iGo Team Leaders Leave No Duck Behind

Travelling overseas is intense. At times it can be crazy. Things can come against you that threaten to separate you from your team.

Never fear. No matter how much the cross-cultural tempest tosses you about, an iGo team leader will be there to gather you up and get you headed back in the right direction.

Our iGo Team Leader retreat is this weekend. We will be training our team leaders and our JSI’s over the course of the weekend. Getting them ready to guide you through the process from point A to point B, no matter what may come your way.

Just like this:

YouTube Preview Image

No Comments

Lance Shumake, April 8th 2013 | Posted in Leadership, iGosian Culture

Leadership Lessons for Lunch (Part 5)

Leaders develop Leaders by Shu

The iGo Team Leader retreat begins later today in iGosia (aka Camp Lake Lavon). Tomorrow this year’s crop of JSI’s show up to begin their training as well. It is always a special time of year for us as we get to really invest in leaders. At the core of iGo, we have a passion for developing leaders. Leadership is often defined as influence, and we want to do whatever we can to equip the next generation of influencers. This is part of the reason why our staff rarely leads teams. It is also why we strategically place 30+ students each summer as interns overseas through our JSI program. We want to see leaders develop.

And we get to see that time and time again. Students who first showed up for an iGo trip as confused and lost in iGosia as anyone (one of the best we know showed up at the wrong base camp the first time around) are now leading, serving, and influencing in all kinds of roles. Some iGo alums are church planters. Some are overseas. Some are accountants, office managers, teachers, salesmen, and even marine biologists. And so many of them were given their first real opportunity to lead, along with on the ground training, through iGo. It is humbling and just plain cool to see God use us like that.

That reminds me of the best leader I ever got to learn from. Joel Bratcher (now the BSM director in Aggieland) was one of the leaders that really invested in me. He saw leadership potential in me when very few people did. I don’t even think I did at the time. As a sophomore in college, Joel began to invest in me by pushing me into leadership roles. He recommended experiences that would stretch me and challenge me. And then he let me lead. Probably against his better judgment, but he did. He was always there to evaluate, encourage, and speak wisdom into my ideas, but he let me learn as I led. He let me make mistakes, and I learned even more through them.

As a leader, I want to be like Joel in so many ways. Do you? It doesn’t matter if you don’t know Joel. It doesn’t even matter if you don’t like Aggies. Do you look for leadership potential in others? It may not always be obvious, but the best leaders I know are able to find it in others. Do you push others into experiences and challenges that will stretch them? Do you step back and allow developing leaders to lead? In many ways, this is what the best leaders do. They spend much of their time developing other leaders. What are the things you are currently doing to help develop other leaders around you? Feel free to hit the comment button and share it with us all.

christmas-eve-2005-126

img_4635

No Comments

Lance Shumake, April 13th 2012 | Posted in Leadership, Shu

Leadership Lessons for Lunch (Part 4)

The Power of Communication by James Rodgers (Rowdy)

Our digital world is filled with constant tweets, updates, blogs, television, ipods, and more.  Pockets protect our hand held computers that keep track of our schedules, email, texts, and the occasional angry bird while also serving as our telephone device.  We live in a digital communication world where our fingers have learned to be our voice.

As you prepare to lead this summer, it’s important to remember why communication is a key aspect of leadership.  Sure, there will be times when sending a text or email will suffice, but when it comes to vision casting, details, discipline and so many other areas, the tone of your voice needs to be heard.  As a father, I’ve learned to use different tones to communicate directly with my kids.  They know, by the sound of my voice, if I’m serious, joking, angry or upset.  Your team needs to hear your voice and as a leader, you need to be ready to communicate effectively.

When the times comes to communicate the vision for your team, let them hear your passion.  When talking through details and plans, make sure they know you are serious.  As you discipline, make sure they hear love and forgiveness.  And remember, don’t get so wrapped up in all of your own details that you forget to encourage your team when they do well.

college_base_camp_11

No Comments

Lance Shumake, April 12th 2012 | Posted in Leadership, Rowdy

Leadership Lessons for Lunch (Part 3)

Footholds for Leadership by Brad Cardwell

Paul gave a young church leader named Timothy some great advice and caution in 1 Timothy 4:16. You are probably familiar with verse 12 “Let no one despise you for your youth…” but I think the most potent advice from Paul comes in verse 16…”Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

“Keep a close watch on yourself…”

Paul wouldn’t have told Timothy to keep a close watch on himself if he didn’t think that Timothy had the potential to be HIS OWN WORST ENEMY!  Throughout Scripture we see this phrase, “Guard your heart” or “watch yourself”. You can’t trust your feelings or your emotions. You CAN’T trust YOU. And the Bible tells us that the only way to guard your heart is with Scripture and with the people of God – the church and the details and particulars of the Gospel.

