4 Quick Tips on How to Lead Your Ministry With Integrity
Lead with integrity to win people’s hearts.
A common complaint about leaders from staff members is that they don’t keep their word. In fact, a study by Brent Kallestad (reported on abcnews.go.com) of 700 people who were asked about how their leaders treated them revealed that 2 of 5 leaders don’t do what they say they’ll do.
Common leadership expertise holds that staff don’t leave jobs, they leave leaders. So if a leader talks big but doesn’t back it up, there’s a good chance turnover is a common issue. Here’s how to bolster your credibility with staff by managing what you say and what you actually do.
4 Quick Tips on How to Lead Your Ministry With Integrity
Don’t make promises.
It’s easy to say what people want to hear, but if you’re constantly promising things and never delivering, you’re damaging your ability to lead. Make a conscious effort to stop promising things—no more flippantly telling Kari you’ll schedule a lunch sometime in the next couple of weeks when you know you’re too busy and don’t really intend to do it.
Keep a to-do list.
If you tell Adam you’ll write a letter of reference for his college admission board, add it to your weekly tasks. Turn around results within one week when you’ve obligated yourself.
Give credit where it’s due.
Recognize your team members when they achieve great things. This is part of your “unspoken” promise to support and encourage them. Keeping silent or not giving credit feels dishonest to team members.
Follow through.
When you’ve said you’ll do something that affects someone else (“I’m really pleased with how you handled that situation, and I’m going to talk with Pastor Ed about getting you involved in leadership training”), do it. Don’t wait. It’s too easy to forget your words or place them on the lowest rung of priority. Not only does this hurt the people involved, it makes them believe they can’t trust you and that you don’t have their best interests at heart.
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