We’re back and wrapping up the Leadership Judo series, this time talking about the Synergist Leadership Style. This style is an important one and there are some unique dynamics in understanding, working with and accepting the contributions of a Synergist.
Here are some of the key highlights
Ask a Synergist to help you get people on board with an idea or initiative-they have great people skills and can build unity among team members.
Conflict often occurs between a Synergist and the Operator. The Operator can be viewed as too blunt and down to business by the Synergist who the operator thinks just focuses on talking and doing nothing of real substance.
The Synergist may default to inaction when the team or staff fails to develop consensus-it is important to help them move forward recognizing that you’ll never have 100% of your people/team/congregation on board.
They Synergist is a great relationship builder and can get a good read on people-connect with them to understand what might be taking place within your congregation.
We’d love to hear your thoughts-drop us a line, a text or call into the bootcamp hotline and leave us your questions or comments.
This week the guys continue their series in Leadership Judo through the VOPS leadership styles by Les McKeown in his book The Synergist
THE MIND OF A PROCESSOR (quotes are from ch. 4 of The Synergist)
“Processors feel compelled to bring order to all they see. They’re easy to recognize not just in business, but in every walk of life—Processors color-code their wardrobes, arrange their books by subject, and know the replacement date for their water filters.”
“So, unlike the Operator—who’s first thought when faced with a task is ‘Let’s get started’—a Processor’s first through is ‘What system or process can I put in place to ensure that this task is performed consistently in the future?’”
“Allied to the Processor’s need for order is their aversion to risk. . . The processor’s risk-aversion often manifests itself as a resistance to change.”
“For a processor, data is all important. More precise than experience, more accurate than judgment, data is the fundamental currency in which the Processor trades.”
“It is important for Processors that whatever they do, the do it right. . . While this is usually a good thing—bringing precision is why the Processor is there after all—on occasion Processors can be so preoccupied with ‘doing the thing right’ at the expense of ‘doing the right thing’ that they lose sight of the organization’s overall business needs.”
Processor Strengths
Consistency and repeatability
Scalability
Accuracy
Control
Clinical perspective
Processor Weaknesses
Invariable pace
Resistance to risk and change
Overanalysis
Default to no
LEADERSHIP JUDO PRINCIPLES
Respect their principles
Be punctual – schedule in advance and show up on time and end at or before the scheduled end time
Be prepared – have data, know what you are talking about or asking
Be precise – don’t exaggerate or be ambiguous
Processors love the integrity of data and are easily frustrated with ambiguity or exaggeration. “Frequent use of broad sweeping statements will eventually, in the eyes of the processor, undermine the credibility of the people making those statements.”
Set precise goals (with deadlines)
Set realistic deadlines for new initiatives (V – 7x – O – 7x – P)
Be overly specific about what you want
Avoid informal chats as meetings
Be quick to listen
Many processors do not feel like they usually get a fair hearing of their perspective.
Don’t multitask – put your phone on silent and give them your undivided attention.
Show appreciation for their work and their perspective
Processors are often unsung heroes
And sometimes unnecessarily viewed as villains to Visionaries and Operators
Challenge constructively
Don’t challenge them with anecdotes – challenge with data
Ask clarifying questions about the data to gain a better understanding
Pushed into a corner to choose you, the org, or the data the Processor will choose the data
This week the boys have been traveling to and fro, encouraging Pastors and Associations on the road in TX, planning some great stuff in Bob’s home town of STL and sampling the local cuisine. But since you don’t tune in for food alone they get down to another EP on Leadership Judo, discussing the Operator Leadership Style.
Here are some of the highlights of the Operator personalities:
Operators have a bias toward action
Operators are often strong internal consultants
Operators tend to overcommit
Operators are hard to find
The guys provide some super secret leadership judo moves to use with Operators who are in your church within the heart of this EP.
Leave us your comments, drop us a question and remember to tell others about the Bootcamp!
