I grew up in Edmond, OK, a suburb of Oklahoma City. When I was teenager back in the 90s, I started hearing about some church being run out of a garage. Didn’t give it much thought then. Fast forward more than twenty years later, and Life.Church now has over 30 campuses across 10 states, and is often ranked as the largest church in America.
Today on the show I talk to the guy who started this thing in a garage, and has stood at the helm of its tremendous growth, to glean his insights on leadership and strategy. His name is Craig Groeschel, and he’s the founder and head pastor at Life.Church. We discuss Craig's philosophy on leadership and managing the growth of a large organization, how he balances innovation with stability, how an organization can stay nimble even as it gets bigger, how you have to relinquish control in order to get growth, and why leaders need to go out of their way to show people they’re noticed and needed.
We then discuss the personal side of leadership, including how to balance work and life, how to avoid letting administrative duties kill your creativity, and how to handle criticism.
Whether you're a leader in a business or a non-profit, you’re going to find lots of actionable advice in this show.
Show Highlights
What Craig did before he started Life.Church and why he was turned down for ordination on his first go
How do you measure success when the goal is more spiritual/emotional in nature?
How does Life.Church continually innovate while also maintaining stability?
Why "needed and known" is an important philosophy for any leader
How does the large organization of Life.Church stay agile?
Why Life.Church fights against rules
How to give up control as a leader
Why flying by the seat of your pants isn't necessarily a bad thing
How Craig balances the CEO aspects of his job with the creative aspects
Why Craig puts artificial deadlines on everything
Fighting the loneliness and isolation that comes with being a leader
Dealing with criticism and critiques
How to figure out which criticisms to pay attention to and which to ignore?
How do you keep volunteers motivated?
Long-term planning and setting a vision for a large organization
Why Craig doesn't care for numbers-based goals
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