Chris Lambert of Life Remodeled + Next Level Nonprofit On Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Uncertain & Turbulent Times
The first item is to accurately discern what happened or is happening, drilling down to the actual opportunity at hand. When I was receiving negative feedback from the community about repurposing a vacant school, I thought it was racially motivated. It was certainly part of the historical issue, but there was a much deeper issue at hand.
As part of our series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Chris Lambert.
Dr. Chris Lambert is the founder/CEO of Life Remodeled, award-winning author of Next Level Nonprofit, and founder/CEO of the Next Level Nonprofit organizational operating system. It’s not the career trajectory Chris envisioned when he studied marketing at Indiana University, planned for law school, or dreamed of a lucrative career as a real estate developer. But a new call took shape after a spiritual awakening during his junior year of college, and Chris went on to earn his MDiv and doctorate in preaching from Fuller and Gordon-Conwell seminaries, respectively. Moving to Liberia, Chris and his wife helped a village mobilize support to drill a well, acquire farm animals, and construct their very first school building. Upon returning to the U.S., Chris founded a church called Ekklesia. In 2010 he launched Life Remodeled, which repurposes vacant school buildings into one-stop hubs of opportunity and helps create neighborhood revitalization that lasts.
From recognition on the TEDx stage to lists like Crain’s 40 Under 40, Building Design + Construction 40 Under 40, and SMART BUSINESS Dealmaker of the Year, Chris’s reputation precedes him. But it’s the journey ahead — and the people who are helping to lead the way — that excites him most.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
I was born and raised in a very small town in Northern Indiana, and when I say small town, I mean we didn’t have a four-way stoplight until I was in middle school. The words ‘urban neighborhood revitalization’ were three words I never heard in succession my entire upbringing. I studied business at Indiana University and my plan was to go to law school afterward to become a real estate developer because in my mind, that was a wonderful way to make the kind of money that I thought I wanted to live the lifestyle I was passionate about. My junior year of college, I moved to Australia to study. During my time there, I experienced what I would call radical encounter with God. That changed the entire trajectory of my life.
I ended up canceling law school and I felt like God was calling me to be a pastor, so I moved out west to study at a seminary in Los Angeles. While I was there, I met the woman who became my wife. We felt compelled to start a church in Detroit. Before that, we moved to Africa for nine months, living for two months in Uganda and seven months in Liberia. We lived in a mud hut in a Muslim village with no running water. My job was to become a community developer, which I knew nothing about, but I knew how to listen to people and discover what their wants and needs were. I learned about community development there.
We then moved to a blue-collar suburb of Detroit in 2007 and started a church. I thought I was going to be a pastor and church planner for the rest of my life. But in 2010, I got a vision to start a nonprofit called Life Remodeled, which I thought I was just going to get off the ground and hand off to somebody else. Eventually, I realized this was the work that I was born to do. I gradually stopped pastoring and focused my energy on Life Remodeled. It is intentionally a non-religious organization, but my faith is what continues to drive me to this day. In the midst of doing the work of Life Remodeled, I created a nonprofit organizational operating system called Next Level Nonprofit. We are now coaching organizations around the country on how to implement and benefit from this program.
It’s been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were starting, and can you tell us what lessons you learned from that?
I played Little League baseball, and my coach put me in the outfield where I kept missing one fly ball after the other. My parents just figured this kid lacks athletic ability. But after I ran my bicycle into a third mailbox, they decided to take me to the eye doctor. This was a real game changer for me. I caught a lot of fly balls and ended up becoming a dang good athlete. I broke high school records in track, did well in basketball and football.
Being fitted with eyeglasses was the first time in my life where I began to realize that literally the way I see the world is different from how others see it. Learning from other people’s perspectives opened me up to a whole new world of possibilities and opportunities.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Life Remodeled has such a united team with the right people in the right positions and what we call an ultra-clear vision and a plan, at this point in my career, I’m able to spend at least 80% of my work week doing just the things I’m great at and love doing. I’m making far more impact and having more fun than ever. I attribute this to our President and COO Diallo Smith. He has the talent and skills to become the CEO of a billion-dollar company.
I am incredibly blessed to partner with someone of his caliber. He is responsible for executing our strategic plan, leading our executive leadership team, sustaining a thriving organizational culture and more. Diallo has the rare combination of having a brilliant organizational mind while also being an incredible people person. His leadership has led us to crush our very ambitious quarterly priorities.
