Daniel Im

Pastor + Author

leadership

4 Tips to Casting a Compelling Vision

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casting vision
Flickr – Ken Teegardin

Every leader needs to be able to cast vision. Casting vision is about painting such a compelling picture of the future that others are willing to follow you on the journey that you’re on. So whether you’re a church planter gathering your launch team, a pastor working on a building plan, a contractor focused on a renovation, or a parent needing to deal with your child’s behavior, being able to cast a compelling vision is leadership 101.

Casting vision is about painting a compelling picture of the future

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Here are a few tips on casting vision:

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10 Reasons Systems Matter for Church Planting

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Yasunari Nakamura - Flickr
Yasunari Nakamura – Flickr

There are no perfect models, and there is no silver bullet. Many models are useful though.

What’s fascinating is that two church planters can use the exact same model in the same city and get vastly varying results. Notice that I said the same model, but I didn’t mention anything about the systems that each church planter used.

For example, let’s consider the Dodge Charger that police drive versus the Dodge Charger that you can drive off the lot.

Although, at first glance, they both look like the same car, the performance between the two is like night and day. For police cars, not only do they upgrade the engine, but they also change out the battery, alternator, cooler, suspension, brakes, and many other components that make up the car.

Essentially, the model or framework of the car is the same, but everything that makes up the car, which are its systems, are different.

I realize this isn’t a perfect example, but it illustrates the importance of systems, as the next step, in church planting.

This is a natural next step for those of you who are highly detailed and systematic. However, what I’ve found is that many church planters are weak in this area.

As a result, church planters will often think about their church planting model at a 30,000 foot level and work on many of the aspects needed to plant successfully, instead of working in those aspects.

If all the work is done on the plant, instead of in the plant, then planters will not have any control over the systems that are shaping it; and that will ultimately determine the fate of their church plant.

For example, working on the plant is all about thinking through the location, name, logo, and vision statement. Working in the plant is about thinking through financial sustainability, church structure, launch team, and the intricacies of congregational formation, and long-term discipleship.

I’m not advocating that you take care of every single detail yourself, but I am advocating that you involve yourself at every step of the process. If God has called you to plant a church, he has called you to be the steward of this vision. Don’t neglect your responsibilities and don’t delegate the details.

If God has called you to plant a church, he has called you to be the steward of this vision

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What would happen if you were stubborn and decided to leave systems to chance?

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3 Ways Introverts Can Become Level 5 Leaders

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Susan cain quote

In an earlier post, I shared one of my most vulnerable, if not, the single greatest self-revealing moment of my life – it had to do with cream puffs, moms, and a caffeine addiction.

Without divulging that story again (since you can read it here), I wanted to revisit, in this post, why I acted the way that I did…

It’s because I was an introvert.

I remember studying all about this in my Psychology of Religion class – to be honest, it brings back both fond and confusing memories of reading Freud and Jung. But it wasn’t until I read Susan Cain’s Quiet, that I began to truly appreciate the spectrum of introversion-extroversion and why it mattered.

Cain explains the importance of this scale…

Our lives are shaped as profoundly by personality as by gender or race. And the single most important aspect of personality—the “north and south of temperament,” as one scientist puts it—is where we fall on the introvert-extrovert spectrum. Our place on this continuum influences our choice of friends and mates, and how we make conversation, resolve differences, and show love. It affects the careers we choose and whether or not we succeed at them. It governs how likely we are to exercise, commit adultery, function well without sleep, learn from our mistakes, place big bets in the stock market, delay gratification, be a good leader, and ask “what if.” It’s reflected in our brain pathways, neurotransmitters, and remote corners of our nervous systems. Today introversion and extroversion are two of the most exhaustively researched subjects in personality psychology, arousing the curiosity of hundreds of scientists. (Location 220)

So what are the differences between introverts and extroverts?

At a very general level, Cain describes the difference well…

Introverts…

  • Are drawn to the inner world of thought and feeling
  • Focus on the meaning they make of the events swirling around them
  • Recharge their batteries by being alone

Extroverts…

  • Are drawn to the external life of people and activities
  • Plunge into the events themselves
  • Need to recharge their batteries when they don’t socialize enough

“To be great is to be bold.”

This is a huge myth in our society and it’s called the Extrovert Ideal in Susan Cain’s Quiet, “The omnipresent belief that the ideal self is gregarious, alpha, and comfortable in the spotlight.”

