15 Practices Of Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations

John Maxwell is famous for saying, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”  Organizations rise and fall on leadership.  Teams rise and fall on leadership.  Most importantly, churches rise and fall on leadership.  And the sobering truth is not every leader can build a great organization, team or church.

For lessons on how to do so, I went back to an article written by Greg Bishop in the October 26th edition of Sports Illustrated.  Bishop profiled the New York Jets first-year general manager Mike Maccagnan.  During a dizzying eight-day stretch in early March, Maccagnan acquired seven free agent starters and completely remade the squad.

How Maccagnan did it is something all leaders can learn from.  The following are 15 Practices Of Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations I gleaned from Bishop’s article:

1. Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations Are Highly Intelligent And Well-Versed – Great leaders have broad-based interests.  Maccagnan is an avid reader, lover of history and military strategy, grunge band fan and Game Of Thrones viewer.
2. Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations Position Themselves For Success – Maccagnan’s resume includes director of college scouting for the Houston Texans, two front office stints in Canada, one in NFL Europe, and being a former intern for the Washington Redskins.
3. Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations Are Willing To Pay For A Quality Staff – Closed fist individuals rarely build great churches and organizations.  When Maccagnan took over as the Jets GM, the team had more than $50 million in salary cap space and was ready to spend it.
4. Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations See The Big Picture – Maccagnan’s responsibilities include managing the salary cap, evaluating draft prospects, recruiting free agents, filling multiple positions, hiring a head coach, helping craft an organizational strategy, and running the entire business known as the New York Jets.
5. Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations Minimize Risk While Maximizing Returns – In pro football, everyone overspends during free agency.  The key is not to overpay too much.
6. Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations Build Mutually Beneficial Relationships – You cannot build a great church or organization alone. Maccagnan worked with new Chicago Bears gm Ryan Pace during a Clemson pro day to craft a trade for wide receiver Brandon Marshall.
7. Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations Value The Right Things – Count what counts.  The greatest predictor of future success is past success.  What made Marshall so attractive to the Jets was his ability to score numerous touchdowns at each of his four previous teams.  Marshall gets in the end zone.
8. Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations Build Long-Lasting Relationships – I once had a supervisor tell me, “Brian, be careful what toes you step on.  They may one day be attached to the butt you have to kiss.”  Smart leaders think long-term when it comes to relationships.  Marshall played for new head coach Todd Bowles in 2011 while with the Miami Dolphins.  Similarly, newly acquired quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick played for three seasons for new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey in Buffalo.  Smart leaders do not burn bridges.
9. Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations Think Differently Than Other Leaders – This past offseason most general managers immediately went for the two highest profile cornerbacks, Darrelle Revis and Byron Maxwell.  This opened the door for Maccagnan to easily sign the third-highest rated defensive back Buster Skrine.  Ironically, Maccagnan signed Revis as well the same day.
10. Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations Attract Other Great Leaders – Like attracts like.  Skrine signed the Jets after a phone conversation.  No visit was required.  Skrine wanted to play for Bowles.
11. Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations Sometimes Fail – Maggagnan did not get everyone he wanted this off-season.  Offensive linemen Mike Iupati and Orlando Franklin signed with other teams.
12. Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations Leverage Failure – Not signing those two lineman opened up an unexpected $4 million to spend elsewhere.  This led to the signing of the talented defensive back Antonio Cromartie.
13. Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations Think Long-Term – Because of the way Maggagnan structured the contracts, the Jets will have additional financial flexibility in the future.
14. Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations Are Willing To Make Changes – You must be willing to make hard decisions.  The Jets featured 20 new players on their 53-man roster this season.  This includes eight new starters.
15. Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations Produce Great Results – So what is the return on this financial investment?  What is the outcome of all the personnel decisions and changes?  Currently riding a three-game winning streak, the Jets have an 8-5 record and would make the playoffs if the season ended today.  Maggagnan and Coach Bowles have done an amazing job.

What is one thing you learned from this list which will make you a better leader?

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