The WillowCreek Leadership Summit, now called the Global Leadership Summit has been a staple in my summer diet for 14 out of the last 15 years of the Summit. I am never disappointed. Always I find myself inspired and challenged deeply by the event. This year through the diversity of speakers I could visibly see the transition taking place between the leadership thinking of modernism and what is beginning to develop with the emerging post-modern generation.
The Summit did start a bit slow for me. I found the first day of the two-day event to be good but not as captivating as in previous years. One of the contributing factors was the lack of emphasis on worship and the arts on that particular day. I found it intriguing that that lack had such an impact on my experience, despite some amazing teaching and presentations. The second day was much stronger on the arts front and contributed to my ability to better take in all the material that was presented. That contrast between day one and day two was a significant educational “take home,” for me about the power of the arts as well as the release that comes from spending a significant amount of time in corporate worship. I don’t think some of my staff team who were not at the Summit would have made it through day one with the almost “all business approach” to the day.
But the lack of arts and worship on day one aside, the Summit proved once again to be an invaluable contribution to my own leadership journey. I commend the Willow team for putting together such an excellent teaching team or as they like to call them, “faculty.” Let me just list a few of the many “take homes,” that impacted me. It’s too long for many of you to read all at once, just scan down and see what catches your attention:
• I had already been in a setting where BILL HYBELS did a test run of his Summit talk, but I was struck anew by the intensity of his passion for knitting together teams of what he calls “fantastic people,” folks who you would go out into the hall and vomit if you ever heard they wanted to leave your organization!
• Hybels has now added a fourth “C” to his team-building list, that being “culture,” in addition to character, competency and chemistry. He distinguished between chemistry as being inter-personal, and culture being the DNA or ethos of your organization.
• “Good is the enemy of great,” was the renewed rallying cry of JIM COLLINS, who once again was mesmerizing in his presentation.
• As a part of his presentation on why some “mighty organizations” fall, Collins built on Hybels session by emphasizing that we must have all of our key seats filled with fantastic people, that we must resist any attempt to move ahead or grow until we have those fantastic people occupying those key leadership seats.
• The signature issue that separates great leaders from good leaders, leaders who are often able to prevent “a catastrophic fall,” are those who are marked by humility.
• With passion Collins said that if we desire to be truly useful as leaders, then we must never capitulate, never ever give up on the idea of creating a great church or organization, never ever give up on the discipline of creating our own future, while being willing to embrace loss and endure pain in the journey towards those goals. You might have thought he was a preacher!
• DR. PETER ZHAO XIOA’s presentation was simply fascinating. He became a Christ follower studying the American economy for the Chinese government and concluding that biblical values make for a stronger economy. He is proud of his Chinese heritage and looks forward to China becoming once again one of the dominant nations in the world. His call is for us to not fear China, but to work to strengthen Christian presence in China, which will only benefit the nation and the world.
• The concept advanced by ANDY STANLEY, that great organizations have problems that shouldn’t be solved and tensions that shouldn’t be resolved, is a keeper! He argued that we need to identify those critical problems and tensions, that if held in a creative both/and balance, bring progress for the organization. While tensions are organizationally specific, they include things like: time with family/ time at work; reaching the unchurched/maturing believers; led by the Spirit/ attentive to logic. He calls the balancing of these unresolvable tensions a “third category,” that when artfully handled, propel the organization forward.
• Throughout the Summit there was an emphasis on creating environments of collaboration. This came out brilliantly in TERRI KELLY’S, the CEO of what we know as Gore-Tex talk. The culture of Gore and Associates really grabbed my attention, where it is a peer-based organization where everyone understands that it is their job to make everyone else in the organization successful. Her presentation of what a peer based organization based on personal relationships and the power of small teams is all about, where there are more coaches than bosses, where every staff member has a sponsor in addition to a supervisor who is committed to the betterment of the person, really got my mind going on overdrive. Yeah she stretched me big time, and it was good to be stretched!!
• Again the whole issue of hiring the right people was emphasized. The need for the right kind of behavioral interviewing that assures that the people you hire fit the culture they will be working in.
• And if I thought Terri Kelly was brilliant then I’ve run out of strong enough adjectives to describe the thinking of DANIEL PINK. His work on what it is that truly motivates us was simply captivating. I bought both the audio and print editions of his book, “Drive”!!
• Pink uses three concepts to describe what he calls “enduring motivations”: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. He argues that most organizations use lesser motivations like reward and punishment, including financial profit and money. He calls “management theory,” an outdated 1800’s concept designed to get compliance when folk yearn for autonomy, that we need to find ways to give folk autonomy over their time, teams, tasks and techniques. This leads to the need for an individual to develop mastery in what he or she is doing that reflects their personal passions, and mastery is motivated as people see they are making progress. Pink like some of the other contrarian thinkers at the Summit is very hard on traditional performance appraisal systems, opting instead for an ongoing process of encouragement, where the individual is motivated to monitor his or her progress with the help of a supervisor/coach.
• Pink then moves on to purpose, which many of us resonate with who think of faith in terms of “the purpose driven life. Pink is strong that even in business purpose trumps profit every time.
• Tom’s Shoes with it’s CEO BLAKE MYCOSKIE is a great example that purpose trumps profits, in a for-profit business venture. His buy a pair of shoes, and we’ll give a pair away to someone in need in the majority world has impacted both the churched and unchurched community. It’s become a viral movement capturing the heart of the younger generation that truly want to make a difference. I’d love to see Tom’s Shoes in Canada!
• Listening to JACK WELCH helped me to better understand Bill Hybels. There’s a unique combination of old school and new school leadership thinking that Welch represents that has impacted Hybles, who re-reads Welch’s “Winning” every six months. He isn’t the most studied CEO of the 20th century for nothing! Welch brings to leadership an amazing combination of energy, candor, as well as passion for the individual. However he takes a more hard lined approach to performance appraisal that clearly grades the individual in relationship to the rest of the employees, so that he can abundantly reward the top 20%, care for and grow the core 70% and remove the bottom 10%. Hybles takes a softer approach on this than Welch, but similar. After listening to Daniel Pink and Terri Kelly, I sensed that on this issue, the Welch performance appraisal system’s days are numbered.
• The summit wrapped up with a resounding message by Bishop TD JAKES. I’ve heard him speak before and was not all that enthused to hear him again. I personally find wumped up enthusiasm, and what for me is trite clichés, to be a bit grating. This time, Jakes surprised me and totally engaged me. There was a level of humility in his speaking that captivated me. He was well worth the risk Hybles took in brining him back to the Summit.
• Several of Jake’s statements that stayed with me include: “You cannot lead someone who cannot read you, you have to transparent enough to be understood, you have to show your wounds.” “They learn as much from your troubles as they do from your strengths.” “Lord I need a me! That’s someone who is safe to encourage me as I encourage others.” Jakes lamented how few “safe encouragers” there are out there for pastoral leaders.
So yeah, a lot of good stuff!! I hope to bring some of these sessions to the Redwood staff team and the Christian and leadership community at large in Thunder Bay through a series of “LEADERSHIP LUNCHES,” at Redwood’s Thunder Bay campus. I just have to check with Jane and see if she’s willing to put the soup on for us! I should have more information come September.
