Lessons on Leadership

have a plan

2011-03-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

Without a plan we are reactive and not proactive

leadership: it's not about us

2011-03-15T18:03:00.000-07:00

Below is a good article by Shirley A. Mullen:

I came to leadership reluctantly. In fact, I have never thought of myself as a "leader." Having said that, for the past nine years, I have found myself in various positions of leadership, first as provost and now as a college president. I've had to learn about leadership as I go. My comments, then, are very much lessons of the road.

First, the call to leadership is often closely linked to particular communities and particular tasks. It does not just come to people who think of themselves as leaders, or to those who have taken classes in "leadership training." It behooves each of us to be prepared for moments when the needs of our communities invite us to consider stepping into leadership roles for particular seasons. Leadership is never about us, or at least it is never only about us. It is about being available when our communities' needs intersect our own journeys of preparation to meet those needs. God may well call some people to be leaders and to think of themselves as such. But the Scriptures remind us that the call to leadership is just as often a surprise to those who are being called. We think here of Moses, of Jeremiah, and of Gideon. In sort, when God calls us to lead-directly, or through our communities-we need to be listening.

Second, the call to leadership is always a call to stewardship. It is a call to care for a treasure that has been placed in our trust-but a treasure that belongs to someone else. We must be clear on the range of stakeholders involved in any situation in which we are called to lead as well as the history, the memories, and the hopes that swirl around that situation. Leaders come and go. Our call is to care for our institutions or communities for the sake of those who will need them to be effective long after we are gone.

Third, the call to leadership is always a call to increasing vulnerability. Part of the vulnerability comes from the range of people who will have expectations-often conflicting ones-about how we ought to exercise our leadership. Most of the vulnerability comes from the multiple factors that are outside our control, but factors that will affect the outcome and impact of our decisions. Furthermore, as leaders, we are vulnerable to the judgments of those outside the situation who will judge us after the fact, as if we did have full control and full knowledge of the variables in the situation. (Occasionally, based on this same principle, we will get more credit than we deserve for positive outcomes!) The call to leadership is a call to submission and humility. It is a call to give of ourselves, faithfully, to the very best of our ability, and then, as the Swedish statesman Dag Hammarskjold reminded us, to "give others the right to judge."

Fourth, the call to leadership is a call to make our entire selves available for God's use in that role. Both our strengths and our weaknesses are in his hands, and he gets to choose on any given day which are most useful for his purposes. We tend to think that God is more interested in using our strengths. But it is in our weakness that he is most able to remind us that leadership is not something that we do alone. It is always a team effort. Furthermore, it is in our weakness that we are most aware of our need for the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom, clear vision, and the courage to act out of conviction rather than expedience.

Leadership is a heady word these days. There are lots of books on how to do it successfully. Many colleges and universities offer programs in "leadership." I have seen first-year students in tears because they did not make it into the "leadership track," thinking that somehow they would then be forever shut out of any opportunities to lead. I even noted that the word leadership does not appear in my concordance. I tend to think that the Lord calls us not to "leadership" as a lifetime call, but to faithfulness in particular moments as part of the larger work of Divine Artisanship in which he works on us, even as he calls us to good works. As Paul put this in Ephesians, chapter 2, "We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Leadership is one of those arenas through which he works on us, bringing us into conformity to the image of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, even as we seek to carry out the particular good works of leadership to which he occasionally calls us.

lesson on leadership by Carver T. Yu (Fuller ThM '76)

2011-03-03T13:43:00.000-08:00

The leader of any institution must have vision: knowing where you are going, and identifying the most important thing you want to accomplish. But having vision is not enough; you also need passion to really dedicate your life to making the vision real. Without dedication and passion, you simply cannot inspire others to join you.

Partnership with others is very important in leadership. A leader has to have an openness to listen to others, and must take them seriously. A leader has to share ownership of his or her vision and be able to entrust others with the things they can do best.

Lastly, a leader must be willing to confront challenges and respond to them with honesty and integrity.

followers

2011-02-26T01:42:00.001-08:00

Followers are not given, they are earned.

