Our staff is reading through The Orange Code. It’s a really fun and inspiring inside look at the inception and implementation of the ING Direct Brand.
One of the chapters features a candid, rat-tat-tat biographical sketch of each of the members of Arkadi Kuhlmann’s inner circle. I asked each member of our lead team to complete a similar exercise, writing a condensed description of each of their fellow team members, amplifying unique contributions. Writing the descriptions was hard. Sharing them was an absolute blast.
I highly recommend that you complete a similar activity with any team you lead (a family counts as a team.) The insights will be encouraging and adhesive.
Here’s what I wrote about my people. This is as real as it gets.
I love the team I lead. They’re cooler than a rock band and we’re tighter than the mafia.
(By the way, Chunks cried during this exercise.)
Josh is the newest member of the inner circle. I tested him a few times early to see if he tended to be overly critical or not critical enough. He passed with flying colors. I think he appreciates even more than the others what it means to belong to a tight knit team focused on the cause of Christ. He’s spent enough time on other teams to know: we’ve got it good; this is special. And he reminds us of that often. I look forward to seeing how God taps more and more potential in Josh over the next year or two.
LoB is our Ruth. She was gleaning in the fields one day, she owned the fields the next. That’s how God does it. I tell her favor ain’t fair. Lori seems to be committed to this mission at another level-because he who has been forgiven much loves much. And God really did a work in Lori’s life through Elevation. It’s cool to watch her play such a big part in helping others experience that.
John Bishop is having the time of his life. I’ve never witnessed a more dramatic example of someone coming to terms with his identity and embracing it wholeheartedly. His teachability and desire to grow and learn keep landing him at higher levels of leadership. He’s never been shy about his desire to ascend in influence at Elevation-but I’ve never doubted his motivation.
There are a few examples (too personal to share) of times I’ve seen him perform a complete about face in an attitude, mannerism or behavior based on a piece of input I’ve shared with him. And that makes me all the more eager to keep sharing. He’s a good investment.
Hubatka was on staff, then he wasn’t, then I asked him to come back, and then he didn’t, then he asked to come back, and I said no, but later I said yes. Got that?
I liked him the first time I met him. He is a natural at expressing encouragement. He’s articulate. He singlehandedly changed the workplace environment in his first year on staff. It’s fun to work here now. When he’s in charge of a fun activity, I can hardly wait to see what he has planned.
His demeanor toward me is always honoring and attentive-and he does it without effort. It’s second nature. Whatever he’s lacked in know-how or execution he’s made up for with humility and drive-he’s not as laid back as he seems. He loves this church as much as anyone, and he’s hell-bent on getting better all the time.
Meredith had me at hello. I met her at a youth event-she was the host, I was the speaker. Somehow I knew she was special from the moment she greeted me in the parking lot. I came back and told some of my staff guys-this Meredith girl is going to be on the team one day. She’s a scrapper. Lately I’ve been watching her fight through her insecurity-and she’s winning so far.
I think she’d be the first staff member to pull out a pocketknife to protect her pastor. And when she speaks in a meeting, she offers positive, genuinely insightful stuff. Which pleasantly surprised me, cause I kind of wondered when we hired her: Does she have a kind of edgy personality that might rub me the wrong way?
I don’t worry about that anymore. She’s a stick of dynamite and quickly becoming a go-to-girl for me.
Wade is a short man who packs a powerful punch. He’s also married to Larry Hubatka, which raises questions, but we make it work. I met him while speaking at a summer youth camp. The best thing that ever came out of my 10 year itinerant speaking ministry may have been the eventual acquisition of Wade Joye.
Wade is one of my favorite people to be around. Definitely in the top 3.
He’s with me heart and soul, and he reminds me of that often.
I’ve never met someone who was so gifted with so little ego. He never rolls his eyes when I request a song. Quite the opposite-if I even mention that I kind of like a song, he puts it in the set list the next week. (So I have to be careful what I say I like!)
The only thing that pisses me off about Wade is when he doesn’t see in himself what I see in him-he tends to shortchange himself. But we’re working on that…
One time I told Chunks I didn’t know why no one had ever snatched him up and put him in a ministry position before I did. He said it was because God was saving him for me. That makes a lot of sense.
One thing’s for sure, Chunks has always been my Joshua. And from day one, his unique (and God given) ability to make sound decisions has been his number one asset. I think I trust his ability to make a good decision better than I trust my own.
When I first asked him to start the church with me, he took forever to commit. I almost told him never mind. Holly told me he was worth waiting for.
At the time, I thought his indecision signified a lack of commitment. Looking back, I see that he was just making sure, because when he said yes, he meant yes-forever.
He used to have a really hard time understanding what I meant when I asked him if he was called to me. I think he gets it now.