The tool that every leader needs

As a leader there are three essential tools you need. This consultant explains what they are and how leaders can use them to navigate un-chartered waters.

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I was listening to Andy Blacknall’s session again from Stronger conference, which he called ‘How to navigate in a post-pandemic era’. It was extremely helpful the first time, and again the second time I listened back.

If someone tells you they have found the same three things crop up time and again, things that are critical to leaders both in the bible and through research as a consultant for the largest employee research business in the world, they’ve hooked me in already.

Andy Blacknall is a leadership expert, runs Lead Work Life, is the author of ‘LEAD: 50 models for success in work & life,’ he’s a prison chaplain and part of the Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication too. I have known Andy over the years and learnt from his perceptive comments and wisdom in various settings.

The Leadership Map

We won’t be looking at all three of Andy’s leadership learnings in this article (do check out the whole session if you want more) but though we could focus in on one of the three: the ‘leadership map’.

In his session, Andy tells us that he has used the leadership map for church planters, for diocesan teams, for charities and in commercial organisations too. It is a tool that he says, through a series of questions, enables leaders to work out where they are and where they are going.

There are seven elements to the leadership map and Andy encourages the audience that,

‘…if you're involved with the church, a charity, or whatever, think about these seven questions…recently it has even helped me personally reflect on what God's calling me to do as a chaplain in prison and with the team…’

Here is a the slide Andy used in his session showing the leadership map. It is a resource that Andy has uniquely developed.

 Of the map, he said:

‘….I really like that dynamic element, the yellow wiggly line, just acknowledging that this picture is always changing, and that's why I don't particularly use the word ‘strategy’, but do use the word ‘map’, because really you're just discovering more about the terrain all the time and learning more about your map…and the journey isn’t a straight line, like that arrow in the middle, it's much more like the yellow line. And the last two years have really taught us that…’

Current Position

Andy shared some insights from his work as a prison chaplain. He painted a picture of the current prison system and challenges that he identified. He modelled for us the need to clarify our current position as a leader. Not to sugar coat it. Not to dress it up. But to take some measurements on the current state of play.

A previous bishop of mine told us that one of the first priorities of the leader is the define reality. We have to be ruthless and tell it like it is. We need to celebrate the wins, and acknowledge the losses. Until we do we can’t move forward.

What is your current position in the things you lead? What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats? A SWOT analysis is actually a great way to engage with this. At the start of each new year with our church council we would do a SWAT analysis together and use it as a way to identify our current position, but also track progress.

Vision

We obviously can’t track progress unless we know where we are heading. If you are leading something then you will have an idea of what you’re working towards, the goal, the big idea, the promised land. This is the thing that drives you and motivates you when you wake up in the morning. It’s the thing that engages you in prayer and may even move you to tears.

When I think of Stronger and the potential and the opportunity that there is to strengthen the Church in the UK and the impact that it might have on society, I am moved with a sense of urgency, but also excitement and a heart cry. This is something of what a vision can do to a leader.

If you are clear about your vision, make sure it is memorable, simple, inspirational. Repeat it, tell stories about it, pray about it.

If you’re not clear about your vision, get some people together to work on it and pray about it. I did this with Stronger Network. We needed some help clarifying the focus a bit more. It was done in community, as part of a conversation and a prayer.

Values

Andy said this:

‘…The one thing that will guide and determine who I work with, and how I get to the vision and inform my decisions, are the values that I have. We have really pushed leaders in the past and I want to push you as well to think about the values you have….because the values guide you…’

This is such an important part of the leadership map. It reminds us that we need more than just a vision and a team. We need to do some work on our values as a leadership team and organization too. I’ve been involved in multiple exercises to help discern values.

I was reminded of some questions that were a helpful starting point on our own values when I led a church:

1.What principles are important to the way we run activities; events; operate as a community?
2.What principles are important to the way people experience our organisation?
3.What principles are important to how we’re perceived externally?

Someone once said, ‘we do what we value, and we value what we do’. Part of the exercise is uncovering what we already value. They are already there. Others are important in an aspirational sense, ‘we want to see more of these’.

Try writing down as many words as you can to help you identify the things that you value. Then begin to fine tune the list a bit more to a list of about 3-6 values. These don’t just end up on a website under the ‘about’ section, these need to be present in your leadership meetings, your team meetings, your planning and prep.

Risks/Opportunities

If you do the SWOT analysis thoroughly in the ‘current position’ part of the map, you will already have identified some of those risks/threats and some opportunities in front of you too.

The reality is that moving from where you are to where you believe God is taking you, will be risky. The more we can know about them, the more we can plan ahead and mitigate against the risks or take advantage of the opportunities.

When you look ahead, what risks do you see? What opportunities are there infront of you. Have you written them down and talked to others about them. Have you prayed about them or even asked God for insight and wisdom on the things that you might not even see yet?

Goals & Next Steps

Andy said this in his session:

‘We love talking about vision. We love describing our current context in the current position, but then what are you actually going to do to try and make some progress towards that vision? You know, what, what steps are you taking?’

Once you have worked out your current position and where you’re trying to move to and how you’re trying to get there, aware of the risks and opportunities, leaders need a method of working out what their next steps are which will move them closer towards their goals which in turn will move them closer to their destination.

I would always choose 3-5 goals, that were measurable and realistic as well as having a clear timeline component. These goals are the key priority areas that you think will make the most significant difference in moving you towards the vision.

So for example in the church I was leading for the last 11 years, our vision was to ‘see a great awakening of faith in Jesus transforming Fulham and beyond’. We then had some goals, namely, 1. to strengthen the church, 2.enlarge our community and  3.maximise our resources. Under each of these three focus areas, we developed next steps and a plan that would aim to help us know what we were doing and when.

Conclusion

The ‘Leadership Map’ is just one of the key things that leaders need to attend to in the leadership journey, and Andy in his session tells us about the other two which focus on navigation but also on developing people around you. Three essential tools for leaders in any time, and certainly in a post-pandemic era.