LEADERSHIP LESSON NO. 50–“Don’t Think of Yourself as a Leader; Think ‘People-Helper.'”

1. Say ‘we’ a lot, not I, me, and mine.

2. Look for ways to help your team members do better and feel good about what they’re doing.

3. Watch for anyone working in the wrong slot and try to find the right place for them.

4. Ask, ‘How’s it going?’ a lot. Listen to the answers.

5. Give lots of little gifts to your team members. Thoughtful things that show how you value them.

6. Pray for them by name. Learn their family members’ names and lift them up, too.

7. Ask ‘If you had my job, what would you do?’

8. Find out who the workaholics are and see that they get proper rest and don’t burn themselves out.

9. When you give public recognition, think the matter through in advance and make sure you leave out no one who should be mentioned.

10. Try to anticipate problems.

11. Walk the line between ‘never let them see you sweat’ and being transparent.

12. Pray with your people, even at odd times–at the end of break times, after a fun conference in the hallway, anytime. But not always. Don’t be predictable, but do be spontaneous.

13. When you’re talking with someone who has a problem, give them your undivided attention and do not let on that you have other places you need to be. Give them eye contact, listen closely, and be totally there for them.

14. Remember the five elements of good pastoral counseling: active listening, silent praying, gentle prodding, timely teaching, and Christlike acceptance. Let nothing shock you.

15. Be careful about too much hugging. Some would say that any is too much. (It was for good reason that the practice of ‘holy kissing’ died out in the early church.)


16. Complimenting workers is good, but don’t overdo it or it becomes meaningless.

17. Balance your criticism with positive reinforcement.

18. Model good English and tactfulness.

19. If you absolutely must terminate a team member, do not surprise them with it. You and they should have been working on the situation for some time. Termination comes only when nothing else is working, and you have no other slot for the employee. Remember, if the person is not right for your position, you may be doing them a favor by firing them.

20. Laugh with your people.

21. Weep with your people.

22. Write lots of notes, and I don’t mean e-mails. These days, personal hand-written notes have become as rare as Roman coins. This leaves a vacuum for you to fill. Learn how to write a great, short note, the kind that people never want to throw away.

23. When you read a great quote or see a terrific cartoon that reminds you of one of your team-members, copy it and send to them with a line from you, that this made you think of them.

24. Start every day by reading several chapters in the Bible and spending some quiet moments in prayer for the day before you. When the crises start coming at you, you may not have time to pause and pray for direction, so prepare in advance.

25. Recognize that even though you may never excel at this, striving for perfection may allow you to achieve excellence.

26. Start your own list of “leadership lessons” which you have learned by trial and error. Those are the best ones.

27. As you identify team-members with leadership potential and begin to mentor them, share your leadership principles with them. You might find that a quarter-century from now, they’re quoting you to their underlings.

28. Take care of your health. You’re no good to anyone laid up in bed. Or dead.

29. Even though you’ll frequently bring your work home with you, guard your family time. At the end of life, no one ever wishes he’d spent more time at the office. Nobody knows who said that first, but I think I’ll take credit.

30. No matter how close you feel to some of your team members, do not tell an off-color joke in their presence or use profanity. Even though you think of them as close friends and they think of themselves as reasonably sophisticated, something irretrievable is lost when they hear those words coming from your mouth. Getting a laugh out of them is not worth the price.

All along, I’ve promised myself that when I got to 50 Leadership Lessons, I would stop and try to find a publisher for them. Okay. Put up or shut up time.

Thanks for reading them and giving me your input along the way. Fifty is enough, don’t you think?

8 thoughts on “LEADERSHIP LESSON NO. 50–“Don’t Think of Yourself as a Leader; Think ‘People-Helper.'”

  1. These have taught me so much, Joe. I have printed out many of them. Thank you for taking the time to write out some of the wisdom you have acquired.

    Karen

  2. Joe,

    Lot of good comments. Self analyzation is important. You have to be truthful with yourself or your company or your team. That’s how the Giants won the Super Bowl.

  3. Joe,

    Lot of good comments. Self analyzation is important. You have to be truthful with yourself or your company or your team. That’s how the Giants won the Super Bowl.

  4. Karen and I are moving to another leadership position. Everyone of these will come in handy at our new post. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

  5. I would buy an advanced copy of the book! Please do a book on this topic. God has given you so much wisdom in this area.

  6. I wouldn’t make too many promises on ending this series completely but maybe allow an addendum every now and then. It seems to me that every situation I have come across in my various leadership positions in and out of the church is fodder for the next lesson. I have really enjoyed this series, I hope I can get my pastor to read it. I think he will benefit greatly from it even after 30 years in the ministry.

    God Bless you Joe,

    Brad Walker

  7. You are such a POSITIVE influence, Brother Joe.

    Thank you again for the Inspiration and Wisdom from our Father’s word.

    Your friend in Christ,

    Shelly

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