S5E38: Inspirational Words from BCWI's New President and COO

Welcome Jay Bransford, newly appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of the Best Christian Workplaces. Enjoy the opportunity to meet him and get to know more about his passion for equipping and inspiring leaders to build flourishing workplaces. 

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In this episode:

• Al's new title at BCWI (03:31)
• BCWI's goal for 2030 (03:56)
• How Jay discovered the open position of President at BCWI (05:07)
• Jay's background and experience as it relates to creating effective workplaces (05:27)
• Jay's specific experience with leadership development (07:43)
• Jay served as the Chairman of the Asia Leaders Learning Community or ALLC for the mission organization called YWAM or Youth With A Mission (07:53)
• The search process was led by a respected, outside firm and an inside committee made up of some of the finest Christian leaders representing the very churches, parachurch organizations, and Christian-led companies BCWI serves (10:23)
• Out of 600 world-wide candidates, Jay was our unanimous, first choice (10:43)
• What was it that drew Jay to the BCWI’s work and vision that Christian-led workplaces set the standard as the best, most effective places to work in the world? (11:05)
• "Christian workplaces (whether that be a business, school, church, or foundation) can be of huge Kingdom significance and impact in demonstrating the unity of believers to the rest of the world" (12:00)
• "I actually believe that Christian workplaces (including BCWI) have a biblical obligation to represent Christ to the world in such a way that accurately reflects the nature and character of God." (12:10)
• A favorite story of how a significant organizational challenge became an opportunity to lead and serve God's people (17:39)
• Jay and his wife have founded three Christian non-profit organizations that are operating and thriving today, beyond your involvement (19:55)
• What Jay learned through these involvements about who a leader needs to be on the inside, and what a leader must do out front with colleagues and stakeholders (20:10)
• "The two most immediate and encouraging things that have caught my attention in my short time so far with BCWI is the amount of genuine fun and enjoyment I see in every staff member as we meet in our virtual video calls.  That is a strong indication of a positive, healthy work environment that people want to be a part of." (22:50)
• About Jay's son, Graham (26:55)
• "I think I’d just like to thank each and every Christian leader out there who is courageous enough, humble enough, and disciplined enough to take the somewhat scary step of asking your staff for their input about your organization and then truly listening to what they have to say.  Those are the kind of Christian leaders who will not only successfully achieve high levels of employee engagement, but more importantly, those are the leaders who will have a substantial Kingdom impact through their workplace.  And that’s what it’s all about." (29:49)

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