S7E27: How Inspirational Leaders Guide Their People Through Change and Innovation

In this episode you’ll learn how to build a flourishing workplace culture that drives the ministry impact of your organization, your church, or your company. Listen as Dr. Jennifer Holloran with Wycliffe Bible Translators shares her insights on how to lead through change and innovation.

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In this episode:

• How Jennifer's human-resources background and education prepared her for her current role. (02:15)
• "And additionally, because H.R. worked so closely with manager and staff at all levels, you learn a lot about how people think and feel and respond to various situations, and you get a valuable look into how other departments function, which are useful skills in any leadership role." (03:42)
• There have been other changes in the senior leadership at Wycliffe the last few years. Dr. John Chestnut just came in as the CEO just in 2019 (04:10)
• How you built trust and communication between leaders and staff that you've moved through this season of transition and change. (04:34)
• "And a big part of that is our shared commitment and our vision, our mission, our core values, and in our direction together." (04:51)
• "We're very quick to forgive, because we recognize that this is going to be part of working together with differences and with differences of opinion, and we want to be able to do that effectively." (05:38)
• "We lay a shared spiritual-formation process together so that we're continually working and talking about spiritual topics and unity together." (06:01)
• Producing a devotional series called Deeply Rooted. Asking team members to go through the content together in a discussion (07:19)
• Weekly opportunity for staff to gather together online or in person (07:46)
• What are some lessons learned and new practices for people management or operations that you're beginning to carry out and look forward to in the next season? (08:27)
• "Hybrid reality means that we've had to consider how to provide the right balance of flexibility and accountability." (09:26)
• "People are mentally and emotionally tired. And so we have to think about how that impacts our staff’s capacity for change and to take that into account as we think about progress." (10:34)
• You're stewarding an organization with a long history, really a long and storied history. You know, what are some of the principles that you hold onto as you guide the organization? And, you know, where do you see the need to adapt and change even as you lead into the future? (12:52)
• One is the value of dependence on God (13:33)
• A value for unity across the body of Christ (14:34)
• A value of service to all (15:04)
• "We're in the process of a generational transition in the workplace, and we need to pay attention to the gifts and abilities that God is giving to the younger generation as they enter the workforce so that we're prepared to welcome them into the work." (16:38)
• What are some of the opportunities and challenges of staying on the cutting edge of innovative practice? What are some of the opportunities and challenges of staying on the cutting edge of innovative practices? (18:16)
• "I have to say that all of the innovation that's taking place in Bible translation happens in partnership, and it's through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit." (18:26)
• Keep the end user at the center of the conversation (19:10)
• Have divergent thinking when developing ideas (19:45)
• Testing ideas in small ways (20:09)
• Some of the key paths that helped you move forward in your career (23:28)
• How can you apply what you're laying in the space that God has given you? (24:55)
• How can you help those around you blossom and thrive? (25:07)
• "I had wonderful leaders along the way who invested in my development, gave me the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone using things like stretch assignments." (26:56)
• I'm curious how you create growth opportunities for those you lead, especially given your background, and the ways that you've been able to grow over the course of time. (28:10)
• Carry out annual succession planning and pay attention to emerging leaders (29:00)
• What are some of the practices that you are finding important in creating a cohesive and highly functioning team? (32:16)
• "It makes a big difference in team effectiveness when you start with people who are that great mix of hungry, humble, and smart." (32:28)
• "I also consider building trust, learning how to have constructive conflict about ideas, clearly communicating with each other, being accountable to one another, and measuring results together are all extremely important facets of what it looks like to have a team that's working cohesively." (32:38)

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