We see the way that this myth has been perpetrated in our society…

  • By the way that the home coming king and queen are the most popular and gregarious ones
  • By the way that political elections seem to be won on charisma
  • By the way that the main characters in our TV shows and movies seem to be comfortable in the spotlight – anyone remember Zack from Saved by the Bell? Jerry from Seinfeld? Or how about Phil from Modern Family?

Now I’m not saying that Jerry, Phil, or Zack are the ideal representatives of greatness (not that there’s anything wrong with them), but the fact is, you don’t need to be an extrovert to be a great leader! Jim Collins reputed this notion with his Level 5 Leader research in Good to Great.

You don’t need to be an extrovert to be a great leader!

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According to Collins, Level 5 leaders are individuals in whom genuine personal humility blends with intense professional will. In other words, Collins discovered that bold, loud and gregarious personalities were not indicative characteristics for successful leadership.

After all, according to Cain, “some of our greatest ideas, art, and inventions—from the theory of evolution to van Gogh’s sunflowers to the personal computer—came from quiet and cerebral people who knew how to tune in to their inner worlds and the treasures to be found there.”

So, as an introvert, here are three things that I’ve been incredibly intentional with, in my pursuit to become a Level 5 leader:

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Two Ways to Overcome Your Weaknesses

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mountain
Doug88888 – Flickr

There was a time in my life where I dreaded the thought of meeting new people. It’s not that I was a germaphobe or had anthropophobia (the fear of people), it was just that I preferred to spend time with people I knew, rather than do the small talk mingling thing.

This first came to light when I started pastoring. I remember, it was a weekday morning and I needed coffee (and no, I don’t have an addiction). I was at the office and could’ve easily walked a few steps into the kitchen and made my own pot, but I soon realized that it was the day that all the mom’s met in the basement of the church for fellowship. That only meant one thing: free coffee + cream puffs + ton of desserts.

Knowing that there would be a lot of mom’s and young children, I plotted my strategy as I made my way to the basement:

  • Rule #1: Keep moving
  • Rule #2: Smile and say hi, but focus on walking into the kitchen
  • Rule #3: Never stop moving

When I opened the basement doors, there were over 50+ women and young children mingling, in what looked like, absolute chaos (at the time I was newly married without kids). In a cold sweat, I immediately made my way towards the kitchen remembering to never stop moving. As I turned the corner to walk into the kitchen, I soon discovered that there were another 40+ women and children hiding around the bend. So staying true to my rules, I never stopped moving. I just shifted directions and went straight back upstairs into the office kitchen, where I forewent the cream puffs, and made my own coffee.

As I was making my own coffee, I couldn’t help but ask myself, “What’s wrong with me? Why did I act that way? Why was I in such a nervous cold sweat when I saw all those moms and kids?” As a new pastor, I knew this was a glaring weakness. I knew how important it was to be able to meet new people, remember their names, and minister to them.

Was it that I didn’t like moms and children? Well, considering the fact that I didn’t have children at that time, perhaps I just didn’t know what to do with them, and let’s face it, mothers can be intimidating at times. But I didn’t think that was quite it. So what was it?

As I continued to reflect on my behavior and this apparent weakness of mine, I began reflecting on other situations that mimicked this one – situations where I was in a sea of new and unfamiliar faces. The only other parallel that came to mind was when I was attending a conference, teaching a class, or preaching a sermon. Oddly enough, in each of those situations, I was a completely different person – I loved meeting new people and I would even remember their names, most of the time!

So what was wrong with me? Why was I acting like Jekyll and Hyde?

Through the journey of discovering my strengths (click here for a post where I explain this), the one thing that I knew about myself was that I was a Developer. I loved helping people grow and I loved helping things develop. In other words, I loved everything about development. So when I compared both situations in light of my strengths, a lightbulb came on! In conferences and when I’m teaching or preaching, my posture is towards development – so I don’t mind meeting new people – in fact, I welcome and pursue it! However, to that group of moms and kids, my purpose was not to develop any of them – it was merely to get coffee and cream puffs.

So if I wanted to overcome my glaring weakness of meeting new people, all I had to do was shift my perspective and reframe the situation. Instead of viewing others as strangers, I needed to view them through my developer lens. So that means every stranger is an individual that I can either develop, or an individual who can develop me.

To overcome your weaknesses, shift your perspective and reframe the situation.

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