by Gary Reinecke | Feb 27, 2017 | Disciplemaking, Focused Ministry, Leader Development |
How do you work with someone who has been in the workforce for thirty years (50+ years of age) as opposed to three years (30-40’s years of age)? Take into consideration the following scenario.
First time church planter (in their 30’s) – high on vision & low on experience. I coached a new church planter who primarily asked “how to” questions to process his philosophy of ministry, challenges he encountered and self-discovered action steps. I challenged his thinking by asking pointed questions to help him realize that he has the resources inside himself to take the next steps in his church planting journey. The new church planter is in many ways, unaware of what he/she does not know.
Contrast him with a seasoned leader – high on vision & high on experience. The seasoned leader (50+ years of age) asked “what” and “when” questions. He has a rich experience base to draw from and his confidence runs deep. The seasoned leader is in many ways more aware of what he/she does not know.
Following are reflection questions for you as the coach to consider during the when coaching across generational lines:
- What questions are they asking?
- What kind of help are they seeking from you?
- What is the best way for you to support them as a coach?
There exists real differences that are important to recognize when coaching across generational and experiential lines – see the Generational Differences resources for more insight into these subtleties.
by Gary Reinecke | Feb 19, 2017 | Church Growth, Church Multiplication, Leader Development |
What about you?
It is easy to measure the low lying fruit. For instance, church leadership will measure things like worship attendance, offerings, and baptisms. But what if you looked below the surface. At my home church an important metric we track is the percentage of adults who regularly participate in a small group. Annual engagement in 2016 was 94% (click Crosspoint Church for report). The church launched over a decade ago with the goal of focusing resources (time, energy, people) to do a few things well; which has paid off at Crosspoint – a church of small groups vs. a church with small groups!
Consider the following challenge:
- Reflect on the measures below the surface that will have the greatest impact on the health and growth of your:
- leadership
- team
- organization
- Then tie those to outcomes you are striving to achieve e.g. making small groups a priority in my example.
- Brainstorm ideas of how you can impact that area over the course of the next 30-60-90 days.
Effective leaders understand the principle: “Say No – to say Yes to What Matters!” Leaders who focus their time, energy and people; regularly assess their ministry, make adjustments and forecast the future with a high degree of accuracy. This surfaces the strategic question: What are you measuring?
Remember – you measure what matters!
by Gary Reinecke | Feb 13, 2017 | Church Growth, Church Multiplication, Coach Training, Disciplemaking, Leader Development, Uncategorized |
It is easy to get excited about coaching or a training initiative without understanding the true impact.
How many times have you heard colleagues discuss a new training process or coaching resource? And then get partway through the experience without understanding the impact on you or your organization. Wouldn’t it be worthwhile to consider the potential Return on Investment (ROI) before you start?
Consider a coaching relationship. When you or I establish a coach agreement we ask the leader to create goals. Over the course of the next year we work towards achieving those goals and assess the progress at the conclusion of our time together. Using the six levels described below you can see that we moved from Level 0 (scope, in my example) to Level 1 (reaction to the coaching process) to Level 2 (learning that occurred) to level 3 (applying the knowledge to the leader’s ministry).
There is a process to measure the ROI on training and coaching. Most of the coaching and training done in organizations settle for Level 1 or Level 2 evaluation – a few take it to Level 3. Here are the six levels:
- Level 0: Inputs
- Level 1: Reaction
- Level 2: Learning
- Level 3: Application
- Level 4: Impact
- Level 5: Return on Investment (ROI)
Review the descriptions above and consider a coaching or training process you are leading. Let’s say it is a leader development process that involves quarterly workshops with coaching in-between. Whatever it is that you are currently working on (developing small group leaders), or anticipate in the near future – what level of measurement are you incorporating in your process.
I’ve discovered that leaders are eager to know the ROI on some of the training and coaching that they are engaged. When they realize that it is possible to calculate and monetize the impact of their investment, it transforms the significance of the training/coaching because they are clear “why” they are making the investment.
Places where ROI is helpful:
- Organization-wide leader development training
- Coaching pastors, church planters, regional network leaders and movement leaders
- Coach training for church planting, parent church coaches or disciple-making movements
A helpful book on ROI, entitled “Show Me the Money” provides a more complete explanation. If you have questions, please e-mail InFocus for more information.
by Gary Reinecke | Jan 30, 2017 | Uncategorized |
How many times have you bought a highly recommended book just to let it collect dust on your shelf?
One of those books for me has been “The Fifth Discipline” by Peter Senge. This book has been and continues to be a strong proponent for creating a culture of coaching within an organization, whether it be a business, a church or mission agency. How is that you ask?
Let me explain the five disciplines of healthy organizational life according to Senge.
- Personal Mastery – is the discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and seeing reality objectively.
- Mental Models – are deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even pictures or images that influence how we understand the world and how we take action.
- Shared Vision – involves the skills of unearthing shared “pictures of the future” that foster genuine commitment and enrollment rather than compliance.
- Team Learning – starts with “dialogue,” the capacity of members of a team to suspend assumptions and enter into a genuine “thinking together.”
- Systems Thinking – integrates the disciplines, fusing them into a coherent body of theory and practice.
With these as a framework for healthy team life, contemplate how the following might enhance your team.
- If you could help people continually see reality objectively.
- If you could challenge team members unpack their mental models.
- If you could engage people in a shared vision.
- If you could foster a value for team learning.
- If you could integrate these disciplines in a systematic way in your team…
What difference would it make?
