Learn from Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel – Catalyst One Day

June 19th, 2013 by bradlomenick in Catalyst,Catalyst Conference,leadership. No Comments

Catalyst One Day is coming to Southern California, and you are invited!

Make plans to attend Catalyst One Day on Thursday, August 22, at Saddleback Church in Orange County, CA. Join Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel for a one day leadership event focused on the topic of Leadership Essentials. This practical leadership experience includes Q and A, dynamic music, and a full day of practical insight up close with two of the principal leadership voices in the Church today. Plus a few surprises!

One Day is a different type of Catalyst gathering designed to focus on answering the practical “how-to” and “what-about” questions and tackle the nuts and bolts of leadership.

Visit the Catalyst One Day website to register to attend. Tickets as low as $89. The special discounted rate ends this Thursday, June 20, so register now online or call 888.334.6569!

A Challenge to Young Leaders

June 14th, 2013 by bradlomenick in Catalyst,leadership,Leadership Rules,Next Generation Leadership. 4 Comments

I Love Young Leaders. Catalyst exists to help equip young leaders, especially those under 40. I’ve invested a significant part of my life into connecting, gathering, inspiring and equipping young leaders.

But this is a tribute to the leaders over 40 who so many of us under 40 too often think “don’t really understand what’s going on anymore.”

So to all of my young, passionate, ready to change the world peers who are under 40:

SIT down, SHUT UP, and LISTEN!

SHUT UP, and LISTEN. To the sages and wise mentors in our lives, in our companies, in our organizations, in our families, in our churches. The leaders who’ve been there, who’ve succeeded and failed, who’ve experienced multiple recessions, who’ve actually watched technology advance, who don’t just talk about experience but actually have it, who have been through the process of being Made into who they are today.

Before many of us who “think” we are the next great hope for saving our generation, or leading our generation in a whole new way, or reclaiming our culture, or just simply fill in the blank……. go any further, we need to find the mentors and sages and patriarchs and matriarchs around us and glean wisdom from them.

Every young leader I know could use a whole lot more Saged Leader in their life.

Especially those of us in our early 30′s. In our early 20′s many times we are still hungry and humble enough to seek out mentors, and find the 50 year old + sages who can provide wisdom and counsel. But for some reason, in our late 20′s and 30′s, especially our early 30′s, we start to think we’ve grown up and got it all together, and that now we think instead of seeking wisdom and counsel, we should be giving it. We tend to lose the desire to learn by listening, and start to “protect our turf” by talking. And talking more. About what we’ve done and the things that we’ve accomplished….. over the last 10 years of our “career.”

Many of us in the “next generation” of leaders need to put down the microphone, and instead get out a pen and paper and start taking notes.

So find a wise mentor, a seasoned sage, someone who’s lived a little more, loved a lot deeper, prayed a lot harder, led alot longer, and sit down…..Shut up…..and Listen. To them.

52 Quotes to inspire you to be a Better Leader

June 10th, 2013 by bradlomenick in Catalyst,leadership,Leadership Rules,Next Generation Leadership. 1 Comment

Here is an exhaustive list of 52 Quotes on Leadership from me over the past several years.

These quotes and points are taken from my blog, as well as my twitter, facebook, speaking and other outlets. Thanks to Toni Ridgaway from Sermon Central for aggregating this list of quotes. You can see the original article here.

Most of these leadership quotes and principles also appear in The Catalyst Leader book. Enjoy!

ABOUT YOUNG LEADERS

Today’s 20- and 30-somethings are more willing to collaborate than any other generation before. They trust each other. Really. And they see collaboration as the starting point, not as some grandiose vision of teamwork that is far off in the distance.
For the next generation, it’s way less about who they’re working with and way more about what they’re doing.
Going forward, leaders won’t have followers unless they trust them and see that they are authentic and real. Authenticity is not only important to the next generation, it’s a requirement.
Young leaders are ambitious and passionate about making a difference now. They’re not willing to wait their turn. They want to influence now.
Leaders age 35 and under in general are more about projects than they are about careers, more about movements instead of organizations. So if you want to keep us around in your organization, you’re going to have to pursue us. Show us you are approachable and connected to where we are in life.
Literally, you need to kick them out. Not only give them permission to leave, but actually encourage them to leave and pursue other things. Once it’s time for them to move on, they might need your encouragement to pursue what God might be stirring up in them.
Every young leader I know could use a whole lot more saged leaders in their life.

