Name: Dave Blough

Title: Executive Pastor

Organisation: Wintonbury Church

I am grateful to be the husband to my wife Cheryl for over 40 years along with the blessing of raising 7 children and the enjoyment of being a grandfather to 3 more. I have experienced wonder-filled and very challenging times as the Executive Pastor at Wintonbury Church in Bloomfield, CT. I look forward to hearing what God has for me next.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

We’ve gone through the interviews and asked the best of the best to come back and answer 7 MORE Questions on Leadership.

I hope Dave's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. As a leader, how do you build trust with employees, customers and other stakeholders?

Trust takes time. Building relationships takes effort. With employees you are in the mix day-to-day doing difficult things as well as celebrating the wins. You have to be willing to be close to the effort and be seen. Customers and stakeholders need to know you care about those common things as much as they do and are willing to hear their views attentively and actively.

2. What do 'VISION' and 'MISSION' mean to you? And what does it actually look like to use them in real-world business?

We developed the Vision and Mission of our church in a way that it is always before the congregation. Vision is seeing and so it is that grand picture of what the possibilities are. Mission allows us to carry out that vision in specific and clear ways. In addition to these things, we let people know what we value and why. We have professional printed our vision, mission, and values and hand them out every opportunity we can.

3. How can a leader empower the people they're leading?

I believe that we need to give people the freedom to carry out their leadership, which also means that they may fail. My response as a leader could move a person in a favorable direction or discourage them. Remain positive and encouraging, and share what is working for you as a leader. Always look for opportunities for someone to step into leadership and then, as hard as it may be, do not micromanage.

4. Who are some of the coaches or mentors in your life who have had a positive influence on your leadership? Can you please tell a meaningful story about one of them?

I met one mentor, Dave, over 20 years ago, and although we live in different states now, we still meet regularly by Zoom. The times of sharing the heavy things in life, seeking the wisdom he has over decades, and knowing that I have a friend who keeps confidences, are enormously beneficial as I navigate life.

5. Leadership is often more about what you DON'T do. How do you maintain focus in your role?

I use the Eisenhower Matrix for my priorities. While a good portion of what I do may fall into Urgent/Important, I want to spend more time on the Important/Not Urgent quadrant, as well as delegate appropriately.

6. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Everyone plans differently. How do you plan for the week, month and years ahead in your role?

I use many different tools and strategies.

If I need to plan around campus projects, I will use Wrike.

If we have a smaller event, I may use a spreadsheet. We briefly review what is ahead as a staff and what is identified as important on a weekly basis.

More details on what is ahead in the year would be through a quarterly planning meeting.

I keep everything before me in a way that is most helpful in terms of organizing, and that could be a mixture of technology and writing.

7. What advice would you give to a young leader who is struggling to delegate effectively?

You must begin to think that you could not possibly be the only one to 'do' that thing, and that takes humility.

Delegation differs when you are talking about volunteers, co-workers, or employees who work for you.

Determine what you can effectively delegate and then decide to move forward. Do not let the fear of the unknown paralyze you.