Ron Edmondson

APRIL 13, 2023

There are many mistakes we make as pastors. I’m certain I make one nearly everyday. This post is only about one mistake. Only one, but one of the worst mistakes pastors make. Frankly, I’m as guilty of this one as anyone. I think most of us are prone to making this mistake – in any realm of leadership. Here is one of the worst mistakes pastors make in leadership: Allowing a few negative voices to overwhelm us.

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Audience Edmondson Energy Leadership 74

Ron Edmondson

MARCH 8, 2023

Often teams get in trouble by confusing activity with progress. This principle works in many areas of life. You’ll find it helpful in businesses, organizations, churches, relationships and in your personal life. Co nfusing activity with progress can be costly. I once wrote that growth covers over a multitude of problems. (Read that post HERE.) I know many organizations and people that mistakenly believe for a time (before it catches up with them) that busyness means things are moving in the r

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Short-term Long-term Objective Edmondson 58

Ron Edmondson

MARCH 7, 2023

The Challenge for me as a senior leader is to regularly communicate the big picture vision I have in my head. Of course, the idea behind those cute, well-worded statements is to communicate vision and mission. Yet, those are usually very broad statements. They can be lofty and aspirational even. And they should be. They will often last a long time. I am referring to the dreams I am currently dreaming.

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Ron Edmondson

DECEMBER 5, 2022

Every organization needs both protectors and advancers. A successful entrepreneur gave me this advice a number of years ago. Shortly into our meeting he dropped this nugget of insight. He didn’t unpack it a lot, but I found interesting enough that it caused me to further reflect. (Side note: These kind of comments are why I always have something with me with which to take notes when I meet with people.

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Organization Budgeting Short-term Edmondson 55

Ron Edmondson

OCTOBER 18, 2022

I’ve learned over the years that if you want to have excellence on your team it will often come with quirks. I heard of a very well known band who demanded Skittles and M&M’s in their dressing room prior to the show. But there was always one color, which had to be removed. And the color consistently changed. If the band showed up and the requirement wasn’t fulfilled exactly as requested they would pitch a fit.

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Edmondson Learning-by-Doing Team Creativity 72

Ron Edmondson

OCTOBER 17, 2022

Are you an easy to follow leader? I might ask – are you followable? Followable may not be a Scrabble approved word – or even a word, but the application and the intent of the word is huge. Leaders who are easy to follow inspire people to join them on a journey and they develop loyalty from their team. A couple of good questions to ask yourself: Do people want to follow my lead?

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Quality Loyalty Edmondson Learning-by-Doing 67

Ron Edmondson

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

In this episode of The Ron Edmondson Leadership Podcast Ron and Chandler Vannoy discuss some good reasons for a leader to say no. Most leaders struggle at some point with overcommitment. We take on more than we can or should do and it impacts the quality of our leadership and personal life. Perhaps we simply need some good reasons to say no. In this episode, good reasons for a leader to say no.

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Edmondson Consultative Review Quality 67

Ron Edmondson

SEPTEMBER 21, 2022

How does a team become idle? . Team idleness is a term I use to describe a team failing to move forward towards its desired goals and objectives. The term simply means things have stalled. Therefore, team idleness means for a span of time there is no – or very little – forward progress for the team. It could be a month or several months.

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Ron Edmondson

AUGUST 29, 2022

I’m a leader. Yet, many times I submit to people I lead. We need good leadership. I might even say without leadership – in a big picture perspective – nothing of great value ever happens. I spend a bulk of this blog trying to speak into the practice of good leadership. But, as much as leadership is important, without good followers nothing of great value ever happens either.

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Delegation Edmondson Learning-by-Doing Commitment 69

Ron Edmondson

AUGUST 2, 2022

Pastors and spouses can find true friends. Really, they can. Of course, people talk. People gossip. People love to share what they hear. And that’s true of what they hear from a pastor too. So, if the pastor talks about personal life, shares a concern – heaven forbid shares a sin or weakness – people will talk. I’ve personally been burned several times by trusting the wrong people with information.

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Ron Edmondson

AUGUST 4, 2022

As a result of planting two churches, I’ve spoken with dozens of people wrestling with a call to be a church planter. They want to discuss the biggest challenges they will face in planting. The challenges are the same almost every time. These are usually transferable to all church pastorates, but especially planters. 3 challenges for every church planter: Finances.

