Most people have ideas regarding the best way to lead a team. They envision a democratic leadership style which takes everyone’s thoughts and feelings into consideration, empowering team members to act, providing maximum latitude to create and innovate. They envision a happy work environment where everyone gets along and puts the best interests of the team above their personal motivations. Doesn’t this all sound wonderful? Surely, it does.
Unfortunately, there’s seldom a perfect work environment. The truth is, managing people is challenging. Office politics, personal motivations, which conflict with the core mission, disparate experience levels, and the oddity of work styles, makes leading staff an art and skill requiring depth, and strength. I don’t care how adept or sophisticated your processes may be; managing people takes talent and constant work. People are people, not robots, which means there are millions of variables which may come into play while leading successful teams.
Here are a few strategies, which I hope will help in your work to lead the staff and volunteers in your organization.
Establish Recurring Team Meetings
Having a regular meeting time is considered a thing of the past, but I believe it creates a system for sharing information and provides a rhythm for the work environment. Many people are now discouraging recurring meetings, opting only to meet when there’s a big issue at stake. I think this creates big problems because communication becomes fractured and people get off track. Indeed, meeting for the sake of meeting can be counterproductive; however, there are ways to ensure that doesn’t happen.
A way to make recurring staff meetings better is to start all meetings on time. Let your team sense the importance of time, by not wasting theirs. Maintain a consistent meeting schedule. Save deep-dives into details for subject-specific meetings. Establish an agenda with times, speakers and background information that is distributed to staff at least 24 hours before the meeting. Doing so gives everyone time to prepare for a discussion. Now, let’s be realistic, only a few will read the packet, but it’s better to set the standard and show good leadership practices. Hopefully, they will all learn to prepare for the meeting and even send out agendas early for their meetings with volunteers, team members, and project groups.
Gather Innovation Ideas Regularly
Early in my leadership, I began asking for innovation ideas at the start of every meeting. This has become an excellent strategy for discovering new ideas team members may have been holding back and waiting for the right chance to share. There have also been times our teams planned innovation-ideas meetings. These were dedicated times to focus on uncovering new ideas or innovative thoughts. The ideas don’t have to be patent-worthy, they may be simple tweaks to a process or product, which improves our work and moves us closer to achieving the mission. Creating this time of sharing provides a relief-valve for pent-up ideas and candid feedback from all team members.
Inspire Initiative
Inspire initiatives taken by staff members and celebrate them taking risks. Great organizations encourage people to go beyond their typical job descriptions and create a lasting impact by taking risks. Unfortunately, too many people understand how to manage and have little skills in leadership. Management forces people to check boxes and staff within the confines of their standing systems. Different from managers are leaders who push their teams to find improvements in everything. Every leader should inspire people to try new thoughts and processes. As long as it doesn’t endanger anyone, or violate laws or a code of ethics, GO FOR IT! If the idea doesn’t work, at least there’s been a valuable learning experience. Your team will be grateful for knowing they have leadership’s trust.
The previous ideas up to this point have been universally accepted practices. However, the following counter-cultural ideas will elicit deliberative thought.
Include All Team Members In Planning for the Long-Term
The first controversial thought is to include staff members in long-term planning. This suggestion holds true for organizations who create annual plans or three to five-year strategies. Invite ALL staff to participate in long-term planning. It may be a strange occurrence during the first couple of sessions to have the custodian sitting in a planning meeting with the CEO, but it will produce a positive impact on the planning process. Some leaders believe only those with high-ranking titles have good ideas, but in a genuinely progressive organization, the best ideas are shared by people working at various levels. You would be surprised how well the admin support team understands the organization and its needs. The next significant revenue increase may come from the receptionist who answers the phones daily and has identified a pattern in the needs expressed by callers. The last reason for including everyone in the planning process is it’s the right thing to do. Good leaders value the thoughts of every individual in the organization, not just an “important” few.
Invite Team Members to Board Meetings
Your staff should be included in board meetings so they can see the governance side of the organization. Understanding this dynamic will possibly make them greater allies in accomplishing the organization’s mission for which the board holds you accountable. Moreover, the board will have a higher sensitivity to the mandates they give to the senior leader when they understand the people who work day-to-day in helping carry out their requests. Allowing staff to present their work to the board also strengthens their leadership abilities, and it helps them to understand the significance of their work. I know some leaders who are uncomfortable with having staff members in the board meetings; however, I believe this attitude may be more harmful because it creates more questions among staff and the sense that they are just hirelings instead of integral members of the organization.
Educate Your Team on the Budget
Here is the last controversial idea in this blog, but it works. Staff members have a direct budgetary impact because they are often responsible for achieving revenue goals, or staying within certain budget limits. If the staff is responsible for part of the budget, they should understand the whole budget. Providing only partial budget insights create the sense of secrecy and it also handicaps the team members from understanding the actual impact of their work. Educate your staff on the budget so they will take ownership for helping grow the revenue streams and cut down unnecessary costs.
Say Thank You Often!
“Thank you” is one of the most powerful two-word combinations in the English language. It is always appropriate and never overstated. Say, “thank you” with handwritten notes, gifts, recognition programs, and every other way you can imagine. Appreciation for team members’ contributions can increase productivity and loyalty.
There’s a previous post, which will also expand your thinking around leading staff. The Five M’s of Leadership
Please contact us directly, if you would like help to lead your nonprofit organization in improving staff relations and chemistry, or any other organizational support and training. You may reach us at [email protected]
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Stan Toler’s Practical Guide to Leading Staff By Stan TolerVeteran pastor Stan Toler guides the senior pastor through the ins and outs of leading a church staff. Based on years of experience in multi-staff congregations, Stan teaches key principles for leading staff effectively. You will learn about–
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How To Be Team Player and Enjoy It: A Study in Staff Relationships By Matt WilliamsHow To Be A Team Player and Enjoy It is the result of working with pastors, staff members, and ministries across the country and seeing the problems faced in churches and Christian school ministries. Matt takes principles from God’s Word and applies them to our relationships and working with others as leaders. Christian leaders have encouraged Matt to relate these principles in printed form. This book reflects Matt’s heart for people and the Lord’s work. How To Be A Team Player and Enjoy It should be required reading for all Christian leaders and workers. |
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Church Staff Handbook: How to Build an Effective Ministry Team By Harold J. WestingA helpful resource providing a blueprint for developing a spiritually strong and effective ministry team in the local churchIn Church Staff Handbook, Harold Westing covers issues of team leadership, staff development, role expectations, goal setting, and hiring procedures. Also included are team projects for more in-depth development. Church leaders will look to this book for guidance both when starting a new church and for each subsequent hire in the life of the church. Pastors will find this resource useful as a regular reference to “tune up” their staff to foster a healthy, unified, effective team. |
