Ryan Wakefield's Blog

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Taking the Cult Out of Culture Part 2 – Explain the Why Behind the What

April 30, 2012 — 2 Comments

As a leader one of the most valuable practices you implement for your emerging leaders is to systematically explain the why behind the what.

We’ve all probably heard the story of the scientific experiment about the monkeys, banana, and water.

Five monkeys are locked in a cage, a banana was hung from the ceiling and a ladder was placed right underneath it. As predicted, immediately, one of the monkeys would race towards the ladder, to grab the banana. However, as soon as he would start to climb, the researcher would spray the monkey with ice-cold water. But here’s the kicker – he would also spray the other four monkeys. When a second monkey tried to climb the ladder, the researcher would again spray all the monkeys with the cold water. This was repeated again and again until they learned their lesson – climbing equals a spray of cold water for everyone, so no one climbs the ladder.

In leaders, pastors Church Culture, Cult-Like Culture, Leaders, leadership development, Pastors

Nehemiah’s Spidey Sense

April 25, 2012 — Leave a comment

At my home church, we’ve been going through a series on Nehemiah called “Built to Last.” The preaching team has done an amazing job walking us through this book and the messages are worth a listen.

I’m stuck about how the book demonstrates the leadership discernment of Nehemiah. It’s fun to view the book through the lens of Nehemiah’s spidey sense.

Spidey sense is that strong sense of something being wrong, dangerous, suspicious, a security situation. Not only does Nehemiah have a supernatural sense of what is wrong, but he almost intuitively knows what he should do next.

In leaders, pastors, regular Discernment, Leadership, Nehemiah, Spidey Sense

In their book “Built to Last” Collins and Porras discuss what the successful and visionary companies do to be great. They discuss how great organizations have a “cult-like culture” where every employee must adapt to the leader’s vision in order for the company to thrive. In fact there are four common characteristics of cults that apply to this organizational philosophy:

Fervently held ideology – All employees believe strongly in the company ideology.
Indoctrination – Management is responsible for introducing and encouraging the proper work culture to employees.
Tightness of fit – Employees who do not believe in the corporate ideology should change organizations.
Elitism – Recognizing the sense of responsibility that comes from being a member of a visionary company.

Obviously their research backs up the effectiveness of this philosophy. However, this approach simply ported over to the church world could cause damage to your people and your ministry. Before you apply, consider the following ways to take the cult out of your culture:

Will Your Vision Win?

July 25, 2011 — Leave a comment

Burning Platform

When talking to people about your vision you have to realize that you’re not communicating in a vacuum. There are all sorts of “visions” out there that people are encountering every week. So what helps make sure your vision cuts through the clutter?

As a leader here’s a question you should start with to determine the impact potential of your message: What happens if you don’t do your vision? What happens if you don’t build that building, start that organization, or launch that program? Really, what’s the worst-case scenario?

In leaders, pastors, regular Burning Platform, Leaders, Leadership, Vision

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Taking the Cult Out of Culture Part 2 – Explain the Why Behind the What

Nehemiah’s Spidey Sense

Taking the Cult Out of Culture

Will Your Vision Win?

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By Ryan Wakefield