ABOUT VISION

What keeps you up at night? This one is a familiar question for most leaders. What makes you cry? What makes you mad? What are the things that nag at you? This question has to do with what you are passionate about.
What gets you up in the morning? This one is less familiar to most of us, but probably even more important. What keeps you and your team committed? Engaged and excited? This question has more to do with purpose.
Don’t settle for just going through life enduring the five days of the workweek, to only have as your greatest goal of the week to make it to the weekend. Love what you do, or at least like it. It’s too important not to.
As believers, as followers of Jesus, if we’re not chasing after something that is so much bigger than we are, and there’s no way we could ever accomplish it without God, then we are playing it too safe.

ABOUT DECISION-MAKING

Making decisions as a leader is normal and ordinary and required. It’s why you are a leader. Embrace it.
For big decisions, always sleep on them. The extra time will allow your decision to be made without the spontaneous emotion that comes with a spontaneous response.
Create a culture of action in your organization. Many leaders quickly become overwhelmed with several decisions in front of them and then unintentionally paralyze the organization by avoiding them all.
A lot of us as leaders are willing to allow our team members to make decisions, but want to step in as soon as we see something done differently than we would do. Don’t make that mistake. It is totally demoralizing to your team.

ABOUT CONFLICT

Tension is a powerful platform to clarify what is important. Out of tension many times comes change—change for good.
Generational tension is essential in passing the mantle of leadership. For the Church to move forward in culture, older leaders must pass on their wisdom and legacy to younger leaders.
Leaders lead in the fray. Leading in the safety zone is easy, but true leadership happens in the fray where change is happening and there is a unique tug-of-war happening in that area.
Tension among and within a team is healthy. Unity doesn’t mean there’s no tension. Unity means you are pursuing the same mission in the midst of real and purposeful tension.
As a leader, lean into the tension that constantly exist. As Andy Stanley says, some tensions are meant to be managed, not removed.
Four things poison a team faster than anything else: arrogance, lack of communication, “me-first” vs. “we-first,” and jealousy/cynicism.

ABOUT COMMUNICATING

Keep it simple. Stay focused on a few key points. And use common sense. If it sounds confusing, it probably is. If it sounds cheesy, it probably is.
Tell great stories to validate your points. Unless you are just an amazing communicator, your points probably won’t hold me. So sprinkle in some great stories, good analogies, and current events.
Inspire action. Push me toward doing something, not just hearing something.
Create hooks, repetitions, and memorable phrases. I won’t remember all you said, but I might remember something you said. Our current culture is now built around sound bites—status updates, tweets, texts, etc. So keep it simple, but also keep it short.
Land the plane on time. Don’t just end on time, but actually end with the right timing. Don’t keep circling above the runway—land it now.

ABOUT LEADERSHIP

12 Characteristics of Leaders
- Be humble
- Be authentic
- Be generous
- Be Christ-like
- Be the best at what you do
- Be consistent
- Be courageous, willing to go first and take risks
- Be honest and trustworthy
- Be thankful
- Be a learner
- Be inspiring and vision-giving
- Be adaptable and open to change
What pastors can learn from business leaders: (a) Collaboration (b) Excellence (c) Execution.
What business leaders can learn from pastors: (a) Relationships first (b) Income for greater purposes (c) Leadership.
You are never too good at what you do or who you are to need honest feedback from yourself, your peers, your family, and your friends. Seek it out constantly.
The more humble you are, typically the more self-aware you are. The more arrogant you are, typically the less self-aware you are.
You’re not that important, and you need to relax. Sometimes the more platform and position we get, the more seriously we take ourselves. Don’t.
No one wants to work FOR or AROUND a leader who doesn’t understand who they really are.
One of the keys for properly channeling your ambition is to have people around you who will tell you what you may not want to hear, trusted friends and advisors who are honest and authentic with you.
As leaders, we are called to a higher standard. And as followers of Christ, an even higher standard. Set your standards so high that it may seem impossible to reach them.
It drives me crazy when I see something done without excellence but with the excuse of “Well, it’s okay because our intentions are good.” Nope. Not good enough. Our God deserves our very best. Always.
Comparing yourself to others just like you won’t challenge you or make you improve. Compare yourself to the best. Both inside and outside your industry. Learn from others who are better.
“Us” is way better than “me” or “you.”
Next time someone says “How have you all accomplished this?…” or “What do you plan to accomplish the rest of this year?…” or “Who is involved in making things happen within your organization?…” or “Talk about the keys to success for you?….” make sure you start your answer with “WE” or “US” or “OUR.”
True influence is about more than just someone listening. It’s about action. And it’s about change. If I simply buy your book and read a few chapters, but don’t put anything into action, are you really influencing me? If I listen to you speak, but make no changes in my life or the way I lead, are you really influencing me? If I follow you on Twitter, but it doesn’t change anything for me, are you really influencing me?
Teams that are excellent at what they do attract people who are excellent at what they do.
A great statement in terms of trust: I’ll do what I said I would do, and if not, I will tell you.
Ultimately, we create a culture of trust by trusting, and trusting more, and trusting even more.
As leaders, if our team fears our response when they mess up, because they’ve seen our response and don’t want to deal with that, we need to change our response.
I would much rather have a horse I have to hold back versus a horse I have to spur to get going.
Whether you like it or not, you are ALWAYS training.

