Pedophiles in the Church

Posted on April 4, 2012 Written by

Schools and churches were cited by Richard Hammar (THE guru of church legal and tax stuff) as the last places that pedophiles could hope to enter without being screened. Well, the school door is now closed – virtually every school screens anyone who gets near kids. That leaves churches – how open is your door? There are lots of ways to screen for pedophiles – see http://www.nsopr.gov/ for a site by the Federal Department of Justice that lists every convicted pedophile in the US.

But what about pedophiles that have done their time and now want to attend church – your church! What will you do? How do you handle that request? I suspect that every sizable church in America has a convicted pedophile visit at least once a year – sometimes the church knows the pedophile is coming and can be prepared but often the visit is unannounced.

Pretend you are someone intent on harming a child: this Sunday wander the halls of your children’s areas and see who stops you to ask why you’re there and if you should be there. If you’re on staff, you may not be challenged. So do something better, ask a friend is who a stranger to your church to wander the halls where children and minors are present. Ask him (it must be a male) to track how long it is before he is stopped. Hopefully it will be less than one minute till someone at the church asks him what he needs and escorts him out of the children’s area. That drill might be eye-opening to you. Then share the info with your children’s leaders – either praise them for their timely actions in stopping a stranger, or use this as a teaching

But what about pedophiles who “do the right thing” by contacting the church and explain their situation and ask about coming. Consider the upside versus the downside – the upside is that one person, a convicted pedophile gets to go to church and the downside is that he might do something on your property that endangers your little ones. So, what should you do? Here are some simple steps to take:

  1. Have at least two people from the church (pastor and another person) meet with the pedophile. Ask about his faith tradition, his faith journey, and his reasons for wanting to worship at your church and not a church closer to his home. (I use the male pronoun because most, but not all, pedophiles are men.)
  2. Have the same two people who visited with the pedophile to meet with the parole officer (PO) to hear what the PO says about the situation. Listen for variances between what the PO says and what you heard from the pedophile. Tell the PO what the pedophile told you – it may not be the “whole” trust but just part of the truth.
    1. The PO will give a clear opinion about whether the pedophile is ready to come to a worship venue where children will be present. Follow his advice – he’s much better at evaluating these situations than anyone in a church; that’s his job.
    2. Some POs have a covenant which is a contract between the pedophile and the church. Read it carefully and decide if the church can fulfill its side of the contract. Most contracts have similar language and are designed to protect the church, not the pedophile.
  3. If you decided to let the pedophile come to church then abide by the following guidelines. Tell the PO what you’re doing and get his approval or ask for changes. Don’t vary from the final agreement; any variance can open the church to legal proceedings.
    1. The church must appoint a handful of men who agree to be the “shepherds” of the pedophile while he is present on church property. These should be mature men who do not have young children in their immediate family (so that a child isn’t sitting with her father and the pedophile).
    2. The pedophile must arrive at the church and stay in his car in the parking lot until his shepherd comes to the car. The pedophile and the shepherd will walk together to worship and sit together. If an approved shepherd doesn’t come, then the pedophile must leave the church and return another week. The pedophile can have the cell phone numbers of church shepherds.
    3. If the pedophile needs to use the restroom or get a drink while inside the church building, the shepherd must accompany him (even into the bathroom). The shepherd should not lose sight of the pedophile.
    4. After worship, the pedophile should return to his car and leave the church grounds. The shepherd can then go to his Bible study group or his family.
    5. A pedophile should not attend Bible study on church property. There are too many risks in walking halls to a classroom to see and be seen by children and students. There is no upside to this. If the pedophile wants to attend a Bible study, then seek a male-only Bible study that meets elsewhere during the week (preferably a public venue like a coffee shop) that will accept him. But don’t force the group to do it.
    6. A pedophile should attend only worship and nothing else. No meals, no special events, no concerts, nothing. Worship only, and then only with an approved shepherd.
    7. That’s it – pedophile drives to church; waits in car for shepherd; walks to worship with shepherd; leaves worship to return to car and drives home.

If you and your leadership spend more time on this than on carrying out your vision and mission then you’ve spent way too much time on this; in fact, I’d say that if you spend more than an hour on each situation, you’ve spent too much time – after all, do you spend that much time on your active members, those who are contributing to the health and well-being of your church – invest in them first and pedophiles lastly. There are few (if any) documented cases of completely rehabilitated pedophiles. Invest your time wisely and not necessarily in rehabilitating pedophiles for which you and your staff are probably ill-equipped.