I consider Life Remodeled and Next Level Nonprofit my babies. The important lesson I’ve learned is to delegate, elevate and let go. When Diallo started, there was friction between us because we both had strong perspectives on how to achieve our goals. Part of me wanted to just have a right-hand person who carried out the vision that I delivered, but what I really needed was someone who would do more than that, someone who would challenge me and my ideas. Diallo did not just shoot holes in them, but he didn’t just rubber stamp my ideas, either. I began to see from his perspective, reminiscent of being fitted for eyeglasses, and realized that I’m a far better leader because of his insights and challenges than I would ever be if he was a yes man.
Extensive research suggests that purpose-driven entities are more successful in many areas. When your organization started, what was its vision? What was its purpose?
I started Life Remodeled in 2010 as a nonprofit. We’ve always been focused on sustainable neighborhood revitalization and our strategy has evolved dramatically throughout the years. In the beginning, we used to build houses in six days, and we would deed them to low-income families free of charge and provide wraparound services for them and their surrounding community. Eventually, we discovered where we can make the most impact. Now, we repurpose large vacant schools into one-stop hubs of opportunity for community thriving, and we fill these buildings with the best and brightest nonprofits who are providing services directly requested by community members. We then help these organizations collaborate and achieve far greater impact.
We were building a house in Detroit back in 2013, and we not only were building it in six days, but we also had 5,000 volunteers who were investing in the surrounding community and beautifying the surrounding area. A member of the community came up to me and said, “Hey, where’s my house?” And I said, “Excuse me?” He said, “Man, you ain’t doing nothing in this community.” He says, “Well, I take that back. The work that all of your volunteers are doing is helpful. But you are giving that one house to one family for free, man, you could do better.” I walked away from that conversation and instead of being defensive, I said to myself, “This guy’s right.”
That led to our thinking about how we could have greater impact. The next step in our evolution was not vacant schools, but existing schools. We went from building a house and a three-hundred-fifty-thousand-dollar community improvement project to a $5.5 million project in one year. For the next three years, we started renovating existing schools to provide safe and inspiring environments for educational and athletic advancement. This included projects like a synthetic football field for a high school that played every game away for six straight years, including homecoming. We reroofed another high school that had trash cans spread throughout the building filled with brown moldy water collected from the rotten roof. When it rained outside, it poured down on students inside classrooms.
At the end of 2016, Detroit Public Schools suggested that we take over a vacant school instead. Initially we were reluctant. We then realized how much more of an impact could be made by doing do. This has become our niche and we’ve gotten really good at it. Our results are measurable and sustainable. And honestly, I am grateful for that guy who cussed me out. He was right.
For example, we acquired the former 143,000 square feet Durfee Elementary-Middle School building in 2017. It looks like Harry Potter’s school –neo-gothic architecture, slate roof, plaster crown moldings, marble walls, and wood paneling. But 80% of residents living within four and a half square miles of that building lived at or below the poverty line.
Then last year, Gallup Research surveyed Detroit residents across all 139 square miles of the city. They were measuring Detroiters’ perception of their ability to thrive based on the specific neighborhood they lived in. Our neighborhood ended up scoring second in the entire city. Additionally, as of this year, the Durfee neighborhood now has the lowest crime rates in all of Detroit. This is quite a contrast given that when we first opened our doors, it was among the most unsafe places to live. We have tangible proof that our model is working.
Let’s get to the main focus of this conversation. Here’s the next question. Can you share with our readers a story from your own experience about how you lead your team during uncertain and difficult times?
In 2016, when Detroit Public Schools asked Life Remodeled to repurpose Durfee. We immediately informed community leaders about the request, and most were actually very supportive. However, they didn’t know the property was about to be leased to us for $1 a year for 50 years, because we weren’t supposed to make the negotiation details public.
Due to my blind spots at the time, I actually thought people in the community would be excited about us spending only a dollar because we could then focus more resources on the building and programming for the community. The key word here is “for,” but I’ll come back to that. Once we inked the deal and made it public, community members were absolutely furious. We experienced extremely high levels of pushback at crowded public meetings and even death threats. The disunity in the community was so strong that our internal team was experiencing disillusionment. For the first time in my life, I was thinking about quitting a project. We were facing a massive problem where the solutions were entirely unknown.
