Thursday, July 24, 2014

Micromanagement Hurts


This morning I was working through Ecclesiastes CH 8 when I can across a curios phrase. “There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt.” Ecc 8: 9b (NIV)
I have been operating in one leadership capacity or another about 20 years now. I have practice positional leadership, middle management, relational leadership, servant leadership…. And studied many other forms and practices. As I have grown as a leader I have had to temper my natural personality’s push to give direction to people, even at times when asked to do so.
Over time, and with the Lord’s challenge to become more humble, I have come to realize that the people that I am leading with, and leading, have great skill, wisdom, and passion. That influence, like many other dynamics of life, is a stewardship. If we use it improperly it can yield poor results. That is caution I think the author of Ecclesiastes is pointing to in the verse above. The Lord can give us a preferred vision, he can give us a passion to achieve that vision, but we often forget that He wants us to work with a team to do so. If you are constantly micromanaging high-level leaders around you they will eventually do one of three things: they will move on to another leader (change jobs), they will become apathetic to you and your vision (dispassionate), or they will wait patiently for a season to see if you get it or wear yourself out not getting it. No matter how a leader responds to a micromanager, the hurt affects the organizations ability to achieve a God sized dream.
In organizations that have issues like this, you tend to find more managers than you do leaders. That is because micromanagers prefer those that they can manage and are typically uncomfortable with leaders. How do I know this? I was one of the worse micromanagers early in my career. I have seen this happen right in front of me, and then only too late in the game come to realize that I have been the bottleneck to what God wants to do. That humility thing is tough to be confronted with in those seasons. So, what do you do if you are a micromanager?
What helped me the most was to come to the place where I understood Maxwell’s leadership principle of the inner circle (http://www.u-leadership.com/the_21_irrefutable_laws_of_leadership-w.pdf) and the humility that the Bible describes in Philippians 2: 5-11. When you have surrounded yourself with the right people who you can trust to lead, it helps to alleviate your tendency to micromanage. In that process you have to give them permission to know you and communicate when they feel they are being a micromanager. That is where the humility factor comes in. You have to have the humility to understand as a leader that you need others on your team and that those team members at moments may have better ideas of how to achieve an objective than you do. When those moments come you are really able to build people up on your team as you show them how important they are to achieving an objective!
There are allot of articles out there on how to improve if you are a micromanager. If you are one, then have the humility to admit it, surround yourself with a great team, and continue to have the awareness to constantly learn to better address the problem before you hurt the vision that God has given you.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

ORBC Worship BLOG (Excelling in Education)


 This week I would like to take a different approach to the BLOG. One of the publications that I ready is Worship Leader Magazine. One of the recent articles addresses the role of education in the life of worship.


This week I would like for you to read the article (takes about 4-5 min) and think about these questions:

1.     How did God prepare Paul for ministry? How did God prepare Peter and the other Apostles? Are there similarities, differences?
2.     How does the season of our life effect out preparation and education?
3.     Do all performers and techs need a formal education? Why or Why not?
4.     In what way is God asking you to make your skills and ministry more excellent?

Announcements:

-                ORBC Worship Retreat (Updated Details)
o        ORBC will be gathering May 2-3. May 2nd from 6:30 to 8:00PM. Worship Leader Training from 9 to 4:30PM on Saturday with John Sarno. An invite will go out this week for the retreat. This is event is for everyone serving in worship arts (tech and performance) on both campuses (Seaford and Salisbury).


-                Easter Services
o        Thanks for all the work that many of you put in for Easter. It a great success. I know that we baptized ~ 80 people and I know that there were first time believers this past weekend. I will try and have more wins ready for you by THUR. Please share some wins this week in your venue devotion!

-                Check In
o        Please continue to check in when you serve! It is imperative that you check in when you are serving. If you have any question about that see Doug DeWitt.

-                Bass and Guitar Players
o        We are still short for both electric and bass guitar players right now. Be shoulder-tapping friends about the opportunity to serve in this way at the church.

o        All Campuses and venues are currently short bass players.