by Derek Sanford | Jan 8, 2024 | Uncategorized
All good teams have huddles. A football team huddles to call the next play. A softball team huddles before a game to get focused. A rock band huddles before the concert to be inspired and to discuss any last-minute adjustments. The same is true for volunteer teams in...
by Derek Sanford | Dec 11, 2023 | Uncategorized
When the Fuel Gauge is on “E” Anybody who’s ever taken a road trip with me, knows that I have a complicated relationship with the gas gauge in my car. It’s not unusual for me to be running on empty down the highway. I like to push a car to its gas-guzzling limits....
by Derek Sanford | Dec 4, 2023 | Uncategorized
An intentional plan for onboarding is an important way to set new leaders up for success. An effective on-ramp to your team ensures that your volunteer leaders will feel welcomed, sets them up to “win,” increases their engagement and satisfaction, improves their...
by Derek Sanford | Nov 6, 2023 | Uncategorized
I recently completed a companion resource for my book, Untapped Church: Discovering the Potential Hidden in Your Congregation. If you’ve read the book and are looking for a practical way to implement the concepts, you might find the Untapped Church Workbook to...
by Derek Sanford | Oct 9, 2023 | Uncategorized
Today I’ll wrap up this blog series on Character in Leadership. We’ve talked about the importance of character, the things that shape character, and cause us to compromise our character. Today I want to talk about the best strategy to employ when your character falls...
by Derek Sanford | Sep 26, 2023 | Uncategorized
Leadership Network recently published an article by yours truly on the topic of staffing the post-pandemic church with volunteer leaders. Here’s an excerpt: I think the church has gotten staffing all wrong. Over the past 50 years, the staffing approach for most...
by Derek Sanford | Sep 11, 2023 | Uncategorized
4 Challenges to Small Group Leaders As We Start a New Ministry Year I recently met with the small group leaders at our church and shared some thoughts about the upcoming ministry year. Some encouragements and some challenges. I thought it might be helpful for you to...
by Derek Sanford | Sep 4, 2023 | Uncategorized
An underrated moment in the classic movie The Wizard of Oz is the freedom that the Wizard experiences once he stops pretending to be someone he’s not. You remember the scene; Toto pulls away the curtain to reveal the unimpressive man operating the machine behind the...
by Derek Sanford | Aug 28, 2023 | Uncategorized
Insecurity can easily creep into a person’s leadership. I’ve worked with insecure leaders before – and it’s not a great experience. I’ve led out of insecurity at times too… also not a great experience. Because at some point, insecurity begins to erode character....
by Derek Sanford | Aug 21, 2023 | Uncategorized
Character is critical in leadership, and it’s also critical in life. Here are six reasons character is so important. 1. God sees your heart. It was a time of transition, Samuel was choosing the next king, God had already rejected Saul due to character issues. Samuel...
