Spent Thursday at Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington for a day long seminar called "Blue Skys". Turns out the conference appears to be named after the rooms they are held in.
About 112 men and women from the business community and churches heard Henry Cloud and Bill Hybels discuss leadership principles. A couple of immediate benefits were the two free books: Hybels Axioms (wanted this one) and Cloud's The One Life Solution (glad I have this one).
When it comes to leading others in ministry, here was one of the ideas that "stuck" without having to go back and look at my notes:
When it comes to having the tough conversations, Henry ... a clinical psychologist suggests ... know the people you are dealing with.
The Wise Person
When the "wise person" hears truth (e.g. You really messed up the other day), they own it, adapt, and work hard to prevent the same mistake. If you are dealing with this person, dump time, energy, and resources into this person. This is a great person to have on your team
The Fool
When the "fool" hears the truth, they ignore it and continue to argue and push back. After attempting to listen with an empathetic ear, if they feel heard, the conversation will take a turn for the better. However, sometimes it get so the point where a consequence has to be established and a line drawn in the sand.
The Evil Person
This is a person who gets great joy seeing others fail in the organization. If you encounter and evil person, do everything possible to protect the vision and others from the "virus" this person will try to infect the system with.
My take away was "I pray I am wise and am gifted with other wise team members. I pray for patience and resolve when dealing with the "fool", and send the resume of an "evil person" to someone else!"