Yes, this seems harsh and you may be thinking I’ve gone too far. But let me say that this is a situation that the pedophile has placed himself – you didn’t put him into this, he did it to himself. Just like Spock in Star Trek says, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.” Put the church and its minors first in importance and then see if the pedophile can fit into your situation. You should never feel that you need to accomodate the church to fit the needs of the pedophile – that is absurd!

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: church safety, church security Tagged: ,

Tellers

Posted on March 26, 2012 Written by

Most congregations have some form of tellers that count the Sunday offerings. There are no regular patterns:

  • some count on Monday, some on Sunday
  • some count during the service, some count after worship
  • some copy checks, some write down all the info
  • some enter data into the database system, some fill out forms and leave the docs for the finance office
  • some take an hour, some take almost an entire day to count
  • some teller teams have been disbanded leaving the job for the finance office staff and some teller teams will never give up their prize job

The purpose in having a Teller Team is to ensure that all funds are counted and deposited. It is a carry forward from days when the church didn’t have a staff to count the money – volunteers took turns counting the Sunday collection and depositing the money. In many, if not most, churches, those days are long past but the committee lives on and on and on and on. Most tellers will tell you they feel they are protecting the church by ensuring that no one steals the money. Funny story – I worked at a church where the extremely zealous Teller Team never wanted the church staff to touch the money and they cited a story from 50 years ago when money was stolen – but it was stolen by a member of the Teller Team!

Let me suggest the easiest way possible for both the Teller Committee and for the Finance Office staff. This will save time, improve accuracy, cut down on gossip, and make everyone happy – yes, it sounds too good to be true!

  1. Once the tellers have the offering, they should spread it out on a table
  2. The tellers should go through the pile and gather all loose dollars and coins
  3. All loose plate cash should be added and written on the deposit slip on one detail line
  4. Then the tellers should stack and open all envelopes (but not pull out the contents)
  5. Envelopes with checks should be placed in one stack and envelopes with cash in a separate pile (envelopes with both, which is rare, should be in the cash pile first and then moved to the check pile after the cash has been removed and noted on the envelope)
  6. Cash in the envelopes should be removed and the amounts written on each envelope
  7. All envelope cash should be added and written on the deposit slip (same one as #3) on a detail line
  8. Then total all the cash and coins and write them on their respective lines at the top of the deposit slip. Two members of the teller team should initial the deposit slip so that an alternate slip is not made.
  9. You now have one deposit slip and all cash (currency and coins) for the bank
  10. A member of the teller team can take the cash deposit to the bank or leave it for the staff to deposit
  11. Next, rubber band all the cash envelopes together and another stack of the check envelopes
  12. Take the stacks of envelopes to the finance office in a locking bank bag
  13. The tellers have now finished their job and can leave.
    1. Because the tellers do not see the amounts on the checks, they do not see what various people give. All too often I’ve seen tellers discuss a gift by Mrs. Smith and that this week’s check is bigger/smaller than last weeks and then wonder aloud what that means about her. Confidentiality is paramount in dealing with church money and if you have gossipy tellers, you’ve got a problem. Removing the temptation by removing the checks solves that problem!
  14. The financial assistant will then scan the checks (if you don’t have a check scanner, you’ve gotta get one – they’re not terribly expensive but they are incredible timesavers!).
    1. In every church I’ve seen, the financial assistant and a scanner are 10 times faster and more accurate than the tellers. All too often tellers make a (very human) mistake which means their total is not equal to the finance office total and that make the assistant have to search for the error – time she/he could use on something else.
  15. When the financial assistant scans the checks, she/he can also scan the envelopes and the software will record an image of both check and envelope should you ever need to refer to them again (that happens more often than you think)
  16. After scanning, the assistant gets a report from the software and prepares a deposit slip for the checks (the cash is on a separate deposit – see #8-10).
  17. Ideally, someone other than the financial assistant will take the deposit to the bank to prevent embezzlement.
  18. The offering/deposit totals are then recorded in the General Ledger of the church’s financial journal.
  19. The finance office now has a record from the computer of the Sunday offerings and that paper record is rubber banded with the deposit slips and kept for seven years (that’s what a record retention schedule recommends). If you have scanned the offering envelopes, then shred them; if not, keep them with the deposit slips.
  20. The financial assistant can now move on to the next project, probably payroll or accounts payable.

