Tag Archives: dave kraft

The Two Biggest Issues They Face Re-Post from Dave Kraft’s Blog

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As many of you know, I spend a good chunk of my time coaching leaders.  Currently I have clients in New Zealand, Australia, India, England, Canada and the USA. Each is different, with a unique set of needs and issues, which lead them to desire a life/leadership coach. Coaching, in its original intent, was simply a method of “transportation” from one place to another…from point A to point B. As a coach, my task is to help these men go from where they are in any given area of life and ministry to where they believe the Lord would have them to be. 

If you would like to talk to me about being coached, email me: dave@marshill.com

From time to time I am asked what kinds of issues those I coach are dealing with. I have been professionally coaching for about eight years with Ministry Coaching International (www.ministrycoaching.org) and have probably coached around 150 leaders. I have discovered that most of my clients are dealing with two key issues which cause them to hunt for a coach. 

  1. Doing a better job of stewarding their time well
  2. Doing a better job of selecting their key team wisely

There are, of course, other issues, but these two are almost always in the top five for most of those I have been privileged to travel with in a coaching partnership.

 —-Doing A Better Job Of Stewarding Their Time Well—-

I recall hearing Bill Hybels say that most of the people he knew were overwhelmed and over-committed. I thought to myself that it’s a small world. Bill is in Chicago and I am in Southern California and he knows some of the same people I know.

I have discussions with my clients about going at a challenging pace, but not an insane and unsustainable pace. Most leaders I know are trying to do too much and traveling too fast. Why?

  1. Insecurity
  2. Fear
  3. Growing up in a home where nothing they did was ever good enough
  4. Being driven instead of being led
  5. Ministry/work has become an idol that they worship

Many of the leaders I coach have a good work ethic (maybe too good) and a good biblical understanding of the value of work, but not a good biblical understanding of the value of sabbath. They are burning the candle at both ends and praying for more wax. There is a big need out there among leaders to practice sabbath as a principle–not just a day…to take each day and learn how to engage and disengage appropriately and create margin in work/ministry. It’s not a matter of working faster or longer, but working smarter and pacing oneself. Life is a marathon, not a 100-meter race.

—Doing A Better Job Of Selecting Their Key People Wisely—

Before Jesus chose his disciples, he spent all night in prayer. After Judas hung himself and the disciples felt the need to pick someone to take his place, we read this in Acts 1:24: “And they prayed and said, ‘you, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen.’ ” It is still a discussion point among theologians whether Mattias or the Apostle Paul was the rightful candidate. One thing is clear though and that is they realized they needed help in making the selection.

I can’t think of anything more critical to accomplishing an organization’s or a church’s mission than having the right people on the team. As John Maxwell says, “Teamwork makes the dream work.” Select the wrong people and the dream stands much less of a chance of happening. Select the right people and the chances increase exponentially.

Jim Collins in his writings talks about:

  1. Getting the right people on the bus
  2. Getting the people in the right seats on the bus

Getting the right people means getting people who are: Growing in Christ, character and chemistry with others.

Finding the right seat for each person means identifying their passion, gifting and capacity. I spend a lot of time in my coaching helping leaders in their important team selection process; and, if they have made poor decision in the past, coaching them in how to help someone find another seat on the team bus, or leave the bus.

Exodus chapter 18 is the best chapter in the Bible (in my opinion) on the need for a team and how to make those selections. Verse 21 is especially insightful: “Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.” I see here: gifting, walk with God, character and capacity. The advice is as old as the hills and as up to date as a course at Harvard Business School on leadership.

Leaders are people who make decisions, and two of the most important decisions they can make are how they steward their time and how they select their team.

http://davekraft.squarespace.com/posts/2013/2/18/the-two-biggest-issues-they-face.html

Eight Things That Frustrate Me As A Leader Re-Post from Dave Kraft’s Blog

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I am not saying what follows is appropriate or good; I’m just sharing my heart a bit as to what I tend to get frustrated with. These are not in any particular order. As a leader of a team or a participant on a team, you may identify with some, most, or all of these. As usual, I would love some feedback.

