CLEOEJACKSONIII.COM
  • My Home Page
  • My Life and Ministry
  • My Ongoing Thoughts
  • My Favorite Bible Verses
  • My Favorite Stories
  • My Favorite Jokes
  • My Favorite Quotations
  • My Favorite Web Links
  • My Contact Info
"Helping Others Communicate"

TEAMING UP

6/5/2017

 
I recently completed a small group class at our church.  Each of the last few years, I have sought out several young men and invited them to participate in a Leadership 101 small group at our church.  Its purpose is to recruit and develop strong lay leaders for the future.  I will tell you that God has blessed this undertaking tremendously.  To date, we have had right at thirty young men go through this course with me.

While there are literally hundreds of possible texts to base such a course upon, my choice for the study is short book written by Paul Powell titled Getting the Lead Out of Leadership.  At approximately 120 pages, the book is not long at all. Nevertheless, it is an excellent resource that is chock full of insightful advice.

In twelve short chapters, Dr. Powell’s book covers all the basics required for effective leadership in the local church: Faith, Thinking, Goal-setting, Planning, Having Courage, Motivating, Decision Making, Having Determination, Relationship Building, Team Building, Willingness to Work Hard, and The Desire to Keep Growing.

Powell’s expertise was gleaned over decades of pastoral leadership.  His principles are rock solid.  But what makes the book so enjoyable are his illustrations.  Many of these are personal ones taken directly from a lifetime of experience.  But he also sprinkles in a great many from the lives of other leaders as well.

I want to share one such illustration here today.  Powell outlines his chapter on Team Building as follows.  A good Executive will do four things effectively:  Recognize (all available talent), Organize (all appropriate tasks), Galvanize (all effective team members), and then Mobilize (all the forces). 

To illustrate point three on galvanization, Dr. Powell shares a leadership insight offered by legendary University of Alabama head football coach, Paul “Bear” Bryant.  He writes:

If anyone ever knew how to build a team it was the late Paul “Bear” Bryant, head football coach at the University of Alabama. He once said, “I’m just a farm hand from Arkansas, but I have learned how to hold a team together, how to lift someone up, how to calm down others, until finally they’ve got one heartbeat together, a team. There’re just three things I’d ever say:
 
• If anything goes bad, I did it.
• If anything goes semi-good, then we did it.
• If anything goes real good, then you did it.
 

That’s all it takes to get people to win football games for you.”
 
At the end of the day, as Dr. Powell observes, leadership is little more than the ability to influence others. And Bear Bryant was right, a good football coach is able to influence every member of a team to be better in order to achieve victory together.

Granted, not everyone is called to be a football coach.  Nor is everyone called to be a leader within God’s church.  But sooner or later, all of us have some leadership role or roles to fulfill in life, be that in our families, our jobs, our community activities, or any of a dozen other such areas.  
 
For this reason, I highly recommend Dr. Powell’s book.  It is a short read; but the principles it contains will no doubt be applicable in a multitude of areas in the life of the reader.
 
SOURCE: 
http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php?id=146512, p. 98. 
SEE ALSO:
http://www.cleoejacksoniii.com/my-ongoing-thoughts/a-fallen-giant 
AND ALSO:
https://www.baylor.edu/mediacommunications/news.php?action=
story&story=176068
.

Comments are closed.

    Cleo E. Jackson, III

    Occasionally I will add
    a few thoughts to my blog. If you find them inspirational, I will be
    honored.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

    Categories

    All