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Ron Edmondson

MAY 3, 2022

In this episode of The Ron Edmondson Leadership Podcast Ron and Chandler Vannoy are unpacking 5T Leadership. This may seem to be a self-serving podcast – and in some ways it probably is, but in this episode, I share more about the model of consulting and coaching I am doing these days. I actually think unpacking this might spur some needed conversations in your organization.

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Ron Edmondson

MAY 2, 2022

I once consulted with a church struggling to move forward. The pastor had been there a couple years, had a great vision and was supported by most everyone, there were adequate resources, the community needed a healthy church (as all do), but they never could get any traction. I quickly assessed that they needed to create unity in the church in order to move forward.

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Ron Edmondson

MARCH 8, 2022

In this episode of The Ron Edmondson Leadership Podcast Ron and Chandler Vannoy discuss ways to help creative people thrive in your organization. I (Ron) learned the hard way that creative people don’t need blank slates to perform at their highest level. What will make them successful? In this episode, we discuss ways to help creative people thrive.

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Creativity Edmondson Review Organization 58

Ron Edmondson

NOVEMBER 18, 2021

Perhaps the hardest decision a leader makes is when to release someone from employment. I’ve only known a few callous people who weren’t extremely burdened by having to fire someone. Making any kind of employment decision comes with the sobering reality, regardless of what the person did wrong, that the decision will likely impact others who are many times innocent.

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Ron Edmondson

NOVEMBER 1, 2021

Years ago, I read an article by Raymond P. Rood’s entitled “ How Then Should Organizations Live ”. (I can’t find a link for the article now. ) Rood made the point that every organization has three basic needs. This philosophy resonated with me and, based on my experience, I can see how it relates to the churches, businesses, and non-profits I have led. 3 things every organization needs to thrive: Growth.

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Organization Maturity Bureaucracy Edmondson 62

Ron Edmondson

OCTOBER 11, 2021

The beginning days are critical in leadership transitions. I’ve learned the impressions created in the initial days – positive or negative – are often hard to overcome. The momentum a new leader should have can be jeopardized by the environment created during the opening days of his or her leadership tenure. Therefore, I make three requests of teams I lead in the opening days of my leadership transition.

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Leadership Learning-by-Doing Bottom-up Team 60

Ron Edmondson

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

Leader, if it is “ driving you crazy” (Which is a phrase I often hear leaders say about their organization, their team members, or things that are impacting them at the time.) . Whether it’s a systems issue, a personnel issue, or an issue with the progress (or lack thereof) from your team, there are not many options. You can boil them down to a couple of main decisions. .

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Ron Edmondson

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

Want to “shoot yourself in the foot” as a pastor? Hopefully, through this blog and my conference speaking I have established myself as someone that loves pastors. I came into vocational ministry mid-career and it gave me a unique perspective on the role. I want pastors to succeed. Of course, no one would intentionally cripple their ministry, but I have seen some ways pastors get into trouble if they aren’t careful.

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Ron Edmondson

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

Let me introduce you to something I’ve been working on for years, but formalized over the last few weeks. Introducing 5T Leadership. In my previous post , I shared that we were in another life transition. Here’s part of what’s next. 5TLeadership. Ron (and his strategic partners) coach and consult churches, organizations and leaders in 5 critical areas of leadership.

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Ron Edmondson

AUGUST 12, 2021

There is one hard truth about leadership every leader must understand, but is difficult to receive by some leaders. The probability is good you won’t like this truth either. The one hard truth of leadership: Not everyone will agree with you – or even like you – if you are a leader. That’s hard, isn’t it? All of us – at a certain level – like to be liked.

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Ron Edmondson

APRIL 1, 2021

There are times I’m a better leader than other times. Over the years, I’ve observed that many times there are things that simply weaken my leadership. When I allow these things to get in the way I am less effective as a leader. Sometimes this is my fault. Other times the cause is unavoidable. If we can identify what interrupts the effectiveness of our leadership, we can become better leaders.

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Ron Edmondson

MARCH 11, 2021

In this episode of The Ron Edmondson Leadership Podcast with Ron and Nate , Ron shares how leaders create capacity. Capacity can be defined as the ability or power to do, experience, or understand something. We all need more capacity. A leader can only do so much. The team can only do so much. Capacity helps us do more. Great leaders know the more capacity the organization has the more potential it has to accomplish its mission.

