The Global Leadership Summit

I can remember reading the book, Winning, by Jack Welch, several years back. It was an instant success with me, probably because of my coaching background. Who doesn’t want to win? "Winning" souls is what the church is all about.

Another thing I liked about the book was Jack is a no-nonsense guy. Honesty and integrity are musts -- these characteristics are often missing in secular leaders as well as in religious sectors. You can find out more about Welch's philosophy and principles on the web at welchway.com.

Bill Hybels interviewed Welch at the Global Leadership Summit. They talked about "getting the right people on the bus" and the controversial “Differentiation Principle.”

The interview started out with a hodge podge of statements on leaders. Leaders have to be authentic people. You have to be comfortable in your own shoes. You have to be who you portray yourself to be. You cannot take on a persona of who you are not. If you are a leader people need to know that they can count on you. You will excite people around you to follow the vision. You will energize people in a meeting. The leader has to speak with candor not mincing words. (Sounds like the Biblical Principle of speaking the truth in love. I am always amazed at how these guys use Biblical Principles even though they might not know it.)

The Differentiation Principle basically states that there are three groups of people in every organization. The "A" people represent the Top 20% of the people in any organization. They are characterized by energy, are likeable, have good values; they have a gene in them that says I want people to grow and succeed. (A friend of mine's educational services business had this slogan -- "Advancing one advances everyone." That's "A" type thinking.) They are not mean-spirited, not cheap or stingy; they will hire great people and they do not have trouble with envy. You can never compensate these people enough in an organization. They are the people you want to get on the bus if at all possible. Do you have people like this in your church? Are they on your leadership bus?

The "B" people are the Vital 70% in any organization. Some of their characteristics would be that they are smart, good, valuable, hard working. Since most people are in this group, I would consider them the average person in an organization. They are vital in the sense that without them the organization would not exist. The major problem with this group is that there is a big difference between the top half of this group and the bottom half. I am sure we have these type of people in our churches. We might even have some of them on the leadership bus.

The "C" peole are the Bottom 10% in any organization. They are characterized by not being team players, suffer from acedia, pooh-pooh ideas, disrupt, hate "bosses," antagonize, and are just simply a pain in the rear. It is hard to shut down the negative noise caused by some of the "C" people. You have to try to stop the deadly meetings they organize after the real meeting.

You have to tolerate them and try to shape them up, or ship them out (not out of the church, but out of participation in leadership). You have people like this in your church. Are they on your leadership bus?

Where this theory gets controversial is admitting that we all do differentiate between people. Sports teams do it and pay the best athletes the most. We in the churches know who the A, B, and C people are. God has blessed all people with different gifts and abilities. Some are more gifted then others. We know that. How about when Jesus chose the 12, can you figure out who might be the

A, B, and C people in that group? In the battle of spiritual warfare, Satan would probably attack the A’s first, and so on?

In retrospect it seems like we would all want to be more like Jesus. Is that an A person? At the same time if I am in the B category, wouldn’t I want to continue to grow spiritually to become more like Jesus? And if I am a C person, shame on me. Overcoming acedia would be about becoming the best servant for God that we can be.

Compare the characteristics of the three groups. Which one seems more like Jesus? Which type do you want to at least be in the majority on your leadership bus?