motivation

Turning Vision Into Reality

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My wife and I enjoy spending time in our backyard. Two summers ago, I extended our deck. I had built a small deck, but it just couldn’t accommodate enough people. We began to dream about how we could extend it. My wife asked for a bench swing to be incorporated in it. A vision began to take shape in our minds of what could be, but vision alone accomplishes nothing. I had to develop a strategy that included practical steps, in the right order, to make the vision a reality. I had to determine how much lumber I needed, and how many of the different lengths and sizes. I had to figure out how many screws I needed. I would need chain to hang the swing. Once I had the materials delivered, I needed to work the steps, one at a time. Not being an experienced carpenter, there were a few times I had to sit and think, to evaluate if I was doing things in the right order. I didn’t want to put the decking on only to realize I had missed something underneath. There were also things I hadn’t planned for and learned along the way. I had to put in extra bracing in the frame to ensure the swing would not pull the deck apart when someone was swinging on it.

The end result is an enlarged deck with a bench swing – that actually works!

Many churches have realized the value of a vision. They work hard to develop a dream for their future. They pray, and they discuss, and create a vision of a future they can picture. But now what? While defining a vision can be difficult, it gets even harder as you move to developing a strategy to work towards that vision. This is where churches often fall short. They have a vision but don’t know how to actually achievve it. They lack a strategic plan.

When I work with a church to support their development of a strategic plan, I suggest the following steps and ask these questions along the way:

One: Pray

Pray first, pray during the planning, and pray as you move toward your goals. The church belongs to God so listen to him as you create and implement your strategy. Invite him to do his work in and through your efforts.

Two: Set clear Goals.

What goals can you work towards that will help you accomplish your vision? These goals act as checkpoints on the way to fully reaching your vision, to help make it less overwhelming.

Three: Create Action Steps

For each goal, determine the steps needed to accomplish that goal.

What smaller steps can be taken to move toward that goal? Can that larger goal be broken down into smaller manageable steps?

Are there certain steps that need to be accomplished before others?

Four: Assign Resources

This is primarily about people and finances.

Who needs to be assigned to this goal, or specific steps along the way?

Who needs to be in on decisions affecting these steps?

How much money is required for each step?

Will this be funded from a fund already in place or will fundraising be required?

Five: Establish a Timeline

What order do these steps need to be in? Determine a timeline, along with completion dates.

When will you start each step? When will you finish each step?

Six: Evaluate, Adjust, and Keep Going.

When it seems you are nearing the achievement of your goals, take time to evaluate to ensure you accomplished what you needed or if any readjustment or reworking of the strategy is needed.

If you want to see your vision becoming a reality, it is important to do the difficult work of creating a strategic plan and sticking to it. So, church leaders, I hope you have a vision for your church. Take the time to develop a strategy to help you move forward to achieving it.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

Looking Ahead With Clarity Part 3: Where We Want To Be

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This is the final of a three part series on looking ahead with clarity. Part 1 was about recognizing where we have come from. I discussed the value of reflecting on how God had used us in the past and what God has been teaching us that may give us a sense of what is next for us. In Part 2 we looked at assessing our present reality, where we are, and now in Part 3 we will discuss where we are going.

Knowing where we have been and where we are helps us identify a solid starting point from which to begin moving forward. Now we need to clarify where we are going. What is the goal we are shooting for? When that is clear, we can set appropriate steps to get us there.

There are two kinds of goals: achievement goals and habit goals. Achievement goals are goals we work towards to accomplish at some point down the road. Examples could be losing 20 pounds or running a marathon. These are specific points we can look forward to and measure clearly when accomplished. Habit goals are goals we want to work on regularly. A habit goal for me is to read my Bible every day. Habit goals can help us accomplish achievement goals. My daily reading goals help me work toward reading the whole Bible in a year, an achievement goal.

Goals help us determine where we wish to be. There is a 2005 Fountain Tire commercial where a man is buckling himself into his seat on a plane, excited to be going to Hawaii, only to find out he used the wrong gate and got on the wrong airplane. “Ok, goin’ to Winnipeg,” he declares to himself. We need to be clear on our goal and then figure out the right steps that will get us to that goal. If we don’t, we may find ourselves “going to Winnipeg” when we were geared up for a holiday in Hawaii.

While goals give us a point to work toward, it is the steps we take along the way that make a difference to where we end up.

Goals without an appropriate plan to achieve those goals are only wishes. When we create a plan with clear steps to take, we are better able to move toward the goals we have set.