10 things that cause stress in a leader

2011-02-13T14:33:00.000-08:00

According to Perry Noble, the following 10 beliefs and circumstances cause stress in leaders. I believe this is a good list, though in my opinion I wouldn't say these things cause stress in every leader. However, I do believe these are 10 common stress factors for many leaders and it is worthwhile to take a look at them and assess yourself.

1. I actually believe the church is MY church and not the LORD's church...and that I am in control rather than Him (cf. Matthew 16:18).

2. I do not trust the people who I delegate authority and responsibility to and actually begin to believe the lie that, "If I want something done right then I must do it myself."

3. When I know without a doubt what God has spoken to me to do...but I begin to listen to the "experts" who tell me that the very thing God has called me to do is an impossibility.

4. When I try to explain myself to those who don't really want an explanation...they just want to argue.

5. When I refuse to take some time to disconnect and rest, claiming that the devil never takes a day off while not understanding that the devil isn't supposed to be my example.

6. When I begin to take on the "Messiah complex" and begin to think about how much the church needs me rather than how much I actually need Christ.

7. When I worry about results more than obedience.

8. When I focus on the size of the problem rather than the size of God.

9. When I fail to share my worries and concerns and admit my mistakes to others for fear that it may make me seem weak and stupid (When...the opposite is the case, those around me actually love and respect me more when I ask for help).

10. When I become unaware of the LORD's presence every single minute of my life.

problems as growth points

2011-02-10T11:54:00.001-08:00

You will no doubt face problems. Whether few or many, problems are inevitable and occasionally will be serious in leadership. Effective leaders recognize that problems they encounter are potential growth points for the individual as well as the overall group, team, company, program, organization and/or church.

covey's two creations

2010-12-16T12:38:00.000-08:00

This lesson comes from Stephen R. Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People." A worthwhile read found on pages 99-100.

"Begin with the end in mind" is based on the principle that all things are created twice. There's a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation to all things.
Take construction of a home, for example. You create it in every detail before you ever hammer the first nail into place. You try to get a very clear sense of what kind of house you want. If you want a family-centered home, you plan to put a family room where it would be a natural gathering place. You plan sliding doors and a patio for children to play outside. You work with ideas. You work with your mind until you get a clear image of what you want to build.
Then you reduce it to blueprint and develop construction plans. All of this is done before the earth is touched. If not, then in the second creation, the physical creation, you will have to make expensive changes that may double the cost of your home.
The carpenter's rule is "measure twice, cut once." You have to make sure that the blueprint, the first creation, is really what you want, that you've thought everything through. Then you put it into bricks and mortar. Each day you go to the construction shed and pull out the blueprint to get marching orders for the day. You begin with the end in mind.
For another example, look at a business. If you want to have a successful enterprise, you clearly define what you're trying to accomplish. You carefully think through the product or service you want to provide in terms of your market target, then you organize all the elements-financial, research and development, operations, marketing, personnel, physical facilities, and so on-to meet that objective. The extent to which you begin with the end in mind often determines whether or not you are able to create a successful enterprise. Most business failures begin in the first creation, with problems such as undercapitalization, misunderstanding of the market, or lack of a business plan.
The same is true with parenting. If you want to raise responsible, self-disciplined children, you have to keep that end clearly in mind as you interact with your children on a daily basis. You can't behave toward them in ways that undermine their self-discipline or self-esteem.
To varying degrees, people use this principle in many different areas of life. Before you go on a trip, you determine your destination and plan out the best route. Before you plant a garden, you plan it out in your mind, possibly on paper. You create speeches on paper before you give them, you envision the landscaping in your yard before you landscape it, you design the clothes you make before you thread the needle.
To the extent to which we understand the principle of two creations and accept the responsibility for both, we act within and enlarge the borders of our Circle of Influence. To the extent to which we do not operate in harmony with this principle and take charge of the first creation, we diminish it.