These steps are pretty easy to do. The tellers can do their job in about an hour. The financial assisant can do her/his job in about an hour IF there is a scanner (again, get one!). In two hours (maybe 3 for a big offering), all the church receipts can be totalled, prepared for deposit, and entered on the church’s database. That will save loads of time that can be used elsewhere.

The tellers will need some equipment such as:

  • A room where the tellers can lock themselves inside to preclude anyone from randomly walking in. Safety and security are paramount.
  • The room should have tables so the offering can be spread out
  • The offerings should ALWAYS be in the possession of two unrelated people. No husband-wife only teller teams or any other familial combinations; if a husband and wife are present, then a third completely unrelated person MUST be present.
  • Locking bank bags are good. If the tellers count right after or during the service, then the offerings should be placed in the bank bag after counting and the bags locked tight.
  • If the tellers finish on Sunday, then the bank bags should be placed in a safe; if the tellers won’t count till Monday, then the bank bags should be placed in a safe on Sunday morning. Then, on Monday morning, two people should go to the safe to retrieve the money.
    • To prevent people from stealing money while it it in the safe, purchase a safe that has two combinations and then give the two combinations to separate, unrelated people. Those two people will always have to be present to unlock the safe. (An envelope containing both combinations can be sealed and stored offsite with a church trustee or a bank official.)
  • Since the tellers are only counting cash and coins, not checks, they shouldn’t need any adding machines. Even if you got $1,000 in cash, two different people can add that up in their head or writing down figures. Save some money and storage space – don’t buy the machines.

Some churches have completely disbanded the tellers and that is fine SO LONG AS you have enough internal controls to prevent one person from handling all the money by him/herself, especially the cash. Checks are not easily stolen (they can be but it is really hard) but cash is easy to pocket. Take adequate measures to protect the staff and tellers, but make the work as easy as possible.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: church administration, church finances Tagged: ,

1Q2012 Statement of Contribution

Posted on March 22, 2012 Written by

One quarter of 2012 is almost over so you need to prepare now to send out your first quarterly contribution statement of the year. Some churches send out statements only once a year – let me encourage you to send out statements each quarter plus one more:

  • 1Q2012 – send out in the first 10 days of April
  • 2Q2012 – send out in the first 10 days of July
  • 3Q2012 – send out in the first 10 days of October
  • 4Q2012 – send out the yearly statement by January 31

PLUS

  • Send out a statement for the first eleven months (January through November) in the first 10 days of December. Why? So that people can see what they’ve given or not given so far in the year.

But let’s get back to 1Q2012!

Sending a statement out in early April makes sense for several reasons:

  • Use this opportunity to send a letter with the statement of contributions explaining to people what their money has been used for. They want to know what the church did with it – so tell them all the good things you’ve been doing and are planning to do. Share with them a couple of compelling stories – that will make all the difference in the world to some readers.
  • At this time of year (tax-filing season in the US), people’s awareness of how much they’ve given or not (and thus able to deduct from their tax return) is heightened. Since many people have just completed their annual tax forms, they’re making promises to themselves to give more away to charity so they can give less to the government. Sending a letter in early April gives them a great reminder to give a check to their church.
  • Easter is typically in early April. Most Christians will come to church on Easter and they’ll usually hear a sermon about God’s gift to us through Christ. They will hear about giving and sacrifice – this letter is a way to encourage them to tangibly respond with their own gifts.
  • Gentle reminders throughout the year of how much people give to their church are good for both the church and the donor. These reminders are not heavy-hitting or guilt-inducing. These letters are simply nudges in reminding people to be financially faithful to their church – and you’re sending these letters to the people who have already “bought in” to the vision of the church, they’re already giving!

So, here’s your homework for this weekend: find two great stories about what has happened in your church these past three months (since Christmas), put them in a letter, and send the letter with the quarterly statement of contributions.

