7 “BE’s” of Effective Leadership and Management

Here ere are principles for being effective whether you lead or manage a large or small organization — or church .

One of the chief goals of this blog is to encourage better leadership. In this post, I’m including the term management. I believe the two are different functions, but both are vital to a healthy organization. Whether you lead or manage a large or small organization — or church — there are principles for being effective.

Be aware – Know your team. People are individuals. They have unique expectations and they require different things from leadership. Some require more attention and some less. Use personality profiles or just get to know them over time, but learn the people you are supposed to be leading or managing.

Be open – Let them know you — as a person outside of the role as leader or manager. Be transparent enough that they can learn to trust you.

Be responsive – Don’t leave people waiting too long for a response. They’ll make up their own if you do — and it’s usually not the conclusion you want them to reach.

Be approachable – You can’t be everything to everyone, and you may not always be available, but for the people you are called to lead or manage, you need to be approachable. They need to know if there is a problem — or a concern — you will be receptive to hearing from them. I realize the larger the organization the more difficult this becomes, but build systems that allow you to hear from people at every level within the organization.

Be consistent – Over time, the team you lead or manage needs to know you are going to be dependable. The world is changing fast. It’s hard to know who to trust these days. We certainly need to be able to trust people we are supposed to follow.

Be trustworthy – Follow through on what you say you will do. If you make a promise — keep it. If you can’t support something — say it. If you’re not going to do it — say no. Let your word be your bond. Spend time building and protecting your character. Be the quality of person you would want to follow.

Be appreciative – Recognize you can’t do it alone. Be grateful. Be rewarding. Celebrate. Love others genuinely and display it well.

What would you add? Upon which of these do you most need to improve?

DEFINING QUALITIES OF WORST MANAGERS

Here’s a wakeup call: 75% of employees who leave their jobs are actually quitting their boss or manager. This is a case of “it’s not them, it’s you.” It may be easy to point the finger and assume that you aren’t the issue, but the truth is that with numbers like that, there’s room for improvement across the board.
The truth is that most manager want to be good at their jobs, they want to be effective leaders, but they are oblivious to what they’re doing that turns employee off. Want to know why your bright-eyed, go-getter employees are heading toward the nearest exit? Here are six ways your management could be failing.

1. Your mood shifts with the tides
You are human, so it’s OK to have bad days. Employees can forgive a manager’s ill mood here and there, but making a habit of unpredictable swings will only make you more unapproachable. I once had a boss that we called “The Bear”; most people assumed he earned this nickname due to his large stature. We actually called him that because you were never sure if you were getting a teddy bear or a grizzly bear from day to day. That guy was all over the place!
Part of being a leader is gaining the trust of those who are supposed to follow you. When an employee can’t trust that you will be open to hearing positives and negatives of a project or situation, problems will fly under your radar or never be reported. If an employee never really knows what to expect, then communication, engagement and innovation will suffer.
Above all, learn humility. You are allowed to make mistakes, so be prepared to own up to them.

2. Helicopter manager
Much like the parent, a helicopter manager is one who micromanages the deliverables of an employee. While it’s understood that a manager is to be included in big decisions, to expect everything to fly past your eyes is a waste of your time and the company’s money.
Managers should be aware of what everyone is doing in the office without knowing all the intricate details. Employees are given tasks because they have the knowledge to handle them. At Red Branch Media, we adapted the Directly Responsible Individual concept. Establishing a DRI grants room for employees to work on projects while still holding one person accountable when things don’t get done.

3. Office bully
Who would have guessed that intimidation and belittlement would have negative effects on morale? The professional world can be competitive. As people work their way to the top, attitudes and insults are often brought to the floor. Fear may work as a motivator for a little while but eventually, all it will inspire your employees to do is change their occupation.
It is a manager’s job to curb this type of issue and not be the one causing it. You will not like everyone you work with (that’s life), but a manager should be aware that they were given their position in hopes that they were able to meet such challenges. Be the bigger person and set a positive example and standard.

4. Not friend, not parent — boss
One of the best arts of being in an office is building a sense of camaraderie and allowing that to fuel production. That said, there is a time and place when those friendships should stop and a professional relationship should begin.
A managerial staff should be pleasant with subordinates without allowing for easily misconstrued favoritism. The blurred friend/boss line can make for a difficult conversation when addressing problems or situations that are likely to come about. If there becomes a time that a manager is uncomfortable with speaking to an employee due to how close they are outside of work, business could be compromised elsewhere.

