I suspect that if you are self-aware, you are looking for anything that can help you improve you as a leader, friend, person, mother/father and of course creatively. Leaders who continue to develop and maximize their gifts are leaders who are on a journey to becoming the best at their craft. The greats fight to never confuse mile markers for finish lines and remain in a posture of continual development. A recent study found that the impact of the CEO of most organizations was only as good as the team leads that CEO developed. If you have worked in the church for longer than 6 minutes, you probably can relate to that fact. The power of our best leaders is contingent on how well they lead the people that they empower.
It doesn’t matter if you are a volunteer leader, a team lead, a captain on volunteers, a worship Pastor or somewhere between a first time volunteer and the Sr. Pastor the influence you will maximize is waiting on your to leverage these very simple traits:
Have Vision – Know the vision of your church. Carry it. Have an idea of how your team supports and grows the vision of the church. Without clarity around vision, the “WHY,” we can’t expect our teams to understand the importance of what we are doing and how it matters.
Keep the Faith – Faith to see what has not happened yet. Acknowledge the facts and the truth, don’t avoid reality, but never settle for less than what your faith is telling you. Great leaders balance faith and fact well.
Never Stop Learning – If you listen to podcasts or interviews with successful leaders, one thing you will pick up on quickly is they never stop the process of learning. They never think they have it all figured out. In fact, they have a track record of success because they never ended adding tools to their toolboxes. Any leader who stops asking questions and trying to learn stops getting the best results from their influence. Learning doesn’t always look the same, so be alert for how you can learn something today.
Keep Adjusting – If you are not willing to adjust you will be adjusted. It doesn’t matter if you are the boss or it is your first day every environment requires adaptability. You do not have total control, and that is a GREAT thing. Find the superpower of adjusting and watch your influence grow! Another remarkable thing happens when you learn to be adjustable; you understand that change is constant and it helps you stay current with trends and flows in the world around you.
Don’t Panic – Panic happens around you, not to you. Learn to respond not react to situations. You won’t always be right, and you need an open mind, you are responsible for the atmosphere from which your team works. When you figure out how to keep your head level, your team figures out how to be responsive to problems not reactive!
Always Put People First – People over the process. Processes will change, but you will only be as successful as the tribe you put around you. You never go wrong caring about people. You might go slower, and you will have to invest more, but people that know they are appreciated and feel valued/protected accomplish more in the longterm than the hotshot who never clicks with the rest of the team.
Stay Focused – Know the goals, mission, values, and wins. Keep them CLEAR. Never compromise them at any cost. Don’t allow other forces to distract you from staying laser-focused on these things. This focus is one of the things that only YOU can do as a leader. Focused leaders notice risk, adjust to exterior conditions, identify errors and culture gaps, and keep the team moving at all times.
Find Confidence and Humility – Great leaders carry confidence in one hand and humility in another. They understand who they are and their value but never place that over the team, the mission, or other people. Confident leaders breed confident leaders. Humble leaders never permission teams to move in arrogance. Be confident in who God made you, and remember you are not God.
Have you identified any areas in this list that you need to work on to sharpen your leadership skills? I sure did. It was super convicting writing this so now I have to go work on how I can become a better leader.
If this helped you at all, it would mean the world to me if you shared it with those you think it could help. I appreciate you and your attention. Have a killer day!
