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Mar 04 2014

Developing F.A.T. Leaders – Part 2

In my last post I wrote about the importance of being able to develop leaders rather than relying on finding experienced leaders. In a small community like ours, the resource pool of experienced leaders is pretty shallow. To build effective leadership teams for your organization you must rely on your ability to develop new leaders. To that end, I introduced the FAT test for leadership candidates.

“FAT” is an acronym that stands for Faithful, Available, and Teachable, the three core character qualities to look for in a leadership candidate. Last time I covered “Faithful.” In this post I will address “Available” and “Teachable.”

A is for “Available.” Once you have determined that a candidate is faithful, you next must determine if they are available to be part of your leadership team. There is an old adage in business that says, “if you want something done give it to a busy person.” While there is some truth to that, there is such a thing as being too busy.

In our society we have a tendency to become over committed. We get involved in too many things to the point that we cannot give our best to any of them. You want a leader who has balance in their life. It is okay to be busy, but is their life in balance? When asking if a leadership candidate is available what you are looking for is if they have the time required in their schedule to do an effective job at the leadership position for which you are considering them, without adversely impacting balance in the other areas of their life? A person who is over committed or out of balance may be a great leader for a time, but sooner or later their life is going to unravel and it will impact their work.

On the flip side, if a person is not involved in anything and they have a lot of available time, you have to wonder why? Are they available because no one else wants them? Availability is sometimes easy to spot and other times it requires your gut instincts. Just be honest with yourself. It is easy to fall in love with a candidate and let your heart rule your head in the availability question. Make sure the candidate has the availability necessary to focus on the training and leadership responsibilities required for the job.

Finally, T is for “Teachable.” Confidence in an admirable quality for a leader, but with that confidence must be a humility that says, “I may be good, but I can always be better.” A leader must have a teachable spirit. They must be willing to learn new ways of doing things. They must be willing to learn ways to improve their leadership skills, communications skills, and even learn the way business is done around here. Bringing their own ideas to the party is great, but a leadership candidate must be willing to learn from everyone around them, regardless of where they fall on the org chart. True leaders are life-long learners.

If a candidate does not display a teachable spirit, move on. As the old saying goes, “Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.” Trying to make a leader out of someone who is not teachable is like trying to teach a pig to sing. It is a waste of your time.

If you are having a hard time finding qualified leaders for your organization it may be time to start developing your own. Start with giving candidates the FAT test. If they are FAT, you are well on your way to having the best qualified leaders your organization has ever had.

Written by admin · Categorized: Leadership, Youth · Tagged: coaching, Ken Lawrence, leaderhip, leaders, youth, youth leaders, youth leadership

Feb 26 2014

Developing F.A.T. Leaders

I love living in a small community. The pace of life is laid back, the people are friendly, and there is more of a sense of community. That does not mean that we are without our problems and stresses, however. There is a lack of privacy as everyone seems to know everyone else’s business, having to drive longer distances for shopping and entertainment choices, and a smaller pool of human resources to draw upon for businesses and civic organizations to name a few. That smaller human resource pool can pose a real leadership challenge.

Leaders in larger communities have an easier time finding people who already have leadership qualities and experience. As a result, leaders in larger communities may not need to be as skilled in leadership development as leaders in smaller communities. For those of us living in a small community, it is imperative that we become experts at leadership development because there simply are not enough experienced leaders to draw from.  Leadership development is extremely important yet it is a skill that is often neglected or missing from a leader’s toolbox.

It has been my experience in small town living that far too often leadership teams are chosen using the “breathing and willing” method. If a person is breathing and willing to help they are put into leadership positions whether they are qualified or not.  No leadership training is provided, it is sink or swim. As a result, the organization experiences a constant turnover of leaders as new leaders take off like rockets only to burn out after two or three years as they hit the lid of their leadership ability.

