Entries from February 2010 ↓

When I was a kid, I remember playing a game on the beach that involved building a wall of sand to keep the rising tide on my little piece of beach at bay. At the tide slow rose and began to erode my sand barricade, I would jump from spot to spot reinforcing, pushing more sand into the gap, just in time for the next slosh of water to eat away at my line in the sand.

I often think about that memory when I think about leadership, whether it be on the line in a combat situation, or running a non-profit organisation, or the captain of a sports team, CEO of a multinational, a general in the war room, whatever… so often, one of the key functions of leadership is all about holding a line. In a number of ways we define certain kinds of boundaries through our leadership, sometimes in the form of progress made in certain areas, or conquering chaos and dysfunction in others, and then a good deal of our efforts become about holding the line, keeping the hill, repelling the enemies (direct and indirect) who desire to take back what we have gained. The attacks may be subtle and sneaky, and sometimes they may be full frontal assaults, but you spend a lot of energy motivating and cajoling your people to stand firm and hold the line.

It’s exhausting, and sometimes even feels futile. Sometimes, it’s very exciting as we progress forward rapidly and take new ground. But always, at the end of the day, there comes a line that must be held again, and in many respects, it seems to me that great leadership is defined by how well we are able to hold the line.

Perhaps, to put it another way, if you’re in a leadership role but there don’t seem to be any lines to be held with urgency, any progress to be guarded at all costs, any new territory to keep, then whatever you are doing, you’re not leading.

One of the things most leaders struggle with is that their organisational cultures resist change and progress, with a tendency to cling fast to the status quo, whether it is healthy or dysfunctional. I guess it’s part of the human condition, but it is also a huge problem for the leader who aspires to bring about better things.

I believe that one of the most important things any organisation can do is develop a culture of experimentation, where there is an openness to trying out new things and freedom to experiment and play outside the box. I often encourage leaders to move quickly to start pushing the box out by suggesting a variety of experiments, often with a time limit, a stop point to evaluate success, and the clear intention to keep what works and kill what doesn’t.

I see three huge strategic benefits to this approach:

1. You open up the door in a non-threatening way to try stuff and begin to shift your organisational culture to one where change becomes the norm. Putting change in terms of experiments often provides a freedom that is simply not there when it sounds like the change might be permanent. Insisting that success will be evaluated at a set point in time gives people comfort that they may not be stuck with something that doesn’t work. This can be a crucial cultural shift.

2. You open the door in your organisation to measuring things. Many organisations have created protectionist cultures that eschew measurement and evaluation because it’s safer and easier to avoid that kind of critique and feedback (another part of the human condition), and yet every effective leader knows that measurement is crucial to forward progress. Measurement is a huge question (what to measure, etc.), but until you can get your people used to the idea that measurement is ok, then everything will continue on in a vague fog of feelings about how we’re going rather than any serious metrics. So, when you pose an experiment which will be explicitly evaluated, you begin to introduce measurement into your culture, and that’s a huge step forward in itself.

3. You open the door to killing things that don’t work. Most well-established organisations have an enormous momentum towards maintaining “the way we have always done it”, ensuring that change is very unattractive. Some things may be abject failures to the external observer, and yet will be clung to with an amazing tenacity, often quite irrationally. When you begin to experiment with a stated openness to killing something that doesn’t work, you begin to create a culture that says failure is ok because it teaches us things, and it’s ok to stop things if they’re not accomplishing or contributing.

These three benefits alone make creating an experimental culture a no-brainer… it’s surprisingly easy to get people to try stuff if they sense that it is just a trial or experiment, and the changes that ensue in your culture can often be life-changing. You will be a more effective leader if the word “experiment” becomes a regular part of your vocabulary. Give it a go… try it out… :-)

I’ve been really thinking a lot lately about whether the whole social networking space defined by tools like Twitter and Facebook are really worth engaging in.

Recently, just due to a very full-on schedule and lots of late meetings, etc., I found I went a few days without really engaging much with either Facebook or Twitter, and after an initial (and fleeting) sense of missing out, I got over that pretty quickly and realised that I could actually walk away from them without much loss.

