Leadership Training - B. R. Rick Curtis

Training or Breakout Topics

Please note that these are training content blocks that can be "mix and matched" to address the needs of your organization. CLICK HERE to see how these ideas can come together in a One Day training event.

Leadership Foundations

This training introduces the essential principles that form the foundation of effective leadership and sustained movement. Participants will explore the defining Marks of a Leader and identify the critical starting points necessary to meet and maintain those marks. Emphasis will be placed on the character required to lead with credibility, as well as the mindset shifts that distinguish the modern, movement-oriented leader from the ordinary. Through guided reflection on selected scenes from We Are Marshall and We Were Soldiers, participants will examine real-world expressions of courage, responsibility, and leadership under pressure. The session will also provide a practical overview of key leadership tools—including the SWOT Analysis and the Strategic Initiatives Matrix—designed to focus organizational energy and maximize momentum. Concluding with the concept of Organizational Progression, this training reinforces that healthy organizations never remain static but continually pursue growth, refinement, and forward advancement.

*This presentation includes clip(s) from contemporary movie(s) to promote discussion and outcomes.

Knowledge, Trust and Proficiency

This training introduces Knowledge, Trust, and Proficiency as three interdependent foundations of effective leadership that, when aligned, produce transformed efficiency and organizational strength. Participants will examine the distinction between knowledge and awareness, understanding how each contributes to informed decision-making and provides leaders with strategic advantage, while also identifying critical knowledge gaps that can quietly undermine effectiveness. The session then turns to the concept of Holistic Trust, clarifying common misconceptions and exploring how trust is built, sustained, and leveraged within different leadership styles to create high-trust environments where organizations accomplish more with less friction and lower cost. Finally, the training focuses on Proficiency—how it is developed, strengthened, and applied—equipping leaders to continually grow in competence, maximize their strengths, and pursue excellence in the responsibilities entrusted to them.

Influence and the Relational Baseline

This training introduces modes of Influence and the Relational Baseline, emphasizing that influence is ultimately exercised through relationships and cannot exist apart from them. Participants will explore how leaders intentionally leverage influence to advance mission and goals by cultivating strong relationships with people, truth, integrity, and skill. The session examines three primary expressions of influence—Push, Pull, and Lateral—and evaluates how each interacts with relational depth and produces different organizational responses. Concluding with a focused exploration of the Relational Baseline, this training demonstrates how sustained relational engagement stabilizes organizations, guarding them from internal fracture as complexity and pressure increase. Leaders will gain practical insight into how relational strength becomes the essential force that preserves unity, sustains momentum, and enables healthy organizational growth. Finally, we will examine why many traditional growth models are fundamentally flawed—not necessarily because growth is wrong, but because they are built on misguided assumptions and incomplete metrics. We will challenge the questions organizations typically ask and replace them with a better, more strategic question that lead to sustainable, mission-aligned progress rather than superficial expansion.

Communication and Convictional Perspectives

Leadership Development and Radical Collaboration

Missional Alignment

This presentation emphasizes the necessity for associations to drive a cooperative vision and mission for their overall health. An AMS who can successfully navigate local church autonomy while finding collaborative common ground among member churches can leverage that knowledge for increased engagement and buy-in. Key topics include: Shared Vision and Mission, Theological Unity, Leadership and Governance, Cultural and Relational Cohesion, Resource Sharing and Support, Missional Activities and Engagement, and Flexibility and Adaptability. This work is not intended as a prescriptive remedy to the challenges of missional alignment. Rather, it is meant to spark creative thought and inspire dialogue among church leaders, members, and other stakeholders. The ideas contained within these pages are starting points—catalysts for further exploration and adaptation to your specific context.

*Includes a book titled Missional Alignment: Considerations for a Focused Association of Churches.

Success, Failure and the Leader’s Worth

This presentation centers on the acceptance of failure and setback as a tool that the Lord uses to make us better leaders. It presents a scenario that explores the balance of two extremes; the practitioner and the academic. When the leader can balance both knowledge and experience while understanding the unchanging nature of his call, he becomes the ideal leader for the church.