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Ron Edmondson

FEBRUARY 15, 2021

Some of my best leadership principles developed while watching other leadership efforts – or lack thereof. It was an average day experience that shaped one of my “go to” principles to handle little things before they become big things. The story: . Cheryl and I were in a grocery store. We turned a corner from one aisle into a main aisle and instantly saw a gentleman slip and fall.

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Ron Edmondson

DECEMBER 19, 2020

But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. Luke 2:10-11. As I read the Scriptures, the ability to have joy is a gift. We may not always be “happy” with our circumstances, but we can have joy.

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Ron Edmondson

NOVEMBER 30, 2020

Clarity is often king in organizational dynamics. Words do matter and clear communication is vital for healthy teams. As hard as it is for me to zero in on one idea, I know a huge part of my job as a leader is to help people understand our vision and where we are going next to try to realize it (as well as I know at the time). At the same time, there will be a certain fuzziness on a healthy team. .

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Ron Edmondson

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

I try to always be strategic in leadership. All leadership involves change. You can’t avoid it and lead. Sometimes you can change simply because you have a new idea. I have learned, however, there are some times when leaders must strategically introduce change. There are times the “gut call” comes in handy for a leader. Leaders often must make quick and decisive decisions. 2020 taught us that if nothing else.

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Ron Edmondson

OCTOBER 21, 2020

My story is simple. While enjoying starting a church , my established home church was struggling. It caused me to question what would become of all the established churches. That burning question in my heart lined with a church in need of revitalization. I agreed to be their pastor. The rest is my history. We have help start two churches and helped revitalize three others.

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Ron Edmondson

OCTOBER 1, 2020

I’ve learned there are some common – often hidden – objections to change. These are secret objections. No one admits to these, but they are real. In fact, they may be the biggest obstacles you’ll have to face in implementing change. Show me an objection to change and you’re almost guaranteed to find one of these hidden in the crowd somewhere.

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Ron Edmondson

AUGUST 18, 2020

You’re familiar with the common scenario where someone half-jokingly asks for advise for a “friend” Everyone knows the “friend” is actually the person asking the question. Well, that scenario happens in leadership all the time. I call it: The question behind the question. The question behind the question may be the more important question.

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Ron Edmondson

AUGUST 17, 2020

Good leaders are appreciative of the people they lead. I must admit, I’m not naturally wired for this. Truth is, I can be guilty of expecting too much from people. I don’t always feel the need to acknowledge “normal” work people do – especially when they are being paid to do it. All of us enjoy hearing we did a good job. Some people are even fueled by it.

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Ron Edmondson

AUGUST 13, 2020

(This is a guest post by my friend Pastor Adam Weber. Read his bio at the end of this post and check out his new book Love Has a Name.). I never cease to be amazed by how many Facebook friends we can have and yet many of us feel like we don’t have one friend we can call when we’re struggling. Not one person we can sit with when we’re hurting. Not one person to keep us on the right path when we’re being tempted.

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Ron Edmondson

JULY 20, 2020

This post originated after I received the following message from a pastor friend: “I have a new full-time associate pastor starting next week. What suggestions would you give for getting such a person off to a great start?” What a great question! Through the years I have hired hundreds of people. I don’t do a lot of things right, but finding good people seems to be one of my strengths.

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Ron Edmondson

JULY 6, 2020

I spend a good amount of my ministry investing in younger leaders and I love it, because it fuels me to know something I’ve learned – often through trial and error – might help another leader avoid my mistakes. This is one of those type posts. Here are 5 nuggets of wisdom, young leaders: The more specific you are the more other people can help you.

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Ron Edmondson

JUNE 17, 2020

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God…” Deuteronomy 29:29. Make your plans. Work your plans. That’s good leadership. I’m an advocate of strategic leadership. I don’t believe the church should run from leadership. We need it, just as does any other organization of people. God uses men and women to lead His people.

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Ron Edmondson

MARCH 16, 2020

There are times when a pastor is launched into the role of being a community pastor. At this point, it doesn’t matter the size of the church or the notoriety of the pastor. The community is looking for the pastor to lead. Many pastors are experiencing this phenomenon now with the outbreak of the COVID-19 Coronavirus. Because many weren’t able to have in-person services, the online services exploded.

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Ron Edmondson

MARCH 2, 2020

Criticism accompanies leadership. We shouldn’t be surprised when it comes; especially when we are leading change. (Which is what leaders do.). Make any decision and some will agree and some won’t. The only way to avoid criticism as a leader is to do nothing. If a leader is taking an organization somewhere, and really even if he or she isn’t, someone will criticize his or her efforts.

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