This next section is key

It's a principle that all things are created twice, but not all first creations are by conscious design. In our personal lives, if we do not develop our own self-awareness and become responsible for first creations, we empower other people and circumstances outside our Circle of Influence to shape much of our lives by default. We reactively live the scripts handed to us by family, associates, other people's agendas, the pressures of circumstance-scripts from our earlier years, from our training, our conditioning.
These scripts come from people, not principles. And they rise out of our deep vulnerabilities, our deep dependency on others and our needs for acceptance and love, for belonging, for a sense of importance and worth, for a feeling that we matter.
Whether we are aware of it or not, whether we are in control of it or not, there is a first creation to every part of our lives. We are the second creation of our own proactive design, or we are the second creation of other people's agendas, of circumstances, or of past habits.
The unique human capacities of self-awareness, imagination, and conscience enable us to example first creations and make it possible for us to take charge of our own first creation, to write our own script. Put another way, Habit 1 says, "You are the creator." Habit 2 is the first creation.

master few things well

2010-07-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

"If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will not be great at anything."

The above quote is the first line in the book Strengths Based Leadership by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie. It reminds me of the phrase, "Jack of all trades, master of none." Taking into account the last 12 years I have been in some kind of leadership position, I have come to realize the truth of this quote. If we attempt to excel in too many subjects, we can potentially achieve a well-rounded understanding, and even articulate the subjects well. However, we will eventually come to a fork in the road where the paths of each subject branch out into different directions. And, no matter how hard we try, we will not be able to keep our feet on multiple paths.

Here is a simple example; as a person working on a PhD in Old Testament studies, I realize, no matter how much I desire to do so, I cannot be an expert of both the Old Testament and New Testament. In fact, I am not even sure I can be an expert in the entire Old Testament. It goes beyond knowing Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and some Ugaritic, Akkadian, Moabite, and Phoenician. For me to be an "expert" in, for example, the Torah is to take the much needed time to study, understand, and be a part of everything the Torah encompasses. The necessary time to be an expert of the Torah would take away from the necessary time to be an expert in the prophets, or wisdom and poetic literature, or the historical books.

I believe as leaders we need to live a life of continually learning. However, we cannot chase after the wind. Focusing on a few subjects in which to excel while maintaining a discipline of being teachable is what it takes to master few things well.

shape people's interpretations

2010-06-24T10:32:00.000-07:00

"Change the categories that people use to interpret their world." This quote caught my attention as I was reading Making Spiritual Sense by Scott Cormode. Scott rightly attests that Christian leaders speak God's Word into life's situations. Everyone makes sense of situations in accordance with their respective worldviews. What the Christian leader offers, then, is new perspectives to help people adjust their expectations. Scott writes:

"The common theme is that Christian leaders make spiritual meaning.... In short, meaning-making-leaders give people the vocabulary and theological categories to imagine a different way to interpret the world and to construct a new course of action that flows from that interpretation" (Cormode, 66).

A Christian leader does indeed shape the way people interpret the world, both the un-churched and faithful church attenders alike. At this point, it is important to stress the fact that people see what the Christian leader does, hears what the Christian leader says, and thus is taught the way Christians are "supposed" to be. How a Christian leader responds to trials is how Christians are "supposed" to respond. How a Christian leader reacts to criticism, how he or she speaks to people outside of church, how they handle their relationships, the choices he or she makes, EVERYTHING a Christian leader does is viewed by others as "Okay," or "right" because a Christian leader is doing it.

Therefore, let us take our responsibility as people of influence to help others interpret the world in a way that is glorifying to the Lord and helpful to others because our actions and words are meaningful and should always be Kingdom oriented.

devotion to God first

2010-05-17T15:35:00.000-07:00

When we look at the life of Jesus in the Gospels, we see his first obedience was to the will of His Father, not to the needs of humankind. Jesus’ ministry of saving people was the natural outcome of His obedience and connection to the Father. Jesus tells his disciples, “Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work” (John 14:10). Jesus had a secure connection to God the Father.

