Tag Archives: Leadership

Handing Over Power

I have had multiple conversations these past few weeks with pastors and leaders about the importance of healthy transitions, particularly as it relates to succession. Why? I am passionate about Jesus and the proclamation of His glory to the next generation. Over the decades I have repeatedly seen the destructive consequences of leaders who hand over power poorly. Andy Crouch says it best: “It is hard to think of many things that do more damage to an organization than leaders who have no plan for how they will hand over power…When leaders do not actively plan for the end of their power, and when we who are led by them allow them to indulge in fantasies of unending influence, they are idols, no matter how well disguised” (Strong and Weak, IVP 2016). I describe my own 4½-year interior succession process in the final 17 pages of The Emotionally Healthy Leader. Almost three years have. Read more.

The Leader’s Spouse: An EH Leader Podcast

Being a leader’s spouse is one of the most challenging roles a person can face in life – especially in the church. For this reason, we dedicated this podcast to talk with Geri about the hard lessons she has learned over the last 30 years in this area. In this podcast, you’ll hear Geri’s response to a number of questions such as: If the young spouse of a pastor came to you and asked, “Tell me one thing you wish you knew before you got started,” what might that be? How did you manage the pressure of people and their expectations? Why are concepts like differentiation and enmeshment so important if one is going to thrive as a leader’s spouse? Click below to watch the video or the link to listen to the audio file. Enjoy! LISTEN HERE – Pete @petescazzero

2016 EH Leadership Conference Now Available on Video

Our annual Emotionally Healthy Leadership Conference is the most comprehensive immersion experience we offer for pastors and leaders who want to implement EHS into their churches. I believe this past year, in particular, was our best to date. To keep this conference at the highest possible quality, we limit the number of participants to 350 people. (Many others, of course, participate via Live Streaming.) Yet thanks to modern technology, we can now make available the entire 2016 Conference to any person in the world who has access to a computer! So for the next 7 days, the 2016 EH Leadership Conference is available on digital download for $49.99. That is 50% off the regular $99.99 price. This 2016 EHL Conference download pack includes: All 8 EHL Conference Sessions Jesus’ Upside Down Spirituality Leadership that Goes Back to Go Forward Differentiation Applied: Climb the Ladder of Integrity Developing Mature Organizational Culture and Teams Slowing Down. Read more.

You Know You are a Perfectionist When…

Pursuing excellence in our leadership is a good thing. Perfectionism is not. Perfectionism, that refusal to accept a standard short of perfection, is the shadow side of excellence – undermining the best of who we are, limiting our ability to love, and damaging our leadership of others. How do I know? I know perfectionism so well in myself. Part of what makes us human is our imperfections and mistakes. Only God is perfect. At times I wonder if the church, in our desire to reach the world for Jesus, has hired a Pharaoh of perfectionism to help us. Sadly, many of us don’t need an external slave driver. We carry our own internal Pharaoh who drives us not to accept flaws and blemishes in our performance. The following are my top 10 signs that God uses to stop me when I fall into the sin of perfectionism: I am anxious – a lot. I. Read more.

Peak: Lessons for Disciple-Making

Occasionally, a seminal book emerges that challenges our way of thinking and opens up new possibilities. Two books have done that for me in 2016 – Reclaiming Conversation by Sherry Turkle (a book I reviewed in this blog), and Peak by Anders Ericsson. For the last 30 years Ericsson has been studying expert performers and prodigies from scientists, to amazing athletes, to brain surgeons, to Olympian gymnasts, to composers, to fighter pilots. Peak is an easy read with fascinating stories of people like Mozart. The book challenged me in thinking about the way we teach, make disciples, and develop new leaders. The following are my top 5 learnings: Deliberate Practice. Nobody develops extraordinary ability without a tremendous amount of practice Top performers have dedicated a large amount of time to develop their abilities. In fact, they keep seeking to improve even when they reach the top of their field. With deliberate practice, things are. Read more.

Jesus: The Relaxed Leader

One reason to regularly meditate on the life of Jesus is his modeling of mature, Spirit-filled leadership. We see this, for example, in his response to the massive defection of his followers after his bread of life sermon: “Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went with him” (John 6:66). Jesus’ brothers panicked. He had lost thousands of followers and the movement appeared to be on the verge of extinction. They urged him to get to Jerusalem as soon as possible and regain momentum, to make an impression. “Do something. You’re losing everyone – leaders, crowds, disciples. Even we have our doubts!” Jesus, however, remained relaxed. This passage powerfully speaks to me because of how many times I have led out of anxiety and fear, especially in situations where it appeared momentum was waning. Jesus offers us 5 keys to becoming a relaxed leader: 1. Remember the sovereignty of. Read more.

FREE Christmas Sermon Prep Webinar

Join Pete Scazzero on December 5th at 2 pm ET

Christmas Sermon Prep Webinar

Personal Assessment

How Emotionally Healthy Are You?
Take a free 15 minute personal assessment now!