<![CDATA[PDC/BWC AREA - Level Up Lessons]]>

<![CDATA[PDC/BWC AREA - Level Up Lessons]]>Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:39:33 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[lesson 40: diversity matters]]>Mon, 15 Apr 2024 07:30:00 GMThttps://www.pdcbwc.org/level-up-lessons/lesson-40

Research has shown us that corporations with more diverse boards have better outcomes. According to Adam Alter, author of Anatomy of a Breakthrough, the same is true for teams. He says the best teams have three kinds of people.

One. Those who have expertise in the subject at hand. This is the obvious one, as you have to have people who understand what you’re trying to do. The other two kinds of people are more surprising.

The second kind of person that the best teams have is what Alter calls, The Non-Redundant Actor. This is someone who comes from a different culture, background and/or tradition AND has little or no overlapping history with the team. This fosters creative friction that makes it more likely that new ideas and approaches are explored.
In research done on the long-running TV show, Dr. Who, the most successful episodes were written by a highly diverse group of writers who didn’t work together often. On the other hand, the least successful were those where the writers knew each other well.
When your congregation or organization is looking build something important, it will serve you well to involve people that are Non-Redundant Actors.

Finally, the third kind of person you need on your team is The Oddball . This is someone who often offers suggestions that seem off topic or just off the wall. Why would you want someone like this on your team?

According to Alter, researchers found that participants who were trying to solve a puzzle actually did better when given random and unhelpful suggestions. Having an oddball on your team is likely to stimulate creative problem solving, even if they are mildly annoying.
God created a world full of diversity. As a leader, you can do the same for the teams you develop.

]]><![CDATA[lesson 39: 3 ways a shutdown routine increases work-life balance]]>Mon, 08 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.pdcbwc.org/level-up-lessons/lesson-39

In his book, Deep Work, Cal Newport, shares that a key way to reduce work-related stress is through a Shutdown Routine. This is a simple ritual that helps you provide a boundary between your work life and your personal life.

A Shutdown Routine can vary, but the main idea is to set aside 15 minutes at the end of your workday to review your task list to check off what you’ve done and to note any loose ends. This assures your subconscious that you can forget about work because when you return, you won’t have forgotten anything.

You should also spend a few minutes closing browser tabs and straightening up your workspace, so that when you return, you’re ready to go. Newport even suggests using a “Magic Phrase” to officially mark the end of the day. His is, “Schedule shutdown, complete.”

Here are three ways a shutdown routine can help:
One, it Creates a boundary between your work life and your personal life. This is especially true if you work remotely, but is effective for any setting. Even if the end of your workday varies, a shutdown routine can help.
Two, it Increases productivity by reducing your cognitive load outside of work, which helps you recharge and prepare for the next day. Plus, whenever you do return to work, your workspace, tools and list are ready to go.

Three, a shutdown routine enhances your personal life because you are better able to focus on the people and things that matter to you outside of work.
A shutdown routine is not a one-size fits all. Find what works for you and make it a part of your day. Your future self will thank you.

]]><![CDATA[lesson 38: 4 components of intelligent failure]]>Mon, 01 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMThttps://www.pdcbwc.org/level-up-lessons/lesson-38

4 Components of Intelligent Failure
Thomas Edison thought he could invent the incandescent light bulb in just a few months. Instead it took over a year. When asked about this, he famously quipped, "I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work." He made numerous attempts to find a suitable filament for the light bulb, and each unsuccessful attempt brought him closer to the solution.

In her book: Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, Harvard Leadership Professor Amy Edmondson notes that successful innovators don’t fail less often, they fail more often, but those failures are “intelligent failures.”
What is an intelligent failure? There are four components.

First, They take place in new territory, where uncertainty is high. And results can’t be guaranteed. When your congregation or organization is trying to break free from what has you stuck, you are in new territory. You’re likely to fail, but if you fail intelligently, you’ll learn valuable lessons that will help you find your way.

Second, an intelligent failure Carries meaningful opportunity to advance towards a desired goal. When something is worth doing, it’s worth making mistakes that will help you get further. Whether it’s learning an instrument, practicing a new hobby, or figuring out how to serve your community, the goal is worth the journey.