As leaders, if we are devoted solely to the cause of humankind, we will soon be exhausted and come to the place where our love will falter. However, if we love Jesus Christ personally and passionately, and if we are connected to Christ securely, we can serve humankind, by his power and with his grace. Though people may treat us as doormats, we are not defeated. The secret of a disciple's life is devotion to Jesus Christ, and the characteristic of the life is humble obedience. We are used by God to transform, as we are - ourselves - transformed by God’s grace and power.

thinking "we"

2010-04-15T11:29:00.000-07:00

"The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say 'I'. And that's not because they have trained themselves to not say 'I'. They don't think 'I'. They think 'we'; they think 'team'. They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don't sidestep it, but 'we' gets the credit.... This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done." - Peter Drucker

article on transformational leadership

2010-04-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

This article comes from Seattle Pacific University's magazine Response

Making History: Catalysts for Change
By: Reece Carson, Hannah Notess, and Clint Kelly

Plenty of leaders are smart. Visionary. Even influential. But not all are transformational. So what separates leaders who are merely effective from those with the unique ability to engage and transform their societies and their followers?

That’s a question researchers and scholars in such fields as management and organizational psychology have considered for years. And while no “one-size-fits-all” formula has emerged, researchers have documented certain characteristics necessary for “transformational leadership” to occur.

Among them, transformational leaders — in all fields or endeavors –– listen to their followers and work to help them achieve their fullest potential and satisfy their individual needs. Such leaders engage people to find and implement solutions. And they serve as trusted role models, inspiring their followers to commit to larger goals and even to emulate their lives.

Of course, these traits don’t guarantee a leader who can bring about change. Transformative moments are as much based on forces of the day as they are on the leaders in the moments. Nor do leaders possessing these traits necessarily use them for good. Conquerors and dictators have also shaped cultures and societies. But when leaders combine their influence with a commitment to serving others, they inspire not only the people around them but also generations to come.

So what makes people follow them? How do transformational leaders tap into foundational human needs? And what can we learn from them about our own potential? These 20th- and 21st-century leaders provide some clues.

Winston Churchill
Churchill spoke with authority, integrity, and vision, and it made the difference between victory and defeat for England.

Rosa Parks
Parks’ leadership was not verbal, but through her actions, she stimulated a string of creative ways to address the problem of segregation.

Martin Luther King Jr.
King understood the pain of his audience. But instead of focusing on that pain, he went on to paint a clear vision of a hope-filled future.

Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa never set out to be famous, yet her humbleness and faithfulness were so profound that people couldn’t stop talking about them.

Oprah Winfrey
Winfrey addresses topics that are intended to help people become the best they can be, and she appears vulnerable and “real” in herself.

Steve Jobs
Jobs sees his failure as the best thing that could have happened to him. He says he entered perhaps the most creative period of his life.

Nelson Mandela
Mandela was viewed as someone who was willing to stand up for what he believed in spite of high personal cost.

We the Catalysts

Evangelist Billy Graham, who has played a transformational role in his own lifetime, once said, “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.”

While scholars can point to certain dimensions evident in transformational leadership, it’s perhaps this quality that best exemplifies people in this role. “Transformational leaders lead others to lead themselves,” says Paul Yost, associate professor of industrial/organizational psychology at SPU. “They release the strengths of others.”

In other words, they see themselves more as a catalyst than a solution. We might not all turn out to be Churchills or Mother Teresas. But our behaviors and actions in our own spheres matter. Think of yourself as a catalyst who can release the potential of others. In the same way these leaders, and countless others, caused their followers to change, how you approach people and how you encourage their strengths might just transform the world.

church leaders in a changing world

2010-04-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

"Today's church leaders need to take on transformational leadership qualities. First, they need to articulate the shared vision through imagery, and continuously attract people toward that vision. Second, they need to help lay out the necessary steps to initiate the change. Third, they need to develop the competencies and skills in the individuals who will make the change happen. Fourth, they need to build the confidence of these individuals so that they can envision themselves fulfilling the actual vision. The effective missionary congregation anticipates and proactively engages in continuous cycles of change." - Jon M. Huegli from Confident Witness-Changing World

