One of the main goals for a women’s leader is to equip leaders and develop an effective leadership team. We CANNOT and SHOULD NOT do ministry alone! Reach guest blogger’s post today for some great advice to lead teams well. Simone Monroe is the director of Women’s Ministries at Lake Pointe Church in Dallas, TX
What gives a team the edge it needs to be successful – to make it just a little better than the rest? I believe the difference is leadership. As John Maxwell so often says, “Everything rises and falls on leadership”. Leaders lead their team to new levels, managers maintain the status quo. These new levels are not achieved by sitting back and giving directives.
Numerous elements are involved in strong leadership, but there are three absolute essentials:
1. Foundational to strong leadership is the element of good communication. Notice I didn’t say communication. Communication is often poor or even damaging. A strong leader must develop skills to become a good communicator in order to breathe life into the team. An effective leader’s communication must be clear, consistent, concise– all of which help to eliminate frustration, distrust, and lack of cooperation. Good communication is life-giving to a team. I believe it to be the single all-purpose instrument of leadership.
2. The second essential of leadership is becoming a better leader. A leader must first grow before she can effectively grow others. Growth involves change and becoming more effective by holding oneself to higher standards, and living and leading at new levels. I like to refer to this growth as Leadership IQ. It involves developing and communicating vision, modeling standards set for the team, seeing farther and more quickly than others, anticipating what is about to happen in your ministry “culture” and, especially understanding people, because leadership is about developing people, not accomplishing tasks. Different people have different passions, respond differently to the same challenge, and require different motivation. A good leader is able to read people and find the key that releases their potential instead of restricting it. Once you add value to yourself by growing as a leader, you will be able to influence and add value to your team.
3. The third and most pivotal essential in successful leadership is investment in your team. When a leader realizes that “one does not have to be the leader to be a leader on the team”, the necessity of adding value to, investment in the team, becomes apparent. Even if you do not have a budget, you can invest in the team. Investment in team members pays off as they become more unselfish, more enthusiastic, more confident, more self-directed, and more effective. In other words, investment in the team leads to the team functioning at a higher level.
You may ask, how can you invest in your team?
· First, decide to invest in the team because investment takes time– Your Time.
· Do things together as a team– this ensures the growth of the team by providing community. The pay off for volunteering is community. This connection between people as more than teammates gives the needed commitment to one another as individuals not just because they are teammates. It becomes about relationship, not about a job.
· Empower them with responsibility and authority. This builds trust and confidence.
· Give them the credit for the team successes. This builds morale which gives momentum.
· Stop investing in players who do not grow.
· Create new opportunities for team– it should not stay stagnate (same people, same jobs, same responsibilities) forever. Find new people, create new job opportunities, and give established team members new responsibilities and challenges.
By investing in your team, you allow the team to stretch and guarantee movement to a higher level. If you want to build a great team over a long period of time, you must train your team and invest in them as individuals. This provides for team growth and new levels of accomplishment.
Simone Monroe is the director of Women’s Ministries at Lake Pointe Church in Dallas, TX, a Global Strategist for ProvenWay Ministries and LifeWay Ministry Multiplier. As a speaker, conference leader, and freelance writer, she is also a member of the Association of Women’s Ministry Professionals. Simone has earned a Masters degree in Christian Leadership and a Certificate in Women’s Leadership from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Forth Worth, TX. Simone’s passion is teaching and developing women to fulfill their God-given potential. She enjoys presenting God’s Word in a fresh and relevant way in order to encourage growth in the lives of her listeners. Her two sons, their wives, and her five grandchildren are the light of her life.
Resources:
Women Reaching Women
Transformed Lives
The Team that Jesus Built, Janet Thompson
On Track Leadership, John Kramp
The Leadership Call, Jeff Iorg