“Fifty percent of my time is dedicated to leadership development,” says Steve Bush, who joined the staff of Real Life Christian Church (Clermont, FL) as administrative pastor after more than four decades in business.
Steve Bush
From his experience as a CEO, business development director, and manager in the agricultural supplies industry, Steve knew he needed a legitimate, proven tool to use with the Real Life team, particularly with its leaders – now numbering 100+.
He found one in Leading From Your Strengths.
The Profile Beta Test
The Real Life team had been using other assessments for employee development (including DISC, Strengths Finder, and ARNO), but nothing that adequately addressed leadership. “We needed a way to create a profile for our leaders to use in training and coaching,” says Steve. “One that targets each person’s strengths and weaknesses versus a ‘one size fits all’ approach.”
They came across Ministry Insights and Leading From Your Strengths through an internet search and decided to beta test the profile on a few staff leaders.
“We liked what we saw,” says Steve.
His own profile report accurately defined how Steve manages change and information in order to make sound decisions, confirming that he needs a good lead time to process information before using it. Steve shared this information with staff members who report directly to him, and he noticed that they made adjustments immediately.
Steve began referring to individual staff member profiles before starting a project. “The profile helps me know how each person will likely approach an assignment,” says Steve. “That shows me the best ways to delegate those tasks.”
Profiles Yield a Valuable By-Product
The leadership team invited Ministry Insights president Rodney Cox to travel to Florida and conduct a workshop for Real Life’s leaders. “That was a significant step in adopting LFYS for our staff,” says Steve. The written reports and Strengths Wheel gave team members concrete data to use to improve productivity.
Because of the information it shared and is so accurate, each team member better realized their differences and is willing to embrace those differences. In setting out to equip the church’s leaders to use their strengths more effectively, Steve and the Real Life team discovered a valuable by-product – one that Jesus desires for his people: unity (John 17:21).
“Our teams have become stronger and more effective by using the data from the profiles,” says Steve. “The end result has been unity on our team … which interestingly, is one of our core values.”
Soon, all 133 Real Life employees and many volunteer leaders on all 7 Real Life campuses had completed the assessment. “Today, using the Leading From Your Strengths profile is standard operating procedure for the church’s leadership development strategy,” says Steve.
Along the way, LFYS has become part of Real Life’s selection process for every new employee, too.
“It’s a great leadership tool,” says Steve. “We’re glad God led us to it.”
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