Steve Brown, Arrow Leadership

What if you could savor the improvement in the performance of individuals, teams, and entire departments across your organization?

Recently, I raised this idea with Steve Brown, President of Arrow Leadership. This thriving ministry organization was founded by Leighton Ford, brother-in-law of Billy Graham with whom he served in ministry for 30 years. As Leighton began exploring retirement and passing the leadership baton, he realized they had been so focused on doing ministry they hadn’t been developing the next generation. He chose to step back from direct evangelism ministry to create Arrow Leadership which, in Steve’s words, “develops Jesus-centered leaders who are led more by Jesus, lead more like Jesus and lead more to Jesus.”

How is Arrow Leadership realizing this vision? The answer lies with four commitments. (To what degree does this “quartet of conviction” ring true with you?)

1. The Commitment to Build a Healthy, Flourishing Culture

Says Steve, “Healthy, flourishing culture is important to us to help us maximize our impact. We won’t do that if our culture isn’t flourishing.

Reality Check: Do you know the true, measurable health of your workplace culture and how it’s affecting your organizational impact? 

2. The Commitment to Uplifting Growth

As you’ve been following our blog and podcasts, you know that Uplifting Growth is the fourth of eight proven factors that drive the health of every workplace culture. Arrow’s workplace culture is thriving today, because Steve and senior leadership team, have caught the reality that Uplifting Growth is all about developing the performance of individuals, groups and the overall organization. Growth comes from job-related experience, educational events, and interaction with others, such as managers, mentors, and coaches. Uplifting Growth is all about learning new things that increase an employee's engagement and allows the organization to maintain and improve its effectiveness.

Reality check: On a 1 (nah!)-10 (totally!) scale, how important is it for you and your organization to pay attention to Uplifting Growth?

3. The Commitment to Look into the Mirror

“More and more, today leaders are longing for a safe place to slow down, process life and leadership. However, because of fear, pride, time pressures, and lack of connections, they’re often going it alone. Do you have a safe place where you regularly and intentionally process life and leadership? Who have you invited and given permission to speak into your life and your development?”

With Christ-like integrity, Steve has realized the need from the lessons he offers others in his book, Leading Me: Eight Practices for a Christian Leader’s Most Important Assignment.

“A Christian leader’s most important assignment is the person you see in the mirror: you.

“I have organizational leadership challenges of vision, strategic planning, resourcing, HR and culture. I have team leadership challenges--right people, alignment, high performance, etc. However, my biggest leadership challenge is actually the guy I look at in the mirror each morning, me. How am I going to lead myself, well?

Reality check: Who do you see when you look in the mirror?

[shareable cite="Steve Brown"]Flourishing culture is important to us to help us maximize our impact."[/shareable]

4. The Commitment to Grow

A big reason behind Arrow's effectiveness is their commitment to grow individual and team capacity for a life in Christ. Steve “opens” three windows to better see this goal:

• If you had three years to live, how would you spend your time? Jesus used this timeframe to invest in 3 confidants (Peter, James and John; 12 disciples and 72 messengers to spread the message.
• Jesus built up team, “equipping his people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:11).
• Paul’s heart and practice of love, prayer, encouragement, and teaching (I Thessalonians) is living out of a commitment to grow others.

            Reality check: Which of these three strategies inspires you the most? 

If I could choose a champion of Uplifting Growth and overall health of our workplace culture here at BCWI, Steve Brown might be that person.

Surely, there’s more than one individual in your organization who are already leading the way thanks to you and what you bring.

It's Your Turn

What one colleague at work would most value what Steve Brown has to say?

Coming Up Next on our Continuing Series

“How to Wisely Compensate Your Employees”
Giselle Jenkins, Director of Consulting Services
BCWI

Additional Resource