Ministry Update - First Senior Leadership Initiative (SLI) Module

     Something I am beginning to appreciate about being a part of Cru's city-focused ministry is that so much of what I'm learning feels as though it could be helpful and applicable for almost any Christ-follower I know.  As a result, I've begun to view my communications with you, my partners, as an opportunity to share what I'm learning in the hopes that some of it might be helpful to you in your own particular context.  I hope that you're finding that to be the case, between my occasional prayer letters, my Cru ministry facebook page and this blog.  If I ever post something you'd like to hear more about, please feel free to get in touch!
     In that vein, I recently spent a week in Orlando for the first of 4 SLI modules that will span the next 18 months.  There are 29 participants this session, who serve in various divisions of Cru including the campus ministry, Family Life, and the Jesus Film, along with my division, Cru's city ministry.

The SLI 7 participants

     The overall purpose of SLI is to equip people to lead Cru organizationally - I liken it to an Executive MBA program.  Over this first week we learned so many things - for instance, on the first day, we talked through what Cru labels the "Leadership Model."  This Leadership Model encompasses the relationships, roles, and responsibilities of a leader. 
        Relationships = with God, self, and others.  How intimately does a leader walk with the Lord?                How self-aware is she?   How well does he connect with other people?
        Roles of a leader = Direction Setter, Change Agent, Spokesperson and Coach
        Responsibilities of a leader that apply to each role =  Vision Casting, Alignment, Strategy
          Formulation, Motivating
     After spending a morning reviewing this familiar model, we put what we had learned into practice with a 24-hour challenge.  I was in a small group with folks I either didn't know or barely knew and our job was to prepare for and then interview a local CEO, asking him questions we developed using the Leadership Model.  Once we were done with the interview, we then crafted a presentation on our time to deliver to the whole group along with other Cru leaders who came to observe. 
    Boy was that a 24-hour whirlwind!  It was so tricky to tackle a project on a tight deadline with people I didn't know.  Thankfully, my group was wonderful and we had a good time working closely together while getting to know each other.  Our CEO recently left his role as CFO of a $12 billion dollar real estate investment firm to take over leadership of a church planting organization.  I was very interested to hear his perspective on leading in the non-profit sector after having spent his career in the for-profit world (I mean, you don't get much more "for profit" than an investment firm!). 
     Here were a few of my take-aways from our interview:

• From a motivating and alignment standpoint, it's helpful if every employee knows where they fit in the overall strategy and mission of the organization
• You cannot effectively lead an organization only from 30,000 feet - a leader needs to coach and be in relationship with the people who work for her/him as well as see the big picture
• Good leaders give honest, grace-filled feedback to their team members
• People respond to character (our CEO's long-time assistant met us and she spoke of how much she had loved working with him - she said "he is everything he seems")
• There is no substitute in any work setting for prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit

Me presenting along with my 24-hour challenge group

     I'm so thankful for the opportunity to participate in SLI and have no doubt that I am going to learn and be stretched.  Hopefully, I will learn much that I can bring back to you!