There would, without question, be some loss, but the vast majority of input coming into my life through these tools is generally banal and fairly egocentric. It does not add value to my life knowing what yummy thing someone is having for dinner, or that they’ve just seen such-and-such movie, etc. I just find my thinking and mind cluttered by an endless stream of trivialities, and this level of distraction cannot possibly help one to think deeper and more reflectively about life and purpose. I want to be deep and purposeful, but I don’t think that’s really possible if your attention of dispersed in hundreds of shallow directions.

I used to journal a lot, and I used to post on this blog a lot. Both of these activities called me to think and think deeply. At least that was my goal, and I think it did help me to articulate important stuff going on in my head. And, I think I can pin-point the demise of those two disciplines to the period in which Twitter and Facebook became more prominent in my daily activities, and I don’t think I like the impact that’s had on me.

I know that a bunch of folks will accuse me of being flip-floppy on this, having been a big proponent of social technology and the benefits of “ambient awareness”, but I’m really starting to have second thoughts about it all. After having experimented and participated over a couple of years, I’m really starting to doubt. There are some positives, and I’ve enjoyed staying loosely connected with long-lost friends, and folks from all around the world. But, it’s been a trade-off, and all those loose connections have cost me something as well.

The biggest question for me in all of this is: Is it possible to be a purposeful and highly productive person, having a meaningful and significant impact in this world, while also spending a large chunk of time and attention on what is largely trivial and banal?

It’s always amazing to me how fast news travels, and so this is my attempt to get ahead of the jungle drums and let you know about an important change happening for me and our family.

WHAT’S THE BIG NEWS? The big scoop is that, as of 28 March 2010, I will no longer be serving as Senior Pastor of Warnbro Community Church. I’m sure that this will come as a surprise, and perhaps even a shock to some, but in recent months I have felt certain that God has been calling me step down from this role that I have held for almost 10 years. It’s a huge decision, but one we feel is totally right for us at this time.

I want to be quite clear about this…. I am NOT leaving Warnbro because of some issue or big problem.

Stop, and read that again.

There are NO leadership disputes or disagreements. Far from it! This is an awesome church, and has been a wonderful place to serve. This has been one of the most difficult aspects of leaving… it’s not because some issue or problem. It’s about a sense of God’s leading in our lives. I have been very privileged to serve and lead Warnbro Church, and it has been a huge part of my family’s life for this past decade. I believe that the church has a huge future ahead of it, and I have done my best to lay a platform for what is next, but I also firmly believe that I’m not the one to lead it there. I believe that God has someone better suited to take on that task. My skills and gifts lie elsewhere, and I am stepping aside from this role to allow God to guide me into what is next for me. The church has some very exciting directions and projects for the future, but I just don’t sense I’m the one God is calling to lead Warnbro into those things. It’s really that simple. It was a fairly recent revelation to me, and I’m stepping out in obedience. If that sounds crazy to you, I’d have to agree… seems a little crazy to me too, in many respects, except for the fact that I’m quite certain this is what God wants.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR ME? I have no idea! I’m not leaving to take up some other position. There is no “better” job in the mix. No other church or ministry under consideration. We’re just going to trust God that he’ll provide as he always does. I’m ready and feel strongly the time is right for me to begin the transition to the next thing. What is that? I’m not 100% sure to be honest, but I believe that faith is about small steps in the right direction, and I’m taking this one step now and we’ll see what is next. We’re open to wherever God takes us, even if that means a role outside of a formal church or ministry role. In fact, I feel that our next stop may well be in the marketplace or a non-church role.

WHEN DO WE FINISH UP? We have committed to being here until Sunday, March 28 to assist as much as we can with the preparation process for transitioning to another senior leader. That’s the weekend right before Easter. That’s 8 weeks away, and I’m sure it will be a busy time for us all.

SO… I would appreciate it if you would continue to pray for the O’Brien family and the Warnbro Church family – it’s a scary, interesting, unexpected place for us all to be. God will provide and guide, as only he can. But, it’s also kind of exciting. We’ll keep you posted.