5. The Bill Lumbergh
Bill Lumbergh in “Office Space” wasn’t the first boss to expect work on the weekend “to play catch up,” and he probably won’t be the last. People are working more. A lot more. Like 11 hours more a week than we did in the 1970s.
We’ve all worked with one or two Lumberghs who proceeded to send e-mails after work hours, on the weekend and expected immediate responses. It wasn’t fun. The time managers and employees are away from the office is important to health and productivity, so if you could go ahead and let a break be a break, that’d be great. Thaaanks.

6. Your glass is never half-full
Employees make mistakes and when they do, it is a manager’s job to address and handle the problem appropriately. That can be hard for some managers (ahem, the Friend Boss), but when a higher up completely passes over wins, you have another issue.
No one wants to work for someone who never notices the good work that comes off of his or her desk. Engagement will take a massive hit if employees don’t believe they can do anything right from the start. Managers should be able to not only handle issues, but also hand out earned compliments.

This article was contributed by Maren Hogan
Maren Hogan is a seasoned marketer and community builder in the HR and recruiting industry. She leads Red Branch Media, an agency offering marketing strategy and content development.

BENEFITS OF CRYING & SHEDDING TEARS

Human beings have the tendency to offload their sorrows and frustrations through crying and shedding of tears. Crying is a common human experience and has been a part of every culture and civilization throughout history. Traumatic events, loneliness, prolonged stress, loss of life and property, pain, and daily hassles of life often trigger the process of crying. Many times, people drop tears of joy, happiness, and relief. Although crying occurs due to feelings of sorrow and distress, but once the process of crying is over, they experience a good feeling of releasing unpleasant emotions. Research done on the effects of crying indicates that in most instances, crying is quite beneficial to the human minds and body.

Crying is one of the people’s most effective emotional outlets. People can easily express how they feel, whether they are happy or sad by bursting into tears. Crying is really an effective way to let it all out. At times, it is even better than laughing because when you express yourself through letting your emotions go, you are helping yourself to face the pain and move on. There are some instances when people cry because of extreme happiness or what they call “tears of joy.”
One of the most common misconceptions of people is that crying shows and symbolizes weakness. You are not weak when you cry. On the contrary, crying makes you more human because you are not afraid to show your emotions.
When people cry, they are helping themselves to clear their minds and emotions. However, we should all know that crying is just one of the stages in resolving our problems. It is not an overnight solution. In fact it is not an actual solution. Tears can only help you feel better and ease your burden.
The action of crying itself releases stress relieving hormones which make us feel better. That also kind of explains why people feel more calm and refreshed after shedding some tears. Crying opens the lungs, cleans and exercises the eyes and softens the temper. Crying releases emotional tensions and has a beneficial effect on both the mind and body. Females do seem to produce psychic tears more frequently than men possibly due to habits and a greater level of emotions. Crying is perhaps the easiest and fastest way to release emotional pain.

The many benefits of crying include:
1. Removes toxins form the body.
Crying helps the body to get rid of waste material, toxins and other harmful substances from the body. These substances would otherwise remain inside and might cause harm to the internal system. Though it may sound odd, yes, it is definitely true. Crying is one of the best ways to clear and clean the eyes. If you let tears flow, you will also remove dirt that cannot be removed by just washing the eyes from the outside.

2. Preventing the occurrence of depression.
Most people get depressed because their emotions could not be expressed at the right time and got suppressed inside their minds. Crying prevents the suppression of personal emotions and is one of the healthiest ways to come out of them. Crying also improves the state of people who are already depressed and make them feel better. Crying is the best outlet of pain. Instead of doing negative things, you can just cry to ease your pain and to save your heart and mind from unending sorrow and misunderstanding.

3. Lifts your mood:
If your mood is low due to physical or emotional pain, crying stimulates the release of endorphins. These are hormones which help to elevate mood and also act as pain killers. Due to the release of these hormones people usually feel better after crying.

