| February 12, 2008 |
Vol 9, Issue 5
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 Get Ready to Lead!
"It's simple. We're just changing the world."
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Conversational leadership: a whole new way to lead
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Greetings!...  In the future the only true leaders will be leader developers--those who lead by cultivating the leadership style of others.
Roger Erdvig calls it "conversational leadership." It's rooted in biblical principles of leadership and informed by the best practices of professional coaching.
If you're ready to lead in a new and exciting way, this newsletter will show you how the upcoming Wisdom Trek conference has helped hundreds make that transition.
By the way, we had some great feedback about last weeks' issue on lifelong learning:- Glenn says, "At age 60 now, we are making plans for a change of direction in our 'retirement' years. No retiring in the Christian life for us! We have a new calling!"
- Ken says, "Don't get me wrong, I understand burnout, fatigue, etc., but what a great rush
it is to go to bed at night knowing God has used you in the lives of young
folks! It is humbling and exhilarating."
It's awesome to see people who have gotten a second wind and are leaving a legacy by investing in the next generation. If you have a story, please send it to me so I can share it to encourage others! Click here. | |
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If you can only do one thing to be a better leader, do this
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 If you can only do one thing to improve your leadership style, focus on developing your coaching skills. Not athletic coaching, but life coaching.
Roger Erdvig and Mary Verstrate of the Center for the Advancement of Christian Coaching describe coaching as a one-to-one, structured relationship in which a coach partners with a a person for growth, change and forward-moving progress in the life of the person being coached.
The coach does this by providing a regular, safe, encouraging and Christ-centered forum to explore and clarify personal and professional values, create specific action plans for achieving goals and pursuing dreams, and wrestle through life and leadership challenges.
Research has found that those who work with a coach are four times as likely to achieve their goals. This is because the coach doesn't TELL the participant what to do. Rather, he actively listens, offers observations, and asks powerful question to help the "coachee" develop his own solutions and action steps.
You'll learn the basics of leadership coaching at Wisdom Trek. It is one of the things that truly sets Wisdom Trek apart from other
leadership training programs. At typical events only 10% of the people
follow-through on what they've learned. At our 2007 Wisdom Trek
conference we had a 100% follow-through!
Wisdom Trek combines the best of leader development with coaching that allows you to fully maximize your investment with successful follow-through. Click here to look at the schedule for our upcoming April 9-11 Wisdom Trek at Sandy Cove Conference Center in Maryland.
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"We're Finally Able to Run at Full Horsepower"
|  The other day I spoke to Joel Satterly, the head of Seven Rivers Christian Academy in Lecanto, Florida. Joel and his wife Carol attended the 2007 Wisdom Trek, and he's been busy putting into practice some of the things he's learned:
What was the best part about Wisdom Trek for you?
There are other places you can go and talk about leadership, but the distinctive about Wisdom Trek, the thing you just can't get anyplace else, is the coaching.
How have the coaching skills you learned at Wisdom Trek helped you be a better leader?
My leadership style has now changed toward being very other-centric. Just learning to listen and ask powerful questions has given our organization a shot in the arm where now people are empowered to exercise their gifts. It's like a car that's running fine but can't realize its full horsepower because there is a governor on the engine. This has allowed me to throw the governor away.
It sounds like you've learned to move from being a leader to being a leader developer.
Exactly. The coaching training captures a gospel dynamic in a way that is really unique. It helps me see that God has given gifts to lots of people. As a leadership coach I can focus on helping people all across the organization become the leaders they were meant to be. It has been cool to watch people do their thing and get out of the way. If I had done it it would not have turned out nearly as well.
Can you give an example of how coaching has transformed your leadership style?
The most recent one happened just yesterday with my administrative team. We had felt a desire to spend some time praying together for student revival and God's hand in our school. But I had allowed it to turn into a business meeting. Yesterday one of of my direct reports said, "Can I remind you that the original purpose of this meeting was prayer? I'd like to get back to that." The fact that he felt comfortable reminding me, the vision-keeper, of what the vision is, shows how other people are now taking responsibility for the success of the school.
How has this affected you personally?
Coaching has lessened my anxiety level a lot! It takes the pressure off of me as a leader because I'm inviting lots of people to the table, which gives us the opportunity to function as the body of Christ in our team. It's a lot more fun this way.
What would you say to folks about Wisdom Trek?
This opportunity is powerful.I have been training by CACC and attended Wisdom
Trek. Conversational leadership has
the potential to completely transform the way we lead, build teams, and empower
people to realize and use their God-given gifts.
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 From Jeff Myers: Make it a Great Week!
Wisdom Trek is a three-day event in which our team trains you in the
best practices of becoming a leader and developing others into leaders.
We work with you to clarify your goals and identify barriers that stop
you from leading effectively.
I noticed that Franklin-Covey has a three-day leader development
conference in a nearby city for $1,895 (ours is $450). I'm sure
it's a great event, but having talked to people who attended, they completely leave out the crucial element of coaching.
At Wisdom Trek every participant is matched up with a coach who meets
with them during the event and for several months afterward.Folks have already started to register but we still have 15 rooms left in our block with just over two months to go.
Wisdom Trek is our most personal event; enrollment is around 50 people. Throughout the three days you'll have lots of learning time, lots of relaxation time, and lots of time to personally interact with me and with Passing the Baton's life coaches. Click here for more info.
Make it a great week,
--Jeff
Jeff Myers, Ph.D., President
Passing the Baton International, Inc.
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