"fail people at a rate they can stand"

2010-03-29T23:43:00.001-07:00

One of the best leadership classes I ever took was at Fuller Theological Seminar, Leadership in Context with Scott Cormode. In his first lecture, Scott said leaders are faced with the unmerciful expectations of everyone around them. What is more, different people have different expectations. Thus, it is impossible to meet everyone's expectations. If you focus meeting the expectations of one group, you are missing the expectations of another and vice versa. What, then, do leaders do when they are weighed down by a pile of expectations? They fail people at a rate they can stand.

As a leader in the church, people will expect you to make the ministry grow without changing anything or, another way to say it, 'the way things have always been'. In addition, people will want you to make them grow spiritually that is meaningful, but not painful. Both of these are unrealistic expectations, but as unrealistic as they may be people still put them on our shoulders as church leaders. The secret is to not allow these expectations to discourage you, but to see them as opportunities to learn and grow as a leader, and help others grow.

How do we fail people's expectations at a rate they can stand? By listening to what they have to say, asking questions, being gracious, being humble, stating what we can realistically do within a realistic time frame, offer different suggestions and vision.

Above all, we ask God to fill us with grace and patience in order to expend grace and patience onto others.

big rocks

2010-03-04T10:20:00.000-08:00

One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high-powered over achievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz."
Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide mouthed Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.

When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"

Everyone in the class said, "Yes."

Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"

By this time the class was on to him. "I think so," one of them answered.

"Wrong!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"

"Yes!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Wrong."

Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, “How about now?”

“No!” The class shouted, “It’s not full.” He said, “Yes, now it is full.” Then he asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"

"No," the speaker replied, "That's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all."

What are the 'big rocks' in your life?

Your relationship with God?
Your husband or wife?
Your children?
Your loved ones?
Your health?
Your education?
Your dreams?
A worthy cause?
Teaching or mentoring others?
Doing things that you love?
Time for yourself?

Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all. If you sweat the little stuff (the gravel, the sand) then you'll fill your life with little things you worry about that don't really matter, and you'll never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff (the big rocks).

So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my life? Then, put those in your jar first.

-anonymous

staying focused

2010-02-22T14:00:00.000-08:00

In a staff meeting at Light and Life, Pastor Larry Walkemeyer suggested we need to be able to answer the following questions as leaders of ministry teams.

Evaluate

Who are the people who need mentoring on my team?
Who are the people who need opportunities to step up in leadership?
Who are the people on my team who are ready to be commissioned as a leader?

Nurture

How can I make my team members feel valuable?
Am I listening to them?
Am I encouraging them?
Am I reaching out to them with phone calls, cards, notes, etc?
Am I providing good feedback?

Refine

What can I do to improve as the leader?
Where is our team strong?
Where does our team need to improve?
What can be done better?
Are there new systems, resources, ideas, etc, that can be implemented?

Sharpen

Am I living as an example of Christ?
Am I holding my team accountable?
Am I held accountable by the people on my team?
Are we as a team growing in Christ? Together? Individually?

Out of these questions, I thought of a BIG question:

Do we Know and can we Articulate the Purpose of our Team in terms of the Kingdom of God and giving Glory to Jesus Christ?

relinquishing crowns

2010-02-08T20:26:00.001-08:00

“Do you feel you are qualified for this position? How have your education and experiences prepared you?”

Above are two examples of common questions a candidate for a ministry position, or any job whether ‘Christian’ or ‘secular’, might hear. Yet questions such as these emphasize the abilities of the candidate, inadvertently creating a foundation of pride, or insecurity. As a result, the candidate is conditioned to look to his or her own accomplishments, to believe worth is determined by that which he or she is capable of doing, and to operate based on the way in which others perceive him or her. Thus, even before the interview process begins, a hybrid of individual heroism and codependency is formed.