4. Beneficial for the eyes.
The tear glands present in the eyes continuously produce tears in small quantities. Blinking of the eyes spread these tears evenly over the surface of eyes. This helps in cleaning and lubrication of the eyes.

5. Prevents bacterial growth.
Tears contain a chemical component known as Lysozyme. This chemical inhibits the growth of bacteria on the surface of the eyes. Some portions of tears that come out of the eyes evaporate, but remaining tears through the tear duct drain into the nose. These help to keep the nose moist and lysozyme present in the tears inhibits the growth of bacteria inside the nose.

6. Helps in relaxation.
Once a person stops crying, the body shifts from a high arousal state to state of relaxation. Heart rate and breathing slows down, sweating decreases and person feels more relaxed. The state of relaxation lasts for a longer duration than the moments spent in crying.
So next time when you are unhappy stressed or depressed, find a friend’s shoulder and cry for some time. It will not only reduce your unhappiness and stress, but also make you positive towards solving the issue.

How to Win the Spiritual Jackpot

 

How do you take hold of your own spiritual jackpot?

Everybody wants to win a jackpot, right? When PowerBall numbers start to soar, even the most skeptical of us consider going out to buy a ticket. “What would we do with a million or a multimillion dollar jackpot?” we ask ourselves.

But what if I told you that a jackpot was possible for you—not a financial jackpot, necessarily, but a spiritual jackpot? It’s possible and accessible for you right now, today.

Would you believe me?

Abram is an example from the scriptures of someone who embraced his spiritual jackpot. God chose Abram to be the father of his people, to lead and shepherd them in a specific way, and the way Abram responded to this call on his life made him the recipient of what I would call a spiritual jackpot.

How do you take hold of your own spiritual jackpot?

There are four things Abram did really well, and I think we have a lot to learn from his example.

1. Listen to God’s promises.

The first thing Abram did was listen to the promises of God.

Check out Genesis 12:1-4 and you’ll see how God promised to make Abram into a great nation, to bless him, and that he would make him “a blessing.” These are some pretty huge promises! Yet Abram doesn’t question God.

He doesn’t worry or fret.

He accepts the promise and expects it to come to fruition.

How often does God promise us something, and we refuse to accept it? Has this ever happened to you? Maybe you sense God is promising you something, but it doesn’t seem logical, or it doesn’t seem to line up with your current circumstances, so you dismiss it as nonsense.

The first step to receiving God’s blessing is accepting his promises as true. No logic or reason necessary.

It doesn’t matter if you think you “deserve” it. He is able to do far beyond what we could ask or imagine.

2. Respond to God’s promises (without question).

In response to God’s promise, Abram leaves his father and family and goes out, just like the Lord tells him to, in the exact direction he was instructed.
Genesis 13 tells us that God blessed his family as they went, which is always a happy benefit; but notice Abram doesn’t second-guess what God has asked him to do.
He doesn’t try to figure out all the details ahead of time.
He simply trusts that, if God has called him in this direction, God will provide.
This is so hard for us, don’t you think?
When God calls us to do something, it’s so easy to let fear get in the way. We fear a tainted reputation; we fear an empty bank account; we fear the pain we’ll encounter along the way. But what if we just trusted? What if we counted on God to provide?

3. Trust in God’s promises.

It’s not enough to listen to God’s promises, or to act on them. We have to trust in God’s promises.
If you read the rest of Genesis 14, you’ll see how Abram’s trust in God didn’t falter, even when things didn’t seem to go as planned. At one point, Abram turns down what would seem like a huge blessing from the King of Sodom.
He doesn’t need the blessing from Sodom.
He’s expecting a blessing from God.
How many of us are willing to turn down what seems like a huge, earthly blessing in exchange for the heavenly blessing we know is coming?
Is our trust really in God’s promises, or is it in the financial or material “blessings”

4. Give the credit to God.

At the end of the day, when Abram receives his blessing, he doesn’t take the credit for himself.

Scripture says, “Abraham believed the Lord and he credited to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)

Abram didn’t need to take any credit for the blessings he had received.

He had hit the jackpot.

How many of you feel like you’ve hit the jackpot simply by being in a relationship with Jesus?

Is it possible you’re missing the power and blessing possible in your life because you’re looking for them in the wrong place?

Maybe the “jackpot” you really want has been right in front of you this whole time. 

