irrelevant. Click To Tweet

Relevance isn’t necessarily an age thing. You can be relevant at 65 and irrelevant at 25. It’s more a mindset than it is anything else.

One often ignored factor that can push you toward irrelevance is, paradoxically, success.

Leaders who are part of growing or large organizations are especially prone to irrelevance unless they guard against it.

In fact, as we’ve discussed here more than a few times, the great enemy of your future success is your current success because your success makes you conservative.

When you had nothing to lose, change was easy. Now that you have something to lose, change is that much harder.

Your past success doesn’t guarantee your future success.

So whether your organization has momentum or whether it’s losing steam, here are 5 signs you’re becoming an irrelevant leader.

Your past success doesn’t guarantee your future success. The greatest enemy of your future success is your current success because success makes you conservative.Click To Tweet

1. You increasingly think most new ideas are bad ideas

Hey, it’s easy to resist new ideas. But if you think back, there was a time when you were likely really open to new ideas.

But as you get older and wiser, and you’ve got a way of doing things.

The human mind is great at preserving the status quo. You can think of 10 reasons why a new idea won’t work, and you and your team never hesitate to list them.

The leadership graveyard is filled with the bodies of leaders who say “We haven’t done it that way before.”

Not every new idea is a great idea, but embracing no new ideas is a terrible idea.

When was the last time you embraced a radical new idea? If you can’t answer that question, you’re already in trouble.

Not every new idea is a great idea, but embracing no new ideas is a terrible idea.Click To Tweet

2. The copyright dates on your resources are from another era

Have you checked the copyright date on what you’re currently reading/watching/listening to lately?

There’s nothing wrong the classics. Whether that’s books, movies or music. Wise leaders always learn from the past.

It’s one thing to learn from the past. It’s another to freeze in it.

Without thinking much about it, irrelevant leaders freeze in a certain year. You’ve walked into some offices and thought “Wow, it’s 1998 in here.”

You’ve seen some strategies at work and said to yourself, “This feels like 2005”.

If you hope to speak into the culture of today, you need to understand what’s happening today. So even if you prefer the past, study the present.

It’s one thing to learn from the past. It’s another to freeze in it. Even if you prefer the past, study the present.Click To Tweet

3. Everyone on your team is your age

This isn’t so much a problem if you’re twenty-two and just starting out. To have a young leadership team of idealistic people is an awesome thing.

Sure, some wisdom wouldn’t hurt, but still, the world often gets changed by young leaders on a mission.

But what happens is that twenty-year-olds eventually turn 30. Fast forward a bit, and everyone on your senior leadership team is in their mid-fifties.

That’s a big issue.

Left uncorrected, organizations tend to age with their leader.

As a leader in my fifties, I’ve had to be incredibly intentional about surrounding myself with leaders in their 20s and 30s, something that really energizes me.

You may not have the chemistry or familiarity with younger leaders that you do with your peers who have been through life with you, but renewing the leadership table with younger leaders is critical.

It’s easy for older leaders to think that younger leaders are too young to lead.

You were too, once. And someone took a chance on you anyway. And you did some of your best work then too, didn’t you?

Left uncorrected, churches tend to age with their senior leader.Click To Tweet

4. Change makes you tired

Change is difficult at the best of times, but if even the sound of change makes you tired, it’s a sign that you’re becoming irrelevant.

It’s normal to default to the status quo. We all do.

A few years ago, my dentist told me I needed at least five crowns. The thought of that made me feel tired and broke all at once.

I got a bit of the work done but then took a break.

One afternoon I was eating some cereal and I noticed something that didn’t feel like cereal in my mouth. It was half a molar.

Guess where I went the next day?

Too often, that’s exactly how we approach change in the church. We wait until something breaks, and then we’ll try to fix it.

That may work with a tooth, but it’s a terrible strategy for leaders (okay, and for dentistry).

In our rapidly changing culture, waiting until something breaks to fix is one of the fastest ways to ensure you become irrelevant.

If change makes you tired, I promise you, the slow death of your organization will make you even more tired.

If change makes you tired, I promise you, the slow death of your organization will make you even more tired.Click To Tweet

5. Your dominant emotions toward to culture are negative

This is a loaded point…but it’s important.

If social media is any gauge of how many leaders feel about our culture, we’re in trouble.

And even if you’re not posting on your social media is ALL CAPS, telling the world how bad it is, your attitude still matters.

Negativity leaks.

Constantly criticizing people is no way to reach them.

As a Christian leader, I am constantly reminded that Jesus loved the world. He saw the mess, the brokenness, the godlessness and embraced us anyway.

Jesus loved the world enough to die for it.

You should care enough about the world to do the same.

Negativity leaks. Constantly criticizing people is no way to reach them.Click To Tweet

Multiply Your Leadership (And Time)

Find posts like this overwhelming because it leaves you wondering how on earth you’ll find time to do any of this?

When will you have time to read more? How can you find the time to restructure your organization? Or find the energy to lead change?

Let me help.

My approach to life and leadership changed radically for me over ten years ago when I figured out how to get time, energy and priorities working in my favour.

I’d love to help you free up hours each day to do the same thing. And I’ve helped over 5000 leaders do just that.

If you’re trying to find the time for what matters most in life, my High Impact Leader course, is my online, on-demand course designed to help you get time, energy and priorities working in your favour.

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

“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 reflect, rest and reinvent yourself?

Click here to learn more or get instant access.

Speaking of Relevance: Two Don’t-Miss Events This Fall

One of the best ways to stay relevant is to keep learning and growing.

Registration for two premiere events opens TODAY (Thursday June 13th).

Orange Tour 2019 with Reggie Joiner, Jon Acuff and many others will help you reach the next generation. Orange Tour is coming to 15 US cities this fall. I’ll be speaking in Irvine CA, Phoenix AZ and Austin TX.

You can register for Orange Tour here and get the best rates.

And Andy Stanley is heading to four cities this fall with his Irresistible Tour…picking up where his best selling book of the same name left-off.

Register today and get the best rates.

What Do You Think?

What do you see as signs of relevance or irrelevance?

Scroll down and leave a comment!

The post 5 Signs You’re Becoming an Irrelevant Leader appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: 5 Signs You’re Becoming an Irrelevant Leader

The post 5 Signs You’re Becoming an Irrelevant Leader appeared first on Passion for Planting.