Author Archives: Alden

Leadership as gift-giving

In Chapter 15 of our book The Gospel Uncensored, Ken Blue and I discuss the reciprocal nature of leadership, and how many, if not most, church leadership structures are inherently abusive. The principles apply not only to churches, but across … Continue reading

Posted in Churches and other Non-Profit Groups, Leadership | 1 Comment

The Secret of True Leadership

Ask not what your country can do for you— ask what you can do for your country. Most of us recognize the above quote as coming from John F. Kennedy’s January 20, 1961 inaugural address (or at least coming from … Continue reading

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Managers: Don’t create unnecessary conflict

Managers have a rather distinctive ability in an organization to create conflict. While everyone has that potential—and we’ve all known co-workers who seem particularly gifted in this regard—managers are uniquely situated to cause as much conflict as possible. Therefore, it … Continue reading

Posted in Conflict Coaching, Leadership | Leave a comment

Seth Godin on Leadership

I am currently reading Seth Godin’s book Tribes. Interestingly, he is discussing some of the same, or similar, concepts I raised in my last post, Don’t manage, lead! I like it when smart people think like I do, only better. … Continue reading

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Don’t manage, lead!

The world is full of managers; what we need are more leaders. Management is a negative concept I believe “manage” is a negative term. The implication is that things are not what they should be, and need to be controlled. … Continue reading

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