Have you ever seen that guy before a basketball game do the quick stretches? You know, the ones that make him “look cool” but really doesn’t help. I use to think, “I’m here to play not stretch! Let’s go!” I quickly learned that if I don’t stretch today, then I can’t move tomorrow.
We stretch to improve our flexibility. Increasing our flexibility allows us to increase the range of motion without causing damage.
As a leader in any organization you must consistently stretch yourself. Stretching yourself creates flexibility and demonstrates to God, and those around you, of your willingness to change for His greater vision. Being flexible says that you’re a team player and willing to get uncomfortable for the team to win. No organization can survive if its leaders, and those it hires, are not flexible to the vision God has placed in the heart of its primary leader. God’s plans are always challenging, scary, exciting, full of risks, and require you to be flexible. Inflexibility assumes your plans, vision, model, leadership style, and personal perception of ministry is 100% accurate, which is dangerous! It also produces a self-absorbed individual that is irrelevant to his/her culture, its needs, and the moving of the Holy Spirit. However, continually stretching yourself and being flexible increases your sensitivity toward the Holy Spirit, creates more ministry opportunities, and produces authentic followers of Christ that live to glorify God.
There are 3 major characteristics that every leader must have to influence others and gain trust.
1) You must engage…
People need to know that you’re “with” them. Your speech and actions must be an investment into the lives of those you lead. No one will follow a leader that is not sharing life (the good, bad, and ugly) alongside them. All people want to identify with a leader, therefore you must give them the opportunities to share in your life as well.
2) You must equip…
Are you the person others lean toward for the primary vision, resources, challenges, and questions that produce positive change? If not, then you’re probably not the leader. When people are sinking they need a leader to throw them a life saver not a cement block. If you are going to equip others you must know where the gaps are and how to fill them in the organization and the person. You must be visible, knowledgeable, accessible, and in rhythm within your organization and its people.
3) You must encourage…
You really never know what someone is personally going through. A true leader has invested personal time into those he/she leads and can read there emotions. Great leaders can see the best in people and bring it to the surface even when a person is at there worst. They can inspire people with words, attitudes, and actions. When all hope is lost people turn to those who can find and create it. Be the person who provides hope in a crisis and when all the odds are against your people!
Extra: As governor, Nehemiah says that he didn’t take advantage of food and land allotments that were allowed him due to his office, because there was already such a great burden on the people of his province. (Nehemiah 5:14–19) In the face of Jerusalem’s destruction Nehemiah (one of the shortest men recorded in the bible) brought hope to his people by leading them to rebuild the walls in just 52 days. Each family repaired/guarded the wall that was in front of their home. Nehemiah, on the other hand, rolled up his sleeves and repaired some of the nastiest areas of the walls himself. The unclean areas others would not have ever touched. May we all strive to learn from great sacrificial leaders like Nehemiah.
Are you looking for a 5 Star volunteer/leader, how to recruit, and retain them? Here are some characteristics you might want to consider.
A 5 Star volunteer/leader should be:
Committed to Christ.
Committed to the vision of the church.
Willing to surrender individual gain, popularity, and agendas to the churches vision.
Loyal beyond measure.
Willing to take on responsibility and difficult tasks.
Have a desire to “take things off the leaders plate”.
Honest, even when it hurts.
Be willing to give their talent, time, and treasure to the vision.
To recruit a 5Star volunteer/leader you should:
Communicate the vision of the organization with passion and clarity.
Give clear guidelines of the job, its time requirements, and your expectations.
Provide a trial time for both parties to discover if the job matches the volunteer.
Never give the title away until there is 100% agreement, passion, commitment, and competency.
Ask a ton of questions. Get to know them, their family, likes, and dislikes.
To retain a 5Star volunteer/leader you should:
Consistently communicate the vision, direction, and immediate goals of the organization.
Consistently say “Thank You”, encourage them, and highlight their accomplishments.
Brag on them to others. Word gets around!
Meet with them on a regular basis.
Provide an open environment for them to express concerns, ideas, and passion.
Don’t delegate, use, and abuse them. Empower them to take initiative and risks.
Be personal and have a genuine concern for their happiness and their family.
Let them in and trust them. Share your struggles and BE REAL!