Another method used in selecting leaders, especially in churches and civic organizations, is the “longevity” method.  Whoever has lived in the community or been part of the organization the longest is put into a position of leadership, as if longevity somehow automatically qualifies a person for leadership.

Whether you are trying to build a management team for a Fortune 500 company, leaders for a small town civic group, or developing student leaders in your school, there are some basic principles of leadership development that all leaders can learn and benefit from. Building strong leaders begins with selecting strong leadership candidates. To do that I recommend using the “FAT” test.

“FAT” is an acronym that stands for three core character qualities to look for in a leadership candidate. Before investing your time and energy in developing a leader ask yourself, “Are they FAT?”

F stands for Faithful. Is this person faithful? Do they follow through when they say they will do something? Can you trust their word? Is this the type of person who, when they say they will do something, you are confident that it will get done, or do you have to constantly keep on them to finish the task?

Leaders must be people you can trust. They must follow through on their commitments. If you cannot answer a confident “yes” to the question, “Are they faithful?” then stop right there. Do not even consider a person for leadership unless you are confident in their faithfulness. You will save yourself and your organization a lot of trouble and heart ache if you move on to someone else.  Faithfulness is a prerequisite to good leadership.

In my next post I will address the other two characteristics of the FAT test. They are “available” and “teachable.”

Written by admin · Categorized: Leadership, Youth · Tagged: building leaders, developing young leaders, Ken Lawrence, leaders, leadership, leadership development, youth, youth leaders, youth leadership

Oct 21 2012

Two Sides to Every Story

Proverbs 18:17 says, “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.” Another way of saying this is “there are two sides to every story.” How many times have you experienced this proverb? You hear someone tell about some unjust situation (usually they are complaining about what someone did to them). Hearing their side of the story you instantly side with them, agreeing that they were unjustly treated and the perpetrator is a scoundrel. You side with the one you heard first.

But then later you hear the second party’s side of the story and you realize that they were justified in their actions, it wasn’t malicious or unjust, the other person just didn’t agree with the decision. Have you experienced this before?

Or perhaps you were the second party and you have experienced the wrath of a “disinterested third party” who believed the first party’s story and took up offense for them without ever coming to you to verify the facts of the situation.

We can all learn from this proverb by not jumping to conclusions with only half of the story. Successful leaders must learn this skill to maintain the respect of those they lead. If you become known as someone who believes the first thing you hear you will be a manipulated puppet of those you are supposed to be leading.

Likewise, if you are known as someone who believes the last thing you hear you will be seen as week and easily swayed. This person is like the character of Coach from the 1980s sitcom Cheers. Someone would say something to Coach and he would echo their sentiments as if they we concrete elements of truth. Then someone would rebut what the first person would say and Coach would agree with them and declare his new “fact” in complete contradiction to his first statement.

While this behavior makes for good comedy on TV, it is terrible for leadership in the workplace, in the church, or in the home. As a successful leader we must keep Proverbs  18:17 in mind, search out both sides of the story and weigh all the facts before we make a decision. Taking sides without knowing all the facts will kill a leader’s reputation and weaken your ability to lead effectively.

A good thing to remember in managing conflict between others is: If you are not part of the problem or part of the solution, stay out of it or you will add to the problem and hinder the solution.

Helping you live life abundantly,

Life Coach Ken

Written by admin · Categorized: Life · Tagged: Ken Lawrence, leadership, Life Coach Ken, problem resolution, relationships, self control, success

Oct 17 2012

Are You Ready?

Death comes suddenly, are you ready for it? It has been a rough few weeks for me emotionally.  In the last three weeks two of my friends died suddenly. On was on vacation and collapsed in his hotel room. One died in his sleep. His wife went in to find out why he wasn’t up yet and found that he had died. Both of these men were only in their 60s when the Lord determined their time on this earth was over and it was time to bring them home.

Are you ready for when your time runs out? Too many of us live as if tomorrow is guaranteed. We put off our dreams and goals for later thinking someday we will get to them. For far too many someday never comes.

