Unlikely Leadership Lessons from a Haunted House

This title is strange for a blog, but let me explain. One of my many jobs in my younger years was working as a youth pastor in a church. It was a newer church, and the youth group started with only a handful of teens and some awesome volunteer leaders. Someone suggested that we do a haunted house outreach for the community, and that seed grew into what was called the House of Horror (I know, not the most Christian-sounding event, but I was young!). This seedling idea grew and ended up with about 13 teens and an army of volunteers involved. We used the dirt-floor basement of an old-style house as the stage. And in one weekend, over 1,000 people showed up to take a tour of the House of Horror! It was so packed that the police showed up to direct traffic. Here are some foundational things I learned about leadership as a very young leader of this event.

1. You can be small and still mighty.

We often think that bigger is better. How could a small group of teens and adults with a budget of a few hundred dollars put together such a major event? In his book David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell addresses this issue of how smallness can be an advantage using the illustration of the fight between little David and gigantic Goliath. We were a tiny yet nimble group that had little to lose. No one knew who we were, so failure would have had little impact on us!

2. Beware of “Negative Nicks.”

Negative Nicks are found in every organization. They are where creative ideas go to die. They identify every reason why something may not work or should not be tried. One of the pastors in the church came up to me when we were planning this event and said, “I don’t want you to be disappointed if only a small group of people show up.” I do not believe he was trying to dampen our spirits – he likely thought he was protecting us from discouragement. But he did not see the potential in front of him, and he was more than stunned when he saw what actually happened those two days that weekend.

3. Planning produces productivity.

During this time, I was still in college and was also running a part-time landscaping business. As this event grew in scope, the need for planning grew with it. My responsibilities included studying for exams, working each night on the “House,” coordinating teams of volunteers and teens, ensuring we had the supplies, planning for parking, having the fire inspector make sure our event was safe, and even locating a casket for the final scene. All of which I could not have done without a lot of planning. This event taught me that good planning produces productive outcomes.

4. Vision is contagious.

What started out as a handful of teens and a few adult youth leaders grew and grew. The more the vision spread, the more other kids wanted in on it, and the more adults wanted to sign on as well. We even had a real scientist sign up to be the mad scientist and a prison chaplain willing to play the part of the undertaker! Parents and others donated money and supplies, and people with construction skills helped the kids work on the scenes. Vision is contagious, and a shared vision is powerful.

5. Teams are the key to big outcomes.

The bigger a project, company, or event, the smaller it needs to become to be effectively managed. We broke up the walk-through, guided tour of the House into 8 different scenes. Each scene had teens and adults working together to ensure their area was excellent in both decoration as well as acting. We had teams of guides, teams for traffic, and teams for managing all of the behind-the-scenes needs like refreshments and problem-solving. Small teams can produce big outcomes.

6. Success breeds confidence.

Our start-up crew of teens and volunteers reminded me of the Mighty Ducks from the 1992 movie about an average group of kids who became a championship hockey team. The more they won, the more confident they became. The House of Horror was like jet fuel to all of us – making us believe we were a group that was worth being a part of. Kids began inviting other kids who invited still other kids. As their confidence grew in the group culture, they were more secure in taking the risk of asking others to join them. The same is true for our work teams as well.

7. Delegation feeds expansion.

The House of Horror event was never expected to grow to the size that it had. As the planning for it expanded and we started to dream a lot bigger, it required that the other leaders and I delegated responsibilities to some of the students and volunteers. Delegation is hard for many because it means things may not be done to your standards or even done at all. But it also provides opportunities for others to prove themselves by stepping up. And, it allowed me and the key leaders to take on new responsibilities which we could not have done if we didn’t give some duties away. Delegation is essential if you want to grow an organization without burning yourself out.

8. Even successful things sometimes need to end.

The House of Horror was designed to be a creative way to help attendees look at their spiritual lives. But in reality, it used fear as the main way of accomplishing that. The good news that Jesus offers to everyone is based upon hope, not fear. It is based upon his effort, not ours. So, even though we were thrilled with our event, we decided we would not offer it the next year. It’s hard to stop something that is perceived to be a success, but, sometimes, we have to end one thing to create something even better.

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Jay Desko is the President & CEO of The Center Consulting Group and brings experience in the areas of organizational assessment, leadership coaching, decision-making, and strategic questioning. Jay’s degrees include an M.Ed. in Instructional Systems Design from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Leadership from The Union Institute.