Future Leaders

Moving Day!

First, the exciting news!  Cara and Perry, our California kids, moved to Irvine where Perry will work as an associate professor at UC Irvine.  And even more exciting, Cara told us that she is expecting her third child in April!  She will have three kids 3 and under!  We are excited for them and already planning our rotation for traveling out to help. 

A few years ago Cru’s Board of Directors required Cru to create a succession planning process for the Vice President level.  I was asked to help create the process to identify and develop future organizational leaders.  Since last December, I have worked with both Athletes in Action and The Jesus Film Project to improve and refine that process.  Something I almost always do with projects like this is involve someone as a developmental experience and exposure to other leaders, so I invited Chelsea with the JFP to learn with me.  

The recent work that we have done to develop the Leadership Pipeline connected to our executive level bench has provided rich learning for our Executive Team.  We have never discussed, debated, deferred or submitted with one and to one another over such an extended period of time as we did in this process.  Our team’s character and culture has grown!  We learned to trust one another as we needed to come to agreement on criteria and people.  I am thankful that Barrett and Chelsea provided outside advice and expertise.  We need them, and I would not do this process without them!  We have more to learn, but creating a bench of executive level leaders that will help produce a surplus of AIA leaders for the mission will be an ongoing priority for our Executive Team.  —Mark Householder, President, AIA.

Cru has just entered a series of leadership changes.  In September the Board named a new President, and this week we learned of our new US Director and Campus Ministry Director.  These transitions emphasize the importance of this kind of process.   The qualities we look for in emerging leaders include a healthy walk with the Lord, relational strength, a commitment to develop others, authenticity, learning agility, as well as other leadership competencies.  This process facilitates honest conversations about the kind of leaders we want to lead Cru in the future, and helps current leaders fulfill their responsibility to identify and develop them.

It seems unusual that this is missionary work, but when you think about how large Cru is, and all it takes to support the field work that happens around the world, how we develop leaders is crucial.  Thank you for investing in the future of Cru with us.

At home we continue to work and do school from home.  Macy is considering colleges and some are offering only “virtual visits!”   We hope you are managing this new world well.

With love and thanks,