Leading Things You Didn't Start: Winning Big When You Inherit People, Places, and Possibilities

by Tyler Reagin, Judah Smith (Foreword by)

Overview

A high-impact leadership coach gives you the tools you need to maximize your influence in a new role, giving you the ability to meet any challenge and take your team, organization, church, or company to new heights.

“A practical path to maximizing your influence, navigating transitions, and producing positive results.”—Jon Gordon, 10x bestselling author of The Power of Positive Leadership

Sure, it’s inspirational when we hear stories about those who founded companies from their garages with one hundred dollars cash while in high school. But such success is super rare and not always how it plays out for great leaders.
 
The reality is that most leaders are responsible for corporations, teams, and products they didn’t launch from the ground up. Tyler Reagin saw the immense need to address this mission-critical but often overlooked aspect of leadership: healthy transition for leaders who inherit teams, places, or platforms others created.
 
His groundbreaking book Leading Things You Didn’t Start provides a faith-based four-step plan that answers practical questions such as:

• Do I really want to take over something loved by so many?
• Is there a secret sauce to doing what the leaders before me did?
• How do I get the current team on board with my leadership?
• How do I honor the past without being trapped by it?
• How do I steward the legacy of the leaders who started the movement?

Through the use of tried-and-true coaching principles and practical case studies with leaders like Buzz Williams, head coach at Texas A&M, and Cheryl Bachelder, former CEO of Popeyes, Reagin helps you maximize your newfound influx of influence and master the intentions of an inheriting leader.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780525654049
Publisher:	PRH Christian Publishing
Publication date:	03/02/2021
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Tyler Reagin is the founder and CEO of the Life-Giving Company and author of The Life-Giving Leader. He is the cofounder of 10Ten Project, a nonprofit ministry dedicated to serving pastors, and is the former president of Catalyst, a leadership development organization. He received a master of divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and serves as a leadership coach for teams and organizations. Tyler and his wife, Carrie, are the parents of two boys, Nate and Charlie. When he’s not working, Tyler enjoys hanging out with friends and family on the golf course.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1

Inheriting Influence

I remember it like it was yesterday. The keys were handed to me. Not to a car but to a movement. An incredibly important and beloved movement: Catalyst.

I was driving to the office for the first time in my leadership role. It was weird. I had been in my role with North Point Ministries for the past decade. My identity had been connected to that organization for years. Not only was I about to start something completely new, but my identity was also about to change. Again.

I had been with Catalyst for a year, but now I was taking the reins. The way leaders related to me was going to change. My new role involved a different set of responsibilities and greater authority. That realization elicited a fresh set of fears and insecurities but also excitement.

I remember being nervous and wondering whether I had what it was going to take to lead the organization into the future. I was curious whether I would be able to gain influence with and trust from the team that already existed and that had been investing in the organization for years.

Then I walked into the room, and I was in charge.

I had personally experienced meaningful God encounters through the movement. I had heard hundreds of leaders (I’m not exaggerating) talk about how it had changed their lives. Their families. Their churches. Their businesses.

God had handed me this movement to lead. I held the keys to Catalyst.

Catalyst had been around for fourteen years. It was a massive movement of Christian leaders that had had an impact on hundreds of thousands of leaders. It was a platform that helped catapult many artists and speakers to new heights. It had influence in the church and outside the church. With that influence came attention. Everyone had an opinion on what Catalyst should be. Everyone would have thoughts on how I should lead it.

John Maxwell. Andy Stanley. Craig Groeschel. Christine Caine. So many legends had been part of this.

My heart and mind were filled with a complete range of emotions. My spirit was overwhelmed. My joy was real; my fear might’ve been even more real. How in the world was I to take this precious (said almost like Gollum in The Lord of the Rings) gift and steward it to the best of my ability? What was going to be my role in its story? How was I to make changes appropriately?

I was inheriting a very special gift. I was following directors like Gabe Lyons, Jeff Shinabarger, and Brad Lomenick. These guys had led incredibly well for their seasons. How was I to follow that? Was I to try to do what they did or do something else? Was my leadership going to be up to the task?

Catalyst really matters! It wasn’t like the time when I was handed the G. I. Joe aircraft carrier as a kid. Then I felt responsibility for taking care of a special toy, but how well I did so was not going to affect anyone’s life. This movement had had eternal impact because the leaders were faith leaders. Was I ready for this?