Let others hold you accountable, whether they are one of your team members or someone at your church. Ask other Godly voices in your life questions like:  “Do you think I am walking humbly with God?” (Micah 6:8),  “Am I thinking and seeking the kingdom before my own wants and desires?” (Matt. 6:33),  “Do I seek justice for those around me that are oppressed?” (James 1:27),  “Do you ever hear Scripture out of my mouth and do I seem to have an appetite for the Word and for others to know truth?” (1 Timothy 4:13).

“…and on the teaching.”

If you don’t “keep a close watch” on what you’ve been taught, you will forget it and drift from it, guaranteed.  Scripture provides us with many Gospel particulars.  Details.  Specifics. Principles. Otherwise known as doctrines.  These “particulars” help us hang on to the story of the Gospel like a foothold helps a rock climber.  The more footholds, the more secure the journey.   Just because you sat through the teaching times without falling asleep (well, at least most of you), doesn’t mean that it’s a part of your life. Pay attention to what you’ve been taught and work hard to understand it. Don’t be afraid of the word doctrine.  Don’t be afraid to learn and discuss the particulars of the Gospel story.  While they may seem insignificant and academic at times, they are what help us “hang on” in this journey of faith.

“… you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

Keeping a close watch on yourself and what you’ve been taught, not only grows your faith in God and His Gospel, but it impacts those around you.  The more you pay attention to Gospel teaching and work hard to understand, the better equipped you will be AND those that follow, or listen, to you. Be careful to watch yourself. Be careful to remember what you’ve learned and cling to the particulars of the Gospel. The promise in this passage is that others will be kept in the Gospel when we, as leaders, are paying attention to our own walk and the doctrines of what we teach.  A good leader is not just concerned about his own faith, his own doctrine, or just being right.  A good leader is concerned about how his own walk and his own doctrine secures the faith of those that follow.

sany0423

christmas-eve-2005-057

No Comments

Lance Shumake, April 11th 2012 | Posted in Brad, Leadership

Leadership Lessons for Lunch (Part 2)

This week, leading up the iGo Leader Retreat, we are inviting you to join us for lunch. We will serve up the cucumbers, tomatoes, and a brief leadership lesson each day at 12:00. And as a bonus, we are offering Two for Tuesday today. First you will hear from iGo Staff member Crystal Meeker. Crystal coordinates all of our JSI’s (international internships). She also oversees our Go Year students who serve 6 months to a year. The bonus post is from a guest. He is one of our workers from overseas, and we asked him to share some leadership wisdom with you as well. Enjoy your lunch!

The Journey to Leading Well by Crystal (aka Pistol)

As I prepare for the iGo leadership retreat, I keep thinking about the steps one takes on the journey to leading well. One common factor rose to the top–in order to lead well one must be faithful with small things. When I say small things, I’m not implying that they are insignificant, just that they are things we already know we should to be doing (Micah 6:8). For example, are we diligently studying the word, serving our local church, loving our families, working hard at school/jobs, etc? It is WORK to stay faithful with things that are not glamorous, fun or recognized. One of the men at my church spends every week vacuuming the carpets on the weekend, caring for the space the Lord has given us to meet together. People rarely compliment the carpet looking clean, but everyone definitely notices if some ground up goldfish crackers were missed from Tuesday night Awana. Could you imagine what the carpet would look like if he didn’t serve each week? Yikes! Because of this man’s faithfulness each week, people are not distracted by crumbs and bugs and are able to focus on scripture and impacting families with the gospel.

Whether you find yourself with an exciting leadership role or a not so exciting one, be faithful with each step that has been given to you. For some of us, being faithful with the seemingly menial is a catalyst the Lord uses to give more leadership opportunities (Luke 16:10-13). The Lord is working all things for His glory. As we strive to be obedient with serving may we always remember that Christ is our aim, not an important leadership position.