Oh, one very important fact: send your letters with first class postage. Yes, that is a lot more expensive than bulk mail. But realize that the “open rate” (as opposed the “throw in the trash can rate”) of first class stamped envelopes to bulk mail envelopes is something like five to one (don’t quote me on that ratio, but it is way up there). People will open an envelope with first class postage far more often – and you want people to open envelopes to read the letter and the statement of contributions. Okay, back to your homework.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: budget, church finances, church financial statements, communications Tagged: , , ,

Two Cool Solutions

Posted on February 24, 2012 Written by

[guestpost]This blog was written by my wonderful wife, Jennifer, and I asked if I could post it under her byline. These two products, DropBox and CrashPlan, are cool apps for church IT. Check them out.[/guestpost]

I’m no expert on IT issues, but I’ve done some independent research lately on electronic file backup and storage options for homes and small businesses. It seems to me that these solutions might also be helpful to churches. There are a number of options out there, and many bloggers and tech review sites offer opinions/reviews. When I research things online, I prefer to consider a combination of review types because I like to look for consistencies among them. Bloggers tend to be individuals who offer advice based on personal experience; tech sites usually offer composite reviews either from other users’ experiences or from their own tests. I’m careful not to pay attention to those sites that are sponsored by software companies or related online services, as they likely present biased opinions depending upon their sponsors.

That said, I’ve discovered there are two really amazing online services offering extremely affordable solutions for storage and file sharing (I say they’re amazing because to some degree they are free, and they offer a lot of helpful features even at no cost to the user). The two I find most interesting and promising are Dropbox and CrashPlan. At first, I thought I’d want to choose between one or the other; what I discovered, though, is that they are two different animals.

This isn’t a tech blog, so I won’t list specific plans and options. You can check those out by doing an online search of your own (try entering “CrashPlan vs. Dropbox” or some similar text, and you’ll find all that). Dropbox is a free, online service that allows you to store up to 2GB of files in their cloud (you can purchase more space if you need it) and access those files from any of your devices–and it syncs them automatically in real time. You can also share folders with other Dropbox users–a huge plus for people working on a project together. I use Dropbox on my iPad, iPhone, iMac, and PC laptop. There’s an Android app for it too, and all their software and apps are free. Because I work both from home and an office, I am able to keep folders with all my work files in Dropbox and work on them no matter where I am, and they sync automatically to all my devices. I use Word and Excel files almost exclusively, though I do put some some photo files there, and after about a year I’m still using only 3% of my available free space. If you use multiple devices for your work and haven’t tried Dropbox, you simply must take a look at it. It also allows you to access your files using your password via their website, and you can do that from any computer when you’re online at any location.

CrashPlan is an efficient and inexpensive way to back up all the files on your computer. They offer a free plan that allows you to back up from one computer to another (if you want to back up, say, from your home to your office computer), but if you want to use their online (off-site) storage cloud, you have to subscribe. Their top plan for users who have up to 10 computers–with unlimited file storage–is only $72 per year. You can set the backups to occur as often as you want (they recommend nightly, but you can do it more often if you choose). CrashPlan is more secure than Dropbox, as everything is encrypted.

Many reviewers recommend using both of these services together. The one caution is about Dropbox and its security; if you are dealing with highly sensitive, confidential information, you probably won’t want those files on Dropbox. Even though they are accessible only to your devices on which you’ve loaded the software, anyone who uses your devices can access them. I plan to check out CrashPlan’s free trial soon and potentially use it to back up all my computers. With these great options available, I seriously wonder about the need for organizations to maintain local servers and whether we’ll see a change in that practice in the future. But as I said, I’m not an IT expert. I just enjoy finding and using new options in technology that make my work more efficient, secure, and simple.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: church finances, strategy Tagged: ,

Outrageous Generosity

Posted on February 12, 2012 Written by

Generosity is one of my favorite words because it so describes God’s nature. Actually, outrageous generosity is a much better descriptor. Think about – humans have offended and humiliated God in every possible way yet his response is pure love. What’s up with that? It’s a good thing humans are created in God’s image because if God had a human image, then God would react in a vengeful way and who could blame him after they way humans have treated him?

So, let me encourage you to think about God’s Outrageous Generosity. Actually, do more than think about it. I challenge you to do a sermon (or sermon series) on this topic. And the best time to start with it is Easter Sunday 2012. Take the month of April and preach on this subject and challenge your listeners to “be imitators of God,” the person in whose image they were created.