Initially our perception of the pushback was that the issue stemmed from something as intrinsic as race, making it feel like there were no clear paths forward. That wasn’t the core problem. Luckily, we had recently hired a new team member named, Dwan Dandridge. Dwan was not only well respected by community members, but also an incredibly effective bridge builder. We leaned into Dwan’s wisdom and discovered the paramount issue was community leaders didn’t feel respected, valued, or even included in this project. Some felt that it was being done “to” them, which they feared would lead to unhealthy levels of gentrification and displacement, others felt this project was being done “for” them, which in essence was treating them like charity cases.
Dwan helped lead Life Remodeled to become an organization that does neighborhood revitalization “with” the community, whereby we to truly partner together and embrace the community’s existing strengths, leadership, and wisdom. Personally, I grew exponentially during this project, and my life was remodeled in the process. As it relates to my leadership, the keys were my willingness to value the expertise of Dwan over my own and to humble myself among community members, even to the point of apologizing for the missteps our organization and I had made. That led to tremendous levels of trust being built internally with our existing team and externally with community members. It also led to increased confidence and support from the philanthropic community as they witnessed how we navigated this tumultuous situation.
Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?
Yes, I certainly did during this process. The meetings were so contentious, and I was being personally attacked. I stood up to speak and 20 % of those in attendance turned their chairs around to face the back of the room. For the next three hours, multiple people shared their fears and anger of gentrification and white privilege. I was ready to quit right there and to move on to a different community, but Dwan’s wisdom paved my path to enlightenment, a journey that I am still on today. He said, ‘you came here tonight with some important things to say, and you experienced having your voice taken away. Many of the people in the room tonight experience that on a regular basis.’
That was mind-blowing. It helped me perceive empathy very quickly. Then Dwan guided us through the next steps by saying, ‘we’re going to spend even more time with community members and we’re not going to ask them to trust us. Instead, we’re going to invite them to inform us what the community wants and needs and then hold us accountable to do what we say we’re going to do.’ Six months later, the project was well underway, and we had gained a significant amount of trust in the community. People were beginning to see that we were not only listening to what they wanted, but we were doing it together with the community. And here’s how I know.
I’m standing in the gym while it is under renovation, and I get a call from one of our most vocal adversaries, ‘Hey, where are you?’ I said, ‘Well, I’m in the gym over here at the Durfee Innovation Society.’ He says, ‘Stay there. I’m coming over,’ and I have no idea what his intentions are. A little bit later I see him walking briskly toward me as he comes into the room and then suddenly, he opens his arms, he wraps him around me, gives me a massive hug, and he says, ‘I’m in, brother.’ For the next five years, he sat on a local leadership advisory council. The Durfee Innovation Society has helped many people transform their lives, including mine. It probably wouldn’t even exist today if it weren’t for bridge builders, community leaders and all of us learning to love one another.
Talk about any books or a book that’s impacted your life and inspired you to be an effective leader and can you tell a story how the book has led you, strengthened your abilities?
In 2014, right as Life Remodeled was shifting to renovating existing schools, we scaled rapidly from undertaking a $350,000 project to what would soon become a five and a half million-dollar project. A friend of mine handed me the book Traction by Gino Wickman, and this turned out to be one of the most important books I’ve ever read. I was immediately gripped by Gino’s ability to simplify the complex, yet essential ingredients required for leading and sustaining a successful business. I graduated from business school at Indiana University, understood the concepts, and wanted to implement them right away. However, my next immediate thought was that somebody needed to translate these principles into nonprofit language and into our context because it took some significant adaptation to really apply to the nonprofit sector. After searching high and low, I actually discovered there are quite a few business operating systems out there that share similar principles.
All of these systems are excellent, but none of them were designed for nonprofits. Our team immediately started modifying the principles from multiple business operating systems, including EOS and others, and we integrated our own learnings from the social sector. We’ve created a new system called Next Level Nonprofit. We’re now helping nonprofits integrate this essential structure at a far lower price point than the business operating systems. I published a book titled Next Level Nonprofit in 2023, and launched Next Level Nonprofit, the organization as a separate 501(c)(3). We’ve set our sights on revolutionizing the social sector via implementation of this system for nonprofits across the United States. Adopting the Next Level Nonprofit system will help organizations serve more people more effectively.
What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?
I believe the most impactful leader during a crisis is someone who’s been able to convince those around them they’ll get it right in the end. I’m not saying that this leader is the smartest person in the room. If they are, then they probably did a terrible job attracting, developing and retaining real talent. It’s not that a great leader is always right, quite the opposite. Someone who thinks they’re always right, isn’t flexible, and adaptability is vital when we’re facing uncertainty. A great leader in crisis is somebody who listens incredibly well, with a high level of discernment and the ability to synthesize the best and most important information with clear and consistent communication.
