The Flourishing Culture Leadership Podcast

Imagine, for a moment, if you could significantly improve the health of your workplace culture over this coming year and see the growing satisfaction, camaraderie and productivity of your people. Today, you're going to meet a leader who's has done just that – significantly improve the health of his workplace culture over the course of one year. Today we have the pleasure of visiting with Scott Evans, the founder and CEO of Outreach, Inc. Outreach was started in 1996 with the vision of helping church planters with their branding and marketing. This vision expanded to reaching every person in America with a personal invitation to a Bible-believing church. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2-e10-scott-evans-outreach-inc.

Have you ever wondered if there's a strategic planning process that's effective, yet doesn't take months to develop? Today, we're talking with an innovator behind a proven strategic planning process that's immediately functional and operational—and that works for both organizations and churches. Here to tell us all about it is Greg Hawkins, Minister of Ministry Development at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, which is home to two pastors and authors, Max Lucado and Randy Frazee. A native Texan, Greg is also well-known for serving alongside Bill Hybels at Willow Creek Community Church. Prior to Willow, Greg worked as a management consultant with McKinsey and Company after receiving an MBA at Stanford. He's also the co-author of the breakthrough Reveal Study and several other books, including his most recent, More: How to Move from Activity for God to Intimacy with God. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2-e9-greg-hawkins-oak-hills-church.

Changing your workplace culture can be a daunting task. Leaders often wonder where to start. Which areas or initiatives should you focus on to have the greatest impact? On today's podcast, we're going look into our research to highlight the top four culture drivers that have the power to accelerate the health of your culture and effectiveness of your organization. We'll look at why these four key factors are so vitally important to determining the health of your culture and HOW we know this for a fact. Joining us are today's host, Rachel Large, and researcher Amy Nagley. Rachel produces our podcast and along with much of our online content. And Amy conducts extensive research on our data here at BCWI. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2-e8-al-lopus-bcwi. We want to hear your thoughts on the content we provide each week. Would you please take our 5-minute Podcast Listener & Blog Reader Survey? https://www.research.net/r/BCWI2016ReaderSurvey

What is the primary driver that differentiates a flourishing Christian workplace from others? In our research, we have found that Inspirational Leadership is the most important factor in creating a healthy culture. Inspirational Leadership is nothing less than the presence of Christ, living in and directing a leader to influence an organization, including its culture, to bring about a part of God's kingdom, here on earth. It has the capacity to transform and even accelerate the health of your culture and the effectiveness of your organization. Let's dive into this important topic and discuss how it can be put to work in your ministry. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2e6-al-lopus-bcwi.

As a leader, what's the best way to handle a mistake you or your team has made? As an individual, how do you reconcile damaged relationships that result from a mistake? Today, we will look at what makes a meaningful, effective apology when – as the book title says – "sorry isn't enough." Joining us is Dr. Jennifer Thomas, who along with New York Times best-selling author Gary Chapman, has co-authored the book, When Sorry Isn't Enough: Making Things Right with Those You Love. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2-e5-dr-jennifer-thomas.

Is your Human Resource department providing you the strategic value it could or should? We are seeing a sea shift in the role Human Resources plays in the church and Christian organizations. As we have worked with hundreds of Christian organizations, we are seeing the HR role shift from being an administrative, back-office function to a strategic C-Suite or senior leadership role. Today we have the pleasure of talking with Giselle Jenkins, our very own Director of Human Resource Consulting. Giselle is a Christian nonprofit HR veteran with more than 20 years with the well-known ministry Prison Fellowship, and we know you will benefit from what she has to share. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/S2E3-giselle-jenkins-bcwi.

Thanks for joining us today as we kick off Season 2! In our listener survey last fall, the number one topic you were interested in hearing about is how to build a trust-based culture. Today, our Communications Coordinator, Rachel Large, is putting Al in the hot seat to teach us how to create trust in the workplace. He'll share practical tactics you can implement today t0 create a more efficient team and greater ministry impact. Plus, get a peek behind the curtain and hear from a BCWI employee about what it's really like to work at the Best Christian Workplaces Institute. And hear a recap of our last fiscal year – these are exciting times at BCWI! Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/s2-e1-al-lopus-bcwi.

Our research indicates that one of the top four drivers of employee engagement is what we call Sustainable Strategy. So the question we're going to explore today is: How does a Christian faith-based organization develop and execute an effective, even sustainable, strategy? Of the more than 700 organizations we've surveyed, Joni and Friends has consistently scored on the high end of this dimension. Today, we have the pleasure of visiting with their President and Chief Operating Officer, Doug Mazza. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/59-doug-mazza-joni-friends.

Willow Creek Community Church and their senior pastor Bill Hybels have been an inspirational model for building a healthy, flourishing culture. Bill has been very public about the transformation of Willow's staff culture from nearly toxic to highly flourishing. Bill is the first to say, "The culture in any organization will only be as good as the top leader wants it to be." He also knows that it takes effective "blocking and tackling on the front lines" to make it real throughout the organization. Today, we've invited Sue Hood, human resources manager of staff engagement, to help us look behind the curtain to see how Willow Creek has created such a flourishing culture. Please enjoy this listener favorite from our archives while we prepare for the launch of Season 2 in September! Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/encore-sue-hood-willow-creek.

Our podcast is on hiatus for a few weeks as we prepare to launch Season 2 in September. Today, we have one of the most popular episodes from our archives to share with you. Enjoy this listener favorite! As Christian leaders, how can we most effectively achieve our organizations' calling and purpose in these rapidly changing times? Today, Al is talking with Tami Heim, the President and CEO of Christian Leadership Alliance. Prior to CLA, Tami held key executive positions in Christian publishing after nearly 20 years as a Retail Industry executive, including a stint as the President of Borders. Listen in as Al and Tami cover a wide range of topics facing Christian leaders today. Find the full show notes at http://blog.bcwinstitute.org/encore-tami-heim-christian-leadership-alliance.