I want to challenge you to pick-up the book. If it is on your shelf and you have already read it, browse the titles and subtitles or take note of text you highlighted. Now reflect on the points above and envision how the five disciplines might impact your team, organization, or ministry.
by Gary Reinecke | Jan 20, 2017 | Uncategorized |
The hard work of coaching requires the coach to slow down, go below the surface and uncover key issues.
Not too long ago I was meeting with a pastoral leader who wanted help supervising a new staff member. The new staff member struggled with feedback. They winced when it was given and quick to excuse or diminish the helpful insights. On top of that, he continued repeating the same mistakes. I had several ideas swirling around in my head but I stopped, challenged and chose to remain present.
Then I asked him the following:
- What was the source of the staff member’s insecurity?
- What had the pastoral leader tried to help him receive feedback?
- What had worked in his past experience?
- What strategies could he brainstorm?
- What would he do?
Receiving feedback is a learned skill. Helping someone grow in this area can be a game changer. What are some ways you have helped those you coach exercise this important leadership muscle?
by Gary Reinecke | Jan 17, 2017 | Disciplemaking, Leader Development, Personal Development |
A life-giving gift you can give those you coach is what I like to call “pruning”. I have found that the four categories below serve as a helpful guide to follow using Covey’s, “First Things First” matrix. Take a moment right now to review how you are using your time this week.
- Pull-out your calendar.
- Prioritize your scheduled activities in one of four categories:
- Quadrant I – Important & Urgent.
- Quadrant II – Important & Not Urgent.
- Quadrant III – Not Important & Urgent.
- Quadrant IV – Not Important & Not Urgent.
- How can you spend more of your time in Quadrant II in 2017?
Coveys’ point is that most of us spend too much time in Quadrants III & IV; to the neglect of Quadrant II. Imagine how this exercise might benefit the people you coach. Fast forward to December, if a leader doubled her or his time in Important & Not Urgent activities, what impact would it have on their:
- Personal development
- Disciplemaking
- Leader Development
Happy pruning!
by Gary Reinecke | Jan 6, 2017 | Church Multiplication, Disciplemaking, Leader Development |
To kick-off the New Year, I propose a guiding question for you and those you coach to further the work of catalyzing disciplemaking movements:
What is your most fruitful activity this year to catalyze disciplemaking movements in your community?
Reflect on that for a moment. What is your strategic focus for 2017? …for those you coach?
I look forward to reading your response below.
by Gary Reinecke | Jan 3, 2017 | Coach Training, Disciplemaking, Leader Development, Personal Development |
I’ve found that one of the ways to help leaders learn how to coach is to first, be coached.
I remember serving as a coach mentor for a network of church planters. A leader in that group had a particular understanding of the posture of a coach that collided with the non-directive approach I was taking. If you mapped out a continuum with “non-directive” on the left side and “directive” on the right side – he was on the far right end.
Over the next couple of appointments I reinforced the power of coaching using a non-directive, self-discovery process until he came to the realization that he really did not like that style of coaching. He concluded that his advice-giving preference suited his personality. I agreed – but challenged him to call it something other than coaching When you experience what it is like then it is easier to embrace (if your goal is to facilitate a self-discovery process) or REJECT coaching.
Justifiably, there is room for confusion about coaching as it relates to developing leaders, disciplemaking and church planting. After-all, many people use the term “coaching” to describe what they do.
Here are three reasons why it is helpful for people to experience coaching:
- Put flesh to the coaching process e.g. it is difficult to understand what you have not experienced.
- Illustrate what makes coaching unique e.g. the power of “self-discovery” vs. receiving advice.
- Contrast other ways of helping people e.g. mentoring, counselling, consulting, etc.
Coaching tip of the month:
If your desire is to empower people – then use a process that allows the individual to discover and choose.
One of the best ways to take good intentions and move them to action is through coaching. If you are interested in taking your vision to the next level in 2017 please contact InFocus for an exploratory conversation. Please let us know how we can serve you.
by Gary Reinecke | Dec 30, 2016 | Disciplemaking, Leader Development, Uncategorized |
The last two blogs I’ve shared questions to help you reflect on your accomplishments this year (2016) to prepare for the year ahead (2017), by envisioning where you believe God is encouraging you to grow. These questions are also intended for you to use with those you coach. It is always energizing to put the final touches on one year and anticipate the possibilities to come.
As I reflect on the year ahead I am reminded of the words of the the prophet in Jeremiah 29:11.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
I encourage you to rest in that knowledge.
Moving into next year, I am excited about the many ways God wants to use you and your unique gifts to catalyze disciplemaking movements. InFocus is committed to your success and E.source is a vehicle focused on that vision. Here is what you can expect every month as we move into the New Year.
- Week #1: A Coaching Tip
- Week #2: A Question of the Week
- Week #3: A Leader Development Tip
- Week #4 & #5: A Resource &/or Book Review
May the Lord richly bless you, may He surround you with a team of people that will make your vision a reality and provide the resources to fulfill what he has called you to accomplish.
by Gary Reinecke | Dec 19, 2016 | Uncategorized |
December is a very important month to help leaders reflect on the past and set goals for the upcoming year. A friend and colleague of mine, Brian Howard, gave me a list of questions that he uses. Last week I shared questions to reflect on 2016.
Here are a few samples from that list to help leader reflect on the year ahead:
- What would you like to be your biggest triumph in 2017?
- What advice would you like to give yourself in 2017?
- What would you be most happy about completing in 2017?
What questions do you use to help leaders reflect on the year ahead? Take a moment to identify some of the questions you have used. Please share a question to help leaders project into the new year to formulate goals they want to pursue.
