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9 Tips for a Stuck-in-the-Mud Ministry

There are three types of leadership required in any organization.

There’s the visionary. Someone has to cast a compelling vision for a preferred future.

There’s the manager. That’s the person that gets tasks done through other people. They execute the plan.

Then there’s the strategist. The strategist figures out how the vision will be accomplished and makes sure the structure is in place to accomplish that purpose.

We hear a lot about vision and management. Very little is shared about developing good strategy.

Recently, I finished reading The Strategist: Be the Leader Your Business Needs by Cynthia Montgomery. I’ve pulled some of the highlights from my reading to develop this list of principles to help you improve your strategic approach.

Nine strategic principles to help you get unstuck:

1. A clear, compelling vision is not enough.

“There’s much more to strategy and leadership than a steadfast belief that a daring vision backed by good management can overcome virtually all obstacles.”

Don’t forget that you have to mind the gap by developing a strategy to determine what’s important now.

2. You have to be distinctive.

“Choosing to be one thing means not being something else. Companies that don’t choose, for whatever reason, run the risk of ending up in no-man’s-land, being nothing of distinction to anyone. If your purpose does not preclude you from undertaking certain kinds of work, then it’s not a good purpose.”

If people don’t leave your church because of your unique vision and strategy, you aren’t distinctive enough.