If you’re reading this book, I have a hunch that you have taken over for someone, you’ve been handed something, or you have a multitude of somethings and someones you’re trying to lead in a God-honoring way.

You may be asking some questions, such as these that were running through my mind and heart when I inherited Catalyst:

What in the world is God up to?

Do I have what it takes?

Do I really want to take over something so loved by so many?

Is there a secret sauce to doing what the leaders before me did?

What if it doesn’t grow?

Why am I scared?

Why am I excited?

Do I have to make sure I always dress cool?

How in the world do I get the current team on board with my leadership?

Is everyone on the current team in the right seat on the bus?

Are they all supposed to be on this bus?

What do I do if I don’t like how some things are done?

How do I honor the past without being crippled by the past?

What if they don’t think I’m as funny as I think I am?

How do I lead with confidence and authenticity?

What are others going to think about me and the decisions I make?

What happens if I mess this up?

What happens if I succeed?

How do I steward the legacy of the leaders who started this movement?

God, are You sure it’s me?

These questions were just the tip of the iceberg.

What’s your experience? Have you ever been handed the keys and asked to lead something you were inheriting? Is that happening to you now? Maybe it’s as simple as a job someone else did. Maybe it’s a team of only two who reported to a prior leader. Maybe you are receiving someone else’s vision. Or a church your parents started. Or an unfulfilled dream of the one handing it to you.

All I knew at Catalyst, with those keys in my hand, was that leading something you start is drastically different from leading something you inherit. It just is.

I’ll be more specific. What are some of the differences between leading things you started yourself and leading things you didn’t start? I admit this list isn’t exhaustive, but here are some thoughts.


New

You decide how it looks.

You create the expectations.

You choose the people.

No one has decided whether you’re doing a good job.

Fear is more from the unknown.

You create the culture and DNA.

You’re neither profitable nor upside down yet.

You decide your location.

Expectations are forming and can’t be compared with past ones.

You are new and can’t be compared with the “old leaders.”

Inherited

Someone else decided how it looks.

You receive spoken and unspoken expectations.

Someone else recruited the team.

Some people love what you do and some don’t.

Fear is more from the known.

Someone else created the culture and DNA.

You’re already profitable or you’re upside down.

The location is already decided.

Expectations are clear and have historical backing.

You are compared with others and critiqued.

This list could be expanded to fill an entire book. I suggest that you add or subtract items and make it your own. This might be the best exercise you could do as you begin to navigate a complex yet incredible journey.

Maybe you’re taking over for someone who leads at the highest level. Or maybe you’ve inherited a failure that forced the past leader out. Either way, you’ve got some serious leading ahead. Issues like . . .

Where do you start?

Whom can you trust to talk to?

How long before making changes?

These and many other questions are why this book was written. In my twenty years working in movements started by other leaders, I’ve studied and focused on how to be life giving while leading something I didn’t start. Actually, I believe the majority of leaders will never start something on their own but will inherit something from someone else. Things like . . .

A job description

A stereotype

A space

A church

Relationships

Finances

Influence

Whoa, that last one by itself is a mind bender. How in the world do you manage someone else’s influence that you are now entrusted with?

How to lead well in an inherited position might be one of the bigger issues organizations face. And it’s a two-faceted challenge: What do you do when you take over something? And how do you as a leader set up your team and organization for future transitions?

So many churches today don’t have succession plans. The founders have never thought through what’s next. Have you ever worked for an organization where the leader didn’t think anyone could do the job as well as she could? For one thing, that’s not the most life-giving place to work. And it’s going to be difficult for that organization to ever transition to a new leader.

As leaders, let’s be wise. Let’s do this right! Let’s trust the timeless principles in Scripture to guide our day-to-day living and to help us navigate this potentially difficult opportunity.

One last caveat. I’m a Christian. I’m a pastor. I love to talk about how faith and life collide, how leadership is a higher calling. There are eternal consequences for how we handle the influence that’s been handed to us. That’s why I won’t skirt around the spiritual element in leadership. For twenty-five years, my Christian faith has been the foundation of my leadership.

If you don’t consider yourself a person of faith, I am still confident that this book will help you as you lead. I also think you might find here some ideas that can change the world. These concepts have stood the test of time and are called the fruit of the Spirit. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.1 These qualities will benefit any leader. But perhaps they are even more helpful for those who have inherited their leadership.