Never look at the them as a number or person to complete tasks. They are partners for the vision.
Did you see a common theme in the three lists? The first, and most important, priority of a leader is to have a clear vision and direction for the organization. If you can’t provide the finish line then how can you expect someone to start the race? Before anyone of quality will buy into and commit to any organization they must first know where it’s heading.
These lists are just the beginning! I would love to hear any additions or corrections you would like to make. Just leave a comment below.
I was looking through some old notes today and found a page from the Tony Morgan coaching network I attend earlier this year. Here are a few ways to maintain personal growth in several areas of life.
Write down what God is teaching you. How you see Him working in your life and those around you.
Married couples should always go to bed together. It’s a healthy practice and great for communication, keeping your priorities in order, and intimacy.
Schedule a daily “no meeting” closed door time. This special time is great for prayer, devotion, or gaining clarity for the day.
Continually strive to learn new concepts and be open to new culture and changes.
Be open to criticism but also be confident in your boundaries, passions, and calling.
Know your personal, professional, and organizational weakness and be open to growth in your most difficult areas.
Give tasks away and trust people to do a great job. You must first trust a person before you actually know if you can trust them.
So those are a few notes I ran across today. I hope they will help you grow as they continue to help me! Tony has great insights posted on his blog check him out at www.TonyMorganLive.com.
One of the following 5 things usually happens to me every day. They are pretty random so I thought I would share them with the blogosphere!
When checking out the person TAKING MY MONEY doesn’t say thank you or have a nice day. HELLO I did just purchase a product from your store with my hard earned money that pays your salary. Don’t just look at me.
Seeing all the games people play on Facebook during the day while they are at work. Facebook is great for communication and advertising, but playing the silly games and quizzes while at work is a little arrogant.
People that assume that pastors are lazy. One of the reasons I love what I do is the pace. Pastors bring more passion to what they do, and handle more people problems in a day than most people will ever realize.
When someone asks me a computer question and they have not tried to find the answer themselves. I understand we live in a culture conditioned to immediate response, but we also live in a world with tons of answers. If you have the knowledge to get on the internet and type in www.google.com then you really should check there first.
People that assume I don’t already have a plan. It’s no secret that I am ADD and like to chase a white rabbit every now and then. About 99% of the time I’m thinking about the next step or two of life that is going on around me. I know that this sounds a little arrogant, but I truly do think of the next task while I’m working on the current one. I even have a huge grease board in my office with 5 column task lists.
TELEMARKETERS just saying!! (I know this is six but I couldn’t resist)
Just wanted to take a minute and share some reasons why I haven’t written much lately. Life has been a little crazy around here due to the following:
Allison is pregnant with number #3! Yes, we know what causes that! The Martin’s are extremely excited that God has trusted us to raise another child. Allison and I are also a little scared since this one was not “planned”! We are enjoying God’s blessings and trusting His plan for our life.
In September my role at Greer First Baptist changed from Adult Minister to Student Minister. This was a God led decision that Allison and I had been discussing and praying about since early summer. The students at Greer First are some of the best students I have ever seen. Having experience in Student Ministry we both knew that it was not only the right transition for us, but for the church as well. You can check out the Student Ministry site at www.THRIVEasOne.com.
I was building a new student ministry from the ground up. www.THRIVEasOne.com
I was redesigning my blog site as well. I hope you like it!
Lack of inspiration.
I’ve been lazy!
I’m sure there are other reasons for the lack of posts, but #6 pretty much says it all!
This has already been called one of THE most powerful moments in Catalyst history; there wasn’t a dry eye in the arena after Jimmy Wambua met Mark, his Compassion Sponsor of 19 years, for the 1st time. It was an unbelievable moment…Jimmy begins to share at minute 3:45.
Will you sponsor a child through Compassion International?
Click to view the highlight video of the Young’s picking up there international adopted child Jake. I was honored to be a witness to such an amazing night! Thanks again! You can follow there story at www.jasonyounglive.com
Jason Young sat down and shared his thoughts about adoption before picking their son Jake up at the airport. Jake is 9 months old and from South Korea.
Stacy Young sat down and shared her thoughts about adoption before picking their son Jake up at the airport. Jake is 9 months old and from South Korea.
