One aspect of leadership is appreciating the people one leads. I must admit, this has to be a discipline for me, because I’m not naturally wired for this. I expect much from people, so I don’t always feel the need to acknowledge the excellent work I feel everyone should do naturally.

I realize, however, that all of us, including me, enjoy hearing we did a good job, so offering praise is a necessary part of a leader’s responsibility.

Here are 7 ways a leader should offer praise:

Be specific – Tell the person what he or she did well in specific rather than general terminology.

Be honest - False praise or praise offered only for person gain is seldom appreciated.

Be intentional - You have to discipline yourself to praise…or at least some of us do. Don’t assume someone else will do it or that the person receives enough praise.

Be quick – People shouldn’t wait long after a job done well to receive praise for it.

Be creative – Find unique ways to offer praise. Send a card, flowers, phone call…and don’t forget the personal, face-to-face approach.

Be unique – Don’t say the same thing everyone else is saying. Find the thing or aspect to praise that no one else has noted.

Be helpful - Offer praise that helps the person recognize strengths and encourages them in that area.

Make this post better, by answering some of these questions:

What would you add to my list?

Do you agree with my assessment?

Should leaders discipline themselves to offer praise?

How do you do this as a leader?

What creative ways do you have to offer praise?

Leadership is abuzz these days. Everyone is talking about it, yet it appears many organizations and churches are consistently looking for leadership. In my conversations with other churches, people want to know how to find, attract, and train leaders. Apparently it is far easier to call oneself a leader than it is to actually be a leader.

Perhaps we need to do a better job distinguishing what leadership actually means. Without great definitions of leadership, we almost need to talk about what makes up great leadership. I wonder if there is leadership…the kind anyone can do…and there is stellar leadership…the kind only great leaders provide.

The word stellar means: pertaining to a preeminent performer…or…outstanding or immense…

Isn’t this the kind of leadership we are seeking?  Stellar leadership?

I am still a leader in training…not sure when I’ll “get there”, but I know I’m not looking to be an average leader. I want to be a stellar leader.

With that in mind, here are 7 definitions I think we find in stellar leadership: (The words are mine, but I got the definition from dictionary.com)

Consistency - steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form,etc

Follow-through – the act of continuing a plan, project, or the like to its completion

Respectable - worthy of respect or esteem

Truthfulness - telling the truth, especially habitually

Valor - boldness or determination in facing great danger; courage

Trustworthy - deserving of trust or confidence; dependable; reliable

Authentic - not false or copied; genuine; real

In my opinion, stellar leaders would possess ALL of these attributes.

What words/definitions would you add to my list?

Some of the best leaders on your team…

• Have yet to be recruited…

 

• Will have to be asked…

 

• Are anxious to serve…

 

• Need this in their life as much as you need them…

 

• And they may not even know it…

It’s your move…

Go get ‘em…

(Not sure where to look? Read THIS POST.)

In any relationship, there comes a time where it’s necessary to say things which are difficult to keep the relationship strong and make it better. This is also true in a healthy team environment.

For me personally, that often involves having a hard and challenging conversation with a team member…someone I love being on the team, but know they need correction in an area that is affecting the team. These are always discussions I’d rather not have, but I know are necessary for the continued health of the relationship, the team, and the individual.

Over the years, I have had many of these issues which required “tough love” to address them, but dealing with problems like this have included me having to say things such as:

• You’re too controlling as a leader…
• You can be perceived as a jerk to people…
• Your personal life is dragging down the team…
• You have body odor…
• You’re making unwise decisions…
• You are non-responsive…
• You don’t know how to take constructive criticism…
• You are moving too fast…
• You are moving too slow…
• You are uncooperative…

I should note that not all of these have been said with my current team…for example, to my knowledge no one on my team has body odor…thankfully, but through my years in leadership, I have had to say each one of these statements to someone I was supposed to be leading. Those conversations, as awkward and uncomfortable as they were, always proved to be good for the team and the team member. There have been times when someone needed to have similar “tough love” conversations with me and those discussions always made me better, as difficult as they were to receive at the time.

I have learned 5 principles for dealing with those times as a leader:
(more…)

Leaders create capacity in an organization so the organization and people can grow…

That’s what leaders do…

Great leaders:

Paint the void – Allow others to see what could be accomplished…

Empower the team – Give the tools, resources and power to accomplish the task…

Release – Let go of the control so others can lead…

Repeat - As often as possible…

If you are always the doer and never the enabler then you are not a leader. More than likely you are simply an obstacle of all your team could accomplish if you got out of the way.

When the leader leads the way for others to lead, the organization and the people in the organization increase their capacity to grow.

Are you leading or are you in the way?

I love team dynamics and organizational structures. I have written many times about what makes a healthy team, my expectations of team members, and elements to build health into your team. I’m not sure I’ve talked specifically about the characteristics I believe make up excellent team members.

Here are 5 characteristics of an excellent team member:

Needs very little direction – Catches on quickly, learning the leader’s expectations, having confidence in his or her ability, and knowing the vision of the organization well enough to make routine decisions with little or no input from the leader.

Asks specific questions when unclear of an assignment - He or she doesn’t ask general questions, that require full explanations, but rather attempts to figure out the issue on his or her own enough to ask specific questions. This saves everyone time and speeds progress.

