Navigating Leadership Transitions with Humility and Insight

“The most challenging leadership task we’ll ever take on is letting go.” On this episode of Leaders In Living Rooms, Ashley Wooldridge, Lead Pastor of Christ’s Church of the Valley in Phoenix, AZ shares his personal story of the baton handoff with former Lead Pastor, Don Wilson, five years later. Ashley’s unique perspective on transition comes from his time at Intel prior to joining the CCV team. He leans into how differently the secular world does leadership transitions (typically more successfully than the church) and what we can learn from their proven track record. He encourages leaders to approach a transition with a deep sense of knowing what you think can work, but also with humility; and how to do the same in your realignment efforts post-pandemic. Ashley is a wealth of knowledge and his passion for churches getting this right is inspiring. You don’t want to miss it. 

Welcome to Episode 056 of the Leaders in Living Rooms Podcast with Sean Morgan. 

INSIGHTS FROM ASHLEY

Discerning Over Deciding 

• Ashley shares his personal transition story of becoming the Executive Pastor at CCV in 2007, and then being asked to move into the Lead Pastor role 10 years later in 2017. 
• Ashley had to discern, “Should I be a Senior Pastor in the first place?” The next question was, “Do I want to do it here?” The answer was maybe… but only if the transition would be successful. He had a blueprint of what a successful transition would look like. But he said, “it wasn’t mine to take, it was someone else’s to give. So I read everything, got as much counsel as I could, and did not walk into it with an attitude of this is something I have to take on. I didn’t have to.” 

Transition: Intel vs. The Church 

• Transition in the church world vs. the business world - the secular world is far ahead of churches. Internal candidates are 3-4x more successful. If the organization is healthy and things don’t need to change. Intel and HP. 
• I was taken back by how often a Senior Pastor would transition but stay onboard in another role. In the business world, that almost never happens. You very rarely see a CEO transition and then go into another role in the company. One of the biggest transition decisions becomes, what will the departing pastor do? 

You Haven’t Arrived, Be Prepared for Battle 

• Lead through the transition with a deep sense of knowing what you think can work with humility. You have to have this equal balance of humility and faith/confidence to take some risks. 
• Being full of yourself and being sure of yourself are different things. 
• A lot of leaders think of a Senior Pastor role as “arrival” – and if that’s your mentality going in, then you’ll do anything it takes to get the mantle. And maybe because of that, you haven’t made the best decisions, and once you’re in the seat, you have to live with those decisions. That’s where humility comes in. Being a Senior Pastor isn’t arrival, it’s a battle. You’re a commander of troops you’re leading into battle.  
• God might have chosen you now, but he might choose someone else very quickly. Lead with humility. 

Overworked or Out of Shape?

• Assessing and having an accurate view of your staff - where are they at? Where are there alignment issues? I was having a hard time deciding if our staff was overworked or out of shape…
• Coming out of the pandemic we took a staff that we had sitting on the sidelines and started doing two a days! This creates a discernment requirement from the leader. 
• Realignment post pandemic. Are we being clear with the direction we want to take? Now is the time to over communicate your strategy, where you’re headed and the culture that you want to create getting there. 

EPISODE LINKS

Ashley’s recommended reads on transitions: 

• Harvard Biz Review on CEO Succession – Harvard Business Press
• Too Great a Temptation – Joel Gregory
• Transition Plan - Bob Russell
• Passing the Leadership Baton - Tom Mullins
• Elephant in the Boardroom: Speaking the Unspoken about Pastoral Transitions – Weese/Crabtree
• NEXT - Pastoral Transition That Works – Vanderbloomen/Bird

If you’re a new lead pastor stepping into a transition, we want you in our Fall 2022 cohort. Visit https://theascentleader.org/cohorts/ to learn more.

WHO IS ASHLEY WOOLDRIDGE?

Ashley is the Senior Pastor of Christ’s Church of the Valley (CCV), a multi-campus church in Arizona with 12 locations, reaching over 35,000 in weekly attendance. He and his wife Jaime have been married for over 22 years and have three girls that keep them busy and grounded in life. Ashley’s passions are teaching for application, creating a crazy healthy culture, and loving his wife and kids. There may also be an occasional round of golf seeking to break par. Instagram: @ashleywooldridge Church Website: ccv.church Schooling: He has a BA from Pacific Christian College, an MBA from Keller Graduate School, and studied theology at Fuller Theological Seminary.

ccv.church 

Instagram: @ashleywooldridge

Facebook: @ashleywooldridge

SPONSORS & PARTNERS

Thanks to our sponsor: Food For The Hungry.

Combine your church's heart for the poor and Food for the Hungry’s global experience at fh.org/churches.  

The Art of Leadership Academy - https://careynieuwhof.com/the-art-of-leadership-academy/