“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12.

christmas-eve-2005-001

Bonus: Two for Tuesday

Learning to Delegate by The Mysterious Racer D

A wise man once told me that when you lead a team, it’s important to delegate authority but not responsibility.  Having seen the benefits of this principle over the years (and having failed numerous times by not following it), I’d like to pass this wisdom on to you.

Delegating authority means empowering those on your team to make decisions and use their gifts to accomplish the task at hand.  It doesn’t mean giving up your authority as leader, but letting go of the need to be “the man” who holds power too closely and micromanages the team.  There are many issues that can be delegated to others on the team.  Give the members of your team space to give input, to use their gifts and even to fail as they learn and grow.

While delegating authority is good, delegating responsibility is not.  Regardless of how much you’ve empowered others, you bear ultimate responsibility for your team.  The consequences for every decision that is made on the team lands at your feet.  If the team isn’t going in the right direction, you don’t shift the blame to someone on the team (even if you know they’re a slacker), you put it on yourself - and commit to learning how to better lead your team.  If someone else has a problem with the performance of someone on your team, they first come to you, and you handle it.  You’re the one tasked with having hard conversations with those you lead.

So as you lead, keep in mind to delegate authority but not responsibility.

delegate

No Comments

Lance Shumake, April 10th 2012 | Posted in Crystal, Leadership

Leadership Lessons for Lunch (Part 1)

Shocking

If someone were to ask you, “What kind of a leader was Jesus?” how would you respond? You might point out that He was powerful (even the winds and the seas obeyed him). Certainly he had the magnetism that accompanies great leaders (he gathered crowds of over 500 people). He displayed great authority and wisdom in his teaching, to the point that many were amazed by him. But, perhaps the main dividing line between Jesus and other leaders (aside from his deity) is the servant-like attitude he carried. It is shocking that someone esteemed so highly would stoop so low.

Jesus said, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant.” And he modeled it. In fact, he set the bar so high that no matter how low we stoop to serve those we are leading, we will never travel downwards as far as Jesus did. Consider the last supper when the Creator stoops down to wash dirty, created feet. You can not overdo servanthood in your leadership. What type of foot washing (the dirty, boring, unimpressive work that by all worldly standards is ‘beneath you’ as a leader) can you do to serve those you are leading this summer? Do that work, and you will be great in the eyes of The Lord, Even if that makes you look less in the eyes of men.

–Ky Martin

christmas-eve-2005-147

No Comments

Lance Shumake, April 9th 2012 | Posted in Ky, Leadership

Leadership Lessons for Lunch (The Big Intro and Such As)

This is Leader Retreat week at iGo. On Thursday evening and Friday morning we will spend time strengthening partnerships as some of our M friends visit iGosia. On Friday evening and Saturday morning we get to invest in the team leaders that have agreed to serve this summer. The retreat ends with Saturday evening and Sunday morning spent with the 2012 JSI’s as they prepare for their overseas leadership internship. 2012 Jimmy will also make their debut this weekend.

In many ways, this weekend is the harbinger for the summer. It plunges us into full summer preparation mode by calling, “The Tourists are Coming! The Tourists are Coming!” Too bad we missed the whole 1 if by land, 2 if by sea thing.

But before they arrive, we must be ready to lead them. Will you join us in praying that Father will get us ready? Maybe you could set aside a few minutes each day during your lunch hour to pray for iGo, the M’s, the team leaders, JSI’s and Jimmy? At Noon (Central iGosian time) each day this week we will post a Leadership Lesson for Lunch. Read it, share it with your friends, comment on it, and pray.

These Leadership Lessons are geared towards team leaders and JSI’s. However, you will quickly see that the lessons can be applied to almost any leadership setting. No matter your level of influence, we are sure you will find some help along the way this week.

So, it’s official. We have a lunch appointment every day this week. Let’s meet  here and enjoy the Leadership Lessons with a healthy side of iGosian cucumbers and tomatoes. The first one will go live today at 12:00. See you then.

1 Comment

Lance Shumake, April 9th 2012 | Posted in Insightful, Leadership