RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

There's a secret behind the success of the award-winning children's movie "Inside Out."  Business Insider recently took an inside look and shared what it was.

The secret - the leadership style of the director, Peter Docter.  Instead of trying to generate the ideas for the movie, Peter listened to other people's ideas.

During the movie's production, Peter walked around the Pixar campus and engaged key people in conversation about the movie.  He also gathered observations from his family. 

Peter modeled a characteristic of a great leader...being an idea GATHERER rather than just being an idea GENERATOR.  You see..great leaders gather the best ideas from the people around them when making decisions.  

Dache Keltner, who is a professor at University of California, says that listening is a key way to practice empathy - and empathy is the surprising route to power and influence.  Research shows that teams that are led by empathetic leaders are more productive and innovative.  Bottom line...power comes from empowering others. 

Which would your team say best describes you as a leader?  Idea Generator or Idea Gatherer?  If you want to be an Idea Gatherer, here's some important steps to take.

1. Don't try to come up with ideas by yourself.  Gather people around you and brainstorm together.  You'll soon find that the smartest person in the room is the room.

2. Forget about the spotlight.  If you're concerned about getting credit, you'll never be an idea gatherer.  Instead of shining, help other people shine.

3. Detach yourself from owning ideas.  See ideas as simply ideas...not owned by or attached to you.  This will give you the freedom to be a gatherer.

4. Listen a lot more than you talk.  You can't gather ideas while you're sharing ideas and not listening.  Learn to ask good questions and then simply listen...a lot.

5. Never make decisions alone.  Idea gatherers never fly solo.  They involve others in the process. 

The more wisdom you gather from other people, the more productive, creative and successful you and your team will be. 

As children's ministry leaders, it's important to have key volunteers that you're pouring into.  I call this the "Law of the Few."  In this post, you can read more about how to raise up volunteers to be key leaders that help you lead the ministry.

Once you have key volunteers in place that help you lead the ministry, it's important to meet with them individually several times a year.

It's in these one-on-one meetings you can deepen your relationship with them, invest in them and mentor them...if you're intentional about what happens in the meeting.  Here's some practical ways to make your one-on-one meetings effective.

Make it about them...not you.  Your words and actions should say "there you are" instead of "here I am."  Start off by asking about how they are doing, how their family is, how their job is going, etc.

Give them your full attention.  Be there.  Silence your cell phone.  Don't be texting and sending emails. 

Encourage them.  Compliment them on something specific that they've recently done well. 

Provide them with feedback.  The goal of feedback is to help them grow as a leader.  Giving feedback is an art that can be learned.  You can read in this post how to effectively give feedback.

Talk about ministry details and goals.  Come prepared with specific items to discuss about the area of ministry they are helping lead.

Ask for their input and ideas.  This shows you value them as a leader and want their feedback.

Give them something that will help them grow as a Christ-follower and leader.  It might be a book, an article, a podcast or something God gave you in your quiet time.  Remember, our calling is to use the ministry to build people, not to use people to build the ministry.  First and foremost, it's about investing in the person.

Pray with them.  Ask how you can pray for them and then pray with them before you leave.

Pay the bill.  If you're meeting for coffee or a meal, pick up the tab.

The floor is yours.  Share other tips for effective one-on-one meetings.  What works well for you?  How often do you meet with volunteers individually?  We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.

The key to effectively leading change or new initiatives is to get "buy in."  In other words, you need people to stack hands with you and say, "Yes, let's do this."

The challenge is people's natural reaction is to hesitate or resist when faced with change.  Through lots of mistakes and miscues, I have discovered the best way to get buy in.  Here it is.

When people have things pushed down to them without being part of the creative and planning process, they may comply, but complying is not the same as buying in.

People own what they help create.  When people help build something, it takes engagement to a whole new level.

Here's some real time examples.

Example #1
You're thinking about introducing a new curriculum.  Instead of just purchasing one, you get samples of 3-4 curriculums, let the teachers review it and help make the decision.  You'll get buy-in for the new curriculum because you involved them in the decision.

Example #2
You're thinking of changing the name of your children's ministry.  Instead of just coming up with one yourself, you ask team members to come up with 10 possible names.  You then take those 10 and have everyone vote on the new name.  You go with the name that gets the most votes.  People are excited about the new name because they had a part in creating it.

Example #3 
You are leading in a multi-site church.  You're trying to think of some ideas that will help guest families have a better experience during their first visit at the campuses.  Instead of trying to come up with the ideas by yourself, you ask the campuses to send you their best practices and ideas for welcoming guest families.  From those, you choose 2-3 that can be implemented across all campuses.  People receive the new ideas and are excited about implementing them because the ideas came from the campuses.

Bottom line - Good leaders get compliance by creating and distributing...great leaders get buy in by empowering and involving.

If you're looking for an online place to connect with other children's ministry leaders, grow in your ministry skills, and get great ideas for your ministry...CMCONNECT is one of the premier communities in the children's ministry world.

CMCONNECT was founded by my friend, Michael Chanley.  Michael has an incredible heart to encourage, equip, and empower children's ministry leaders.  God is using CMCONNECT to do just that in the lives of many.

Here are some of the things I love about CMCONNECT.

• I can ask questions and get advice from experienced leaders.
• I can be a part of specific groups that are in the same season or stage of ministry.
• I can read blog posts that give me fresh ideas and insight.
• I can stay up-to-date on upcoming events, conferences, gatherings, etc.
• I can connect with other children's ministry leaders around the world.

Head over to CMCONNECT and join us.  We're waiting for you. 

I just finished Marty Sklar's book "Dream It! Do It!"  Marty spent over 50 years as a creative director for Disney.

His book is filled with great insights and ideas you can use in your Children's Ministry.  This week I'm sharing them with you.  Welcome to Day 2.

Marty created "Mickey's Ten Commandments."

1. Know your audience.  Identify the prime audience for your attraction or show before you begin design.

2. Wear your guest's shoes.  Insist that your team members experience your creation just the way guests do.

3. Organize the flow of people and ideas.  Make sure there is a logic and sequence in your stories and in the way guests experience them.

4. Create a visual magnet.  Create visual "targets" that will lead guests clearly and logically through your facility.

5. Communicate with visual literacy.  Make good use of color, shape, form, texture - all the nonverbal ways of communication.

6. Avoid overload - create turn-ons.  Resist the temptation to overload your audience with too much information and too many objects.

7. Tell one story at a time.  Stick to the story line; good stories are clear, logical, and consistent.

8. Avoid contradictions - maintain identity.  Details in design or content that contradict one another confuse an audience about your story or the time period it takes place in.

9. For every once of treatment, provide a ton of treat.  You can educate people - but don't tell them you're doing it!  Make it fun!

10. Keep it up!  Maintain it.  Everything must work.  Poor maintenance is poor show!

Join us tomorrow for more ideas and inspiration from Disney.  

Do you have ideas for 2013 in your head?  Here's 4 easy steps to make them a reality.

Store them.
When you have an idea pop in your head, write it down.  Keep your ideas in a folder.

Stack them.
Stack them according to priority.  

Start one.  
After you've prioritized your ideas, take the first one and start it.  For it to become a reality, you've got to take the first step. 

Stay at it.
Perspiration must follow inspiration.  See it through to completion.  Once it's done, jump on the next idea on your list.  One by one, watch your ideas become reality in 2013.