5 Leadership Questions Podcast on Church Leadership with Todd Adkins and Dan Iten

99% of all leadership happens from the middle of the organization. – John Maxwell

Really? 99%? You’d think most of the leadership happened at the top. Think about it, though. Those in the middle have influence up, down, and across. They lead teams and influence executives. The middle is a strategic place, and that should encourage a LOT of people since there are far more in the middle than at the top.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast Todd Adkins and I are joined by Brad Lomenick to talk about the strategic position that middle leaders have. We answer these 5 questions:

* What’s the difference between leading from the middle and being “middle management”?

* Is the middle a place of leverage or a place stuck between two things?

* What are effective ways for someone in a middle position to lead up?

* How can middle management effectively channel the wishes and vision of upper management to those they lead?

* How should middle management handle a situation in which they disagree with their superiors?

Best Quotes

“There is a distinct difference between leading from the middle and being middle management.”

“Leading up is having an ownership mentality.”

“Think, have perspective, and anticipate as if you are at the top of the organization.”

“Whether you lead up or down, always criticize in private and praise in public.”

“If you are leading from the middle, understand your context, and know you have influence.”

“The best way to advance in an organization is to be the best in what you are doing right now.”

“Leading from the middle is being a linchpin in your organization.”

“The further you go up in leadership, the less decisions you should be making.”

“How would your leadership be different if you were in the position you are chasing after? Visualize that and go lead like that now.”

Recommended Resources

BradLomenick.com (Brad’s Blog)

H3 Leadership: Be Humble. Stay Hungry. Always Hustle. by Brad Lomenick

 

 

99% of all leadership happens from the middle of the organization. – John Maxwell

Really? 99%? You’d think most of the leadership happened at the top. Think about it, though. Those in the middle have influence up, down, and across. They lead teams and influence executives. The middle is a strategic place, and that should encourage a LOT of people since there are far more in the middle than at the top.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast Todd Adkins and I are joined by Brad Lomenick to talk about the strategic position that middle leaders have. We answer these 5 questions:

* What’s the difference between leading from the middle and being “middle management”?

* Is the middle a place of leverage or a place stuck between two things?

* What are effective ways for someone in a middle position to lead up?

* How can middle management effectively channel the wishes and vision of upper management to those they lead?

* How should middle management handle a situation in which they disagree with their superiors?

Best Quotes

“There is a distinct difference between leading from the middle and being middle management.”

“Leading up is having an ownership mentality.”

“Think, have perspective, and anticipate as if you are at the top of the organization.”

“Whether you lead up or down, always criticize in private and praise in public.”

“If you are leading from the middle, understand your context, and know you have influence.”

“The best way to advance in an organization is to be the best in what you are doing right now.”

“Leading from the middle is being a linchpin in your organization.”

“The further you go up in leadership, the less decisions you should be making.”

“How would your leadership be different if you were in the position you are chasing after? Visualize that and go lead like that now.”

Recommended Resources

BradLomenick.com (Brad’s Blog)

H3 Leadership: Be Humble. Stay Hungry. Always Hustle. by Brad Lomenick

 

 

99% of all leadership happens from the middle of the organization. – John Maxwell

Really? 99%? You’d think most of the leadership happened at the top. Think about it, though. Those in the middle have influence up, down, and across. They lead teams and influence executives. The middle is a strategic place, and that should encourage a LOT of people since there are far more in the middle than at the top.

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast Todd Adkins and I are joined by Brad Lomenick to talk about the strategic position that middle leaders have. We answer these 5 questions:

* What’s the difference between leading from the middle and being “middle management”?

* Is the middle a place of leverage or a place stuck between two things?

* What are effective ways for someone in a middle position to lead up?

* How can middle management effectively channel the wishes and vision of upper management to those they lead?

* How should middle management handle a situation in which they disagree with their superiors?

Best Quotes

“There is a distinct difference between leading from the middle and being middle management.”

“Leading up is having an ownership mentality.”

“Think, have perspective, and anticipate as if you are at the top of the organization.”

“Whether you lead up or down, always criticize in private and praise in public.”

“If you are leading from the middle, understand your context, and know you have influence.”

“The best way to advance in an organization is to be the best in what you are doing right now.”

“Leading from the middle is being a linchpin in your organization.”

“The further you go up in leadership, the less decisions you should be making.”

“How would your leadership be different if you were in the position you are chasing after? Visualize that and go lead like that now.”

Recommended Resources

BradLomenick.com (Brad’s Blog)

H3 Leadership: Be Humble. Stay Hungry. Always Hustle. by Brad Lomenick

 

 

Change is hard. Managing change for a large organization is even harder. Selma Wilson is the Vice President of Organizational Development for LifeWay which means, among other things, that she is overseeing much of the transition happening at Lifeway (merging divisions, consolidating offices in preparation to move, morphing into being a mobile workforce, etc.), particularly as it pertains to the human aspects. We had the pleasure of asking our five leadership questions of Selma in this episode, and, as usual, her gracious others-focused spirit and keen leadership insights shone. Enjoy!

