Most everyone has a boss. Someone they report to at work. Do you? If you are fortunate, you work for someone who cares about you and makes a contribution to your life above and beyond a paycheck.
Over the course of 40 years, I’ve had only two “bosses.” John Maxwell and Kevin Myers. I’ve been blessed that both are leaders who listen, care, offer ideas, extend grace, pray, speak the truth as needed and provide incredible leadership development and coaching.
As I said – I’m blessed, but this is possible for you too. It does not require perfect people, only a healthy environment where the leaders want more for you than from you.
We are quick to know what we want in the person we report to, and we hope we can count on them for the important things.
But can they count on us for the important things too?
At a core level every boss depends on us for foundational essentials such as possessing trustworthy character, exercising discipline, making wise choices and living out genuine humility.
None of these happen without intentionality and they are non-negotiables for excellent leadership.
In this post I want to emphasize the practical realm by focusing on six practices that I hear managers talk about from churches of all sizes across the country, practices they deeply appreciate in each team member on their staff.
They want to be able to count on you for these six things.
6 Practices of Highly-Valued Team Members:
1) Assume ownership, take responsibility.
A little vintage guitar shop in Southern California caught my eye and I went in. I was greeted by two young guys with a cheery; “Sorry, we’re closing.”
Me: “But the sign says you close at 5:00 PM. It’s only 4:45 PM and I just want to get a set of strings and look around for a few minutes.”
Two guys: “Yeah, but we’ve already closed the cash register, and we’re ready to go home.”
I guarantee you these two guys were not the owners. The owner would have opened the cash register and made the sale! And probably showed me a couple really cool guitars!
Owners take responsibility to lead for the greater good and serve others with passion.
Owners, do things like making one more phone call, finishing the project, and answering that teammate’s question who’s been waiting all day before they head home.
A disposition of leadership ownership isn’t about control, it’s about taking responsibility to get the job done.
2) Lead yourself first.
Successful self-leadership always begins with self-awareness.
The foundation of self-leadership is:
- Knowing who you are (self-awareness)
- Embracing what you’re good at
- Leading from a place of security
- The discipline to do the next right thing
Self-leadership is a vast subject, but one important facet is understanding your emotions and their impact on your leadership. For example, we lead in proportion to our faith, and control in proportion to our fear.
When you are angry, you surrender influence. When you lose control of your emotions, you have quit leading.
If someone can push your buttons, they can steal your leadership. People like to watch an explosion, but they don’t like to be near one. Ask God to help you lead through the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), as a lifelong practice.
The stronger you become at self-leadership, the more likely you are to learn, grow and get better at what you do. Your boss is counting on you for that.
3) Absorb the pressure.
A mark of maturity, experience, and being responsible is your ability to absorb pressure. This means you are able to handle pressure appropriately rather than to push it off on others.
It might be a tough decision, or saying no, or solving a relationally charged problem. It’s natural to want to toss pressure like a hot potato to the nearest capable person, but your boss needs you to handle as much as you can.
Of course, your boss is there for you when you need him or her, but when you handle the pressure yourself, they are freed up to carry their pressures well for the greater good of the organization.
4) Show up prepared and take the initiative.
It’s never a good idea to just wing it. No one wins if you do that. And a candid tip, when you do, everyone knows, you aren’t fooling anyone.
For example, when you show up at a meeting, rather than taking a passive role and merely observing what happens, spend a few minutes thinking about the agenda and show up with a few thoughts in mind. That modest investment makes a big difference.
When you show up prepared, you not only make a greater contribution, you enjoy the experience far more.
In every meeting, event or activity, show up prepared to the best of your ability. This proactive rather than reactive position allows you to take greater initiative, and it frees your mind for more creative thinking and effective problem solving.
5) Get along with others.
Whenever two or more people are working together, there will be conflict. Your ability to quickly resolve that conflict significantly increases your value on the team.
Teamwork requires that the leaders not only get along but appreciate each other’s strengths and enjoy working together. A great sign of second-mile teamwork is when you still work with passion and do your best even when something didn’t go your way.
Getting along with others isn’t about people pleasing or being fearful to say what you really think. It’s the maturity to set aside your differences for the greater good.
6) Make things better.
A simple and clear way to measure your leadership is whether or not you are making progress in a way that makes life better for those around you.
This is the bottom line, isn’t it? Life Change.
How are things better because you are on the team?
At 12Stone Church we often say, “Don’t just make something different, make it better.” Improvement and innovation must continually be sought after.
You never arrive, it’s always a work in progress.
Put your whole heart into it; your boss is counting on you.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24
