So far, I’ve focused on the importance of the:
- Spiritual: Discern the will of the Father, helping those you coach to do the same
- Relational: Value the other person
- Personal: Embrace your unique contribution
- Interpersonal: You can’t want something for someone else more than they want it for themselves
- Inspirational: Help people tap into their creativity
This week I shift focus to the strategic aspect of coaching.
Lesson #6 – Challenge for Clarity
There is a wonderful dynamic when a leader or team moves from:
- confusion and perhaps discouragement to agreement on an issue
- a rough idea to a vision
- good intentions to action
In coaching, the moment when shifts occur, the leader moves to greater clarity.
Let’s talk about a real situation. I was coaching a team to help them navigate their vision. One of the big components of their vision was church planting. As I facilitated the visioning process with them God was doing something that forced them to clarify – He was preparing a team to plant a church in another part of the country.
As we met it became more and more obvious. Rather than talking about some day planting a church; this team began asking an entirely different set of questions:
- Who will be going?
- What commitments will we (the parent church) ask of the team planting the new church?
- How will we communicate with the rest of the church body?
- What resources will we provide?
- How will we relate to the new church?
In this situation, the team realized that God was already at work, and the leader(s) needed to cooperate. They had a choice: would they support the work He was doing, or would they resist?
The more leaders are willing to put themselves in a posture of responding, to what the Lord wants from them, the more He asks of the leader(s) – according to their level of obedience.
Coaches can be immensely helpful. When leaders struggle to clearly see what God is doing, a coach can help clarify where they need to focus. As leaders clarify, they must be challenged to take action. Here are five tips a coach can implement to assist leaders to maintain an open posture to the Lord:
- Celebrate the “wins” (ways God is at work)
- Pray to thank God for His goodness
- Clarify current reality
- Brainstorm actions
- Challenge to take the next step
One resource I’ve found extremely helpful in clarifying vision for church planters and pastors is the vision frame. This is a great resource that defines the key components of vision. Check out Will Mancini’s book, Church Unique, for more information.