Humans are born with two life-sustaining instincts (something that every human baby does): grasping (taking hold) and sucking (taking in). God’s instinct is to give everything away (read the Bible, you’ll see that pretty soon). The greatest example of how God personified Outrageous Generosity was on Good Friday on a cross – Jesus opened his hands for the spikes and his arms for the cross and died for all humanity. That’s OUTRAGEOUS!

Now, how can you be generous, even outrageously generous?

  • In your personal life
    • Be generous by spending more time with your kids helping with their homework
    • Be generous with the time you give your spouse; go on a date once a month and a weekend away at least once a year
    • Be generous with other generations: call your parents or kids in college at least once a week
    • Be generous with yourself: take your family on a memorable vacation – you need to get away from work and be with the ones who love you and whom you love
    • Be generous in creating memories. Every present you give on Christmas morning will end up in a landfill but the memories you give them will last a lifetime!
  • In your professional life
    • Be generous with the credit at work: give someone else credit for a job even though you did 90% of the work
    • Be generous with someone else’s career: let someone else get a promotion
    • Be generous with your words of praise: encourage someone talented to start their own business or go for a new career
  • In your pocketbook
    • Be generous in how you give, not just how much. Think long and hard about the recipients and even do some homework by calling, visiting, and even studying the financial records of the organizations who get your money
    • Be generous with why you give. In the US we get a tax break for our gifts but that shouldn’t be the reason for giving. While giving benefits other people, giving actually benefits you far more because it makes you wrestle personally with the amount and recipient of your hard-earned cash. Get the right motivation for giving and a tax-break (more money for you) is not a good enough reason.
    • Be generous with when you give. Yes, you can wait till you die and leave everything in your will. That’s kind of like saving all the Christmas presents and giving them away in your will. Isn’t the greatest gift of Christmas morning seeing the joy in others when they open a gift from you. Give NOW so that you can see the joy that others experience.
    • Be generous with how much you give. Believe me, you won’t miss it.
  • In your faith
    • Be generous with the knowledge that every person is searching for God. Humans by nature seek God (we’ve never found chimpanzees worshiping or creating any type of religious icon!) – that makes us unique among all animal (every single human culture on earth has some form of faith).
    • Be generous in your own search. Most people inherit a faith from their parents. I believe a faith that isn’t questioned isn’t a faith worth having. Ask hard questions even if it means wondering about the foundations of your faith. And when you have solid answers, hold on to that faith
    • Be generous in asking others about their own faith. It’s a tough conversation but if you care about someone, it’s a necessary one. Everyone is seeking something; encourage that search.
    • Be generous with God. You may have questions about God and you may not like him at all for a bunch of reasons. But God can say the same thing about you and yet he loves being with you. Why not give God a chance and spend some time together?
Lead On!
Filed Under: budget, generosity, strategy Tagged: , ,

Jesus, I’ve Got Your Ass

Posted on February 10, 2012 Written by

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” (Matthew 21:1-3)

At some point, Jesus slipped away from his followers and found a man with a donkey and a new colt. Jesus told the man that at some point a couple of his followers would be coming around asking to borrow the donkey. Evidently the man had some type of relationship with Jesus (of which we know nothing except by implication) but it was strong enough for Jesus to borrow something of value. And when asked, the man must have said, “Jesus, I’ve got your ass.” Jesus thanked him and returned to his disciples.

Every leader has followers by definition. One of the great problems of leadership is that sometimes its hard to know if people are following you or chasing you. Leaders have lots of arrows thrown at them. Usually those darts are tossed by enemies or people who are not adherents to the leaders’ cause. Ocassionally the barbs are by well-meaning followers who help the leader manage his blindside (because every person, including great leaders, have areas of their personal and professional lives that they just can’t see). But a few times the leader is shot by followers who react to something he (or she) has done or said.

It into those slings and arrows that a few trusted people must be willing to insert themselves. These are key people that the leader has invested in over the course of months or years. These are people who have had some personal time with the leader and who the leader is grooming for their own positions of leadership. These are people who are present or future leaders – they know that they, too, will suffer attacks from friends and foes. But for now, they are willing to absorb some of the blows thrown at a leader and explain to the dart-throwers why the leader is doing what he is because they understand the bigger picture. These are people who can say to the leader, “I’ve got your back.”