This article was contributed by Scott Wilson

Scott Wilson is the Senior Pastor of The Oaks Fellowship, ministering to about 3,000 people every week in Dallas, TX. He is a frequent conference speaker, and provides mentorship for dozens of pastors and church leaders through Scott Wilson Consulting. Scott is a loving husband and proud father. Scott and his wife, Jenni, have three boys: Dillon, Hunter, and Dakota.

10 Tips for Leadership, from One Millennial to Another

Millennials have been subject to much criticism for their workplace skills--like generations before them--but many are already leading companies, or preparing to. We asked 10 Millennial founders from Young Entrepreneur Council to share what they think fellow Millennials can do to shore up their leadership skills in the eyes of their colleagues.

1. Remember There's No One Way to Lead

The myth that Millennials aren't great leaders rests on the false notion that all leaders lead in certain ways. The truth is that there's a wide diversity of leadership styles that may or may not work for certain organizations. We can't just look at an individual's leadership style--we have to look at the structure, context and values of their organizations as well.

--Charlie Gilkey, Productive Flourishing

2. Spend Time Around "Doers"

Millennials surround themselves with idea people. While this helps increase our growth, we also need to focus on the doers who can accomplish the great ideas a business decides to implement. We lead by inspiration, which doesn't mean we are not great leaders--we're just different.

--Marjorie Adams, AQB

3. Remember that Generation Doesn't Make the Leader

Leadership is born out of personality and upbringing. It doesn't matter what year you were born if you have the drive (are you ambitious?), raw building materials (your skill set and personality) and good influences (mentors) along the way. You've either got it or you don't--there are great leaders and terrible leaders in every generation.

--Phil Dumontet, DASHED

4. Cultivate Patience

Sometimes, Millennials have an "instant everything" fixation. From answers to complex problems to better software, they want the solution immediately and grow frustrated when their needs are not instantly satisfied. The main skill set that would be helpful for Millennials to practice would be patience and acceptance that sometimes, it is OK to not have an answer right away.

--Kim Kaupe, ZinePak

5. Dress the Part

The Whatever generation looks like it is full of great leaders to me. The sexism is gone, the judging is gone, and everyone is free to succeed on their own merits without an Old Spice boss peering over our shoulders. I think the hardest part for Millennial leaders is to accept that we're bosses now, and we need to act the part. That means not wearing a hoodie every day. We need to work on that.

--Michael Portman, Birds Barbershop

6. Use Confidence to Your Advantage

Millennials are known for being brash and outspoken and I can't say I'm any different. Instead of viewing this as a weakness, turn it around. Leaders need to be the visionaries who will stand up for their ideas even in the face of massive resistance. To lead a team, you have to stand firm for the big ideas that you're all working towards together. Use your outspokenness to get your team on board.

--Laura Roeder, LKR Social Media

7. Look at Incredible Millennial Examples

If the goal of a leader is to bring your team to accomplish their mission, look at Mark Zuckerberg, LeBron James and Sean Parker. Millennials are starting businesses and leading movements that change the world. I don't know why anyone would say we are not leaders. Simply look at the greats and follow their examples.

--Matt Wilson, Under30Experiences

8. Empower Your Team to Lead

As a young entrepreneur, I know what I'm excellent at and where I'm not the best. So I, and many others in my space, have adopted a much more collaborative approach to leadership. If you hire people who are smarter than you at whatever it is they do, you build an ecosystem of leadership that empowers everyone to have a hand in leading and directing.

--Matt Cheuvront, Proof Branding

9. Be the Change You Want to See

It's true that Millennials can sometimes be viewed as poor leaders because they come from a culture of entitlement. One solution is to not fall into those habits. Be driven, have patience and showcase maturity. Show that you don't subscribe to that culture just because you're a Millennial, and be the change you want to see.

--Michael Mogill, Crisp Video Group

10. Create a Millennial Company

Fair enough: Millennials might not be optimally geared towards leading a traditional large enterprise with all the internal reporting, inflexibility and bureaucracy that comes with it. So why not build a Millennial company? I believe Millennials are best suited (and better than non-Millennials) to lead modern companies that are values-based, global in vision and people-first (before process).

--Christopher Pruijsen, Sterio.me