S7E13: 3 Practical Keys to Make Your Strategy and Leadership Sustainable

Do you think about improving the effectiveness organization by engaging your employees in discussion groups? Jos Snoep, President and CEO of Bible League International, talks about approaches to help inspire your employees by connection vision to their work. Jos began his ministry with Bible League International in the Netherlands in 2005, and he has served in various leadership roles before assuming the position of president several years ago. Listen in as we discuss practical ways to be sure your strategy and leadership is sustainable.   

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In this episode:

• Jos, before we dive into the topic of leadership and strategy, remind our listeners about the vision and mission of Bible League International, and your impact in spreading the Good News. (02:34)
• Bible League International's vision is to engage everyone in God's word (02:44)
• At Best Christian Workplaces Institute we talk about sustainable strategy as what happens when a sound strategy is embedded in an organization's culture. It's how an organization accomplishes its mission. Bible League International is known for having a sustainable strategy. What are some specific ways you equip and release your people and teams for sustainable strategy – to accomplish the mission? (03:44)
• You're never going to be perfect; it is a work in progress (04:27)
• "One of the things that is really important for us is to help people understand really what they're a part of. I don't think people are motivated by rules or by tasks or necessarily by goals that you set for them. People are motivated by vision. We try to provide the opportunity, provide the ability for everyone who is. apart of this organization to know the mission, to know the vision."  (04:35)
• "One of the things that we do is to connect the vision with the strategic themes in our organization—it's something called our mission-vision meetings (05:07)
• "The second thing is to create a culture where people feel part of the mission and the vision. They know what the values are, they know the philosophies of how we want to work together, and they create a space for people to be part of that. To be able to collaborate and innovate, to be empowered to make decisions." (05:57)
• "A third aspect is making sure people have an opportunity be trained in the mission and vision and how their role contributes to that." (06:21)
• It sounds like there is a high level of trust – between you and those you work with. When you are bringing on a new leader or promoting someone to a new role, how do you make sure they will be a good fit with the culture that you have at Bible League International? (07:56)
• Be consistent. Have a consistent message and a consistent way of working and developing your culture overall (08:32)
• Bible League International started in 1938. As a leader, you are stewarding an organization that is more than 80 years old. What are some timeless principles that you hold on to as you guide the organization? And where do you see the need to adapt and change to lead into the future? (10:01)
• "These values are: Prayer, Calling, Service, Unity, Integrity, and Vision." (10:57)
• Jos, you have talked in the past about how you don’t make executive decisions, but you purposefully want to be in a process where you guide decision-making. Can you share some examples of how this style of decision-making is effective in employee engagement? (12:53)
• "People want to be heard. they want to be part of something. They want to be part of the solution. They will be part of the solution if you really listen to them and engage with them and allow decision-making to happen in the community rather than top-down from a leader." (13:07)
• You lead an international organization, with people from many different cultural backgrounds. In my new book, Road to Flourishing, you said, “Listening to people creates diversity in itself because it means different voices are coming to the table. It creates innovation because you have different perspectives from all around the globe.” As you bring voices to the table to share ideas, sometimes healthy conflict can come out of these energetic discussions. Does your organization have some practices on how to handle healthy conflict when you are dealing with diverse ideas and cultural differences? (20:20)
• Bible League International makes the Word of God available to people around the world. So, there is definitely a spiritual dimension to your leadership. How do you nurture your own relationship with God so you can effectively lead and shepherd the people God has entrusted to your leadership?  (23:41)
• A relationship with God through prayer and through being in his word. We're doing his work; we need to be in tune with what his mission is and how we communicate that through his word to us. If we lose that connection, we might as well stop. Being part of a local church community. Some accountable partners that I have breakfast with once in a while. Conversation with peers; talking with other leaders about what they are experiencing. (24:08)

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