A Discussion About Next Gen Leadership

John Maxwell made famous the phrase, Become a ladder builder instead of a ladder climber. The concept of ladder climbing is not a concept that Millennials gravitate toward. There is too much association to climbing the corporate ladder. This association is brought on by the imagery of the organizational chart that resemble climbing a corporate infrastructure.

The modern challenge for churches is to recognize two key salient truths; (1) By 2030 the workforce will be comprised of 75% Millennials and (2) churches will be forced to move in the direction of Circles of Collaboration that evolve from hierarchical organizational systems. Circle-style of organization shows teams within teams with define leadership and specific outcomes. How do we do this? Here are 4 key thoughts.

• Become a listening organization – listening is the best to reach millennials who want to be involved and be heard. Millennials want to devote themselves to a cause.
• Create an environment of training and mentoring – Millennials are hungry; they want to learn. It is widely report that Millennials top two things that make an organization attractive are (1) Employer makes clear the pathway of career progression and (2) Excellent Training/Development programs.
• Define the difference between Management and Leadership. Consider this.
  • Management = Systems
  • Leadership = Relationships
  • Don’t lead through systems. Systems are about processes, not people
  • Don’t manage through relationships. Relationships are about people, not processes
• Skip level communication – Org charts are helpful for management, but they do not dictate how a leader relates and communicates.

If you require that all communication travel through tightly structured conduits that push bit size pieces of information up and down the ladder, you are missing one of the greatest strengths Millennials bring with them – there ability to generate ideas that are productive and useful to the organization. Get into the habit of disrespecting the Org Chart – rather op for collaborative circles of communication at the grass roots level.