Dr Paul Allen

Clarity Evangelist: What would you say is the single biggest challenge in hiring a key staff person? William: Getting chemistry right. I’m sure most of your readers have heard the big three factors in hiring, the “three c’s”: Character, Competency, and Chemistry. Those certainly hold true as the top three checkboxes to mark off when looking at a candidate. Most of our clients in executive search are really smart churches . So the candidates we bring in are usually top drawer in character and competency.   But chemistry ends up being the deal-maker or deal-breaker. Justin: Chemistry almost always ends up being the variable that has to be watched the closest. It’s the cause of more bad hires, and the reason for more good hires, than anything I see. Clarity Evangelist: What can churches do to get the chemistry piece right? William: As Socrates said, “ Know thyself .” Good hiring begins with a thorough understanding of the church culture. We end up spending a large portion of ...

Image via Wikipedia In the opening session of the 2010 Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit , Bill Hybels went back to the basics and asked:  "What do leaders do?"  "What are the fundamentals of leadership ?"  Rather than delve into new leadership territory, Hybels decided to go back to the drawing board of leadership and give us some new insights on the basics of leadership. Hybels, who is a brilliant student of leadership went on to give the following four answers to those questions: 1. Leaders Move People From Here To There. This is not just about the vision -thing.  I used to think the first step for any leader is to cast a vision.  Years of experience have shown me that is not the case because even after casting the most compelling vision some people will respond, "Bill, we really like here better than there."   The first step play is not to make "there" sound phenomenal, the first play is to make "here" sound horrific and into...

Image via Wikipedia Bill Hybels, senior pastor of  Willow Creek Community Church  near Chicago, Illinois. “Leaders move people from here to there.” People need to hear “we can’t stay here” speeches to catch vision for the future. “Your job is to convince people ‘we cannot stay here.’” “It takes fantastic if your going to move an organization from here to there. You can’t do it alone.” “One of the joys of leadership is knitting together teams of fantastic people.” “What kind of person flourishes in our unique culture?” (Something Bill looks for in people in addition to character, chemistry and competency.) “How do you inspire people to stay on the journey from here to there?” “Refill their vision bucket. Everyone’s vision bucket leaks.” “You have to celebrate every mile-marker you possibly can on the way to the destination.” “I think God still speaks to you every single day.” “The smartest moves I’ve made as a leader didn’t come from my human wisdom.”