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September 29, 2010
Wanted: Entrepreneurial Leaders
By Tom Ehrich
I have one word to say to congregational leaders, and it isn’t the word uttered to Benjamin Braddock in “The Graduate.” (i.e. “plastics”)
The word is: “entrepreneur.”
In my opinion, faith communities will grow when their leaders develop an entrepreneurial spirit that sees opportunity, takes risks, responds nimbly to changing needs, fails and learns from failure, and has a deep passion for the enterprise.
All other leadership styles -- focusing on some form of maintenance -- will fail. The need for fresh energy and risk-taking are too great. With an estimated one-half to two-thirds of existing mainline congregations likely to close or be severely curtailed within five years unless they change course, the need for course-changers is paramount.
By course-changer, I don’t mean the single-track zealot with an axe to grind. I mean someone who sees the whole and imagines something fresh and lively.
Entrepreneurs are typically associated with new enterprises. In business, they launch them, get them on solid footing, and then turn them over to long-term managers. In the church world now unfolding, I think churches need entrepreneurs who stay and keep their enterprises moving forward with an ever-freshening entrepreneurial spirit.
This entrepreneurial spirit will be especially important for Multichannel Churches, which depend on seeing a broad range of opportunities, selecting a few for immediate focus but not letting go of the full vision.
In one of the e-letters and blogs I read to keep abreast of ideas, I came across an excellent description of this entrepreneurial spirit.
“A successful entrepreneur,” said the article in Customer Think, “has certain traits that contribute to making him or her successful. Here is a list of twenty of them:
1 Focuses on solutions and not problems
2 Takes responsibility instead of blaming others.
3 Finds opportunities in crisis and refrains from complaining.
4 Enjoys being in the present and learns from the past.
5 Makes promises and keeps them no matter what.
6 Focuses on achieving rather than making excuses.
7 Listens well and does not try to talk at every chance.
8 Faces fear accepts it and takes the plunge.
9 Is action-oriented.
10 Learns from failure.
11 Knows how to plan and set goals.
12 Believes that personal development is a priority.
13 Is a life-long learner.
14 Is humble.
15 Is a hard worker.
16 Leaves nothing to fate.
20. Always gives more than he/she takes.
(http://www.customerthink.com/blog/twenty_traits_that_make_for_a_successful_entrepreneur)
Entrepreneurs usually start their own enterprises and surround themselves with people who share the vision. The challenge for established congregations will be embrace such a leadership style, to hire for it, and to allow room for it to flourish.
This will mean putting an end to many decades of reining in clergy, stifling change, and valuing compliance more than creativity.
Gathering fresh ideas
I subscribe to several dozen e-letters and blogs. They cover a broad range of interests, from technology to small business to marketing to religion. I never know where a fresh idea will come into view.
One starting point could be SmartBrief.com. I’m a big fan of TechCrunch, too. If you use social media, you will see URLs for letters and blogs that others are finding useful.
Don’t limit yourself to church-related e-letters. I find that some of the most creative and pertinent ideas are coming out of technology and marketing.
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