IN GENERAL

The more you have, the harder it is to give it up. Doesn’t matter whether we are talking about money, possessions, toys, influence, team members, projects, or assignments.
You are never really “ready” for anything. Some say that you should wait until you are “mature” enough to pursue certain things in life. But we’re never really ready, are we?
Being remarkable 1. Takes a lot of energy. 2. Is not easy. 3. Requires a constant sense of improvement, innovation, and intuitiveness. 4. Is a clear commission from God. 5. Provides platform, credibility, and respect in the culture at large. 6. Steps up the game of those around you.
We have to fight against the idea of just wearing a wristband and feeling like we’ve done something.
WHO you are working with is just as important as WHAT you are working on.
Love people until they ask why.

Thanks again to Toni Ridgaway from Sermon Central for putting together this list!

Our system for Making Ideas Actually Happen

June 3rd, 2013 by bradlomenick in Catalyst. 7 Comments

We get asked all the time about how we come up with new and fresh ideas for Catalyst.

It’s a pretty simple process that has proven to be pretty effective over the years. This can be useful in any organization or scenario, whether you are launching ideas, or just looking to make sound decisions. Here you go:

1. Create- we spend a ton of time just brainstorming, which is obviously a very important part of the process. The more ideas on the board, the more opportunities for one of those to make it through the process. For example, we have probably 300-350 programming ideas every year for our October conference. And creative meetings are “yes and” meetings, not “but or”. Important!

2. Criticize – every idea, in order to stay in the process, has to be critiqued and criticized significantly. This is key in order to make sure you don’t spend tons of time chasing too many rabbits and driving everyone crazy with lots of good ideas but nothing ever happening. And make sure everyone doesn’t take things personal- criticizing an idea is much different than criticizing the person who came up with the idea. It’s not personal.

3. Optimize- anything that makes it pass the criticize phase has to be built on. In some ways, this is a second and third wave of innovation. Most of the time the original idea will turn into something that looks totally different. This is really the essence of putting icing on the cake. If you are the leader and idea generator, at this point in the process your idea may be totally changed and enhanced from what it was originally. You have to be OK with this!

4. Validate- every idea has to be validated- financially, operationally, personnel wise, and direction/vision related. Lots of big ideas appropriately get held up in this phase, either to be released later or put on the shelf for good. Conversely, lots of bad ideas make it through this phase because of bad systems and/or leaders who aren’t willing to say no, or teams who won’t say no to the team leader’s idea.

5. Execute- it all comes down to getting things done. Hard work is time consuming and tiring. And actually putting ideas into action is tremendously difficult and draining. We take tremendous pride in execution on ideas. If it has gone through the entire process and made it to this point, the idea deserves the attention and focus to make sure it happens. And if every level of the Idea process grid was correctly put in motion, the idea is probably going to be good!

Young Influencers List, May edition

May 28th, 2013 by bradlomenick in Catalyst,Next Generation Leadership,Young Influencers List. 1 Comment

Here you go, the May edition of the Young Influencers List. You can see all the past month’s lists here.