As a young youth pastor, both young in age and experience in ministry, I interviewed a candidate for the position of junior high director. I asked for the candidate’s vision concerning the junior high group. Furthermore, I asked for the candidate’s philosophy of ministry and plan for establishing a core team. Perhaps at first glance there are no apparent problems with these questions. After all, vision, philosophy of ministry, and plans for effective work are all important. However, looking back I can see my error of leading the candidate to rely on her own abilities while, at the same time, developing an atmosphere of acceptance based on performance.

True leadership is not founded on ambition, egocentric desire, or self-reliance. Rather, true leadership is derived from humility, teach-ability, and appropriate vulnerability. For a Christian, true leadership is derived from humbly serving Jesus Christ and others, while continually striving to know Christ more. A true Christian leader is the best follower inasmuch as he or she follows the Master.

Should I ever interview for a job in the future and hear the questions above, I would like to respond in a way somewhat close to the following: “If I answer your questions, regurgitate some theological philosophy, provide a solid defense of my qualifications, and eloquently articulate the reasons my education and experiences have prepared me to handle this position, you should congratulate me on my achievements and nothing more.” I am in no way disregarding the importance of education or the validity of experience. Qualifications and abilities are, of course, important and helpful for both the interviewer and interviewee of recognizing a ‘good fit’ for the position at hand. However, attention must be given to the person’s willingness and desire to be led by the Holy Spirit, and diligence in living a life as a learner of God.

The most ‘qualified’ person is not always the ‘right’ person for the job. On the contrary, though Peter and John had courage, they were unschooled, ordinary men (Acts 4:13). Only through the Holy Spirit was Peter able to stand up to the Sadducees and priests (Acts 4:8), not because he had an M.Div from Fuller Theological Seminary. Leadership is not dependent on our achievements.

At this point I must reiterate that education is not obsolete. If it were, I would not have worked hard on earning two bachelor’s degrees, an M.Div, or a Master of Arts in Theology, and I would not continue to work toward a PhD in Old Testament studies. I believe God desires we grow in our education, through books, school, and conversations with mentors and other believers. Nevertheless, we can fall into the trap of leaning on our own accomplishments and knowledge.

I have been a Christ follower for nearly 14 years. Since the beginning of my spiritual journey I have been actively involved in ministry. I began by playing guitar for my youth worship team. Soon after I began a Christian band and found myself preaching the Good News at our shows. I was picked up as the speaker for a ministry that set up Christian shows for hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of youth. I started a Bible study in which many friends and people who heard I was a ‘good teacher’ attended. I have spoken at Christian camps, worked as a youth pastor, and currently pastor a wonderful church. I cannot deny that through all of this pride has crept in with its ugly face tempting me to find fulfillment in my achievements. Nevertheless, when the illusions of grandeur stand at my doorstep I am reminded of the apostle Paul who, after naming some of his many achievements and qualifications, states “I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8 NRSV cf. Philippians 3 and 2 Corinthians 12-14).

While a student at Azusa Pacific University, I remember a chapel speaker asking what we would want our epitaphs to read. He hammered on the point that we must make our mark and positively influence the world as role models. I think my answer at the time was something like, “Izzy Matos, he loved Jesus Christ and people passionately.” I had it right did I not? After all, the two greatest commandments are there. The fact of the matter is if I am thinking about my epitaph, I have missed the point. How can I look ahead to my death and legacy when there are hurting people right next to me? When I look to all the ministry or, to put another way, ‘stuff’ I have to do “for God,” I miss the hungry person on the off-ramp, the person stuck on the side of the road, the lady carrying her grocery bags home because she cannot afford a car and must walk 10 blocks.

The truth of the matter is when we step into leadership we are given a crown. The greater our influence grows, the more nice things people say about us, and the more people are affected by what we say and do. Ultimately, the ‘better’ we do in ministry, the more jewels we receive on our crown. Is that the point of doing Kingdom work? What good is a crown with jewels going to be in heaven? What a lame goal! The Son of God, worthy of all praise and honor, rode on a donkey. The true King, given all authority and majesty from heaven, wore a crown of thorns. How dare I seek to polish the jewels on my crown when my Lord and Savior got on his knees as a lowly servant and washed the disgusting feet of his disciples!