*This presentation includes clip(s) from contemporary movie(s) to promote discussion and outcomes.

The Importance of Mindset

Understanding the scriptural mandate to have the Mindset of Christ is paramount for the leader. However, the leader rarely—if ever—learns to define their secondary or tertiary mindset. In particular, one’s secondary mindset can enhance or diminish their primary mindset. A leader with less-than-adequate emotional intelligence can bankrupt their ministry or even their life if they allow a negative secondary mindset to gain traction in their life.

Perspective Based Communication

Deep and effective communication is one of the most difficult challenges for the leader. Understanding the convictional perspective of the hearer is the single most important factor if the leader seeks to make a difference in another’s life. People posses various levels of conviction; the deeper the conviction the harder to sway that individual to ones perspective. Learning to discern, and speak, to a deeper convictional perspective opens doors and minds. Attendees will learn to look deeper into every situation.

*This presentation includes clip(s) from contemporary movie(s) to promote discussion and outcomes.

#Tools include: JoHari Window.

Understanding the Dynamics of Influence

This presentation details three aspects of influence that every leader should be aware of. A leader who can leverage influence with integrity can propel their organizations forward at a previously unthinkable pace. The attendee will learn the nuances of Push, Pull, and Lateral Influence and understand which is appropriate in any given situation.

*This presentation includes clip(s) from contemporary movie(s) to promote discussion and outcomes.

Organizational Growth and the Relational Baseline

Organizational growth moves forward on several different trajectories. A majority of organizational leaders that are seeking growth in their organization are working on the wrong trajectory. They are asking the wrong questions and forming a vision that aligns with a less-than-ideal trajectory. Participants will learn what these trajectories are, and how the importance of relationships effect organizational growth. They will learn how to create a new trajectory, the Relational Baseline, and how to grow their organization deeper as well as larger.

A Primer for Conflict Resolution

Attendees will learn a simple phrase; Safe, Humble Leaders Listen for the Win. This phrase, while in no way a comprehensive course on conflict resolution, does set a standard for quick remembrance of key issues associated with every tense situation a leader might find themselves in. Remembering this phrase—and the associated nuances—will prepare the leader to face challenge, conflict, or the inevitable blindsiding that occurs in every organization.

Emotional Intelligence

Every leader owes it to him/herself to grow in their emotional intelligence. Forbes has stated that the leader of the future needs EQ (Emotional Intelligence) in far greater measure than IQ. This presentation explores ways in which the attendee can be aware, and improve their; Self Awareness, Self Control, Social Awareness, and their Relational Management. Understanding the interplay of these four areas, and their application to leadership, is transformative for the leader.

#Tools include: Goals and Behaviors Evaluation.

Mind Tweak

This fun presentation is structured to impress on the attendee that their perceptions of reality—especially when dealing with people—are many times inaccurate. The leader that can understand that they are hindered by making assumptions based on past experiences is a step ahead of other leaders. Our past conditions us to jump to conclusions that are—at times—dramatically different than our reality. This presentation shows how our cognitive responses are based on patterns that were established in early childhood development and provides encouragement toward the use of tools that help us break from those destructive patterns.

*This presentation includes clip(s) from contemporary movie(s) to promote discussion and outcomes.

#Tools include: JoHari Window adaptation and Online Vote.

Understanding Motivation

Organizational motivation can be a challenge. What are the sustaining factors related to personnel satisfaction? What causes longevity? Attendees will be challenged to think through the differences between Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation and how a deep understanding of the differences can benefit the organization as well as its personnel. Sustainability is a huge issue in the motivation of volunteers. Learn how to leverage the intrinsic factors of autonomy, mastery, and purpose to create an unusually healthy personnel base.

