November 9th, 2011 
alandanielson I’m immediately going to shock some of you with this statement, but give me a chance to unpack my idea before you write me off. In my opinion, the greatest leadership myth is this: Leaders should maximize their strengths and ignore their weaknesses. Leadership experts promote this idea quite a bit. The basic concept is [...]
Posted in Leadership 
Tags: Leadership, liabilities, myths, myths, strengths, weaknesses 
No Comments » November 8th, 2011 alandanielson Yesterday I read a post on ChurchLeaders.com by Dallas Willard. In it he wrote about the fact that most pastors are chronically dissatisfied: That is one of the biggest issues for ministers today because of the model of success that comes to us. We get the idea we are supposed to make something happen, and [...]
Posted in Character, Leadership Tags: excellence, high, idolatry, Leadership, standards No Comments » November 7th, 2011 alandanielson Leadership is not about position. It is not about power. Leadership is about influence. Poor leaders don’t understand this, so they spent their time flexing muscles, raising their voices and imposing their will. Good leaders do understand this truth, so they focus their attention on improving their ability to influence. Below are 10 practices you should [...]
Posted in Character, Leadership Tags: be a better leader, equity, influence, leader, leaders, Leadership 1 Comment » May 19th, 2011 alandanielson Originally posted June 9, 2010. Reposted May 19, 2011. ——————————————————————— Recently I shared some practical steps about becoming a more relational leader. Today I want to talk about the cost of NOT being a relational leader. Here are some of the negative outcomes when you are not fostering relationships with the people you lead: Team [...]
May 9th, 2011 alandanielson Originally posted July 21, 2009. Reposted May 9, 2011. ——————————————————————— I once wrote about leadership biases and a friend named Cary Branscum asked, “How can we at least not be aware of our own bias?” I added the italics for emphasis. I don’t think Cary was necessarily asking for advice, but I thought he posed a [...]
April 26th, 2011 alandanielson Originally Posted 04-06-2010. Reposted 04-26-2011. —————————————————————— There are two kinds of leaders: Pyramid Builders and Movement Builders. Both kinds get things done. Both get results. Both lead. Yet the two are very different. Characteristics of Pyramid Builders: Motivate followers with fear and intimidation Believes followers should serve them Exercise positional leadership Like to have their [...]
April 18th, 2011 alandanielson Originally posted May 20, 2010. Reposted April 18, 2011. —————————————————— I schedule regular lunch meetings with people in my church. Why? Because relationships matter. I’ve met too many pastors and small group leaders who neglect relationships and this is just plain tragic. It’s interesting to me that our goal is to lead people to become [...]
March 16th, 2011 alandanielson Originally posted 03-18-2010. Reposted 03-16-2011. ————————————————– Why the picture of the gross bathtub? Don’t worry, I’ll get to that in a second. As a consultant I have the great privilege of speaking with churches all over the country about the challenges they face with their small group ministries. In those conversations I’ve seen a recurring [...]
Posted in Leadership, Small Groups Tags: Leadership, Small Group Leadership, Small Group Models, Small Group Systems 1 Comment » February 28th, 2011 alandanielson Originally posted 03-02-2010. Reposted 02-28-2011. ——————————————————————- A little boy was in the post office with his dad and he saw pictures on the wall of wanted criminals. Curiously he asked his dad, “Who are the people in these pictures?” His Father replied, “They are people who are wanted for committing crimes.” “So they’re bad people?” [...]
Posted in Character, Leadership Tags: Career, Family, Finances, Leadership, momentum, Progress No Comments » February 24th, 2011 alandanielson Originally posted 02-01-2010. Reposted 02-24-2011. —————————————————————— No pastor or church leader would use a phrase like this blog post’s title to promote a discipleship curriculum or program. It sounds like a silly infomercial, not to mention it’s utterly unbiblical. Sadly though, the way we promote discipleship in our churches frequently and unintentionally sends this kind of message. [...]
Posted in Spiritual Growth Tags: classes, Curriculum, Discipleship, Leadership, Spiritual Formation, workshops 5 Comments »