Let’s work through an example. If I want to read the Bible in a year, I can break the goal down into smaller steps:

First, I need to determine which Bible I will read from. I like to choose a version I have not usually read, just to change things up a bit.

Second, I need to decide how much I will read every day. This is made simpler by all the reading options available to purchase or download online.

Third, I need to decide when I will read. Personally, I like to read first thing in the morning, right after my shower. This helps me be awake as I read, and is a perfect time to focus uninterrupted as I’m usually up before my family.

Fourth, I need to decide what I will do if I miss a day. Sometimes I miss a day. I have decided to catch up the next time I read. I do not want to skip any parts and I don’t want to fall too far behind. And I will track my progress by following a Bible laid out in daily readings, keeping a bookmark in place to remind me where I left off.

Whatever goal we are working towards, we can set achievable goals that keep moving us forward. We can develop a plan that gives us small enough steps to achieve in the short term but big enough steps that lead us to the goal.

We need to know where we are going and then make a clear plan to get there.

In part one of this series we looked back to see where we have been and if God has been leading us or preparing us in a certain direction. In part two we looked at how to get clarity on our present reality and so we have a clear starting point to move forward from. Now as we set clear goals and steps to get there, we will be moving ahead with a clear plan.

May God help you accomplish the plans He has given you.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

7 Steps to Becoming a Disciplined Leader

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Last week I wrote about what it is like to be a disciplined leader. Today I want to continue focusing on that topic by showing how you can develop that discipline in your own life.

Step One: Determine where you lack discipline.

Know your strengths and your weaknesses. If you have no problem showing up to work on time, count that as a strength. If you are always struggling to meet deadlines, that is a weakness. Choose only one or two weaknesses to work on at a time. If you are really brave, you may ask a colleague what some of your weaknesses as a leader are and work on those.

Step Two: Clarify your motivation.

As you consider the weakness you want to work on, what is your motivation? Why do you want to become more disciplined in this area? Is because someone else told you improvement was necessary? Or do you recognize the value discipline could bring to this area? If you are struggling to meet deadlines, your motivation for more discipline may be to have less anxiety or to have time to do a review of the project before the deadline so you do better work. Make sure you are convinced this is an are where you actually want to improve. Then your possibility for success will increase greatly.

Step Three: Sort out the problem.

Why is this an area of weakness? For example, why are you not meeting your deadlines? Are you procrastinating and putting in little effort until just before the deadline? Is it because of an inability to accurately estimate the the amount of time it will take you to work on the project? Once you figure out what the problem is then you can develop steps to improve.

Step Four: Develop a plan.

Let’s say you struggle to meet your deadline because you procrastinate. Develop a plan that gets you working on the project as soon as you take it on. Work back from the deadline and establish your own deadlines. You could also create your own deadline a week before it’s needed to give you time to review it. When reviewing your deadline, you can also break the job into smaller steps and set personal deadlines along the way that get you working on it sooner and keeps you going. These dates can lead up to your personal deadline and help you stay on track.

Another strategy is to actively develop better habits and create rituals that keep you on task. This could be creating more shorter deadlines for smaller parts of your projects. Maybe it could be working on your task first thing in the morning and checking emails or engaging in other tasks only at noon or at the end of the day.

Step Five: Remove distractions or temptations.

Why are you procrastinating? Are you always on you phone? Are you taking too many coffee breaks or constantly chatting with co-workers? Maybe set an alarm on your phone that reminds you to get back to work after a coffee break. Or leave your phone in your coat. Don’t check personal emails at work. Turn off notifications on your phone that continually remind you to check I through the day. Sometimes, it may be beneficial to close the door and pull the blinds so that you are not distracted by others who are walking by your office or chatting with each other. Find ways to remove distractions.

Step Six: Find an accountability partner, coach or mentor.

It helps to know that someone will be checking in on you. Ask someone on your team to check in with you occasionally to see how you are coming along. If you are the one in charge, maybe you have a secretary or personal assistant who can check in and remind you of deadlines you have set. Or hire a coach to check in with regularly.

Step Seven: Just keep on keeping on.

One who wants to learn discipline will continue to push through an try again and again even if they fail occasionally. Keep reminding yourself of your goals. And as you make progress, remind yourself of how far you have come. Did you meet that last deadline? Then celebrate it. If not, then figure out if some adjustment is needed and get back to the next task at hand. Don’t get down on yourself if you fall short. Forgive yourself and recommit to the plan.

Becoming a disciplined leader takes hard work, but you can do it as you work on one or two weaknesses at a time. As you do, you will become the disciplined leader you want to be.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe