Skip to main content

People Matter


The Willow Creek Association’s Global Leadership Summit brings together not only faith leaders but leaders in all types of organizations.  The slate of speakers intentionally includes not only those from churches and faith-based organizations, but corporate executives, consultants, and researchers who deal with people development.

Speakers this year included Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, and author of Lean In and Option B (with Adam Grant); Marcus Lemonis, CEO of Camping World and Good Sam, and host of the TV show, The Profit; Laszlo Bock, Senior Advisor at Google  and author of Work Rules; Marcus Buckingham, consultant/researcher and author of StandOut 2.0; Sam Adeyemi, pastor of Daystar Christian Centre in Nigeria; and Angela Duckworth, professor at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Grit:  The Power of Passion and Perservance.

A common theme among these speakers was that people basically want to do good work and the role of leaders is to help them be the best that they can be.  For many of us, this raises a theological question: “Are people basically good or bad?”  Does original sin taint all our efforts to do good?

Bock specifically asked participants, “Are people fundamentally good or bad?”  His assumption is that they are basically good. They know more about their work than their managers and want to do it more effectively. He encouraged the audience to “give people more autonomy.  Provide more autonomy that you are comfortable with.”

Angela Duckworth came at this is a similar way by stating, “I believe all people are ambitious and that they want to be good at what they do.”  Even Sam Adeyemi, the Nigerian pastor, had a very positive view about human potential.  He said, “What we believe is what we become.”  Of course, he bases this on change in the person, most often through religious conversion, but he stated it in an interesting way:Real and sustainable change in a person's life begins with a change in identity.”

If we accept that people want to do their best, then what is the role of the leader or supervisor?  Both these and other speakers addressed this topic as well.

First, we must hire the right people.  Bock observed that we are not as good at hiring people as we think we are and suggested separating interviewing from the hiring decision.  Too often if the person doing the hiring is also the interviewer, the tendency is to hire someone based on identification, comfort, or a good feeling.  In other words, someone like me.  He also stated, “Seek to hire people who are better than you in some way.”  Strengthen the organization by seeking those who bring something to the table that you don’t offer.

Second, we must invest time in people.  Marcus Buckingham provided research to show that performance reviews are a waste of time.  In their place, he suggested investing time in others through weekly “strengths-based check-ins” that ask, “What are you doing and how can I help?”  This is more coaching than supervision.  If you don’t have time to do this, Buckingham said that you are supervising too many people!

Both Sheryl Sandberg and Marcus Lemonis emphasized the importance of investing in people.  Lemonis pointed out, “Business is about vulnerability, making connections.  Vulnerability is difficult to unleash” Coming out of her own experience of dealing with the loss of her husband and returning to work, Sandberg encouraged leaders to recognize when people are hurting and acknowledge their struggle.  Too often, we want to ignore their pain.  While the leader can offer the hurting person time away, he or she must still communicate the message, “You are still capable.  We still need you.”

Developing leaders in your setting takes time.  There is no quick fix.  Whether we believe that people are either “good” or “bad,” we embrace the potential for change in every individual and seek to provide the relationships that will encourage growth, responsibility, and development.  This is the work of the leader.


   





 

Comments

Check these out

Confessions of a Recovering Southern Baptist

I am grateful for my heritage as a Southern Baptist.  I was exposed to the Bible and worship from a very young age.  I grew up in a church in south Alabama that supported the Cooperative Program of missions giving.  This meant that our church had the benefit of being part of a supportive group of local churches and the educational opportunities that afforded. Our state convention provided varied and effective ministries with groups like orphans, ethnic groups, and college students.  We supported missionaries at home and abroad.  We had good Bible study and training literature (which we paid for, of course).  I went to an accredited seminary and paid a remarkably low tuition.  Wherever you went on a Sunday morning (in the Southeast and Southwest, at least), you could find a church that sang the familiar hymns and studied the same Bible lesson. In hindsight, I realize that this Southern Baptist utopia was imperfect.  There were significant theological differences, often geograp

The Bible Tells Me So

As I read the story of the Good Samaritan during my devotional today, I was reminded of the times that I have heard the story in the Christian education setting of the local church--as a youngster in primary and intermediate classes (old terminology), as a young adult in college classes, and then as an adult, often teaching the passage myself.     The characters and story line are very familiar due to these experiences of Christian education. These are challenging times for Christian education in the church.  Like so much of what is happening in the church today, the old forms do not seem to support present needs.  What once worked no longer seems to be effective.  Christian education or the formation of believers is in a state of flux. In an article on ethicsdaily.com , retired professor Colin Harris addresses this issue. He points out that the period of the 60’s and 70’s  “saw the beginnings of a loss of vitality within the educational dimension of church ministry, as the

Metaphors of the Kingdom of God

In a recent blog , consultant Seth Godin addresses the power of metaphor.   He points out, “The best way to learn a complex idea is to find it living inside something else you already understand.”   In other words, “this” is like “that.” “When you see a story, an example, a wonderment,” says Godin, “take a moment to look for the metaphor inside.”   Jesus turned this around.   In the use of parables, he told a story or provided a metaphor and challenged his hearers to see the truth within. For example, in his teaching on the Kingdom (or Reign) of God in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom to such things as a mustard seed, yeast, a hidden treasure, a net, a king, and a landowner.   His hearers are encouraged to use their imaginations to understand something that they had never experienced.   He also attempted to shift their perspective so that they might see signs of the Kingdom breaking into their present reality.  These are metaphors for the Kingdom. Where do w

The Tragedy of Willow Creek Community Church

File photo of Steve Carter, Heather Larson, and Bill Hybels As Christian brothers and sisters, we need to pray for Willow Creek Community Church.   On the eve of the Global Leadership Summit, a worldwide conference sponsored by the church in cooperation with the Willow Creek Association, church leadership imploded as a result of further allegations against former pastor Bill Hybels. Last year, Hybels introduced the team who would assume church leadership upon his retirement--lead pastor Heather Larson and teaching pastor Steve Carter.  Although the founding pastor planned to stay on to assist in a time of transition, reports of sexual impropriety involving Hybels surfaced early this year.  He accelerated his departure from the church and left the board of the Willow Creek Association. When other charges emerged last week, teaching pastor Carter resigned. On Wednesday evening, Larson and the entire elder board--lay leaders who provide accountability on behalf of the congreg

A Future for the Global Leadership Summit?

Craig Groeschel, the founder and senior pastor of Life.Church. The Global Leadership Summit which began as a project of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, and its founding pastor, Bill Hybels, over 25 years ago was held this week without Hybels. For several years, the GLS has been now produced by the Willow Creek Association, a spin-off organization and a loose network of churches but Hybels has been its driving force. Attended by thousands at the church facility in South Barrington and broadcast to thousands more at satellite locations, the annual meeting brings together not only evangelical leaders but outstanding speakers from business, charitable organizations, politics, and business.  For the first time, Hybels did not appear due to allegations of sexual impropriety brought against him over the past year by former employees, staff members, and business associates.  He has already left the church and resigned from the board of the association.