Leadership is not picking up our swords and leading a group to march into battle. It is the ability to fall our knees in humility and meekness. It is the ability to give up control. We strive to possess education, credibility, power, and relevancy that, though useful, will own us if we are not careful. Remember the same universal sign for surrender is used for worship. It is only when we give up everything that we can have anything.

making your people feel v.a.l.u.e.d

2010-02-01T23:32:00.000-08:00

No leader can easily fail if securely knit together with a solid group of brothers and sisters. Many successful leaders are able to link their success and failures to the people in their lives. That is, the relationships they developed with friends and family. My success in school is in part due to a great relationship with my very supportive and encouraging mom, along with my relationship with friends on and off campus. Any success I have as a pastor is due to my relationship with the Lord, and my relationships with strong leaders and fellow believers to keep me accountable, encourage me, edify me, and walk beside me. As a leader, we cannot afford to be alone.

As Christian team leaders, the success of our teams is not for self-praise. Nor is the success of our teams a means to prove we are good leaders. Rather, the success of our teams is the fruit of a solid relationship with the Lord and obedience to God’s direction. We work in order to serve the Lord. We want to be successful in order to bring glory to God. We are only good leaders by first being servants of the Lord and servants of others.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul states that our attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus. After all, if Jesus is truly our Lord, should we not strive to be like him? Paul says:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
-Philippians 2:5-8

Attitudes of insolence, arrogance, and severance discourage team members. Rather than building up our team members, recognizing their value, we are pushing them out. If we do not learn to value and serve our team members, the team(s) they serve will fall.

Below are 5 ways to VALUE your people. In valuing your team members, you are serving them. In serving them, you are embracing the same attitude as Christ Jesus.

Validate your people. Each time you communicate with a member of your team, they should feel needed NOT defeated. Every person wants to feel significant and contribute something positive to the team. If they are doing their job well, let them know and do not overlook the little things in your communication. Many leaders overlook the small things like emails. Think about the emails you send out to team members. Do you rush through them in order to spit out the “need to know” of what you have to say? Do you take the time to appreciate your people or do you skip to dealing with the “important” or “urgent” issue at hand? If so, you are putting the work above the worker. Below are two different examples of emails. The first is a poor example. It is direct, to the point and has no regard for the team member as a person. The second is a good example. It is direct, to the point but has regard for the team member as a person.

Email 1
Coming up is the big event

Your responsibility will be to set up the tables and make sure there are enough drinks for the people who will be attending. It will last about 2 hours and then clean up can begin. I will email again if anything new comes up.

Leader

Email 2
Hi Jane,

Thank you so much for all you do for the team. You have been doing some great things and have blessed me.

This week is the big event. Please note the following: Your responsibility will be to set up the tables and make sure there are enough drinks for the people who will be attending. It will last about 2 hours and then clean up can begin. I will email again if anything new comes up.

If you have any questions please email me. Thank you for your help

Leader

Notice in the first email there is no acknowledgement of the person to whom the email is written. This email does not make a person feel valued or appreciated. Also notice the tone of the first email. It comes across as though the reader is insignificant, subordinate, and expendable. No “please” or “thank you” is even hinted. In essence, this email communicates, “You exist to work so here is your work, get it done!”

The second email acknowledges the person, Jane. Furthermore, the email begins and ends with thanksgiving. The leader thanks the team member for being a part of the team. It gives a short acknowledgement of something they have done recently that was noticed and invites the person to contact the leader. In essence, the second email communicates, “You are doing great work. I notice it. I am here for you. Thank you for all you do.”

The second email took about an extra 10 seconds to write. It does not take long to add a few lines of appreciation, but the few lines of appreciation will go a long way. If you do not have time to make your team feel valued, you do not have time to be a leader.

