Tips for Taking Place Seriously
This Month's Top Five List
One of the things that sucks the life out of people is the idea that they have to be something they're not. The owner of a family-owned and operated ice cream shop gets in over her head in debt trying to look and act like a Dairy Queen(R). The members of a church in a gritty urban neighborhood struggle with self-esteem and depression because they're not a Willow Creek-like megachurch, making it virtually impossible for them to be useful to God in their context.
If this sounds like something you're prone to do in life or work, stop it! It's bad for people. It's bad for the planet. And, most likely, it's bad for your bottom line (whatever your bottom line happens to be). It's time for you to practice being who you are and seeing what you have for the sake of doing what matters. We teach leaders to use 7 Renewable Practices to help them do that. Practice #4 is "Taking Place Seriously."
Taking Place Seriously is about paying attention to what is happening right when and right where you are. Leaders who Take Place Seriously end up falling in love with their context. They are able to see the assets, gifts and passions of the people they are working with, the amazing things already happening in their midst, and the unique opportunities they have to make a difference both within the organization they care about and the community they have been called to serve.
But it can be hard to Take Place Seriously when the grass seems so much greener someplace else, when your competition looks like they've got it all figured out, and/or when the experts are promising a magic bullet to success. How can you stay centered, focused, and committed to the special place you've been called to serve?
Here are five tips for taking place seriously:
- Walk around! - Get outside, especially when the weather is nice. Pay attention to what you see. What are people wearing? What are they doing? Do they look happy, sad, preoccupied, bored? What seems important to people in your context? What makes you say that? Talk to the people you meet along the way. Introduce yourself and tell them you're just trying to get to know the neighborhood better. Ask them some purposeful questions. Now, do the same thing inside your organization. You can't fall in love with a place or the people who live & work there unless you let yourself really be there.
- Get involved - Join a service organization in your community. Participate in the programs offered at your public library. Attend sports functions. Start a book ground and invite your neighbors. This is a great way to get to know people in your wider context.
- Take an official to lunch - Get to know the mayor, school board exec, fire chief. Ask them about their concerns and joys. Tell them you care about the community and want to be helpful. They'll give you more info and ideas than you bargained for!
- Re-route - If your feet, bike, or car seem to be able to get you where you want to go without even thinking about it, it's time for a new route. Intentionally take a different route the next time you go to one of your typical destinations (i.e., grocery store, school, hair salon, etc.). Pay attention to what you see.
- Gather the data - Numbers can't tell you everything. But sometimes we see only what we want to see. And it can help you see things the way they really are to have up-to-date demographic information. If you're in the U.S., the Census Bureau has a ton of information about your community online. Click here for a link to the U.S. Census Bureau. Talk to a local realtor, the Chamber of Commerce, your local government office, etc. They can help you get the facts.
Wherever you go and whatever you do, inside or outside your organization, ask questions like: What good things are going on here that I can be a part of? What is happening right here and now that is breaking my heart? What needs do people have? How can I help? Who has resources I can tap into to make a difference? Ask yourself these questions regularly --- and get your team asking them, too.
New Stop Added To This Year's Tour
Philadelphia here we come!
The A.R.E. team will be hitting the road this fall with stops in 8 - no, make that NINE! -cities in North America. In addition to stops in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Winnipeg, Hartford CT, Baltimore/DC, Charlotte NC, and Orlando, we’ve been persuaded by church leaders in Philadelphia to add the City of Brotherly Love to the tour on Thursday, December 10, 2009.
At each stop we’ll be inviting leaders in congregations, judicatories, and faith-based organizations of every kind to ask themselves the question: What if you really do have extraordinary power in that "clay jar" of yours? What if you learned how to tap into the treasure of infinite and replenishable energy that dwells within God’s people and set them free to put their creativity, intelligence, and passion to work doing what really matters?
These workshops will introduce you to the principles and practices of a Renewable OrganizationTM for the sake of helping your church or other faith-based organization be who you are and see what you have for the sake of doing what matters. You will learn seven practices that will tap into the renewable source of energy that dwells within God’s people. You'll be given a simple yet powerful tool that will teach you to see what you have with new eyes as you participate in what God is up to in your community. And we'll show you a straightforward, life-giving, asset-based way to get done the things that really matter within the context of God's mission in the world.
Early-bird registration is $59.00 and it is open NOW. Your registration fee includes lunch and a copy of the workbook "The Renewable OrganizationTM for Faith-Based Groups." Space is limited so sign up soon!
Book of the Month
This series of short, stream-of-consciousness-like, musings on the nature of leadership in our changing and interconnected world will drive the linear thinkers in our midst crazy. But nearly every page in this little book has something that will terrify, provoke, or inspire you.
Godin's definition of a leader as a "heretic who is doing thing differently and making change" is, all by itself, enough to send some readers running in the other direction. The thing is: We think he's right.
Godin thinks the world needs leaders today who are willing to challenge the status quo because they believe so passionately in the possibility of doing things in a new and better way. The problem we're facing in our organizations and in our world right now is that too many people fight change; they work overtime to defend the status quo. This is exhausting. And it leads, ultimately, to our demise.
Godin rejects the notion that leaders need to have good ideas - all the great ideas are already out there! He also disagrees that leadership requires a title, an office, or the right "credentials." Anybody, anywhere, can be a leader. This is increasingly true as we move to an online world where tribes can form easily and quickly. Leadership is, simply, taking the initiative to make things happen. And that's what we need today: Leaders who are able to describe the future in a way that builds a coalition necessary to get there.
Godin is overly optimistic, we think, about how ready "managers" are to embrace these kinds of leaders. This is a good Godin quote, for example: "Top management now wants leaders. It wants heretics who will create change before change happens to them." He thinks the real obstacle to leadership is in the "rank and file," among ordinary folks who been burned so many times by the latest, greatest idea that they're afraid...afraid of losing their job, afraid of failure, criticism, making a mistake, getting caught. We agree that the average guy can be resistant to change. But we think Godin overestimates the readiness of those in management positions. We personally know way too many church council and nonprofit board members who think it's the leader's job to preserve the identity (i.e., the tradition, rituals, and rules) of their community. We hope those folks will read this book.
But this book is also for you - and maybe mostly for you - if you're a leader who has started to feel like you're banging your head against the wall. If you're feeling pressure to conform, shut up, sit down, and stop causing trouble...Godin's words will be like a balm for your heart...and food for your head.
Here's one of our favorite quotes from this great little book:
"So the challenge, as you contemplate your next opportunity to be boring or remarkable, is to answer these two questions:
- 'If I get criticized for this, will I suffer any measurable impact? Will I lose my job, get hit upside the head with a softball bat, or lose important friendships?' If the only side effect of the criticism is that you will feel bad about the criticism, then you have to compare that bad feeling with the benefits you'll get from actually doing something worth doing. Being remarkable is exciting, fun, profitable, and great for you career. Feeling bad wears off. And, then, once you've compared that bad feeling and the benefits, and you've sold yourself on taking the remarkable path, answer this one:
- How can I create something that critics will criticize?"
Early Bird Registration is Open!
"Treasure in Clay Jars: The Renewable Organization for Faith-Based Groups"
2009 WORKSHOP DATES:
Chicago - October 8
Los Angeles - October 13
San Francisco - October 15
Hartford - October 22
Baltimore/DC - October 27
Winnipeg - November 10
Charlotte - December 1
Orlando - December 1
Philadelphia - December 10 (NEW!)
Early bird registration fee of $59 includes lunch and a copy of the brand new workbook "The Renewable Organization for Faith Based Groups." Space is limited.
Look for our ad in The Christian Century!
