Today's Faith-Based Leader Needs Christian Leadership Coaching

Over the years, 80% - 95% of my business has been working with Christian owners, professionals, executives, leaders and pastors.

Christian Leadership Coaching is for people who want to be coached versus need to be coached. They want to break through their often self-imposed thinking and limits. In their own words they want:

• "To get clear about the Lord’s direction for my career"

• "To get away from the edge of burnout"

• "I work very late in the office and I can’t seem to catch up"

• "Leadership skill development"

• "I need assistance in relating to the board and bringing them into the decision making process"

• "The director’s inability to lead the ministry in a way that my contribution is maximized"

• "I need help in making a smooth transition of leadership"

• "Spend consistent time with the Lord"

• "Regain my passion and desire for the things God has called me to do"

• "Growth spiritually"

Why Gary?

In order to know who I am, how I work and why I want to work with you you need to know my heart. I don’t know you yet. I'm looking forward to it, and until that happens I want you to know about me before you decide to call me. It will help you make a clear decision for the benefit of coaching.

It wasn’t long after God had brought me into a relationship with Himself in 1971 that I realized my thinking had changed and it was my new life purpose to serve Him. It didn’t matter whether I was a butcher, baker or candlestick maker; I wanted my life to be purposeful and available to the Master for His direction. God had graciously brought my then fiancee Alice back to Himself and Alice felt the same.

After all these years we are still on mission. Our life continues to be an adventure.

To say that Christian Leadership Coaching is my job would be understated. Coaching is an assignment, given by God, where He uses me to make a difference in the lives of others.

1 Corinthians 3:5 says that the “Lord has assigned to each his task.” My key assignment at this period of my life is to provide the very best coaching available today to Christian leaders.

I passionately believe that everyone has the potential to do better. We are endowed by the Creator to change and grow and be the best we can be at whatever He gives us to do. Christians especially ought to understand this and act on it.

And God for His own good reasons has journeyed me thorough the twists and turns of life and leadership ... learning, changing, growing, to outfit and prepare me as a Christian who excels at coaching other Christians who hold important positions of leadership wherever God has placed them.

I have been amazed at the people I have got to work with. I have often thought, “Who am I to be here for such a time as this in this person’s life or in the history of this organization or business?”

Individuals, executives or leadership from organizations like:

Christian Camping International

Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

Food for the Hungry

AWANA Canada

AWANA Ukraine

Christian Coaches Network

Future Vision Ministries

Willow Creek Canada

Canadian Legal Fellowship

Fellowship of Evangelical Baptists

… and more … Not to mention all the individual self-employed business people, church pastors, leaders and boards, executives, professionals, directors, managers and star sales executives … in business, nonprofit, government and ministry.

Because of being in the forefront of Christian Leadership Coaching, I've been privileged to present at conferences, do on-site coaching, and work with leadership and coach key decision makers.

There is nothing about me that stands out except that by God’s grace, together we do some great work. They gain big insights and take responsibility to change and go farther than they ever thought possible. We often see the fingerprint of God all over it.

I make my living be being a paid Coach. I fulfil my mission by moving you and your goals forward. I really live if you and your goals reflect the purposes of a heavenly Father. To me ... that ... is what Christian Leadership Coaching is all about.

What Makes Gary's Coaching Christian?

What makes my coaching Christian then?

One - “Christian coaches use many of the same techniques that are used by their secular counterparts. But Christian coaching is unique in a number of ways. First and foremost is the biblical worldview that the Christian coach brings to the relationship.”

“Like everyone else, we seek to become aware of our passions, life purposes, inner strengths, and visions for the future. But Christians realize that these are God-given and that we find ultimate fulfillment only when we’re living in accordance with God’s plans. For the Christian coaches, God – not human ingenuity is at the core of their beings, and God is the guide for all coaching work.”

Two – “If you’re a Christian, seeking to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, you’ll approach every aspect of your life from this perspective. Your commitment to Christ will impact your marriage, parenting, lifestyle, values, spending, time management, vocation, and the perspectives you bring to coaching. What we believe influences who we are and that in turn impacts everything we do.”

Three – “Coaches seek to avoid imposing their own agendas on persons being coached. We rarely advise, and we never tell people what they should do. Instead, we encourage people to set their own goals and directions, crystallize their own visions, and formulate their own mission statements and plans of action.

But we can’t ignore the clear and final directive of Jesus to his followers: make disciples. As we have seen, coaching is not discipleship, but we want the people we coach to ultimately become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

The previous sentence will be challenged by many professional coaches who believe that our role is to be neutral. But no coach can be completely neutral. Even if we strive to keep our values and perspectives tightly hidden, Christian coaches cheer inside when others move in directions that are consistent with biblical teaching and we’re disappointed when they move away.”

Four – “Although the Christian coach is committed to learning and applying the established techniques of coaching, he or she also prays regularly for the person being coached and is not reluctant to discuss spiritual issues, especially in working with Christians who share worldviews and values similar to those of the coach.

Christian values aren’t attached to coaching like a caboose hooked to the end of a train. Christian values permeate the life of the Christian coach and flow into coaching, even as we respect the uniqueness or individualities of persons being coached and fully affirm their right to build lives on values that we might consider not to be Christian.”

What Does Coaching Have to do with Leadership?

In “Leadership By the Book:Tools to Transform Your Workplace” (Waterbrook/Morrow 1999), Ken Blanchard, Bill Hybels, and Phil Dodge tell us directly that “Coaching is a form of servant leadership that helps people accomplish their goals.”

Gary Collins further says, “Today, good coaching is the key element in producing good leaders. In changing times, to be a good leader you must be a good coach. And to be a good coach, you must recognize that coaching is a significant and increasingly emerging form of leadership and leadership training…

Coaching is a special kind of relationship. It’s a partnership with a purpose, marked by honesty, respect, and mutual goals. Good coaches exhibit the servant leadership that Jesus demonstrated in his life and talked about in Matthew 20:20-28.

Great leaders do not lord their leadership over people, exercise controlling authority, or jockey to get positions of prominence. Great leaders, instead, are great servers. The same is true of great coaches…”

Get Clarity and Take Action

One of the coach’s first jobs then is to help the people they coach grasp this awareness. If we know what is controlling or bothering us, we can do something about it. But if we don’t have that awareness, we have no control.

However, people can have all the insights and clarity in the world, yet not experience any change because they won’t take responsibility for doing something about their situation.

Effective Christian leadership coaching won’t let this go on for long. They know that good coaching is concentrated on getting greater awareness and then stimulating focused action.” (Gary Collins) Again I encourage you to read Gary's book for the full discussion of this topic.

Working with Gary Wood

• "My continual lateness when I am to be at meetings with people"

• "I want to run. I don’t know how to take care of myself."

• "Too many speaking engagements"

• "Conflict management"

• "Strained relationships"

• "Compassion fatigue"

• "Upgrade my decision making process"

• "Sitting on too many boards and committees"

• "Self management"

I want you to be a visionary and effective leader. I don’t know where you are running into challenges. Maybe it is about problems that seem insurmountable. Maybe it is about possibilities that seem a whole lot bigger than you.

I think we can do something together.

I’ll promise to be the best Coach I can be if you’ll promise to get as clear as you can about yourself and your situation and take intentional action to move forward.

Coaching could radically change your life, your business, your ministry or your community. It will all be up to you, but Christian leadership coaching could accelerate the process.

I invite you to take the next step on YOUR journey today. Please call for Christian leadership coaching.

Gary Wood