Teaching Choral Concepts

Review

     Written by a management consultant and trainer, this book is a valuable tool for helping Church leaders be more effective in fulfilling their stewardships. The author believes that all leaders can sharpen their skills and increase the effectiveness of their performance in their callings. He writes only for leaders, seeking the honing of leadership skills of those holding positions of trust. 

Utilizing a model frequently used in the secular leadership world today, he modifies it to reflect the peculiar characteristics of leadership within the Church. His information allows the leader to identify what steps are necessary to realize improvement and tells how to acquire better skills. 

The information centers on the use of councils, creating the vision for each program, and how to establish a plan to implement those actions which are directed towards helping others find the path to activity, temple ordinances, and other important goals having a celestial focus. 

Comprehensive sample programs depicting the functioning of Church programs on both the Stake and Ward levels are included. These furnish valuable models for many other LDS leadership callings. 

Here, then, is a state-of-the-art book that combines modern management skills with long-established ecclesiastical structures and objectives. It has great potential to increase vision, enhance outreach, and multiply the gospel harvest! 

Table of Contents

Action Statement, 11
A Leader's Creed, 12

Introduction, 13
The Need for Effective Leaders, 13
Written to Help Local Church Leaders, 14
Four Categories of Information in this Book, 14
Comments on Terminology Used, 16
Not an Official Church Publication, 16
The Need for the Book, 16

1. What Does the Lord Want in a Leader?, 18
Five Essential Church Leadership Responsibilities, 18
TQM Leadership Enhancement Techniques, 19
The Lord's Requirements, 20
Church Leaders Should Be Christlike, 21
The Lord's Leadership Model, 21
The Watchman Responsibility, 23
The Responsibility to Watch Over Every Member, 24
Resist Undesirable Leadership Traits, 26
Traits of a True Leader, 29

2. The Characteristics of Effective Leadership, 30
The Importance of Increasing Skills, 30
Distinguishing Traits of Effective Leaders, 31
Strong vs. Weak Leaders, 32
Leaders Need "Vision", 33
Leaders Need Plans for Making Their Vision a Reality, 35
Leaders Set and Accomplish Objectives, 36
Leaders Monitor and Evaluate Results, 37
Leaders Strive for Unity Through Communications, 37
Four Leadership Types, 38

3. Leadership Type Characteristics, 39
The Goal: To increase in Wisdom, Stature and Performance, 39
The Leadership Type Characteristics Matrix, 40
Chart: Leadership Type Characteristics Matrix, 41-42
Definitions of Leadership Categories, 43
Definition of Leadership Groups, 45
Other Leadership Characteristics, 46

4. Group Differences in Implementing Leadership Attributes, 48
The Importance of Developing Leadership Qualities, 48
Leadership Type Characteristics, 50
Group One Leaders, 50
Group Two Leaders, 55
Group Three Leaders, 59
Group Four Leaders, 62
The Need to Identify One's Leadership Position, 67

5. Determining Leadership Styles, 68
The Importance of Baselining, 68
The First Step to Improvement, 69
Questionnaire: Leadership Survey, 71-73
The Scoring Process, 74
Chart: Leadership Group Placement Chart, 75
The Benchmarking Approach to Leadership Improvement, 76
An Expanded Model of Successful Leadership Traits, 77
Developing a Self Improvement Plan, 82
Chart: Behavior Improvement Plan, 84

6. Stewardship--The Sacred Calling, 85
The Many Aspects of Stewardship, 85
The Watchman and Defender Role, 87
Knowing the People Is Essential for Effective Stewardship, 87
Eternal Blessings Come from Fulfilling Stewardships Effectively, 88
Stewards Need to Accept Responsibility for Themselves and Others, 89
Avoiding Unrighteous Dominion and Poor Performance, 89
Stewardship Criteria, 93

7. Achieving Organizational Change, 97
The Need for Member Support, 97
The Role of Change, 97
Steps in the Change Process, 98
The Change Triangle, 98
When Change is Required, 99
The Leaders as Changemasters, 99
Using Teams for Problem Solving and Accomplishing Tasks, 102

8. Developing a Quality Improvement Program, 105
Leaders Are Problem Finders, 105
The Overall Goal: Perfecting the Saints, 105
The Importance of Councils, 106
Two Improvement Achievement Scenarios, 107
Stake Improvement Plans, 107
Chart: Population Tree, 108
Chart: Sacrament Meeting Attendance, 110
Chart: Home Teaching, 111
Chart: Stake Activity Action Plan, 112
Ward Improvement Plan, 113
Chart: Ward Population Tree, 114
Chart: Attendance at Ward Meetings, 115
Chart: Home Teaching/Visiting Teaching Percent Not Taught, 116
Progress Analysis, 118
Chart: Ward Activity Action Plan, 120

9. The Leaders as Systems Monitors, 121
The Purposes of a Monitoring System, 121
The Components of a Monitoring System, 122
Tools Used in the Monitoring Process, 122
Making the Monitoring System Work, 123

10. The Components of Leadership Strategic Plans, 125
Overview for Chapters 11-14, 125
Elements of Organization: Plan Formats, 125
Designing an Effective Tracking System, 126
The Implementation Sequence, 127

11. A Model Stake Mission Program, 128
Vision Statement, 128
Mission Statement, 128
Key Results Areas, 129
Indicators of Effectiveness, 129
Goals and Objectives, 131
Chart: Key Area Report, 138

12. A Model Ward Mission Program, 139
Vision Statement, 139
Mission Statement, 140
Key Results Areas, 140
Indicators of Effectiveness, 140
Goals and Objectives, 142
Chart: Key Area Report, 148

13. A Model Stake Relief Society Program, 149
Vision Statement, 149
Mission Statement, 149
Key Results Areas, 150
Indicators of Effectiveness, 150
Goals and Objectives, 151
Chart: Key Area Report, 156

14. A Model Ward Relief Society Program, 157
Vision Statement, 157
Mission Statement, 157
Key Results Areas, 158
Indicators of Effectiveness, 158
Goals and Objectives, 159
Chart: Key Area Report, 163

Index, 165
About the Author, 171
Notes, 172

Order Information