Assign tasks to team members. As mentioned above, team members want to feel like they are making a significant contribution to the team. They want to feel important, useful and purposeful. Invite people into the vision and allow them to participate in making the vision a reality. Show team members how their efforts are a big part of moving forward the vision. As team members grow in their leadership, assign them greater things, give them greater responsibilities and prepare them for greater work.
I have listened to some great teachings about developing team members. As a leader, we are developers. Goethe says, “Treat a [person] as [they] appear to be and you make [them] worse. But treat a [person] as if [they] already were what [they] potentially could be, and you make [them] what they should be.”

Listen to your team members. You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger – James 1:19

Are we doing all the talking? If so, we are not leading well. Someone once told me we have two ears and one mouth, meaning we should listen twice as much as we speak. Get to know the people on your team. Ask questions in order to unveil their passions. Get to know their values, strengths, ideas and desires. Accept and appreciate that every individual is unique with his or her own creative input. Thus, create a canvas of common ground for each person to share their creative colors and together produce a masterpiece.

Members of a team will recognize a leader that talks more than he or she listens. That team member is likely to be discouraged from sharing anything or speaking up. This is detrimental to the team. It does not do anything for the development of that team member. It keeps a team member from sharing potentially great ideas that could be used in a powerful way for the Kingdom. It makes for poor communication. Finally, it causes more stress, both on the person taking all the work upon him or herself and the people who can see how to make things run more smoothly but do not feel invited to share.

When Paul writes to the Christians at Corinth, he states the Body of Christ, a metaphor for the Church, is like a physical body with all its parts (cf. 1 Corinthians 12).

If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (1 Corinthians 12:17, 21-27)

We cannot neglect the eyes of our team lest we march blindly ahead.

Uproot the weeds. Jesus said to his disciples:
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (John 15:1-4)

I am not a gardener, nor do I claim to have botany skills of any kind. However, it does not take a skillful botanist to know bad seed will produce a bad crop, and a bad plant will not survive without being nurtured back to health.

Jesus says his disciples must be connected to him in order to bear good fruit. Thus we as leaders along with our team members must be securely connected to the Lord. As leaders we need to take note of people who are not walking strongly with the Lord, come along side them and encourage them in their trajectory toward fullness in Jesus Christ. If they need to be relieved from responsibilities for a while, have them take time to do what they need in order to get back on track and be securely connected to the Lord.

Fruit is character. Thus, good fruit is good character that matches the character of Jesus. We can tell if our team members do not have good attitudes, just like we can tell if one of our plants is dying. This is a manifestation of a life apart from Jesus. As a leader, we need to find out what we can do to help our team members stay connected to the Lord. Otherwise, bad character will spread. There are times in which we must uproot the weeds for the sake of the garden. This is valuing those who are connected to the Lord and bearing good fruit because it is getting rid of bad seed. However, this is also valuing those who have fallen away from a strong connection to the Lord because it is causing them to realize they need to get back on track. Do not be afraid, as a leader, to make hard choices and remove people from the team, for a season, while they get right with the Lord. They will do more damage than good if they are not connected to Jesus but still a part of the team. Be sure to prune your garden! Get rid of negativity. Naturally, this should be done with gentleness and prayer (cf. Galatians 6:1-2).

Evaluate your team individually and corporately. Let each member of your team know how he or she is doing from time to time. Praise them in their strengths. Encourage them in the growth areas. Call out any negative behavior in firm love. Invite team members to the next level of responsibility when they are ready. Above all, let them know examples how they are living in such a way that matches the character of Jesus.

Corporately, let your team know how the ministry is doing. Celebrate victories with them. Provide examples to let the team know how much land they have occupied for the Kingdom by means of their efforts, prayers, and good works. Lastly, have them evaluate you as a leader and grow together for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

VALUE your team and in doing so, create solid relationships between you and team members and team members and themselves. We cannot do Kingdom work alone! May your team be an image of the church working together as partners in the Kingdom of God. May you serve your team and the Lord as Christ serves his Church.