I will divide these into Things About Myself (areas I am growing in but not there yet) and Things About Others’ behaviors, attitudes and habits.

===============THINGS ABOUT MYSELF===============

1. My Lack Of Sympathetic And Interactive Listening:

I share at my Leaders Who Last seminars that a verse that hit me between the eyes is Proverb 18:13 in The Message. “Answering before listening is both stupid and rude.” I can think of things it would be nice to have on my gravestone, but this isn’t one of them. Here lies Dave Kraft, he was both stupid and rude.

It’s stupid because I cut myself off from learning from others, and rude because I’m not loving and respecting others when I’m not listening. The verse is not saying it’s wrong to answer, but it is wrong before I have listened. God gave me two ears and one mouth, so maybe I should be listening twice as much as I speak. This is hard for a teacher/communicator/seminar leader.

2. My Lack Of Patience With Perceived Slow Thinking Or Slow Moving People:

I want to grow in appreciating and respecting people who are different than I am or whom I perceive are slower than I am. I know it’s prideful and I take it to the Lord every time it raises its ugly head.

3. My Lack Of Compassion For Hurting, Or Different, People:

I tend not to process things at a feeling level, but more with my brain. It often comes across as not caring or being compassionate with those in my world. One of my recent memory verses, 2 Corinthians 6:6 in the NLT, is helping me, “We have proved ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, our sincere love and the power of the Holy Spirit.” I desire all of these things, especially patience, kindness and sincere love and realize that it is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit.

===============THINGS ABOUT OTHERS===============

4. People Claiming They Don’t Have The Time And Letting The Urgent Trump The Important:

I hear this all the time. I would love to do XYZ, but I don’t have the time. I have learned that it is never a time issue, but always a values/priority issue. It especially frustrates me when leaders say I know I should spend quality time with the Lord, but I just don’t have the time. And then they add, “I think God understands.” I know He understands, but that doesn’t mean He likes it or approves. Honestly, people make time for what they think is important.

5. People Saying We Can’t Instead Of Saying We Can:

We serve a God who is all-powerful and it frustrates me when a person always looks at an opportunity and says we can’t do it. Caleb and Joshua were the we-can-do-this people, whereas the other ten were the we-can’t-do-this people. The rest, as they say, is history. Forty years in the desert thanks to the we-can’t do-this types.

6. Leaders Who Are Dominated By Fear Of What Others May Think:

Those who cave to the opinions of others and are, therefore, unwilling to make the tough or unpopular decisions. As leaders, we should be led by faith in the character and promises of God, and not be dominated by the fear of what others may think or say. Matthew 22:16 in The Message is very insightful on this; “Teacher, we know you have integrity, teach the way of God accurately, are indifferent to popular opinion, and don’t pander to your students.”

7. Groups, Organizations And Churches That Are Over-Managed And Under-Led:

In many cases they have no vision, but what they do have in spades are rules, regulations, guidelines and procedures. These are in the hands of committees that have the last say over what happens and what doesn’t happen. I have seen staff teams who are in bondage and held hostage by such committees. I can’t find anywhere in the Bible where God gave a vision to a committee, nor is there a statue in any park in the country built to honor a committee. If a park in your city has one, please let me know so I can stand corrected.

8. People Not Responding In A Reasonable Amount Of Time To Emails Or Requests:

Now I’m getting personal. It really frustrates me when people take forever to respond to a simple request for information that is needed to move the ball down the field. It tends to reinforce my belief that most people are overwhelmed and over-committed, and maybe, also, highly disorganized. Some are buried under a pile of 150 emails that await a response from them. I would like to suggest something I will call calendar integrity: never waiting more than 48 hours to respond to an email or phone call from someone in your chain of command or on your team. Do I hear an Amen?

http://davekraft.squarespace.com/posts/2013/2/11/eight-things-that-frustrate-me-as-a-leader.html