It is so very important that we make the most out of our limited time in this life. We need to make every day count because we do not know how many days the Lord is going to give us on this earth. He wants us to be good stewards of all He gives us, including the days He gives us to live this life. That is why having a life roadmap is so vitally important. It helps you live a life of purpose, making the most out of every day of your life.

A life roadmap is a vision for where you want to go in life and a step-by-step plan for getting you there. I like to think of it as the AAA Trip-Tik for your life. A life roadmap sets you up to achieve your life purpose and to fulfill your God-given potential so even if your life ends sooner than you expected you will have accomplished much with the time God has given you.

Have you been living life or has life been living you? Do you feel like you are stuck in a rut? Do you feel lost or out of control? Or maybe you just want to accomplish more with your life than you have up to this point. I’d like to help you crystallize your vision and develop your life roadmap.

I will be leading a series of Life Roadmap Retreats where I will help men and couples create a roadmap for their life. The retreats will be unique in that they are limited to just three men or couples at each retreat. These retreats will be a weekend for you to get away from the daily busyness of life and focus on your life’s purpose, your passions and your calling.

The first retreats for men will be in November. Beginning next year we will offer more retreats for men and some for couples. If you are interested in attending one of our Life Roadmap Retreats visit www.MinistryHaven.com/LifeRoadmap to register or to find out more information.

Everyone plans their wedding but few plan their marriage. Everyone plans their vacations but few plan their life. If you don’t plan your life then life will plan it for you. Don’t be one of those who go through life without a plan, without a vision and without a purpose. Check out our Life Roadmap Retreat and get your life on the right road, the one God wants you on.

Helping you live life abundantly,

Life Coach Ken

 

Written by admin · Categorized: Faith, Family, Finances, Fitness, Friends, Life · Tagged: achieving goals, coaching, control, finances, fitness, goal, goal setting, goals, health, health and wellness, Ken Lawrence, life, life coach, Life Coach Ken, life coaching, life lessons, life roadmap, physical fitness, purpose, relationships, roadmap, self control, success, vision

Sep 19 2012

Why I Do What I Do – My Big “Why”

When I coach others about vision and purpose one of the key ingredients is having a big “why” behind your vision. Your “why” is the motivation that drives you to take action to accomplish your goal. It is important for you to have a written “why” statement so you can articulate your life’s purpose and keep focused on your goals.

At church last week Pastor Steve Shaw spoke on vision. He said vision begins with a burden, begs the question “what if” and is bigger than “me.” At the end of his message he challenged us to think about the vision God has given us for our life and then share it with someone this week.

As part of my life coaching business I have been working on tools to help men crystallize their vision, gain control of their life, and develop a roadmap for carrying out their God-given vision. I thoroughly enjoyed Steve’s sermon. As a result of his challenge I took a look at my website, which I thought answered Steve’s homework assignment. As a result I discovered that there was a part of my story missing. My website did not convey my story, my big “why.” So I have added a page to the website called “My Big Why.” It is the “why” behind what I do. It is the burden, it is the “what if” and it is definitely bigger than me.

If you would be so kind, would you please visit the My Big Why page on my website at www.LifeCoachKen.com/mybigwhy and take a look at what I’ve written. Let me know what you think. Is it clear? Does it speak of where I’ve been and why I do what I do? Does it speak of my passion, my burden to help men reach their God-given potential? Is there anything you think is missing?

Finally, is there anyone you know who could benefit from a coaching relationship with me? If so, please pass the link on to them. I definitely have a God-sized vision and it will only be by Him working through me that I accomplish anything.

Thanks for your help!

Life Coach Ken

Written by admin · Categorized: Faith, Family, Finances, Fitness, Friends, Life · Tagged: achieving goals, coaching, control, goal, goal setting, goals, Ken Lawrence, life, Life Coach Ken, life coaching, purpose, roadmap, self control, success, vision

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