07.21.10
Alan Danielson Interview... Triple Threat Leadership... On-line Book and Consulting
Many small group pastors get pigeonholed as the person who makes sure people meet in micro-communities. Let's face it... Small Group pastors have to be able to lead a movement, lead leaders, organize and oversee an organic ministry, and many are fantastic communicators. Also... Small Group pastors are forced to consistently see the present leadership landscape and adjust to it. Many times they are the first on the church staff to realize and bring nuances of leadership for a present era into play. They have so much more to offer the Kingdom but seldom find a way to make their message and abilities known.
My friend, Alan Danielson, has been able to break the glass ceiling that many small group pastors find themselves trapped under and has done some fantastic work on leadership that will be important for your church staff, small group leadership team, small group leaders, and any leadership in your church. This interview will help you get to know him, his philosophy of leadership, and how you can utilize what he has created to equip all of the leaders in your church.
Rick: Alan, you are a very well-respected guy in church leadership circles. Would you give us a quick chronology of your life experiences so we can see what God has used to shape you?
Alan: Wow. My autobiography in 30 seconds: I was born and raised in Albuquerque, NM to godly Christian parents. Although raised in the church, I didn't become a follower of Christ until I was 15. At age 17 I knew I God wanted me to be a pastor. I started in vocational ministry at age 18 and that's what I've done my whole adult life. All my previous experience, 4 years of college and 5 years of seminary combined didn't hold a candle to the things I learned on staff at LifeChurch.tv. I was a campus LifeGroups pastor, Associate Campus Pastor, and Executive LifeGroups Pastor (over the group ministry on all 13 campuses) during my 4 years at LifeChurch.tv. Since leaving LifeChurch.tv I've been pursuing a Senior Pastor role while consulting and coaching churches. None of that compares, though, to being married to my wonderful wife, Stacey, and raising our three sons!
Rick: When did you first realize that God had given you the leadership gift? What stage of life were you in and how did God shape the leadership gift in you?
Alan: I knew I was a leader when I was in high school after becoming a Christ-Follower. Suddenly peers began following me and listening to me. I knew God had entrusted me with something that I had to steward faithfully. So I jumped in to vocational ministry immediately following my high school graduation.
Rick: There has been so much written on leadership, what sets your work, Triple Threat Leadership, apart from other leadership ideologies?
Alan: The trend in leadership books/talks today is for experts to say, "Don't focus on your weaknesses, just leverage your strengths." While I agree with this in principle, in practice it's not always realistic. I believe there are three skills that all leaders, regardless of their job title, organization size, or experience must have: (1) casting vision, (2) creating strategy, and (3) fostering relationships. Leaders who learn do do all three will always succeed. All leaders are going to be better at one or two of these skills, but their leadership will be incomplete unless they learn to do the thing(s) they do less-well. Triple-Threat Leadership is not about focusing on your weaknesses, and it's not about doing all things well. It's about doing 3 things well. Leaders who learn these three things succeed: they are "Triple-Threat Leaders".
Rick: Would you give us a short explanation of each of the three skills?
Alan: Sure. I'll just use this excerpt from page 9 of my book.
CREATING STRATEGY: Some people thrive on it. Some feel like it is restricting. Some people don't even know what it means. Regardless of how we feel about the word, it is necessary. Strategy is the thought and planning that happens before taking any actions. Strategy provides structure for leadership the same way that a skeleton provides structure for a body. It provides a foundation upon which leadership can be built. Without a skeleton a person would just be a useless pile of flesh unable to move or function. Without structure, attempts to lead become "feel-good" meetings where nothing really gets done.
FOSTERING RELATIONSHIPS: Some pride themselves on being "people persons" while others prefer a hermit's life. Whether you are a "people-person", a hermit or somewhere in between, relationships are a vital component for effective leadership. If strategy is the skeleton, relationship is the flesh, muscles and organs? What good is leadership without heart? How impersonal is leadership without a face? Leadership without relationship is frightening. It's all bones and no life. Ultimately, it's not really leadership at all.
CASTING VISION: Strategy is the skeleton, relationship is the flesh, and vision is the food for leadership. Vision provides the fuel that energizes people to do what needs to be done and to become what they need to become. The Bible says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Without vision, leadership starves. It may have strategy and relationships but without vision, strategy and relationships become inwardly focused. The organization turns on itself like a starving body turns on itself and begins to suck nutrients and energy from its own stores of fat and protein. The unfortunate side effect of strategy and relationships without vision is a malnourished, malformed team that is terribly dysfunctional.
Rick: You've been known as one of the premiere small group pastors in the country for a long time, what motivated you to write Triple Threat Leadership?
Alan: Three things. First, I think the biggest obstacle to staff success in the church is incomplete leadership. If pastors and staff people will complete their leadership skill set, they will achieve far more. Second, small groups are all about leadership. It's becoming popular to drop the term "small group leader" in favor of "facilitator", "host", or "coordinator", but the truth remains: regardless of the title, small groups need leaders. Small group leaders should read this book and apply the principles to their own groups. Third, I wanted to write something that crosses over from the church world into the secular marketplace. I want to be active in the business community and take the light of Christ with me. This book gives me platform to do just that. The style of the book is definitely secular, and as such, has allowed me to do workshops and coaching events for people who are outside the church and who are not followers-of-Christ.
Rick: How are you suggesting this book be used? Is it an individual study, a tradebook, an experience for a team to work through together, etc…?
Alan: It's written so that an individual can benefit from it, but it's best if used with other people. I suggest that leaders take their entire team through the book and have everyone take the assessment. This gives their team a common "language" to discuss leadership challenges and to understand one another's strengths and weaknesses. It also gives leaders insight that equips them to lead their individual team members better.
One of my favorite things to do is to have a team read the book, take the assessment, then allow me to come in and do a 2 hour workshop. In that workshop I re-explore some of the main ideas and help the team process. Then we spend time interpreting, and understanding their assessment results.
Rick: How can someone acquire Triple Threat Leadership?
Alan: Anyone can download a copy at http://www.3threat.net/resources/ebook
Rick: Are you available to consult churches and help them in their ministries? If so, what can you do for them?
Alan: Absolutely. My specialty in small group ministry is helping churches move their groups from an inward focus to an outward (missional) focus. I can also help churches with small group leader training, strategy development, campaigns and doubling their number of groups in 12-24 months. I do Triple-Threat Leadership workshops with staff and volunteers, and I also do one-on-one coaching with pastors.
Rick: How can a church contact you if they want to know more about your ministry or talk with you about working with them?
Alan: They can fill out the contact form on my website: http://www.3threat.net/contact
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