Best Quotes

“I love helping people reach their full potential in Jesus Christ.”

“God’s plan for family is so similar to God’s plan for organization.”

“It’s so easy to be reading everything else and forget that primary source all of learning and all of life comes from God’s word.”

“There is no such thing as a 9 to 5 job any more, especially in leadership.”

“You can’t specialize any more because one person cannot possibly keep up.”

“You’re going to need three things to survive in the market in the future: the ability to deal with change, the ability to lead and understand people, and the ability to communicate.”

“We have to teach people to own their own development, to be proactive in that.”

“One of the things I tell women in leadership is ‘you’re not a victim here, not in this country. You’re empowered to grow yourself.”

“The whole hierarchical system of leadership is over.”

“Leadership is going to have to be a collaborative effort of multi-talented and gifted people who come together to share a diversity of insight that will cause something greater to emerge than any one person could do alone.”

“30% of your workforce will love change and jump right in. About 40% are going to want to but will need a little help and some tools. 30% are going to have a really hard time.”

“In our churches and in our non-profits people are really needing help learning how to deal with change.”

“Because we’re Christian and we’re southern we’ll be nice to each other in a meeting then go back to our offices and speak the truth. People in power need the truth spoken to them.”

“It’s such a waste of energy when you’re a different person in different places.”

Recommended Resources

Selma on Leadership (Selma’s blog)

Leading Change by John P. Kotter

Digital Disruption by James McQuivey

Change Your Space, Change Your Culture by Rex Miller, Mabel Casey, & Mark Konchar

Change is hard. Managing change for a large organization is even harder. Selma Wilson is the Vice President of Organizational Development for LifeWay which means, among other things, that she is overseeing much of the transition happening at Lifeway (merging divisions, consolidating offices in preparation to move, morphing into being a mobile workforce, etc.), particularly as it pertains to the human aspects. We had the pleasure of asking our five leadership questions of Selma in this episode, and, as usual, her gracious others-focused spirit and keen leadership insights shone. Enjoy!

Best Quotes

“I love helping people reach their full potential in Jesus Christ.”

“God’s plan for family is so similar to God’s plan for organization.”

“It’s so easy to be reading everything else and forget that primary source all of learning and all of life comes from God’s word.”

“There is no such thing as a 9 to 5 job any more, especially in leadership.”

“You can’t specialize any more because one person cannot possibly keep up.”

“You’re going to need three things to survive in the market in the future: the ability to deal with change, the ability to lead and understand people, and the ability to communicate.”

“We have to teach people to own their own development, to be proactive in that.”

“One of the things I tell women in leadership is ‘you’re not a victim here, not in this country. You’re empowered to grow yourself.”

“The whole hierarchical system of leadership is over.”

“Leadership is going to have to be a collaborative effort of multi-talented and gifted people who come together to share a diversity of insight that will cause something greater to emerge than any one person could do alone.”

“30% of your workforce will love change and jump right in. About 40% are going to want to but will need a little help and some tools. 30% are going to have a really hard time.”

“In our churches and in our non-profits people are really needing help learning how to deal with change.”

“Because we’re Christian and we’re southern we’ll be nice to each other in a meeting then go back to our offices and speak the truth. People in power need the truth spoken to them.”

“It’s such a waste of energy when you’re a different person in different places.”

Recommended Resources

Selma on Leadership (Selma’s blog)

Leading Change by John P. Kotter

Digital Disruption by James McQuivey

Change Your Space, Change Your Culture by Rex Miller, Mabel Casey, & Mark Konchar

Change is hard. Managing change for a large organization is even harder. Selma Wilson is the Vice President of Organizational Development for LifeWay which means, among other things, that she is overseeing much of the transition happening at Lifeway (merging divisions, consolidating offices in preparation to move, morphing into being a mobile workforce, etc.), particularly as it pertains to the human aspects. We had the pleasure of asking our five leadership questions of Selma in this episode, and, as usual, her gracious others-focused spirit and keen leadership insights shone. Enjoy!

Best Quotes

“I love helping people reach their full potential in Jesus Christ.”

“God’s plan for family is so similar to God’s plan for organization.”

“It’s so easy to be reading everything else and forget that primary source all of learning and all of life comes from God’s word.”

“There is no such thing as a 9 to 5 job any more, especially in leadership.”

“You can’t specialize any more because one person cannot possibly keep up.”

“You’re going to need three things to survive in the market in the future: the ability to deal with change, the ability to lead and understand people, and the ability to communicate.”

“We have to teach people to own their own development, to be proactive in that.”

“One of the things I tell women in leadership is ‘you’re not a victim here, not in this country. You’re empowered to grow yourself.”

