Tag: leadership

Lessons from the Big Chair: Work with People

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The church where I serve has been without a pastor since January, and I have had the privilege of serving alongside an incredibly wise, discerning, and experienced interim pastor over the past four months. As that time has drawn to an end and we have a new pastor coming in a few weeks, I thought I would spend some time reflecting on a few lessons I learned along the way.

First, something we covered regularly, was at the end of the day all we have left to work with are people.

Understanding the reality of this statement is imperative for leaders. We are not working with robots, cattle, kittens, or cookie dough. We are working with people with individual and unique personalities, preferences, opinions, strengths and weaknesses.

For a minister, this means leading a group of people is never the same experience. Every meeting, every service, every event, has a unique feel and energy because the people who are present is constantly different.

For a leader, this means get to know those you lead. Learn what makes them tick, what makes them happy, and what makes them upset. Take some time jotting down a few personal observations about how they respond.

If someone seems to always respond in the negative, learn how to lead them to a positive reaction by anticipating their negativity.

If someone values being included in a decision, find ways to include them in other decisions.

If someone brags on a written note they received from you, write more notes to them.

At the end of the day, all we have to work with are people. Make the most of the effort you spend and get to know the people you lead and serve.

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Take Time to Say Thank You

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How are you on a scale of 1 to 10 on showing gratitude to others? Go ahead, give yourself a number. 1 would be “why would I be grateful to those losers” and 10 would be “I’m so grateful, I’ve built a Hall of Fame for other people to show my gratitude.”

Now, take a minute and think about how you’ve shown gratitude to those leaders around you who have poured into you to make you better. When was the last time you connected just to say “thank you”?

Part of leadership is recognizing where we’ve come from and the people who have helped us along the way.

I think about a few key men in my life who have helped shape me over the years, one especially being my father. I wouldn’t be who I am, or be able to do what I do if it weren’t for his support throughout my life. His model of what it takes to work hard, to think outside the box, and to succeed has meant the world to me.

You have someone like that. Tell them thank you today.

But before you do, let me flip this around.

Have you ever led someone who you feel is destined to do great things? You know, as strange as this may sound, I have a few people in my life who I have led and helped grow that I am proud to say I helped them become who they are (even though the “help” I offered was minimal).

There are a few students I have had over the years who bring a smile to my face when I get to reconnect. And to them, I am grateful for the time they allowed me to pour into them, for the mistakes I made and they forgave me for, and for their continued excitement and encouragement.

So, take some time after you share your gratitude with one of the people who poured into you, and say thank you to someone who has allowed you to speak into their lives over the years.

Leadership doesn’t stop when your paths split along the way.

Find a way to connect today, and celebrate the leadership journey.

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Check It Out: Having a Personal Development Plan

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Today’s “Check It Out” is an early post dealing with your own personal development and how to help make sure you grow as a leader. Click here to read it.

Here’s a glimpse:

Look at a calendar, and look back over the last six months. What steps have you taken to become a better leader? Have you had regular meetings with a mentor? Have you read leadership books? Maybe you have attended some conferences, or go to a local network of professionals.

Leadership development for those around you will not take priority until your own personal leadership development takes priority. Let that soak in for a moment. Developing leaders around you will not take place at a rate that is greater than your own development.

Check It Out: Be Careful Who Speaks Into Your Life

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Today’s Check It Out post links back to one of my early posts, but one whose content I have been pondering a little extra the past week or so. I hope you enjoy it: https://threequestionleadership.com/2017/03/02/be-careful-who-speaks-into-your-life/ 

 

Tips from the Bunk: Listen to Those Around You

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I have one simple rule for surviving camp. It’s a personal rule, and not one that I share. It does not affect other people. It does not make me a better leader. Quite the contrary: it’s a survival tip.

So, here’s my survival tip for camp: use the same shower each day and learn which way the knobs turn. Simple enough?

Years ago, early on in my camp ministry, I learned the painful lesson that the hot water doesn’t always turn the same way to shut off. Simply put, I changed showers one day and instead of turning off hot and cold, I turned the cold water off and cranked up the hot, resulting in a scalding.

Last week, my survival tip got put to the test as I took two lukewarm (read: cold) showers, thinking the hot water would kick in eventually. It never did. Until, the teenage boy who was helping me at camp cracked the code: the other knob turned on the hot water. I was convinced hot water was going to flow by turning the cold knob.

I am so grateful for the boy who figured that out, communicated it to me, and blessed my week as a result.

So what’s the leadership lesson? Sometimes, those with less experience have fewer assumptions of superior intelligence.

Here’s a teenage boy who has a fraction of the camp experience I’ve built up over my lifetime, and he had the audacity to try something I had not tried yet. His lack of life experience cannot stand up against my infinite wisdom, right? After all, I have survival tips I live by at camp. He doesn’t have that, so he cannot possibly be as wise as me.

As a leader, fight the temptation to think you have it all figured out, and as long as you stick with your process, it is bound to work. Instead, learn to listen to and trust those around you, especially those who are younger than you.

In the church realm, this may mean including others while re-evaluating a program or event. Other people will look at certain elements through a different lens, and you just might learn something from it along the way.

Arrogance chokes the life out of creativity. Thinking you have every answer negates your long-haul influence.

Who knows, maybe one day you’ll have someone help you learn you don’t have to take a cold shower.

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