EPISODE #108 - Leadership Judo with Visionary Leaders
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The Bootcamp Bros are back talking about Leadership Judo. What is leadership judo you ask? You can listen to last week’s podcast and get up to speed.
Here’s a quick definition to get you ready for this episode.
Leadership Judo: taking the energy of an opponent and directing it away from harm to a more productive place.
We’re going to get specific over the next few EPs in applying leadership judo to some of the leadership styles we encounter in our churches, businesses and organizations. Today’s leadership style-The Visionary.
Here are some highlights (check the audio for detail)
When working with or Leading Visionaries
Hear them out
Ask, don’t tell
Be flexible and fun
Check in regularly
Are you a visionary? Concerned your leadership style is creating chaos? Check out the bonus EP for some helpful tips on how to “judo yourself.”
Do some serious Judo on your church website by calling our friends at One Eighty Digital, they can get you up and running with their expertise. Tell them the boys at the Bootcamp sent you.
Drop us a line, a question and a comment, we’d love to hear from you!
Episode #28 - SPECIAL GUEST Les McKeown, Author of Predictable Success
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Leader, author and business expert Les McKeown stopped by the bootcamp to share his insights regarding life cycles of organizations and churches. The guys talked to Les about we need to know as we navigate the new realities of doing and being the church during Covid19.
The Predictable Success Model is about recognizing what happens in organizations-Les added vocabulary and codified what happens in each stage.
The stages: Early Struggle, Fun, Whitewater, Predictable Success, Treadmill, The Big Rut, Death Rattle.
For new things to grow (i.e. campuses, church plants) they must go through the stages on their own-organically.
On the Treadmill stage: this is a dangerous stage-it is the last of the seven that you can do anything about. If you can challenge, push back you can move back into predictable success.
On the Big Rut stage: all the Visionaries have typically left and the Synergists are keeping everyone happy. It is a lovely place to work-but you are in danger.
In the Church world: the Visionary may stick around until they retire-leadership gets handed off to someone else without a thought about what could happen to the vision and the church begins to struggle.
When a church is in the “big rut” or “death rattle” you have to jump back to early struggle in order to restart. In the for profit world-you have to “decapitate” or completely change the leadership at the top.
What are some key characteristics of the leaders who can bring life back to an organization either in the business or the church world?
In the for profit world that individual typically has the VO (Visionary/Operator) or VP (Visionary/Processor) style.
In the not for profit or church world that individual typically has the VS (Visionary/Synergist) or OS (Operator/Synergist)
A key insight:a Synergist finds the people decisions to be very difficult. So they struggle in making the hard decisions involving people.
Covid19 Applications
During a crisis or major event, the force of that event will push you down the side of the curve on which your organization finds itself.
If you just recently started something-you may want to press pause
If you are on the decline side, the force will push you down toward the Big Rut or Death.
You have to relearn to innovate.
Statement from Les: if you are one of the older established churches that has been saying that online worship is (insert negative comment) you better rethink that very quickly.
The depth of permanent behavioral change that this crisis is creating and will create is going to fundamentally change everything about the way we do what we do.
For instance: online communication via zoom will only accelerate and change the way we interact. This will impact the way people interact and do church.
If your organization is struggling you need to find and let Visionaries lead and find Operators to help them implement the vision.
Q: What is the importance of identifying Leaders/Lay Leaders in your church or organization?
Start with the Visionary: let that person select their leadership team who are Operators. This is not a true leadership team-it is a group of enablers who can make the vision happen.
During Whitewater: develop a true leadership team, you need people who possess strategic capabilities who can help you navigate the complexities of this stage. At this point you need Processors who can help the organization move forward. This is the stage where you begin to experience conflict on the team and this requires the team develop Synergist skills and stay committed to the Kingdom goals.
If you want to have fun, and stay at the mom and pop level you just need Visionaries and Operators (and a few mini-Processors to keep things legal)
If you want to scale and grow, you have to have Visionaries, Operators, Processors and Synergists working together. A VOPS model.