1. Ruth Awogbade- founder of Magnify, staffer with Alpha, and editor of Alpha Life Magazine

2. Michael McDowell- NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide series driver

3. Benjamin Grizzle- executive director, securities division at Goldman Sachs in London, writer and speaker

4. Katie Strandlund- founder of Dirty Work, creative management for creative minds

5. Larry Hubatka- creative pastor at Elevation Church in Charlotte

6. Eryn Erickson- founder of So Worth Loving, a community helping people pursue their dreams

10 Ways to be a GREAT Employee

May 23rd, 2013 by bradlomenick in Catalyst,leadership,Leadership Rules. 1 Comment

Here you go, 10 points to help you be a better employee, partner, or peer in your organization. Whether working on a project, a new initiative, or just simply trying to be competent in the organization you serve in.

1. Write everything down- never show up to a meeting without something to write with and something to write on. And write it down. Everything. Otherwise you’ll forget. I don’t care who you are.

2. Honor people’s time- show up early and finish on time.

3. Come with solutions, not just ideas- this is crucial. move towards completion, not away from it. Ideas are great, but have to lead towards the finish line.

4. Learn how to anticipate- be one step ahead. do something every day you weren’t “asked” or “told” to do, but know you should do.

5. Be a disciplined learner- understand it’s your role to be an expert, no matter what level or role you play in an organization. Don’t just be one step ahead of your boss in being skilled at your job…. be an expert.

6. Listen well- listen when in a conversation, don’t just think about what you are going to say in response. Listen for next steps, not current realities- this has to do with anticipating.

7. Reflect most of the credit, take all the blame- this is more for leaders, but still a great principle to put into practice no matter what level you are in the organization. Be a reflector of praise, not an absorber. Absorb the blame if at all possible.

8. Never speak negatively of your peers for personal gain- wow, this is a hard one for everyone. Especially when your boss or superior wants to pit you against that peer and see how you respond. Don’t give in to that. Stay above it.

9. Push back- almost every organizational leader I know wants their team members to challenge the process, question assumptions, bring new ideas to the table, and push back when they don’t agree. Don’t be afraid to do this. If your leader is not mature enough to take this, then they probably shouldn’t be in the position they are in. If unsure on whether you truly have “permission” to push back, ask for permission on the front end.

10. Take on more responsibility- ask for more power and involvement, and you’ll be lifting the load of your employer or boss. That is always a welcomed conversation. Always. Help by taking on more.

Young Influencers List, April edition

April 25th, 2013 by bradlomenick in Catalyst,Next Generation Leadership,Young Influencers List. 1 Comment

Here you go, the April edition of the Young Influencers List. You can see all the past editions here.

1. Graham Bronczyk- worship pastor/leader at Newport Church in CA.

2. Jasmine Star- artist, blogger, and world renowned photographer and wedding photog extraordinaire.

3. Artie Delgado- uber talented videographer, director, editor, storyteller and founder of Brink Films.

4. Rebekah Lyons- author of brand new book Freefall to Fly, and co-founder of Q Ideas.

5. Ryan and Josh Shook- speakers and authors of the book FirstHand, and sons of Kerry Shook.

6. Dustin Ahkuoi- singer, songwriter, worship leader, and lead vocals for A Town A List.

7. Amelia Quinn and Kelley Stagnaro- founders of BeLoved Atlanta, residential home community for women leaving the sex industry.

A conversation with my friend Ken Coleman on his new book One Question

April 11th, 2013 by bradlomenick in Catalyst,Friends and Links,Interviews,leadership. No Comments

Here is my sit down interview with Ken Coleman talking about the release of his new book One Question: Life Changing Answers from Today’s Leading Voices.

Ken is one of my closest friends in the world, and I highly recommend this book for you and your leadership development. It’s a collection of practical wisdom from leading voices today from all different backgrounds, including folks like Malcolm Gladwell, John Maxwell, Coach K, Pat Summitt, Seth Godin, Daniel Pink, Mark Burnett, Tony Robbins, and more.

You can purchase the book here. You can also get a special bundle of my new book The Catalyst Leader (it releases on Tuesday, April 16) and One Question in a bundle pack on the Catalyst store.

Part One:

Part Two:

Part Three: