Continuing from yesterday’s post…
#5 - Don’t Be Afraid To Set High Standards - One of the problems I’ve discovered when it comes to leadership in the church is that some people are perfectly fine with setting the bar of excellence really low…and then allowing the people they lead to crawl under it. I know leaders who literally fear that if they set high standards that people will get offended; however, the thing I’ve learned around here at NewSpring is that if we DON’T set high standards people do not feel challenged…which leads to boredom! (BTW…I said “high standards,” not “unrealistic ones!”)
#6 - Beware of the All Star - One of the things that cripples any team is when it has an all star who believe ministry simply cannot take place without them…and when a leader begins to believe that about an individual on the team then they will often fear what might happen if the all star left rather than what would happen if the presence of God left!!! Every “star player” who truly has an intimate walk with God understands that it’s the TEAMWORK that makes the DREAMWORK—period.
#7 - Each Team Member Is A Human Being - The leader who views the team he leads as people who are assembled to do what he wants them to do and that’s it sucks as a leader! A leader MUST care about the people he leads and NOT just the tasks they perform. If a team member sees themselves as merely a tool in the leaders hand rather than a valued team member…they will soon be looking to join another team.
#8 - Ask Questions - One of the biggest mistakes a leader can make is assuming that they have to have the answer to every question that comes their way. (BTW…NO leader is that good!) One of the things I am realizing more and more is how incredibly gifted and talented the people around me are…and over the past several years I’ve asked this question in so many meetings when someone presents an issue to me, “So, what do you think we should do?” Often times the person already has the solution planned out…which saves me (and everyone else on the team) all kinds of time and energy! The reason God blesses a leader with a team is so that leader can harness the collective wisdom of everyone involved and make the best decision.
Beside…people ARE going to share their opinion somewhere…a leader might as well be the first to hear it…because it can save a lot of problems in the future.
One more thing…the only reasons a leader might not ask questions is because he is insecure (thinks doing so will show weakness), full of pride (thinks he is better than everyone else) or fear (because he knows the answer he is going to hear from the team is the right one—but not the one he prefers!)