A conversation about leadership is inherently a conversation about power, and a conversation about power is inherently a conversation about conflict. In this episode, we explore how trustworthy and transformative leaders understand how power dynamics are always present in conflict and how they can be navigated wisely, creating the results we want. Thanks for listening!  Summary: Assumptions about power Having power exposes our values Power determines the terms of a conflict Power as dominance Hidden expressions of power When powerful people feel powerless Passive Aggressive power How conflict helps us reach our goals Links: 5 Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni Explore the various forms of power in this download from Brene Brown Giving & Receiving Feedback Effective and Empowering Accountability How did Jesus deal with Conflict? Dare to Lead by Brene Brown Defined and Connected Applying Systems Thinking Bowen Family Systems Theory Series Spiritual Practices That Lead To Breakthrough The Importance of Emotional Intelligence Quit Getting In Your Own Way

Trustworthy and transformative leaders understand the dynamics of power in their organizations and in themselves and they have developed principles and practices that help them use their own power wisely.  “Power is the ability to achieve purpose, power is the ability to effect change, and we need power.” – Martin Luther King Jr.  Leaders will too often use their power in ways that produce outcomes counter to their stated vision or goals  Misusing and not exercising power Power is neutral  Power dynamics exist regardless of whether we intend to use them or not Dare to lead by Brene Brown Power over or positions of power Power with or the power to collaborate Power to or the power to accomplish and take action Power dynamics are both subjective and objective

It’s the new year and some of us have been planning our new year’s resolutions for months, some of us haven’t and feel guilty about it, and some of us very strictly don’t do resolutions. Our culture is very keen on goal-setting and yet, we wonder how effective that is.  In this episode, we got our whole team together to have a conversation about goals, when they work for us, and when they dont.  - Tying goals to guiding principles and core principles - 12-week or quarterly goals - Setting goals out of a false self - Can goals be too specific? - “If goals are tied to my worth, then I'm going to be in trouble.” - Setting goals around roles and goals. - Begin with the end in mind and plan backward - Daily to-dos focused on making progress toward long-term goals - Tying goals to my dreams for my life - Framing goals for learning and not achievement - Recognizing underlying systemic obstacles - Being goals and doing goals - Extrinsic and intrinsic - Goals as a practice References Click here to check out our team 12-week year Atomic habits  Your Theme by CGP Grey Doing the Math of mission 7 Habits by Stephen Covey Goals: It’s Complicated - The Leader’s Journey Setting Goals that Disrupt Habits and Utilize Systems - The Leader’s Journey

We wanted the last episode of this year to be a little different. There will not be a leadership principle, and there's not going to be a question that we're trying to answer. But in this episode, I think we want to talk to each other and talk to our community as the year winds down. To give us the opportunity to reflect a little bit on this last year. Conversation overview: We're not designed to live disconnected over the long haul What is normal? Societal upheaval Considering family systems Resilience and reframing what success might look like Doing hard things well The power and importance of authentic relationships Parting thoughts for our community as we wrap up this year References: Churches learning change Faithwalking AA Family systems theory Your Labor Is Not in Vain (Live) (feat. Paul Zach)

Today Jim is joined by our colleague and fellow coach, Dr. Michael De Ruyter. Mike and Jim are facilitating a learning community for 10 pastors this fall and today's podcast is a conversation between us that we prepared for one of the gatherings of this group of pastors, the topic is systems thinking and how we utilize this way of thinking and highly complex and emotionally charged leadership situations. We invite you to listen. Conversation overview: - The mental model of systems thinking - Cause and effect thinking - What is a system? - Why systems thinking - How systems change - How anxiety shows up in a system - Recognizing anxiety in ourselves

How do we implement accountability strategies that are actually empowering and effective? In our efforts to lead a group of people toward a shared mission or vision, we must find ways to overcome our negative experiences with accountability and learn to hold ourselves, each other and our organizations accountable in collaborative, grace-filled and practical ways.  Summary: Reactions to the idea of accountability from our experiences and our first formation Accountability and performance appraisals and feedback Using meetings to hold ourselves accountable Accountability for ourselves and to each other--accountability structures in The Leader’s Journey 200% accountability -- Accountability in a collaborative context  Distinguishing accountability from blame Practices for accountability in complexity--being accountable for being accountable Resources:   2FW Workbook Renovare Resources for effective feedback: Radical Candor & Crucial Accountability  Our past podcast on feedback: Giving & Receiving Feedback Resources for the structure to support accountability: Traction & 4 Disciplines of Execution The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill The One Thing by Keller and Papasan, especially Fig. 24 and Fig. 32

Many organizations have plenty of great ideas and plans for the future but they struggle to focus everyone in the same direction and goal setting always seems to fall flat. How can we do strategic planning in a way that will help us get where we’re trying to go? That's the topic for this episode of our series exploring questions we get from leaders about that second set of leadership skills--the collective skills it takes to lead people.  Download the Two Feet Walking Workbook Conversation overview: What are the different components of strategic planning? How does strategic planning fit into what we know about adaptive leadership? Is strategic planning different for churches and ministries and nonprofits? How? Why do organizations sometimes resist strategic planning? What are some concerns about the strategic planning process? If someone is just beginning to think about strategic planning, where should they start and what should they remember? Other episodes in this series can be found here at theleadersjourney.us/2fw Thank you for listening. If you enjoy listening to The Leader’s Journey Podcast, the best way to support us is to take just a few seconds and leave a rating and/or comment over on iTunes or share it with your friends on Facebook … Thank you!

The question we are exploring in this episode is, "So I believe that God is doing a new thing, how do I help people let go of the past so that we can move toward a different future?" Conversation Overview The nature of change The nature of grief How do we help people name and grieve their losses without getting stuck in them? What are the skills and practices for this work? How is this work similar and different with a group of people as opposed to individuals? How do I know when it’s time to “move on?” Download the Two Feet Walking Workbook  

I understand that I’m supposed to be leading toward God’s emerging future, mobilizing people toward a shared vision. But honestly, it’s like herding cats! How do we know where we’re supposed to be going? Download the Two Feet Walking Workbook Conversation Overview: What makes this difficult? What are some different ways to look at collective discernment? What do we believe about the process of collective discernment? What are some practices and skills leaders can develop to help this process?

We live in a culture that is drowning in emotion and at the same time we are emotionally numb and cut off. The church is no different. In order to have something compelling to offer in our culture, in order to work together in ministry, we have to learn how to name and manage our emotions. This episode is about understanding and managing our emotions from our six-part series on leadership practices that lead to breakthrough. If you’d like to learn more about this series or our organizational coaching and leadership development services you can contact us using our website, https://theleadersjourney.us/contact Conversation Overview Spiritual life vs. emotional life Learning to feel his feelings What are feelings good for? Disrupting old ways of thinking Thank you for listening. If you enjoy listening to The Leader’s Journey Podcast, the best way to support us is to take just a few seconds and leave a rating and/or comment over on iTunes or share it with your friends on Facebook … Thank you!