“The whole hierarchical system of leadership is over.”

“Leadership is going to have to be a collaborative effort of multi-talented and gifted people who come together to share a diversity of insight that will cause something greater to emerge than any one person could do alone.”

“30% of your workforce will love change and jump right in. About 40% are going to want to but will need a little help and some tools. 30% are going to have a really hard time.”

“In our churches and in our non-profits people are really needing help learning how to deal with change.”

“Because we’re Christian and we’re southern we’ll be nice to each other in a meeting then go back to our offices and speak the truth. People in power need the truth spoken to them.”

“It’s such a waste of energy when you’re a different person in different places.”

Recommended Resources

Selma on Leadership (Selma’s blog)

Leading Change by John P. Kotter

Digital Disruption by James McQuivey

Change Your Space, Change Your Culture by Rex Miller, Mabel Casey, & Mark Konchar

Worship leaders are among the most prominent and obvious leaders in the church. They are in front of congregations weekly helping people enter into corporate worship, primarily through music. So it seemed fitting on a leadership podcast to dig into the role of “worship leader.” To help Todd Adkins and I with this we had Stephen Miller on. Stephen is a worship leader at Real Life Church in Austin, TX and before that served as the worship pastor for several years in Saint Louis, MO at The Journey. He is an author and musician who has produced several albums (see the resources list at the end of the post for details.) In this episode we asked the following questions.

* What’s the difference between worship leading and music leading?

* How can a worship leader best work with a preaching pastor to put together a seamless worship experience (thematically, stylistically, etc.)?

* How do you balance skilled musical performance with not being showy or like a concert? What’s the place of musical solos, riffs, and the like?

* Since being a worship leader differs from other pastoral/staff positions, how do you blend your ministry with that of the whole church staff?

* Do skinny jeans and v-necks make worship leaders better at their jobs?

Best Quotes

“When you’re leading worship you’re leading people.”

“Before you’re a worship leader you’re a worshipper. That should be you’re primary identity.”

“Cantatas, that’s not a Greek yogurt.”

“The best worship leaders I know are not just leading worship in their churches but are also pastor/shepherds.”

“In the end, the lead pastor is the worship pastor of the church.”

“The constant tension is to ask the question ‘what’s the purpose of this?’”

“What do worship leaders do during the week? Well, they better be worshipping!”

“One of the best things we can do as leaders is to open ourselves up to that clear consistent feedback as leaders.”

“From a congregant’s perspective excellence by the leadership makes worshipping in a seat or in a pew so much easier.”

“Let people lead with excellence where they’re excellent then let the governing body of the church oversee where it intersects.”

“If you have passions that are outside of your responsibilities, crush your responsibilities. Then look for ways to live that out.”

Recommended Resources

Stephen-Miller.com (Music, blog, book)

Real Life Church – Austin, TX

Worship Leaders: We Are Not Rockstars 

Worship leaders are among the most prominent and obvious leaders in the church. They are in front of congregations weekly helping people enter into corporate worship, primarily through music. So it seemed fitting on a leadership podcast to dig into the role of “worship leader.” To help Todd Adkins and I with this we had Stephen Miller on. Stephen is a worship leader at Real Life Church in Austin, TX and before that served as the worship pastor for several years in Saint Louis, MO at The Journey. He is an author and musician who has produced several albums (see the resources list at the end of the post for details.) In this episode we asked the following questions.

* What’s the difference between worship leading and music leading?

* How can a worship leader best work with a preaching pastor to put together a seamless worship experience (thematically, stylistically, etc.)?

* How do you balance skilled musical performance with not being showy or like a concert? What’s the place of musical solos, riffs, and the like?

* Since being a worship leader differs from other pastoral/staff positions, how do you blend your ministry with that of the whole church staff?

* Do skinny jeans and v-necks make worship leaders better at their jobs?

Best Quotes

“When you’re leading worship you’re leading people.”

“Before you’re a worship leader you’re a worshipper. That should be you’re primary identity.”

“Cantatas, that’s not a Greek yogurt.”

“The best worship leaders I know are not just leading worship in their churches but are also pastor/shepherds.”

“In the end, the lead pastor is the worship pastor of the church.”

“The constant tension is to ask the question ‘what’s the purpose of this?’”

“What do worship leaders do during the week? Well, they better be worshipping!”

“One of the best things we can do as leaders is to open ourselves up to that clear consistent feedback as leaders.”

“From a congregant’s perspective excellence by the leadership makes worshipping in a seat or in a pew so much easier.”

“Let people lead with excellence where they’re excellent then let the governing body of the church oversee where it intersects.”

“If you have passions that are outside of your responsibilities, crush your responsibilities. Then look for ways to live that out.”

Recommended Resources

Stephen-Miller.com (Music, blog, book)

Real Life Church – Austin, TX

Worship Leaders: We Are Not Rockstars