The Art of Leadership By Dag Heward-Mills
A leader must develop the art of working with different kinds of people. You must be able to work with people who do not flow with you but whose expertise you need. You must develop the art of working with people who are older than you. With carefulness and respect, you will be able to work with those who are older than you. You must develop the art of even working with people who do not like each other but who need to work together. Paul had this problem with two ladies, Euodias and Syntyche. He said to them, “I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord” (Philippians 4:2). People who get along with you may not get along with each other. The fact that they do not get along with each other can make you lose one of them. But you must fight to work with everyone whom God has destined to be with you.
Laws Of Teamwork
- There must be a clear vision: Every member of the team should know what you are trying to do. When people understand what you are trying to do, it helps them to flow in the vision.
- Every member of a team must know what he is expected to do. This is why there is a job description for your job. This allows the leader to know who to blame when things go wrong and who to praise when things work out.
- Every member of a team must know what every other member of the ministry team is supposed to be doing. A team works together. It is for the benefit of the whole team to know the aim so that they can maintain the aim. Steadfastness is the ability to stay on course. Knowing what is expected of all of you helps you to be stay focused. That is why you must have meetings with individuals and also meet them in a group so that others would know what is going on.
- Each person must have a complete section over which he has full control. A leader ought to be able to delegate people to do things. Give each delegated person control over the section you have delegated to them. It will make them develop an ownership mentality and do their best to let the aims of that section be achieved.
- Give a lot of praise and recognition to your ministry’s team members in public. If you want somebody to repeat something good, praise him for that thing. This makes him feel appreciated and empowers him to do more.
- Give criticism and rebuke to your people in private. If you want to correct somebody, do not do so in front of their subordinates. It will weaken their position of authority in the sight of their subordinates.
- As a team leader, your criticism must be constructive. Do not just cut the person down to size. When the criticism is constructive, the person is urged on to do better. When he just feels criticised, he may even become weaker.
- As a team leader, accept responsibility for everything and anything that goes wrong. Take the blame and share the glory. For every leader, there are rights and privileges as well as responsibilities. Enjoy your privileges and hold fast to your responsibilities.
- Do not complain about or condemn your team members.
- Decide always to give advice on how to do things better. This is the place of good training. Great training ensures that you have a great team at all times. As you speak to them and they improve, their outputs improve.
- Treat everybody as very important. Not every member of the team will be or look impressive. The leader must learn to treat each one well. When you see someone, who doesn’t look important, be nice to them. They may not look important but treat them as important.
- Reposition and relocate people until they are in the place they function best. Give people jobs according to their personalities. Some people are light-hearted and merry, others are moody and strict. There is a job that suits everyone. This makes them perform well with ease. One of the best ways a leader can have a good team is to ensure that each member of the team is well-placed.
Remember that each person has weaknesses and people are prone to make mistakes. There will be times when a leader will have to overlook the mistakes of team members. When you are able to do this, they will also look on your weaknesses with kindness and allow them. Teamwork is an art that a leader must learn because of the many advantages it brings to the work. May these laws of teamwork help you work with great teams of people!
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