Jesus spent some time with a guy who would play a critical role just a few days before the crucifixion. It may be that the man had waited for months or years for his time; we don’t know and it doesn’t matter. We do know that he stepped forward when asked. Are you grooming new generation leaders? Are you teaching them the perils of leadership? Are you helping them to explain to others about leadership decisions that come from big visions? Are you helping them to know that at some point, they need to say to you and mean it, “Lead on and don’t worry about your back because, I’ve got your ass.”

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: leadership Tagged:

New Year’s Letter

Posted on January 1, 2012 Written by

I’ve got a job for the leader of your faith community: write a letter to your congregation about your dreams for 2012. Technically it is not a “New Year’s Resolution” letter but it is a letter about your hopes and vision for the church for the new year. Call it a “New Year Vision Letter.”

What should be in this letter? Well, it should be no more than one page – please don’t get long-winded or else people will stop reading after about two paragraphs (if you’re lucky). Use a 12 point font to make the letter easier to read – don’t cheat by using 8 point font to cram in more words! Make the letter no more than five paragraphs long using the following template:

  1. Intro Paragraph – Write about 2011 and where the congregation has come in the past 12 months and even the years before then. Be brief, be very brief in this synopsis – this is NOT the purpose of your letter; this is just a starting point so that everyone is on the same page.
  2. Next Two or Three Paragraphs – give three concrete (lots of details) ideas of what you want to accomplish in 2012. Flesh out each idea in one paragraph with financial costs, numbers of volunteers needed, dates by which the goals need to be met, and the promise of a party when each goal is reached. (I believe the church doesn’t party enough – we need to celebrate accomplishments more often but that requires knowing where the finish line is in each goal.)
  3. Final Paragraph – a prayer of blessing on each reader and an acknowledgement of the generosity by the family of faith which has permitted the church to do all is has done so far. Being sincerely thankful is very important.

This letter should go out to every person in the church because it will help set the tone for the church in 2012. A good way to send out the letter is to include it in the 2011 statement of contributions which every church mails out to every member (at least to every donor) of the church. Every person will open that letter because they want to see how much they can write off on their taxes – when a letter from the pastor falls out, they’ll read that, too. Who knows, your letter may spark some dialogue with people – it can certainly be a conversation starter with your leadership. I know they want to know what your dreams are and how they can participate in making them happen – to benefit the church and the Kingdom.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: church administration, church finances, church financial statements, communications, leadership, strategy Tagged: , , , , ,

Leadership and Followship

Posted on December 10, 2011 Written by

Recently I came across a couple of really good articles on leadership:

  • Leadership in Church:
    • http://www.healthychurch.org/doorpost/enews-december-2011
    • Oh, those are sticky wickets to address but every single one of them is a potential minefield for both the church and its leaders. And, minefields don’t go away. A study of minefields (the ones used in wars) show that mines become more unstable over time and the least little pebble can set them off. This is also true of church life – any event can set off a long-dormant mine. Dig up the mines (carefully); confront the elephants in the church (carefully) – they won’t go away on their own but need to be led/taken gently out of harm’s way.
  • Leadership in Sports:
    • http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/in-sports-theres-no-faking-leadership/2011/11/30/gIQAnoksGO_story.html
    • Actually, the “cover story” is about sports but the article cites some research on what followers want: “According to Hogan’s research, followers want four things: integrity, confidence, decision-making and clarity. But just as important is what followers don’t want: irritability, moodiness, untrustworthiness, indec­i­sive­­­ness, needless micro-management and excessive authority. They perceive these things as incompetent, and pretty soon the leveling mechanism kicks in and there is a subtle rebellion.” Those are very powerful words for leaders to remember – all the time.

I also saw a short (less than one minute video) with the former CEO of Xerox. She turned the company around from death’s door to being financially successful. When asked about leadership, her answer was that leadership was dependent on followship – how those who actually do all the work see you and follow you.

Years ago I heard that one of the problems of leadership is that sometimes people are following you and sometimes they are chasing you. Obviously, followers are much better than chasers but sometimes you need both to keep you on your toes.

Don’t run away from the chasers, turn and ask them point-blank (in a nice way) what they want to follow. You may be surprised by how reasonable their answers are. And you will certainly take the wind out of their angry sails. Make the chasers your followers; make the followers your disciples; make your disciples your new leaders; make the new leaders your successors.

Lead On!
Steve

Filed Under: future, leadership, strategy, wisdom Tagged: , , ,
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