Needs very little supervision – An excellent team member follows through on what he or she committed to do with limited oversight.

Recognizes results as part of the reward – While fair compensation is necessary for the health of any team and most leaders can improve on giving praise, the excellent team player does the work to see the results of a project done well, not exclusively for recognition.

Considers the interests of the entire team - Excellent team members look out for good of the whole team…the entire organization. He or she wants what is best for everyone, even if that means they have to personally sacrifice for the win of the team.

I realize, and fully expect to hear, that to be an excellent team member requires an excellent team environment and leader. I can somewhat agree, but not sure I do completely. I have known people who perform excellently on a dysfunctional team. I’d welcome your thoughts on this.

I’m confident there are plenty more characteristics to add to my list. I’d love to hear from you.

In your experience, what makes an excellent team member?

Healthy teams allow every idea a chance to live…

The healthiest teams don’t contain an idea killer…

Healthy teams:

• Brainstorm
• Analyze
• Test drive
• Push back
• Critique
• Debate
• Challenge

Every idea…

But healthy teams remain open-minded about an idea until it’s proven to be a bad idea…

It could be a short process or a long process…

But healthy teams give every idea a chance to live…

Knowing that…

There is value in the collection of ideas on a healthy team…

And…

Some of the best ideas are killed before they have a chance to shine…

Have you ever worked with an idea killer?

Are you one?

(This post contains a main idea…feel free to Brainstorm, Analyze, Test drive, Push back, Critique, Debate, or Challenge.)

Determining when to make change and when to leave things the same is one of the most delicate decisions of leadership, but I know one thing for sure:

“It’s working” should never be the primary reason to avoid change.

It could be a reason. Not everything needs changing. Some things are timeless. Change for change sake sounds good but isn’t always the best idea. (I wrote about it HERE.)

But organizations and teams need change…

Change keeps momentum going. It builds a culture of change. It keeps leaders on the team motivated. And, sometimes, you discover something wonderful you would have never discovered without change. (I wrote more about that concept HERE.)

So while change isn’t always necessary, “it’s working” shouldn’t keep you from considering change either.

Which makes the decision of when to change that much more difficult…doesn’t it?

One rule of thumb for me…

If there hasn’t been any change recently…

Chances are it’s time…

I am always reminded that leaders want to be in environments of change. Leaders are most comfortable when they can explore, take risks, and keep things stirring. There’s a reason marketers are always changing things…it’s not just leaders who want change…people tend to like change too.

Sometimes leaders need to create change before change is needed…even though things are working.

Are you a fan of change, or do you resist it?

What change do you need to make just because you can?

You’ve heard silence is golden…and that’s true…

…but sometimes silence can also be deadly…

Especially in a team environment…organizational structure…relationship setting…

When working on a project, implementing change, planning for the future…

Keep people updated with what you know…

Even if you don’t have all the answers…

When people don’t have information, they tend to invent their own scenarios…

Silence can fuel rumors…

Fear, tension, and frustrations rise…

Those invested often become discouraged…

Morale is injured and enthusiasm wanes…

All emotionally driven reactions fueled by the unknown…

People will be more patient if they receive adequate communication while they wait for the final details…

If you want to keep progress moving forward…

Break the silence and share information, as you know it…

Have you experienced the pain of silence in a team, organizational, or relationship setting?

Share your story to improve this post.

I read an interesting story from the life of the Biblical character of David again recently. The story says a great deal about leadership and what is required to successfully lead.

Here’s what I read:

When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,” he inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”The LORD answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah. But David’s men said to him, “Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!” 1 Samuel 23:1-3

Notice David had a vision…a word from God. This was a bigger request than David and his men probably felt capable of doing.  They were still a young army. This was prior to David reigning as king. He had been anointed king by God, but did not yet have the position. He was hiding from Saul. He didn’t have a king’s palace.  He spent much of his time in a cave.  This new assignment was scary, his army was questioning him, and the future was unknown.

Have you experienced a situation like this as a leader?

Thankfully David’s story had a happy ending: (Imagine that…since God put him up to it.)

Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.” 5 So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah. 1 Samuel 23:4-5

This story prompts some thoughts on leadership:

We seldom get to rest for long - I told our staff recently, as we’ve rounded our fifth year as an explosive growing church plant, that there is no promise that there is coming a season of rest. The next five years are likely to be as wild as the last five years. In my experience, growing organizations are always changing, new challenges come often, and people frequently feel stretched.  I might write more about this thought later, but that means we have to get better as individuals to face the difficult days to come.

Next steps are scary - If they weren’t, again, people wouldn’t need a leader. Next steps involve risk, require faith, and the future is an unknown.

Leaders lead - That’s what leaders do…they take people where they need to go, maybe even where they want to go, and sometimes where they are hesitant, afraid or may not yet be prepared to go. People don’t need a leader to stay where they are currently.

Big visions require faith – God doesn’t call us to that which is easy. He would receive no glory in us doing things we can naturally do…and seriously…What kind of a dream is it if it’s easily completed?

Victory won’t come unless we move forward – You can’t realize the rewards of a God-given vision until you take the required actions. Standing still is safer, but it doesn’t bring the satisfaction of a well-executed, bold move of faith.

What are you being called to these days that is bigger than you?

Does any of this ring true for your organization or time in leadership?