Credibility

Some straight up talk today for Senior/Lead Pastors.

Here are three things that destroy your credibility with your staff teams:

1. Redoing Work
2. Fake Feedback
3. Nepotism

I’ll take them in reverse order… 

#1. Nepotism has destroyed many churches. Not because there are family members working at the same church – that can actually be a strength, although it can be difficult if there’s a transition, because you often lose two (or more) staffers. Where it goes south is when it’s obvious that the family member has an inside track or receives special treatment (or higher pay/position) simply because of their relative. That’s an integrity issue – ie a sin. It’s a hard road to walk, so ask the elders to determine a plan to hold you accountable.

#2. “Fake Feedback” is my term for having brainstorming meetings with your team when you’ve already decided the end result. That’s straight up deception – and, once again, a sin. Much better to simply say, “This is what’s happening.” Or, better yet, be open to input…

#3. The single biggest joy-drainer in the lives of most employees is consistently having to redo work. I’m not talking fixing something that’s less than high quality. I’m referring to redos caused by a lack of clear instruction or expectations, because of endless “tweak-erism” on your part, or simply because it’s done differently than you would have (even though it’s good and achieves the stated goal that you set).

Again, excellence matters, and all team members should be held to high standards. But part of being a good leader is helping your team to succeed, and you don’t do that through the three things above.