At the end of each chapter in sections 1–4, I’m going to ask you two questions to consider before moving on. Answer them honestly so that you have a good grasp of where you are in this process or where the group you’ve inherited is.

Table of Contents

Foreword Judah Smith xi

Section 1 The Foundations for Inheritance 1

1 Inheriting Influence 3

2 Good Fruit 9

3 The New Kid on the Block 23

Section 2 The Importance of Honoring and Learning From the Past 33

4 Honoring the Past Without Getting Trapped by It 35

5 Fresh Eyes 47

6 Evaluation Is Brutal but Necessary 57

Section 3 Patience Dictates the Success of Inheritance: Three Keys to Waiting 65

7 Stay Connected: A Relationship with Jesus 67

8 Trust the Process: Seeds Don't Grow Overnight 74

9 Instant Isn't Sustainable: If God's Not Done Working, I'm Not Done Waiting 83

Section 4 Implementation: How To Shift Your Culture, Cast Vision, and Model What Success Looks Like 93

10 The Culture Game 95

11 Vision Gets Major Points 108

12 4D Modeling 117

Section 5 Real-Life Leaders and Real-Life Results 125

13 Buzz Williams: Head Basketball Coach of Texas A&M 127

14 Cheryl Bachelder: Former CEO of Popeyes 135

15 Jim Daly: President of Focus on the Family 148

16 Jimmy Rollins: Lead Pastor of i5 City 160

17 A Charge 169

Thirty-Day EPIC Plan 173

Acknowledgments 185

Notes 187

Editorial Reviews

Many leaders find themselves in the challenging position of having to build on the success (or failure) of a predecessor, and it can be daunting. In Leading Things You Didn’t Start, Tyler draws on his own experience to equip leaders to thrive. It is a must-read!”—Nona Jones, business leader, pastor, speaker, and bestselling author of Success from the Inside Out and From Social Media to Social Ministry

“This is a much-needed and timely book! Tyler’s experience and his seat at the table of conversations among leaders and organizations allow him to bring the wisdom and experience needed. Let Tyler be your guide.”—Brad Lomenick, founder of BLINC and author of H3 Leadership and The Catalyst Leader

“Every leader must read Leading Things You Didn’t Start. While some have the chance to build from the ground up, most leaders find themselves inheriting organizations they didn’t start. My good friend Tyler Reagin will give you the tools you need to make healthy transitions, maximize your influence, and become great at leading things you didn’t create!”—DeVon Franklin, Hollywood producer and New York Times bestselling author

“Handling a transition well is how a leader keeps a great organization great and propels its new season to the next level. A leader in a new environment is faced with former expectations, a past legacy, and new people. Tyler Reagin addresses how to lead through intimidating new chapters with confidence and excellence. He does an incredible job preparing leaders to navigate these transitions and create confident and impactful leaders. I recommend this book as a great resource to anyone handling a transition and leading an organization or team into its next season!”—Chad Veach, lead pastor of Zoe Church, Los Angeles

“For years, I’ve appreciated the leadership of Tyler Reagin as he has taught me to be a better person, friend, and leader to the people around me. What a privilege for any reader who gets to absorb Tyler’s wisdom throughout this book. His words are seasoned with years of lived experience and will leave you feeling refreshed and ready to propel yourself forward into all the new things God has for you.”—Hannah Brencher, author of Fighting Forward and Come Matter Here

“Leading Things You Didn’t Start is a perfect resource for a whole new generation of leaders who are stepping into senior leadership and taking over top positions from their boomer and Generation X predecessors. Tyler Reagin does an impressive job outlining the key issues, and the case studies he features are worth the price of the book alone. If you’re leading something you didn’t start, or are about to, you need to read this book.”—Carey Nieuwhof, bestselling author, speaker, and podcast host

“Stepping into an organization previously directed by another leader is always a challenging opportunity. Tyler Reagin brings incredible insight and wisdom to any new leader who is seeking to help an organization move forward with its vision for its program and people. I wish I’d had this treasure thirty years ago to challenge me with important questions I should have been asking!”—Archbishop Foley Beach, Anglican Church in North America

“Leading Things You Didn’t Start is a game changer for leaders stepping into new situations. If you didn’t build something from the ground up, you need the right tools and tactics to help you build on the foundation that’s already been laid.”—Jon Gordon, bestselling author of The Power of Positive Leadership

From the Publisher