In my years as a leader, I have failed often, including at bringing clarity to the people on my team. Maybe I thought that the issue at hand should have been obvious – and many times it should have. But sometimes it would only be obvious to someone with 30+ years of ministry experience, not someone just starting out (which many of my team members were).
Usually, the primary reason that I failed was that I was impatient. I was trying to “get things done,” and in my mind didn’t have time to mess around with lengthy discussions and/or debates. In the long run, I actually spent MORE time doing damage control to fix the relational rifts that pushing too fast caused.
I know time is a precious resource, and that meetings which go nowhere waste an incredible amount of it. But I still recommend that supervisors have a WEEKLY meeting with every one of their direct reports, and that the meeting doesn’t just discuss the WHAT, but the WHY, as well. Then take some time to listen and respond with honest and open feedback. More in the days to come…
“Most people just don’t understand the terrible feeling that getting no feedback produces.” – Tom Connellan
creativeworshipideas 