They know who to seek answers from and how to assemble appropriately sized teams with the right skills represented for the challenges that they’re facing. They lead with a presence that inspires and effectively challenges others to say hard things that need to be said, because they’ve earned their trust. This is someone who takes the time to make sure that the real problem is truly understood before merely winging it with random strategies that might cause more harm.
When the future seems so uncertain, what’s the best way to boost morale? What can a leader do to inspire, motivate, and engage their team?
In the midst of chaos and uncertainty, I find that people and organizations often forget their identities, who we are, why we exist, and we forget the past challenges and uncertainties that we’ve overcome. When Life Remodeled faces tumultuous times, I share compelling stories among our internal team, reminding us of who we are, why we passionately get out of bed to do the work we do, and some of the craziest times when we’ve not only survived but thrived. I invite others to do the same.
I believe great leaders look at the problem as an opportunity. They’re able to inspire others by facing brutal realities with relentless faith to keep going with confidence. People are drawn to leaders who show a commitment to getting things right as a team, rather than imposing their own will. This kind of leadership builds trust and loyalty because it shows that the leader values the group’s input and is dedicated to finding the best outcome together.
What’s the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and to one’s constituents?
I strongly believe in the concept that author Kim Scott calls ‘radical candor.’ The two key components she talks about are caring personally and challenging directly. When delivering difficult news, it’s essential that those who are on the receiving end know that we care more about who they are as human beings rather than human doings or human consumers. It’s about building real trusting relationships where people feel respected and valued. It takes a lot of time and intentionality to build. Because we care personally about those on the receiving end of this difficult news, we are willing to be straightforward and clear in providing candid information, even when it’s tough. Therefore, we address the issues with honestly without sugarcoating or avoidance.
I believe the most effective communicators of difficult news are those who have personally demonstrated the ability to receive constructive criticism, take responsibility, learn from it, and put the correct action plan into place.
We have a rule at Life Remodeled, never deliver constructive criticism of another team member in public, except for the CEO and the COO. We ask our team members if you see the CEO or COO doing something that doesn’t align with our values, is struggling in their capacity, or you see a microaggression say it right in front of other team members around you.
Our leadership is serious about receiving constructive criticism, and this practice gives us the ability to demonstrate in front of others how to do it well. Additionally, I’ve also learned to become far better at delivering constructive feedback because I know what it feels like to be on the other end. This creates a culture within an entire organization where people are willing to embrace candor, which then translates into them receiving and responding well to constructive criticism from our partners, clients and our constituents. For good or bad, leadership creates culture, and the CEO sets the tone for the entire organization.
How can a leader make plans when the future is so unpredictable?
It’s important to realize that when organizations engage in effective, collaborative strategic planning, they are creating new levels of energy that can be harnessed to overcome unforeseen challenges. The organizations who are best positioned to navigate extreme turbulence and unpredictable circumstances are those who have built the strongest teams. Strong teams are built on inspiring vision, solid strategic planning and disciplined execution. There is a flywheel effect whereby each time an organization strengthens its team unity, vision, strategic planning and ability to execute its plans, they have gone to the next level. Whichever ‘level’ your organization has achieved will pre-determine your ability to overcome unforeseen challenges at a far superior rate than those who haven’t achieved your level of excellence.
Is there a number one principle that can help guide an organization through ups and downs of turbulent times?
When it comes to turbulent times, it’s not ‘if,’ it’s ‘when.’ The number one principle is to be ready.
We’ve all heard the saying, ‘leaders need to keep our swords sharp at all times.’ Which traces back to medieval societies where warriors spent time sharpening their swords, and training combat skills before they engaged in battle.
It’s not only about the CEO’s sword. If everyone’s sword is not sharpened and the organization isn’t united it will be difficult to triumph in the fiercest of battles. The most important components of continuous organizational growth are team unity, a compelling vision, the right strategy, and disciplined execution. Next Level Nonprofit created a questionnaire tool where organizations can consistently measure these components at any time to assess their current level of organizational excellence and readiness for turbulent times.
Can you share three or four of the most common mistakes you’ve seen organizations make during difficult times? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?
