I've spent years leading - and learning - with others through my work, church and even at home. This past year as I entered into a business partnership with Evan McBroom, our Chief Culture Officer, Founder & Partner at Fishhook, I've learned even more.
What stands out after one year of business partnership ...
I've spent years leading - and learning - with others through my work, church and even at home. This past year as I entered into a
business partnership with Evan McBroom, our Chief Culture Officer, Founder & Partner at Fishhook, I've learned even more. It's exciting. It takes work. And it's humbling. Here are a few key things that matter to me (and us) as we lead together.
Our vision and calling for Fishhook is a constant.
Evan and I - and our full team - are cheerleaders for the local church. We feel privileged to provide churches and ministries with strategic communications counsel and to support them as they connect more people to the hope of Christ. We love this work and our team.
Our focus, priorities and decisions are based on this vision and calling. We lead with and from this foundation.
Now just like with your church or ministry, there are many times when new opportunities, issues and ideas pop up. It's easy to want to chase a variety of shiny objects.
At Fishhook, we do our best to return again and again to our mission to decide what we should run after or run away from. What will help us impact more churches? What will energize our team? What will glorify God?
Do you have a unified and clear vision that guides your work? What mission-focused questions keep you focused when planning and making decisions?
Time
Evan and I became business partners - and then we got very busy doing all kinds of stuff. Our offices are just a few feet away from each other, but we can go for days without seeing each other or talking. When our interactions become more transactional instead of relational, we know we're overdue to connect.
On a regular basis, we make time for one another. And we like to ask these kinds of questions: How are you? How's Debbie and your family? (Or, if Evan is asking me, how are Brian and your girls?) What are you thinking about or feeling with our work? (And we leave room for the answers to these questions to be big or small.) What do you need from me?
To be fully engaged and ready to lead our team and with clients, we have to routinely check in with each other. And the best days are when we have laughed a little, talked about something of significance for the benefit of our team or clients and then encouraged one another or prayed together for our team and work.
How much time do you offer or spend with the others you lead with? What questions do you discuss with them on a regular basis? Do you laugh together? Do you pray together?
How will you grow as a leader - and with those you are leading with - in the coming months? One of my favorite leadership events each year is The Global Leadership Summit, and this year we are giving away 4 FREE tickets! Click below to enter.