Third, The failure is informed by available knowledge. Intelligent failures involve preparation and they are hypothesis driven. Even though you are in new territory, you have reason to believe that there could be success. The thing to remember about a hypothesis is you don’t necessarily need to be right for the experiment to be successful. A good experiment, an intelligent failure, is a success if it proves your hypothesis right OR wrong.

Finally, Intelligent failures are as small as they can be. When you are working with uncertainty and in new territory, you want to limit the downside risk of failure, while still maintaining the opportunity to learn something new.

Nobody likes to fail. But, according to Edmonson, if you learn to experiment consistently, are driven by curiosity and can make friends with failure, then you, too, can innovate through intelligent failure.

]]><![CDATA[Lesson 37: 4 Steps to Building More Effective Teams]]>Mon, 25 Mar 2024 06:00:00 GMThttps://www.pdcbwc.org/level-up-lessons/lesson-37-4-steps-to-building-more-effective-teams

A recent article from Harvard Business School summarizes the work of Professor Amy C. Edmondson.
According to Edmonson, psychological safety is an environment where people can speak up without fear of retribution, leading to better team performance and work culture. Her theory was affirmed in a large study where psychological safety was identified as a key component of successful teams.

Edmonson emphasizes that leading through fear is no longer an option. It neither motivates nor enables high performance. In recent research, Edmonson and colleagues identified four steps that leaders can take to facilitate psychological safety among those they lead.

First, Encourage teams to bond through day-to-day tasks.
When people work together, the act of being productive creates a positive feedback loop that increases psychological safety, which increases productivity. There’s a reason why mission trips or working at a church supper are bonding experiences for those involved.

Second, Normalize opportunities to learn from mistakes.
Edmonson says leaders can encourage learning behaviors, such as asking for help or sharing mistakes. The challenge is this involves personal risk, because people can feel awkward or embarrassed. As a leader, you can help people to embrace this type of vulnerability by affirming those who ask for help or share their mistakes.

Third, Ensure that all people feel “seen”
According to Edmonson, leadership used to be about how to get the work done. Now it’s about how people are doing. Why? Because engaged people get things done. When people know the leader cares about them as a person, that fosters psychological safety.

Finally, Seek input with humility and openness.
When you model vulnerability by asking for input, you are not only showing that you value what others have to say, you are increasing psychological safety. And, when you are able to hear bad news or opinions that don’t agree with yours as a non-anxious presence, you encourage others to tell you the truth about what’s going on.

As a leader, you can deal with that.

]]><![CDATA[lesson 36: beware of the dip]]>Mon, 04 Mar 2024 08:30:00 GMThttps://www.pdcbwc.org/level-up-lessons/lesson-36-beware-of-the-dip

“The Dip” is a concept developed by author Seth Godin in his book of the same name . A Dip is the place where most people give up. In anything worth doing there is likely to be a Dip.

Why?

According to Godin the Dip creates scarcity, and scarcity creates value. This is because most people aren’t able to push through the Dip, and instead give up. This is true for writing a book, exercising, eating healthy, engaging in spiritual disciplines, starting a new ministry, etc. If it were easy, if there were no Dip, then everybody would do it.

When you begin something new, you are likely to have a lot of energy, enthusiasm and motivation. And, as I noted in a previous video, early progress helps to amplify this. But you will reach a point where the results don’t seem to be improving as quickly as they did in the early phase. This is when the Dip occurs.

When you hit the Dip it’s important to remind yourself about why you began in the first place. If you started because you believed God could do something exceptional through you, then don’t let the Dip stop you.

I’ve completed several marathons and each time I hit the proverbial “wall” at about mile 22 of 26. At this point, I felt like I couldn’t go on. My legs were cramping and my motivation was sapped. How did I finish, by focusing on one step at a time.

When you are doing something important and reach the Dip, don’t think about how far you have to go. Think about doing one thing to move you closer to your goal.

I’ve written several books and the dip occurred when I finished the first draft. I didn’t feel like proofreading and editing, let alone doing it several times. To keep going, I would print the manuscript and set a goal of reading one chapter. And then the next, and then the next. One step at a time.

Just knowing about the Dip will help you when you are trying to do your most important work. Staying focused on next steps will get you through it; something most people don’t do.

