In the LDS church, leadership sometimes comes with formal responsibility through a calling or assignment. Someone newly called to positions like, bishop, Relief Society president, or ward mission leader, might find themselves subject to a life of limited time. The reality is, most callings in the church will take as much time as you are willing to give—even more if you aren’t careful. Every minute that callings takes rarely seem wasted. That is what is so hard about time management in church callings; it always feel like time well spent.
In this How I Lead interview we talk with Tommy Haws who is a stake president in the Gallup, New Mexico area. His stake covers 10,000 square miles! He presides over 5 wards and 7 branches that meet in 11 buildings. President Haws has years of leadership experience, serving as elders quorum president 3 times, a councilor in a stake presidency, and then a bishop before he was asked to serve as the stake president.
We first discuss the unique challenges he faces with a ward so large and with so many units. We talk about the native-american branches and his approach to unity a stake with such diversity.
Jacob Khalil is a student at Brigham Young majoring in Vocal Performance. He grew up in a home with a Mormon mother and a Muslim father. In order to respect his father’s request, Jacob didn’t get baptized until he was 18 years old and could make the decision as a legal adult.
In this interview we discuss how Jacob’s parents, youth leaders, and other members of his ward influenced him during his youth. We talk about best practices a leader can make when faced with a situation where a child cannot be baptized until they are an adult.
In this episode we head all the way over to El Puerto de Santa Maria and interview Bishop Tony Batanero. You will find this interview inspiring as we discuss his conversion to the gospel, his service as a full time missionary in Missouri and Canada. He shares his experience of losing his mother during his mission and how that impacted his testimony. He claims that the best calling in the Church is stake executive secretary. He served in that calling for 6 years and was then called in September of 2015 as the bishop of his ward.
Shawn Hammond is a bishop in Colorado Spring, Colorado. He’s also had the opportunity to serve as a Young Men’s president, elders quorum president, and was also blessed to serve in the California Sacramento Mission in the early 2000’s.
We hear it all the time in sacrament meeting; the invitation, coming from the lectern, to “stand after your name is read.” This means members of your ward are getting a calling. Most callings that are extended to us require no leadership responsibilities.
Adam Barrow is a BYU graduate, accountant, father, past elders quorum president, elders quorum counselor, executive secretary, and currently serves as the secretary in his elders quorum. These are various callings he has received while living in San Francisco, California, Raleigh, North Carolina, and Salt Lake City, Utah.
Let’s face it! The only people that are qualified to be bishop are those that have a PhD in human psychology, with a masters in Family Relations, and an MBA from Stanford for good measure. The type of problems and crises church leaders face are sometimes staggering. Thankfully, each bishop holds the priesthood, is blessed with keys, and has awesome support (counselors, ward council, etc.).
Recently I had lunch with a friend. This wasn’t just a friend but also a past bishopric counselor of mine. At the time of our lunch I had recently been released as bishop and he had recently been called as bishop in a different ward. These scenarios led to a discussion about leadership vacuums.
Imagine if you sat on the board of directors for a large Fortune 500 company that needed to find a new CEO to improve the dismal progress of the company. You are not allowed to conduct any formal interviews. You can only choose from people that live in a specific geographical neighborhood (about 350 people). To top it off, you have to make your decision in only 2 weeks.