Being unprepared often falls into one or two categories. Either leaders are seeing a crisis through rose-colored glasses or fatalistic fear. Being in the present and up to date on measurable levels of preparedness can mute organizational mistakes and ease difficulties. The antidote to difficult times is to see it as an opportunity to leverage for greater impact. Many times, the actual problem is misunderstood, or people are making it about themselves, their own insecurities, and fears. Paralysis of analysis can set in. People may crawl into a hole, stop innovating, then blame others and avoid responsibility.
It’s the primary question. We’ve finally gotten to that point. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a leader should do to lead effectively during uncertain and turbulent times? Please share a story for each of your points.
The first item is to accurately discern what happened or is happening, drilling down to the actual opportunity at hand. When I was receiving negative feedback from the community about repurposing a vacant school, I thought it was racially motivated. It was certainly part of the historical issue, but there was a much deeper issue at hand.
Second, I believe it’s important to embrace tough times as opportunities. When Life Remodeled faced extreme community pushback, we took the time to study and stare the brutal facts directly into the eyes, and yet we did so with relentless faith. Acknowledging the hurt and the uncertainty from both within and outside our organization required real leadership. In the midst of the pain, we leaned into our core value, ‘always find a way,’ to face those challenges head-on and turn them into opportunities for growth and perseverance.
I don’t advocate that there’s such a thing as being fearless. There is no such thing. We basically need 51% more faith than fear to get to the right tipping point. As a leader of a team that embraces vulnerability, I could be honest and say, ‘I’m thinking about quitting this project.’ If we didn’t create an environment where we could be honest, we never would’ve have been able to get down to the core issue and the right solutions.
Third, we needed to ensure our entire organization was confident in who we are: our identity and purpose for existing. We reminded ourselves that we exist because we believe Detroit residents have all the talent they need, but many don’t have access to the opportunities they need to thrive.
The easiest thing to do would have been to walk away, but we didn’t because we remembered who we are. I believe in market-driven solutions. However, if we had taken a purely market-driven approach to the Durfee project, we would’ve walked away and therefore not learned what we needed to learn and consequently missed our opportunity.
Therefore, fourth, we discerned what values of ours were at risk in this scenario. Recognizing our organization was being rightfully accused of straying from our core value of ‘community first’ required a deep level of self-awareness and accountability. Because we are committed to practice ‘bold humility,’ we knew we could be humble enough to ask for feedback and bold enough to apologize.
Finally, with all of the above in mind, we needed to get a balcony perspective on which actions to take. This concept is an effective tool for staying grounded during moments of intense emotion and pressure. By mentally stepping outside the situation and viewing your organization from an objective, almost third-person standpoint, it allows you to detach from the immediate emotional reactions and make decisions that are more aligned with your core values. In times of crisis, it’s easy to get swept up in fear and anxiety, but taking that step back helps refocus on what the organization truly stands for and how it can respond thoughtfully.
The transformative question to ask is, ‘What would be the wisest thing for an organization with our identity and values to do in this situation?’ We were able to remove the personal stakes, step outside our own insecurities, and focus on our mission. In our case, we partner with communities and organizations to create neighborhood revitalization that lasts.
In conclusion, I believe all organizations are either growing or dying, and I don’t just look at growth as external financial metrics and how many widgets or services are sold. For me, internal organizational growth is always the most important because whatever level we’re at internally will always manifest in what we’re capable of doing outwardly. And turbulent times reveal the cracks in the foundation. Very quickly.
Can you please give us your favorite life lesson quote and share how it’s relevant to you in your life?
This quote comes from a Jewish construction worker whom I personally believed walked the earth about 2,000 years ago, was brutally murdered, and then came back to life.
I’m talking about the person of Jesus, obviously. In one of his parables, he explains those who have been faithful with a few things will be put in charge of many things. I’m 44 years old right now. The impact of the initiatives I’ve founded and the teams I’ve had the privilege to lead, have far exceeded what I was planning for, and I had some lofty goals. I believe that it’s largely because I am ‘all-in’ on the work that I commit to, and I’m focused on the people right in front of me. That can be a struggle at times as a visionary leader because often I’m obsessed with the future. But where I find success is balancing the future with being where my feet are, being fully present with those in front of me.
How can readers further follow your work?
NLNcoaching.org and Liferemodeled.org. LinkedIn address: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lambertliferemodeled/
And my book: Next Level Nonprofit
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
Chris Lambert of Life Remodeled + Next Level Nonprofit On Five Things You Need To Be A Highly… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.