Problem Solving

This presentation provides a deep dive into though exercises and tools created to assist the leader in problem solving. Attendees will look at historical examples of change that were based on combining current realities to a single solution, solving existing problems, and setting the stage for future developments. We will explore the difference between Managerial and Transformative Leadership and it’s benefits. Finally, several tools will be taught to assist in solving real world problems.

Competency and Proficiency

This presentation is intended to set the stage for thought related to streamlining every day activities. Competency is paramount for leadership and be conscious of where one lands on the scale of competency will transform their ability to mentor, and instill trust in subordinates. Additionally, attendees will wrestle with ideas that are intended to challenge them in building proficiency.

*This presentation includes clip(s) from contemporary movie(s) to promote discussion and outcomes.

Time Management and Decision Making

Learning to manage one’s time as a leader is perhaps the single most important aspect to organizational focus. Attendees will learn and evaluate the difference between actions that are urgent and those that are important. They will learn to differentiate between the two factors and leverage their time accordingly. Additionally, they will apply those principles in their decision-making processes and weight the realities of advised decisions opposed to those made void of council. They will also learn key steps to assuring that decisions are made after appropriate information has been gathered.

*This presentation includes clip(s) from contemporary movie(s) to promote discussion and outcomes.

Trust and the Leader

This short training allows the attendee to see the value of building trust in any organization. If a leader is not trusted, he/she cannot lead. Based on the principles of Stephen M.R. Coveys book; The Speed of Trust, this training shows how where trust is built, organizational speed increases and costs decrease. Meanwhile, where trust wains, speed slows and costs increase. Additionally, this presentation will dive into the three depths of trust; trust of word, trust of action, and trust of competency, showing how each of these levels directly impact the effectiveness of the leader.

The 2 Informs the 58

Attendees will gain a sense of how important initial exposure to their organization affects its relevance. Quite literally, the first two minutes in which the observer experiences the church, association, or other organization, will inform the remaining time that they are present. If the experience is poor, they will only see the negative in as they engage. If the first two minutes exhibit excellence, they will filter everything through the impression of excellence. Attendees will be challenged to think through their organization from multiple different user experiences. Additionally, they will explore the “anonymous observers” concept to gain insights that are otherwise impossible to gain.

Team Basics

Attendees will gain knowledge related to building successful teams and keeping them relevant and focused on the task. They will explore the art of delegation, empowerment, conflict (stormin’), vision, and decision making. They will understand the importance of the “creative pause” and the dynamic of crazy ideas. Additionally, they will explore the concept of processing information and ideas through “rings of similarity.” This presentation ss for the organization that seeks a healthier team dynamic.

SWOT Analysis Tool Training

The SWOT Analysis is a proven tool when it comes to organizational re-envisioning. This transitional leadership tool is known worldwide but is often taught non-experientially. This is detrimental. In this training attendees will learn both the concepts behind the tool as well as how they can implement the tool in real world scenarios.

Sons and Daughters of the King (Inspirational Piece)

This small presentation instills in the attendee that they have authority based on their position in Christ. They are a Son or Daughter of the King and should function with the knowledge and security afforded them. This short piece serves as a powerful conclusion to any gathering or a commissioning for ministry.

Building Your Legacy

Ideal for a men’s conference, or a parenting conference, it is also adaptable for general assembly. Parents, Men, and Leaders alike need to reproduce future leaders to carry on the legacy of family, faith or organizational vision. This presentation explores the importance of leader reproduction using the three pillars of: Expectation, Engagement and Empowerment. Attendees are encouraged to move from the Command and Control tendencies of leadership to Empowerment and Release modalities.

*This presentation includes clip(s) from contemporary movie(s) to promote discussion and outcomes.

Please Note: I am available to collaborate with you in developing a customized training or event, guided by your leadership and priorities, that reflects the unique nuances and distinctive qualities of your organization. My approach is flexible and responsive, ensuring that the content, format, and delivery align closely with your goals, culture, and specific needs to create a meaningful and effective experience.