Miles McPherson

When I was kid I remember going outside just after a heavy rain and sitting on the curb with my feet in the street as water ran under my legs along the curb. Sometimes we would race sticks or leaves in the flowing water. This is what you call ‘low budget’ fun.

In order for the race to be a good one, the water flow needed to be uninterrupted so we would clear the path of all the junk flowing down the street. Sometimes sticks, grass or leaves would clog up the flow and create a mini-dam. When we moved this stuff we would hear a ‘woosh’ sound as the water that was being held back rushed down the street.

‘Woosh leadership’ is what happens when a leadership decision causes a fresh flood of blessings to flow.

The ‘woosh’ represents ‘help and hope’ that people are not receiving and/or people who are not getting help. It is your responsibility to keep the blessings flowing.

Sometimes the ‘woosh’ happens unexpectedly.

You assign a leader or DFP – Designated First Person – to a new leadership position and ‘Bam,’ big things begin to happen.

But there are other times that an existing ministry or department is under performing.

You know in your gut that there is an obstacle that is holding back a ‘woosh’ but you can’t quite put your finger on what exactly is causing the hold up. You sense that there is untapped potential in the department and that something needs to change. You have a feeling that it is the DFP but you can’t just remove someone on a gut feeling alone. You could be wrong.

The first question to answer is, do you have a written description of what ‘woosh’ looks like and a plan to get it done? In other words is it clear to everyone what expectations are not being met.

If you do, then fixing the problem is a lot easier.

Hold the DFP and team accountable to that plan. Give them a deadline to create a plan to bring about a ‘course correction’ to get things back on track with a deadline for ‘woosh’ results.

(Read “Progress or Activity?” for info on how to make a good plan.)

But if there is no plan, then the first thing to do is develop a clear vision of what ‘woosh’ looks like.

1. Express to the DFP your gut feeling about the situation and describe the ‘woosh’ to him/her. What does the ‘next level’ look like?
2. Give them time to think about it and write the description. In the end you will need, not only a written description, but a plan that will get you there. There must be deadline to the final plan, the commencement of the plan and execution of the plan when results should be expected.
3. Make sure that they involve their team in this process because no good plan, especially a ‘woosh’ creating plan, can be accomplished without the team. This will increase buy-in and ensure that everyone is clear about the expectations being placed on their department.

Decision time.

Prayerfully look for the ‘woosh leadership’ decision.

1. It might have been the act of challenging the DFP to get back on track.
2. It might be an adjustment in work load or direction.
3. Maybe you need to reorganize the team.
4. You might need to replace the DFP with someone from outside the organization.
5. Your eyes may be opened to a diamond in the rough on the team while developing the plan.

Keep in mind these two things:

• These types of decisions are not easy or fun but this type of process will help smooth it out.
• If you do nothing, most likely nothing will change.

Remember, insanity is doing something over and over again the same way and expecting a different result.