904 words - 3 minute read
A few weeks ago I ran part 1 of this article. Here’s the introduction one more time…
I am a sucker for aphorisms. Those pithy, short words of encouragement and wisdom that a leader repeats to help give courage, direction, and guides for a team or organization.
After Colin Powell’s recent death, the State Department released a set of sayings he gave to people in his leadership. He used them in many places, but the US State Department showed them vital to reinforce them to their diplomatic staff.
Remember, he served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as an Army officer and later as Secretary of State. He won numerous recognitions from both Democratic and Republican presidents.
The whole list is found here, but here are some that spoke to me and that church leaders can use. Powell’s rules are to the point, but I have added some examples and interpretations for church leaders.
8. Check small things.
In a quick way, this says a lot. You can’t check everything, but you need to check the vital small things.
In Powell’s world of military policy and diplomatic concerns, small words and phrases have huge implications.
In observation, there are often similar “small phrases” and language in employment policies, call documents, and vision documents that can lead to big misunderstandings. “How could this be misinterpreted and how should we adjust to save time in the long run.”
Small things also include items such as expense reports and timesheets. These are integrity-building exercises that illustrate how the repetition of small things lead to bigger things. That is true in positive and negative ways.
9. Share credit.
There is a big difference between “I” and “we.”
Those that like to take credit for everything, even when they are the key driver, fail to bring team cohesiveness in the long run.
Worse is the person that takes credit where they were not the originator or promoter of the idea or action. Just because it falls in your domain of responsibility does not mean you should take primary credit.
Ideas in church world are freely given, shared, transposed, and adjusted to fit one’s context and culture. But a “hat tip” or acknowledgment of what helped trigger the idea for you is good practice. It helps us constrain our own egos and acknowledge the kingdom work is mutual work.
10. Remain calm, be kind.
This is pertinent in high-stress, high-conflict situations.
We are not game day basketball or football coaches that try to motivate our teams with anger outbursts, explosive words, and ragers.
Too often pastors think these will help motivate their teams by showing their frustration. I have even known a few to intentionally look for these opportunities in the hope that this will motivate the team.
It doesn’t.
Instead, calmness and kindness will pay longer-term interests for you.
Even when delivering hard feedback or challenging words, saying them with kind eyes, tones and language can help build people up instead of tearing them down.
But the phrase can also apply when we are on a winning hot streak. When our approach seems to be the best and working at a high level, we tend to look down on those teams and churches that aren’t doing well. That leads to cutting remarks, put-downs, and negative thoughts about our fellow kingdom projects.
Your team will watch not only your life when you are in high anxiety mode but in winning mode. What you model in both will be what you tend to reproduce.
Article Continues after this important announcement
Why 2022 is a critical year for Senior Pastor Succession
Since Christmas, I have engaged in 8 calls with pastors about their succession thinking. Why is this THE YEAR?
Every story is different, but there are some trends.
What should you do as a Senior Pastor, Executive Pastor, or Board member to prepare for this eventuality?
That is what I am covering this month in a special 30-minute webinar.
It will be a camera-off, confidential, board room style briefing on January 26th at 5 p.m. Eastern.
You must register to attend. Do that here.
No recording will be available, so if you cannot attend, have someone do so on your behalf.
And coming next month: The Seven Common Mistakes in Senior Pastor Succession. February 23rd.
If you want an invite, send an email to me directly: Dave.Travis@Generis.com.
Article continues….
(11 is “Have a vision. Be demanding.” But church leaders know that one well.)
12. Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers.
Your own fear is one matter and naysayers are another.
Taking counsel of your own fear is over-representing the risks with a decision. We must take appropriate approaches to risk and adjust plans accordingly.
When your fear instincts drive you, mistakes get made OR you delay necessary hard calls that cost you long term.
Naysayers are the perpetual peanut galleries of chronic critique. Naysayers are often those that are against the leader in principle not in the application of principles. They just don’t like you regardless.
A leader can discern that over time. We can also learn to appropriately discount the naysayers to the proper percentage of concern.
This means instead of counting their feedback at an 80% level, we take their critique at a 20% level.
Good feedback from the core team is essential and should be evaluated seriously. Chronic complainers and critics are another matter.
13. Perpetual Optimism is a force multiplier.
A quote attributed to Churchill is reminiscent: Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.*
Our teams need our positive energy. It feeds on the leader’s drive.
Reality-based optimism is appropriate and always leaders to magnified results.
Which would you rather have – a positive team of five or a team with ten with half being positive and half negative?
No doubt we want the optimistic, positive energy team, instead of a larger team. Positive people count for 1 ½ to 2 people easily, maybe more.
*Note: Churchill aficionados know this quote probably wasn’t really him…but it sounds like his character and approach. It exemplified his WW2 leadership, even in some grave seasons. It illustrates how optimism does influence groups even after they are gone.