Leading Emotional Culture in Organizations

July 6, 2016 By Justin Irving

Though a bit staggered in the past weeks, I’m in mini-series engaging the importance of organizational culture. I began by engaging Why Organizational Culture Matters (“Why Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast”). In that post, I engaged the questions… What Is Organizational Culture? And, Why Does Organizational Culture Matter? Based on answers to these questions I concluded that leaders must focus on both smart strategy AND healthy culture in their leadership work. Next, I presented a case for Engaging the Emotional Side of Organizational... Read more

What is Your Experience with Poverty?

June 11, 2016 By Justin Irving

Poverty is not a theme I take up frequently in this blog, but it is one that is important to our societies in general and to many individuals at a personal level. In a previous post, I engaged the topic of Breaking the Cycle of Generational Poverty in the following manner: While many people experience individual poverty in their lives due to the loss of a job or another tragedy, generational poverty emphasizes patterns where two or more generations continue in... Read more

What Is Your Next Step in Leadership Training?

June 5, 2016 By Justin Irving

It is my pleasure to highlight leadership training resources that have just been published. In partnership with the Logos Mobile Ed team at Faithlife, over the past couple years we have been working on a set of course offerings now available here — Mobile Ed: Ministry Leadership Bundle (4 courses) As the demands of leadership grow in our day, the importance of thoughtful engagement with leadership training rises with it. Evidenced by the popularity of events such as the Global Leadership... Read more

How Do You Work in the 24/7 Culture?

May 31, 2016 By Justin Irving

The cover of a Harvard Business Review edition recently grabbed my attention — “Managing the 24/7 Workplace … ‘Always available’ cultures breed problems.” Facing the “Always Available” Workplace I’m not sure what your work environment looks like, but the reality of the 24/7 workplace is impacting an increasing number of sectors and an increasing number of employees. Reid and Ramarajan put it this way: “To satisfy those demands [of the high-intensity workplace], employees arrive early, stay late, pull all-nighters, work... Read more

Is Higher Education Worth It?

May 15, 2016 By Justin Irving

Graduation season is upon us. I celebrated with a friend at his graduation last week. In the coming week my university begins its marathon of multiple commencement services. And, by the end of the month I will be completing a third graduate degree. As I think about the importance of these events and the value of education in general, I’m reminded of several realities. Education Is a Good Investment First, education is a good investment of time and money. This is not... Read more

Engaging the Emotional Side of Organizational Culture

May 7, 2016 By Justin Irving

In a recent post I discussed Why Organizational Culture Matters. In that post, I engaged the questions… * What Is Organizational Culture? And, * Why Does Organizational Culture Matter? Based on answers to these questions I concluded that leaders must focus on both smart strategy AND healthy culture in their leadership work. The Emotional Side of Organizational Culture Providing an expanded and clarifying conversation on organizational culture, Barsade and O’Neill argue that while emotions are a vital part... Read more

Why Organizational Culture Matters: “Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast”

April 23, 2016 By Justin Irving

What Is Organizational Culture? Although the language of culture is used frequently, organizational members do not always understand what is meant by the term “organizational culture.” In his classic book on the subject (Organizational Culture and Leadership), Edgar Schein summarizes organizational culture as the accumulated shared learning of a give group. This shared learning is observed through a variety of organizational realities such as the way people behave, established group norms, and espoused values. Culture is essentially the organizational air... Read more

The Power of Vision, Part 5

April 17, 2016 By Justin Irving

I’m in a mini-series focused on the power of vision. Here’s a snapshot of where we’ve been in the series: In Part 1, I began by providing the following definition of vision: vision is a picture of a preferred future. Further, I described the major work of leaders as communicating this picture of a preferred future in a manner that is compelling and unifying. In Part 2, I engaged the capacity of vision to provide passion, motivation,direction, and purpose for life... Read more

The Power of Vision, Part 4

April 9, 2016 By Justin Irving

I’m in a mini-series focused on the power of vision. In Part 1 I began by providing the following definition of vision: vision is a picture of a preferred future. Further, I described the major work of leaders as communicating this picture of a preferred future in a manner that is compelling and unifying. In Part 2, I engaged the capacity of vision to provide passion, motivation, direction, and purpose for life and leadership. In Part 3, I engaged how... Read more

The Power of Vision, Part 3

March 29, 2016 By Justin Irving

I’m in a mini-series focused on the power of vision. I began by providing the following definition of vision: vision is a picture of a preferred future (see Part 1). Further, I described the major work of leaders as communicating this picture of a preferred future in a manner that is compelling and unifying. Last I engaged the capacity of vision to provide passion, motivation, direction, and purpose for life and leadership (see Part 2). This week I want to take some... Read more