I read Mark 10:35-45 the other morning and made a list of eleven ways that a leader can serve people (after all, Jesus said that is how to be a great leader.)
#1 - Adopt the mindset that these people work with me and not for me.
#2 - Provide enough margin for the people who serve with you to be creative and brainstorm ahead. (The pastor that works “week of” in regards to his message really does a great disservice to those who support him in regards to creative elements.)
#3 - Make sure that the people you serve with have the resources they need to do the job they are expected to do.
#4 - Say “thank you” and “great job” A LOT instead of always pointing out all of the areas where a person came up short.
#5 - Try your best to make sure that if an area of the church is going to be impacted by a certain decision that someone from that area had input in the decision making process. (Learned this one from Andy Stanley.)
#6 - Make sure the expectations for the people you lead are both spoken and realistic. (We cannot hold people accountable for unspoken, unrealistic expectations.)
#7 - Don’t confuse personal preferences with conviction from the Holy Spirit…if you tell the people you serve with that “God told me” then you had better be willing to bet your last Bible than you heard from the Lord!
#8 - Model what you consider to be important…in other words, when you are walking into the building and see a piece of trash on the ground…pick it up.
#9 - Listen to them!!!
#10 - Understand that your words weigh 1,000 pounds…choose them carefully!
#11 - Understand that WHAT you say and HOW you say it matter…the people you serve with are human beings with hearts, minds and souls…they deserve to be treated as such.