Archive for Staff Issues
Do You Want A Loyal Staff? May 12, 2010
If you want loyalty…then GIVE IT! The leader that demands it but does not offer it often leaves a wake of abused and neglected staff members. Here are a few things that I try to do…
When a person isn’t performing their job in an adequate fashion…TALK TO THEM, don’t just cut them loose! They are real people, with real lives…and sometimes they actually have REAL problems. A leader who only loves his staff when they are performing at maximum potential but will “cut them” at the first sign of struggle is pathetic.
Don’t buy into the “fire a certain percentage of your staff every year” philosophy. I have heard that line taught at leadership conferences and I just don’t buy it. Why? Because let’s say you are on staff…and you hear your leader say, “I fire BLANK percent of my staff every year.” Uh…does that motivate you to be loyal…or does it scare the heck out of you? Staff members should be motivated, not intimated by their leader. AND saying that people are going to be fired “just because” will NEVER bring about an environment of loyalty.
Hang out with your staff. It’s sad…but many leaders have bought into the “you can’t be friends with the people you lead” lie. Personally, I think you can’t be friends with the people you lead if you are an insecure leader. I love the fact that the people I lead with I also do life with. They see me in an environment outside of the church…which allows them to trust me more (and I trust them more as well.) The leader who wants to be a celebrity to his staff may be effective in getting them to kiss his butt…but they will never be truly loyal to him.
Have integrity! The people on staff (and in your church) always need to see that you are smokin’ what your sellin’! In other words…we can’t preach a value if we are not actually living it out.
I’ve alluded to this before…but believe the BEST about them. Don’t listen to every negative word and story you hear about the people you work with an immediately receive it as true…but actually sit down and have a conversation with the person that works with you. A staff member that NEVER gets the benefit of the doubt from his leader will eventually never offer them that same benefit.
Don’t think that just because someone questions a decision that you made that they are automatically against you and are in the process of leading a rebellion against your leadership. God has used some GREAT staff members who had sincere questions to direct me away from making some REALLY bad decisions…and if I had dismissed them as “disloyal” then I would have been both wrong AND stupid because I would have followed through on a wrong decision.
How To Get Buy In From Your Staff – Part Two of Two January 28, 2010
Continuing my thoughts from yesterday…
#3 – LISTEN TO THEM!
One of the greatest mistakes I’ve ever made as a leader is to make a decision that impacts a group of staff members without allowing anyone from the group that was being impacted any sort of input on the decision. We do this as leaders because it is easier and faster…but what is easy is hardly ever what is right! (AND…if you are always obsessed with the quickest and easiest way to get something done…the “end” is a lot closer than you think!)
Today there is hardly EVER an instance where a decision is made around here that someone from that area isn’t allowed the opportunity to dialogue with our leadership team through the decision.
- Why would I make any sort of decision about youth or children’s ministry without actually talking to our youth or children’s ministry team?
- Why would I make any sort of decision about programming without actually talking to the people who serve on our programming staff?
- Why would I make any sort of decision about our volunteering process without talking to people who serve with volunteers?
I could go on…but you get the point. When a staff member feels like they had an opportunity to be involved in the conversation and ask the questions that were on their mind they are WAY more likely to buy into the decision that was made, even if they don’t agree with it.
(By the way…some people call people who want to be listened to “disloyal!” I call those who want to be listened to “leaders!” You can have leaders or followers around you…and only a secure leader is willing to answer questions from his staff that will clarify the vision!)
#4 – Say “THANK YOU!”
One of the things I have realized is that MOST staff members aren’t looking for a ton of recognition and/or huge monatary rewards…they just want to be told, “thanks!”
Reality is this…if we are not careful as leaders we can CRUSH the enthusiasm of a staff member…because…we all have people on our staff that ONLY get recognized if they screw something up. (Sort of like an offensive lineman in football!) BUT…if they show up, get their job done and do it well, then for some reason a leader thinks he can just allow that to go unnoticed…and this is an incredible de-motivator to a staff team.
Leaders…trust me, we CANNOT underestimate the power of saying “thank you.” I’ve heard leaders say, “well, I’m not going to thank them for something they are supposed to be doing.” That statement is both foolish and irresponsible. A leader who is QUICK to recognized “the bad” in a staff member but never stops to recognize “the good” is irresponsible. (Or maybe he/she is unaware! Trust me…”thank you” is HUGE!!!)
#5 – Lead With Integrity
If you want your staff to buy into your leadership then integrity HAS to be valued, pursued and encouraged. Because once a person sells out their character it undermines the platform that God gave them to stand on.
AND…leaders…if we do not make integrity an issue…then one day it WILL BE AN ISSUE!
Staff member cannot buy into a liar. At the end of the day they’ve GOT to know that you say what you mean and you mean what you say.
- This means when we screw up…we admit it.
- This means that when we don’t do our part…we admit it.
- This means that when we are struggling with something…we admit it.
- This means that when we declare direction…we are the first to step in that direction.
