3 Effortless Ways to Successfully Lead a Discipleship Group

April 19, 2013 — Leave a comment

Crystal Clear Water

This is the seventh of several posts written by some of my top Small Group Communication students at Azusa Pacific University.  They’ve been learning all about what makes groups and teams great, and I’ve selected just a few excellent posts that will benefit my readers.  Enjoy!

By Gennavieve Carmazzi, Junior Communication Studies Major

 

Jesus called us to “make disciples” (Matthew 28:19), but how do we do that?  Today’s church has responded to this question by establishing discipleship groups.  Here are three ways to equip you with the tools to successfully lead a small discipleship group.

First, keep your number precise and use each individual to his or her fullest potential.  Only include the number of people that are absolutely necessary so that each individual feels as though they make meaningful contributions to the group.* This feeling results in productive and successful group function, because each member considers their personal role valuable to the larger context of the group and will, therefore, desire to play their role in achieving group success.  Continue Reading…

photo by: mynameisharsha
In Small Groups ,
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7 Steps to Analyze a Problem – The Devil’s Advocacy Technique

April 17, 2013 — Leave a comment

Teams often struggle to make good decisions, dragging down their team’s performance.  In fact, one of the key predictors of team performance is the decision-making process employed by the team.  But, many of us don’t use any structured approach to solve problems and make decisions, and our teams suffer from that lack of structure.

Further, I’ve written previously about how important conflict is to effectively analyze arguments and make great decisions as a team.  After all, the gains teams offer only come through the rubbing of ideas against other ideas.  Here’s an easy process – called the Devil’s Advocacy Technique – you can use to program healthy conflict into a group discussion.  Continue Reading…

In Leadership and Ministry Teams, Senior Leadership Teams, Uncategorized , , , ,
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Stop Breaking the Ice

March 25, 2013 — Leave a comment
Good investment or waste of time?

Good investment or waste of time?

This is the sixth of several posts written by some of my top Small Group Communication students at Azusa Pacific University.  They’ve been learning all about what makes groups and teams great, and I’ve selected just a few excellent posts that will benefit my readers.  Enjoy!

By Bethany Weil, Junior Communication Studies Major

It is commonly assumed that the small group leaders’ greatest alibi is the icebreaker game. After everyone has shaken hands and introduced themselves, how do strangers miraculously become a tight knit group of believers? Most people believe breaking the ice with a cliché game is the fast track to team bonding, but are you really bringing people together or letting them fall through the cracks? Continue Reading…

photo by: michaelcardus
In Uncategorized ,
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Are You a Faithful Friend?

March 19, 2013 — 1 Comment

Longs Peak

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

-  Proverbs 27:6

 

It was the summer after my sophomore year in college.  In the spring of that same year, I had applied for a student life leadership position at my university.  I didn’t get it.  At that time, I was devastated.  That position, I thought, was the ­­next step in my developmental journey as a leader.  By the time summer came around, I got over it.  I was working a dreamy job as a camp counselor in Longs Peak, Colorado.  My days consisted of coaching (and playing) basketball, taking hikes, walking in the trees on the camp’s ropes course and hanging out with 30 awesome college kids (a few of whom I thought were pretty cute).  Life was good.

One day, I received a message from the Camp Director.  Someone from my university – Kelvin, the staff member who supervised that position I had wanted only months ago – called and wanted me to call him back.  When I had a chance, I called Kelvin back.  We caught up for a couple of minutes, and then he told me the reason for his call: the position I wanted had opened up because the guy who initially got the job had a change of plans.  He wanted to offer it to me, but only with a condition.  He first wanted to talk with me about some problematic behaviors he saw in me as a leader.  He didn’t elaborate on the phone, but said he would write a letter and send it by the end of the week.

I was dumbfounded.  What could he be concerned about?  I’m a natural leader.  People follow me.  I don’t have any glaring sin issues going on that would disqualify me.  What is this all about? Continue Reading…

photo by: karen3292
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5 Strategies to Collaboratively Develop Leaders

March 8, 2013 — 3 Comments

man on cliffJim, Gus, and Sid. God used these three men to change my life. As a young leader, I was extraordinarily blessed to be mentored and trained by them.

Jim primarily taught me the ropes of my profession and helped me navigate the budding relationships in my life, Gus focused on my spiritual growth, discipling me as part of a group with five other young men, and Sid helped me cast vision for my future and introduced me to the world of university teaching.

Of course, each one’s personal influence on me overlapped into every domain of my life, but working together, they were able to help develop me in a more holistic manner than if any of them had mentored me alone.  I wouldn’t be the man I am today without their combined influence on my life.  I constantly thank God for each of them.

The best way to develop leaders is NOT alone.  Truly, the team outperforms the individual when it comes to developing leaders.  In fact, developing leaders is one of those places where we can simultaneously tithe to collaboration, reap the enormous rewards of working together, and multiply the impact of our time.

Even if it is your responsibility to develop other leaders, here are five strategies that you can use to take a team approach to developing leaders (for ease, we will call them mentees).

  1. Involve 3-4 other people in the leadership development process.  Ask your mentee to identify 3-4 key people who have positively influenced the mentee in the past (these might be, but do not necessarily need to be, people in your organization).  Next, ask your mentee to call them and invite them to participate as a sounding board, offer specific feedback, and provide targeted wisdom on particular topics.  Then, throughout the mentoring engagement, simply ask your mentee to discuss particular development topics and issues with that group of folks.  When you do that, others who have different gifts than you will pour into your mentee, multiplying the impact you alone can make.
  2. Employ some sort of 360-degree assessment.  Allow others to comment on your mentees’ strengths and growth opportunities.
  3. Assemble groups of 5-6 mentees and give them case studies and action learning projects to tackle.  Identify the group, set up the forum (space, time, and nourishment), offer some direction about working well with others, articulate the learning exercise, then leave.  Allow them to grapple with the issues, propose a solution, and then present it to you.  From there, you will find lots of fodder for continuing discussion.
  4. Bring in others to teach seminars and facilitate workshops. Develop a regular rhythm for continuing leadership development programming (about once or twice a month) and resist the urge to constantly share your pearls of wisdom.  Invite others who have greater skills and experience than you to share with your mentee(s).
  5. Maintain your humility.  Do not think too much of yourself or what you can offer your mentee.  Realize you can only give a piece of what your mentee needs to learn as they grow as a leader.  This one is most important, because you will only involve others in the leadership development process in the four strategies listed previously if you believe, one, that you can not do it all yourself, and two, that it is best that you don’t do it yourself, even if you could.

Practicing these five strategies will:

  • increase the impact of your development process,
  • provide others with a chance to exercise their spiritual gifts and contribute to the your church body,
  • keep you sane as you try to get your job done and develop leaders (most of us do not have positions that only require us to raise up leaders), and
  • expose you to folks who can further develop you as a leader, as well.

Action Step:

What are you waiting for? 

Give one or more of these strategies a try!  And, if you think about, let me know how it goes.

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Join the Conversation:

Before you get to work developing leaders, leave a comment to let me (and all of my readers) know what you do to employ a team in the development of leaders.

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In Collaborative Leadership, Leadership and Ministry Teams, Organizational Design , ,
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