It’s never worth your second-best.
That corner you’re tempted to cut isn’t going to help you.
Others take notice when you’re unwilling to help. Or when you treat others poorly. And you don’t notice either.
That extra preparation and practice you’re too “tired” to do will be worth every effort you put in to get it just right.
Most of my week is spent coaching and teaching people who lead, coordinate, teach, or manage various groups. I consult with people ages 18 to 83 who hold positions in youth ministries, nonprofits, local public schools, educational administration, publishing, and even a few CEOs of global corporations.
All are trying to keep up with change, the new constant of our culture.
What is the rule of thumb for you in your ministry? What do you shoot for each week?
Last week I share a few of my personal opinions and they have generated quite a bit of response online and with some youth workers at a training event this past weekend. I discussed how the platform discussion, the “sage on a stage” model, has leaked into youth ministry circles and changed the paradigm for youth work from a coaching model where adult leaders lead from the middle of youth. Then I discussed how the platform drive (to be known by other youth workers) takes up so much energy and focus that we can end up spending more time (and more dreaming) on that than we care to admit.
At the end of the second post, I made the statement that my rule of thumb as a youth pastor was that I wanted to spend at least 20 hours of my week with teens. I was blessed to be at a church where I only had to be in the office for whatever I needed to be successful in youth work. So, that looked like Monday, a few hours on Tuesday, Wednesday, and then Friday morning. Thursday was my day off. Tuesday and Friday were essentially “second shift” days to connect with teens from 3 p.m. on. Our youth group met on Wednesday nights and small groups happened on Sunday nights. Volunteer training took place on Sundays or Wednesdays before/after the large group gatherings.
©2012 Terry Linhart. All rights reserved.
Flying isn’t as fun as it once was. It’s much safer, so I guess that fits into the ever-widening category of what we call “fun,” but flying now more like a stinky commuter train and less like a snazzy cruise ship. Everyone is pressed: Customers into the smallest areas, employees by stressful jobs and average pay, and supervisors under the pressure of keeping the system running on time and budget. Yet more people are flying than ever before, a number which will double in the next 20 years at the same time that customer satisfaction continues to decline. And you can see why as airports dehumanize the experience and when customer comfort experience isn’t a priority. read more…
One of the greatest productivity skills that I’ve learned in the last 10 years has been to put the “big rocks” into my weekly schedule first. Developed by Stephen Covey in his book, First Things First
And now it’s more important than ever to do this.
Leaders make matters better. There, that’s it. That’s my definition of leadership.
They don’t need a microphone, stage, suit, or a John Maxwell book (though those books may help).
This week literary agent Rachelle Gardner posted a report on how she was doing implementing Tony Schwartz‘s 90-minute solution to being more productive. I don’t want to repeat all that Tony said – it’d be best for you to just read his post. His main premise is that we work best in 90 minute intervals, which need to be set apart by times of rest and renewal. He states that we’ve adopted some unhealthy AND UNPRODUCTIVE work habits and we need to reconsider how we naturally accomplish tasks. He also identifies something I’ve been saying for a while: We have become addicted to, and dependent on, adrenaline to accomplish tasks. ( I think we learn this while procrastinating during our schooling days)
So, I’ve taken up the challenge and will schedule four 90-minute periods a day to get stuff done. Big stuff. And I will do other things in between – enjoy conversation, read, work-out, rest, and renew (this does not look like social media).
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