Hey – it’s Friday! And if you’ve had anything like the week that I’ve had – which doesn’t actually mean that it was bad, just crazy busy – you’re probably ready to draw this week to a close and head into the weekend. Or, to put it another way, you might just be ready to shake this week off. And speaking of shaking it off – and having a really good laugh on a Friday afternoon – if you haven’t seen this dashcamera video of a Dover policeman singing to Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.” Four minutes of unbelievable good humor. I’ll be honest: I’ve been...

My sense is that leadership these days is more often than not about change. Whether you’re a leader in business, at home, in a volunteer agency, school, or church, the world has changed significantly enough – and doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon – that organizations inevitably need to change, often continually, to adapt to both the challenges and opportunities ahead. And change is hard. Why? Because change is disruptive, and we tend greatly to prefer stability to change because, quite frankly, stability promotes growth. So the idea of changing direction, changing practices, and perhaps above all else changing personnel,...

Do you know what your city flag looks like? Do you like it? Or, if you don’t think your city has one (and it’s worth checking), do you know your state’s flag?  If you’re not sure why you should care, watch Roman Mars’ TED Talk. Roman is the founder and producer of 99% Invisible, a great podcast on design. The great thing about design, as the name of Roman’s podcast implies, is that when it works, we don’t notice it even as it helps us do our work…or enjoy our lives…or take pride in our city…or any of a number of other things we highly value but don’t often think about it. I’ve been interested in this in part...

When I talk about making the move from what I describe as “performative leadership” to “formative leadership” (as I did obliquely in last week’s Dear Partner letter), I regularly encounter a reaction as understandable as it is predictable. First, let me say a little more about what I mean by these terms. Performative leadership is essentially leadership that focuses on certain skills or practices that the leader has acquired through training and practice and now uses on behalf of the organization he or she is leading. In congregational ministry, these are often of the skills of preaching, teaching, pastoral...