]]><![CDATA[lesson 35: test and learn]]>Mon, 26 Feb 2024 08:30:00 GMThttps://www.pdcbwc.org/level-up-lessons/lesson-35-test-and-learn

The book Think Small: The Surprisingly Simple Way to Reach Big Goals is written by two of the founding members of the British Behavioural Insights Team. Also known as the Nudge Unit, this group of civil servants has the task of trying to influence behavior in the public sphere for the purpose of improving life in the United Kingdom. One of their projects was to improve the experience and effectiveness of the unemployment office. Another was to increase the collection rate for back taxes. Another was to increase the number of people who register as an organ donor when they renew their vehicle registration or driver’s license.

One of the hallmarks of the Nudge Unit is that they don’t make assumptions about what will work. Instead they test and learn. For example, in the organ donor project, they tested eight different messages to see which was most effective. The most successful message increased organ donor registrations by 96,000 people. The least successful actually reduced the number of registrations.

The key point here is when you start something new you won’t necessarily know what works best. Rather than adhering rigidly to your plan you need to be willing to make adjustments as you go along. This will not only improve your outcomes, it will also create momentum as you determine what will work best.

In essence, the question to ask yourself is, “Does it work?”
For example, Did changing the first line of a letter to tax delinquents by telling them how many other people have paid, result in more people paying on time? The answer was yes.
In another example the nudge unit sent a message with an infrared picture of peoples’ homes to show how much energy they were wasting. They compared that to the same message without the infrared image and asked, “Will the infrared picture get more people to insulate their homes?”

The answer was no. In fact it actually decreased the number of people who did so, possibly because the image showed a glowing home, might have been interpreted as lovely and cozy.

The idea of test and learn is that you are constantly asking the question, "Does it work?" It gives you permission to adjust as you go to improve outcomes. It acknowledges that even though you have an idea of what works best, you don't know for sure. I find this to be quite freeing. It enables me to give my best effort, but it also frees me to tweak my approach to get even better. It can work for you, too.

]]><![CDATA[lesson 34: How to Make Good Decisions]]>Mon, 19 Feb 2024 08:30:00 GMThttps://www.pdcbwc.org/level-up-lessons/lesson-34-how-to-make-good-decisions

If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that excellent leadership requires clear thinking and, consequently, good decision-making. When faced with uncertain challenges, inaction is not an option. However, the right kind of action makes all the difference.

In his book, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results, Shane Parrish writes that before you can think clearly, you need to deal with the enemies of clear thinking. These include letting our biases and emotions influence your thinking, as well as letting group norms influence us, even when we have our doubts.

I’ve found the most effective way to deal with my enemies of clear thinking is to pause, take a deep breath and ask, what is going on in me that gets in the way. This is where the curiosity muscle that I covered in the last video is so important.

A critical principle in good decision making is to focus on the process, not the outcome. In Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts, Annie Duke compares decision making to the difference between poker and chess.

“Life is more like poker. You could make the smartest, most careful decision…and still have it blow up in your face. You could run a red light and get through the intersection safely – or follow all the traffic rules and signals and end up in an accident. You could teach someone the rules of poker in five minutes, put them at a table with a world champion player, deal a hand (or several), and the novice could beat the champion. That could never happen in chess.”

A good decision can have a bad outcome and vice versa. Focus on your decision-making process, not the outcome.

There are two things you can do to improve your decision making process.

First, do a pre-mortem. This is when you and your team imagine that a course of action has failed, then work backwards to assess what can potentially lead to failure.

This leads to the second thing you can do, which is eliminate downside risk. By choosing decisions that may not have as big an upside, but minimize the downside risk, you can feel confident that no matter what happens, you can learn something and get better from whatever results.

One thing is clear. As a leader, you can’t afford to do nothing. So, instead, improve your process for doing something.

]]><![CDATA[lesson 33: Curiosity Will Make You a Better Leader (and 4 Ways to Get More Curious)]]>Mon, 12 Feb 2024 08:30:00 GMThttps://www.pdcbwc.org/level-up-lessons/lesson-33-curiosity-will-make-you-a-better-leader-and-4-ways-to-get-more-curious

When it comes to leadership, curiosity is a superpower. It’s been shown to foster engagement and productivity, promote innovation, enhance understanding and collaboration, and encourages a culture of continuous learning and growth.

