Lead Like a Coach: Basic Skills for Church Leaders

We all know how to talk. But, conversations that utilize coaching skills leave people feeling stronger, focused, and more creative -- more capable of tackling the tasks in front of them and doing it in a way that leaves them feeling fulfilled rather than drained. Coaching conversations are key to improving performance and attitude. But even more importantly, they are a way of being church. They cut through the nuts and bolts to surface the hopes and fears that drive behavior.  They touch that holy place where people experience "where two or more are gathered, there I am also."

When you lead like a coach you offer yourself in service to another's growth and development. Learn how to provide the kind of space that allows a person to articulate what truly matters to them, surface their unique talents, find encouragement to test those gifts, and have a place of reflection and accountability. These kinds of one-on-one interactions are the core of effective disciple formation.

This one-day highly interactive workshop introduces and builds skills in 4 basic coaching competencies: being present, listening deeply, sharing observations, and asking invitational questions. It's a great introduction to what coaching is all about and is geared towards leadership teams and those individuals and teams providing support to your disciple formation process.

Email Mary to bring Lead Like a Coach to your congregation or area.

Transitions Workshop for Clergy and Laity

Pastors move.  It's part of the rhythm of congregational and pastoral life. But, with saying all the goodbyes and hello's it's easy to overlook that this moment provides a strategic opportunity for growth and development in both the congregation and the pastor.

The half-day Transition Workshop for Laity equips the laity of a congregation to make sense of the dynamics present during a pastoral change, re-anchor in their identity and call, and provide a way for them to partner with the congregation's staffing committee in helping the congregation let go of the outgoing pastor and welcome a new one.

Transition Workshops for Clergy equip pastors in making a healthy exit from one ministry setting and a strong beginning with a new one. Transition models help make sense of the mix of emotions and behaviors clergy experience in themselves, their family members, and their congregants. Resources from the worlds of organizational development, grief-work, and theology provide guidance on what can help. Times of individual reflection and small-group discussion provides the space for pondering not just how to focus their time in their first months at the new site, but who they want to be, what they want to develop within themselves and the bigger aims they want to serve.

Email Mary to bring a Transition workshop to your congregation or area.

"Thank you so much! This morning was so good, so uplifting, so worthwhile. I really sensed people feeling more comfortable the more we talked about the whole process of pastoral transition. You did an excellent job of guiding us through thinking about what we are facing as a church. We appreciate the many valuable ideas you offered about how we might all make it a good, positive transition."