Leaders…at the end of the day all we really have is our integrity. Either people believe what we say or they think we are full of crap…the latter will always result in shattered dreams while the former will always result in a team of people who are on FIRE and CONSUMED about the reality of what could be and should be, and will never stop short of the vision that has been declared.
Interested In An Internship? January 7, 2010
There are currently two openings for paid internships here at NewSpring Church. These interns would be working directly out of my office and the hours are flexible, with the exception of Sundays–which is an all day requirement.
I am looking for two people who are…
- Incredibly positive
- Radically dedicated to Jesus
- Have a servants heart
- Organized
- AND who have a GREAT attitude!
If you are interested in applying for one of these positions then please email Lindsay Taguba (Lindsay.Taguba@newspring.cc) to request an application–the deadline for turning those in is Wednesday, January 13th.
10 Choices A Leader Needs To Make About His Staff January 6, 2010
#1 – Choose to believe the best about the people on your team rather than always assuming the worst about them.
#2 – Choose to trust them to make decisions that matter without having to run every minor detail by your for your approval.
#3 – Choose to believe that when they ask particular questions that they aren’t being disloyal but rather seeking clarification.
#4 – Choose to believe that they really do love the church and want to see it thrive.
#5 – Choose to lead through inspiration and revelation–NOT intimidation, humiliation, condemnation and manipulation.
#6 – Choose to listen to them before making a decision that will directly impact them.
#7 – Choose to value them as a human being and NOT just a person who can perform a task.
#8 – Choose to take a few extra minutes to coach them through the “why” of a particular decision so that they are equipped/empowered to make the decision on their own the next time.
#9 – Choose to allow them to present the solution to the problem they are telling you about. (A great leader will always have a solution to whatever problem they are bringing to your attention.)
#10 – Choose to point out all of the things they are doing well instead of just focusing on the areas they are messing up.
Staffing, Ministry and Vision! October 22, 2009
Here we go!
#1 – Should I Go Into Ministry? Great question…if you are even considering it…read this!
#2 – Eight Things I Think Every Worship Leader Should Know!
(Our receptionish actually got a phone call from a lady somewhere in the midwest who yelled at her for the above post!!!)
#3 – Seven Things Worship Leaders Wished Their Senior Pastors Knew! (I had my favorite worship leader, Lee McDee, write a response to my post above…EXCELLENT STUFF!!!!)
#4 – What Every Youth Pastor Wishes Their Senior Pastor Knew – seriously…pastors…read!
#5 – Superficial Sunday in the South!
#6 – Four Types of Staff Members…Which Type Are You?
#7 – Five Things You Should NEVER Hear From A Staff Member! EVER!
#8 – Seven Reasons Jesus Could Not Have Been A Pastor In Many Modern Day Churches!
18 Signs That A Staff Has Lost Its Mind September 15, 2009
Last week this post about 16 signs that a leader has lost his mind got a lot of attention…so this week I wanted to blog about the other side of this and take a look at how you can tell a staff (or staff members) has lost its mind.
#1 – They begin to use the church to support their vision and agenda rather than doing all they can for the church to support the vision and agenda of Jesus.
#2 – They view themselves as “experts” and are always seeking to be consulted rather than diving into the thousands of opportunities that are available for growth and maturity.
#3 – They begin to view “good enough” as something that God is pleased with.
#4 – They force change in the organization out of boredom rather than from a connection to Jesus.
#5 – They begin to do ministry to impress other churches and ministry leaders rather than to serve the people that are in their immediate community.
#6 – They are willing to spend other people’s tithe money…but are unwilling to tithe to the church themselves!
#7 – They get to the point where they can do their job without depending upon the Holy Spirit! (This is one of the most dangerous places to be in the church…if you can do what you do without HIS leadership…repent!)
#8 – They refuse to deal with obvious problems that God brings to their attention for fear that it may mess up the comfortable routine they have established.
#9 – They think that God owes them something for all of the hard work they have done.
#10 – They view gossiping about other people on staff as “venting” or “just sharing their feelings.”
#11 – They believe that serving in the ministry will cover over the character issue that God is constantly bringing to their mind and won’t let go of!
#12 – They believe they are entitled to special treatment because of the way they are “gifted.”
#13 – They don’t understand II Corinthians 4:1…that it is because of HIS mercy and not our ability that we are even in ministry!!!
#14 – They view themselves as a part of a particular department more than being a part of the church!
#15 – They lose sight of the fact that they do not start a move of God–they steward it.
#16 – They think they have the corner of the market on Jesus…and that everyone who isn’t doing it just like them are wrong!
#17 – They are always identifying problems but never bringing any solutions.
#18 – They believe they are irreplaceable and that the ministry could not go on without them!
I’ve got to say this…because someone will ask OR assume…
I love my staff!!! I have a dream team! I would not trade one single person on our staff for ANY person at another church!!!
So…this was not a blog post to them! :-)
BUT…it was a blog post based on mistakes that I have made and our staff has made over the past 10 years.
Felt like I needed to say that!
Eight Things To Keep In Mind When Leading A Team–Part Two August 21, 2009
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!)