Curiosity feels good and is good for you. It stimulates the release of dopamine, which increases pleasure and motivation, as well as increases focus and retention.
In his book, Seek: How Curiosity Can Transform Your LIfe and Change the World, Scott Shigeoka contends that curiosity is contagious. So, when you are curious, it also increases the likelihood that others will be curious. You facilitate a culture of curiosity.
Shigeoka also believes curiosity is like a muscle that can be strengthened. Here’s his four-step approach.

Detach — Let go of your ABCs (assumptions, biases, certainty) Realizing you don’t know everything will shift your perspective.
Intend — Prepare your mindset and setting Create space to build your curiosity muscle.
Value — See the dignity of every person, including yourself Acknowledge that each person has a unique perspective and has something to contribute
Embrace — Welcome the hard times in your life Recognize that challenges are opportunities for growth.

These steps are not necessarily sequential, nor do they need to be done all at once. The key is to build time for reflection into your life so that you can become more curious.
It’s like exercise, you’ll feel better AND you’ll be better.

]]><![CDATA[lesson 32: Progress Is Your Biggest Motivator]]>Mon, 05 Feb 2024 08:30:00 GMThttps://www.pdcbwc.org/level-up-lessons/lesson-32-progress-is-your-biggest-motivator

In their article "The Power of Small Wins," Teresa Amabile and Steven J. Kramer share their research on workplace motivation. They found that the daily events that ignited emotions and fueled motivation were the same for ordinary workers and famous innovators.

The secret? Incremental progress.

They write: "Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work. And the more frequently people experience that sense of progress, the more likely they are to be creatively productive in the long run."

This progress principle applies to any meaningful endeavor. Making progress toward a goal or developing a habit, creates a positive feedback loop. Not only will you be getting closer to your goal, but the progress itself will motivate you. You will get excited that things are actually happening. This will make you more likely to keep going.

This is why the micro-habits I mentioned in the last video are so important. When you are just beginning, the most important way to jump-start your effort is to make progress.
Incremental progress, small wins, will get you going and keep you going. And progress multiplies exponentially. It's the domino theory.

In his YouTube video, “Domino Chain Reaction,”vStephen Morris, PhD starts with a domino that is only five millimeters high and one millimeter thick. He then lines up 12 additional dominoes that are successively 1.5 times larger. The last domino is three feet tall and weighs 100 pounds. He knocks over the first domino, which results in all the dominos falling. A chain reaction started by a domino the size of a Tic Tac ultimately results in knocking down one that is the size of a very large dog.

Morris calculates that if he had another 16 dominoes, for a total of 29, the last would be as tall as the Empire State Building. This is the power of incremental progress.

It’s amazing what you can do when you focus on incremental progress. All you need to do is get started.

Domino Chain Reaction (geometric growth in action) (youtube.com)

]]><![CDATA[lesson 31: the power of micro habits]]>Mon, 29 Jan 2024 09:00:00 GMThttps://www.pdcbwc.org/level-up-lessons/lesson-31-the-power-of-micro-habits

The hardest part of change is getting started. Micro-habits help make that easier. They jump-start the process by doing everything possible to help you succeed in very small increments.

In his book The Healthy Habit Revolution, Derek Doepker shows that the most important part of developing a habit is getting started. He advocates using micro-habits to develop momentum. A micro-habit is something so small it’s almost impossible not to do it. In fact, you would likely scoff at it if somebody recommended it as your starting point.

Let’s say your goal is to read the Bible for 30 minutes per day first thing in the morning. A micro-habit would be to set a goal of sitting in the easy chair where you plan to read and holding your Bible for two minutes each day for the first seven days.

You don’t actually have to read it–just sit there with it. You may read it if you like, but your goal is satisfied after you sit for two minutes while holding it. This sounds laughable. But after seven days you are more likely to start reading the bible for five minutes per day. Then, after another week, for 15 minutes.

The important principle here is that micro habits help you to overcome the friction involved with starting. And once you get in the habit of starting, the rest is much easier.
Doepker puts it this way:
“Momentum creates motivation. Rather than trying to get yourself motivated before starting something, pick something so easy that you have no trouble getting started so that you create momentum—then the motivation will naturally follow. It may take a few days, weeks, or months to get into the groove, but eventually you’ll find things become almost effortless.”

If you can get started, you can get things done. That’s because progress is your biggest motivator. We’ll cover that in the next video.

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