I was recently challenged in a way I didn’t expect. I had a meeting scheduled with a person on my team to discuss programing and communication flow on Sundays. As we went through the nuts and bolts of those things I sensed a frustration level in this persons demeanor. This led me to think that this guy wasn’t fully bought into the vision of our church and I began to question him – strongly – on his buy in level. Somewhere in the back of my mind I thought I would be helping this person see their giftedness and realize that for it to be fully utilized they may need to exercise it somewhere else. I really wanted this person to follow their dream and I thought they’d see I was doing them a favor.
I was so wrong… both in my discernment for this person’s demeanor and where they hoped to go in their ministry.
Instead of being met with a grateful heart and a relieved spirit, I was met with a fire and passion I had not recognized before. As anyone who knows me would guess, I combated fire with fire for a bit because I always drift to a “might is right” mentality. Somewhere in the midst of the heat something was said that God used to really get my attention.
Him: “I need this!”
Me: “… huh??? You need what?”
“I need this type of access to you so I can see your passion and hear the fire in your voice and know you are fighting for me.” … Oh, here we go, I thought. You see, the person I was talking to didn’t report directly to me. Our organizational structure was such that this person’s leader reported to me so it would be rare that direction would be coming directly from me. So, my instant reaction was that this person was angling to get around their leader.
Again, I was wrong.
This person was simply trying to express the occasional need that he and his peers have to receive vision cast and questions answered from someone who is closer to the epicenter of the vision. The guy explained that his leader was doing a great job, but he felt that as information was past down the chain of command something was lost. After much discussion the thing that was being lost was not correct information and it wasn’t vision dilution. It was simply access to the thoughts, heart and passion of his leader’s leader. Not direct access all the time, but occasional access to feel the temperature of the fire that was burning in me.
Wow! That conversation flattened me. I thought I was doing everything right as a leader. I followed the chain of command and avoided cutting the leadership legs out from under the guys that report to me and I casted clear vision and direction so that they were equipped to lead their teams. All those things I had apparently done well, but I was falling short in noticing the importance of this type of access that would increase the health of our organization.
As I processed all of this I realized that I should have caught onto this concept much earlier. You see, my leader, Perry Noble sets a great example in this area. I don’t know if he would call what he does providing access, but he leads a monthly all staff meeting where his passion and vision are clearly seen and heard by everyone on our staff. Also, almost every week he takes a group from our staff to lunch to ask and answer questions. He even builds time into his busy schedule each week to simply walk around the office and to talk with as many people as he can. He creates avenues of access for his extended team (the whole staff) and at the same time is able to learn from those who are involved in the specific ministries of our church.
Why wouldn’t that principle apply to me? Why wouldn’t I make it a point to have monthly meetings with my extended team and be more intentional about lunches and striking up conversations around the office?
One reason I think that I haven’t seen this need is that I sit as close as is possible to the epicenter of our vision. I have lost sight of how I might feel if I was removed from my current position. Just as this person understood, I would not expect Perry to be available to me all the time. I would understand the need for an organizational hierarchy and the efficiency it creates. But, I would also have a need to feel like I have voice and that I am a part of the bigger team… not just someone who carries out a necessary function.
So, I owe a major thank you to someone who was willing to “lead up” and remind me that as a leader, I need to be sensitive to everyone’s need for access. Not access that circumvents the structure or the vision… but access that clears up communication gaps, clarifies vision, gives everyone’s voice a place to be heard and makes me a better leader.
Know that the discomfort which accompanies your transparency and honesty is a blessing to all who have the benefit of learning through experiences you share.
As I have said before, your leadership will always result in ultimate success, not because Shane is perfect, but because Shane knows he is not and allows life to be a continuous learning/growing experience.
Your willingness to seek and find the wisdom in every circumstance serves you well.
That last line sounded like one you would get from a fortune cookie at “Madam Chin’s Oriental Buffet”….sorry about that!!!
Oh Shane! You really NEVER cease to amaze me! Thank you for your honesty not just in this post but also for your willingness to recognize when you might be wrong. I am SO thankful for the amazing leadership that God has placed in His church here. And I am thankful that He continues to refine each of you to be EXACTLY the leader He has called you to be!
Love the post today – Shane. Cool stuff.
Shane, I don’t know you, but happened to come across this post of yours. What you have done is truly reflect on a great example of what a servant leader does everyday – that is look in the mirror in any given leadership situation and ask himself – what may I have done to create this situation? In situations where the team member doesn’t perform as expected, the servant leader (the truly talented leader) asks himself (or herself) how they (the leader) contributed to the team member not performing up to standard.
Unfortunately, many people who are in a leadership position always assume they did the right thing, all the time, and never step back and ask what part of the blame they should take when one of the team does not perform as expected.
Keep this up – it is great!
well said – a great reminder to all who lead!
man…this just spoke to me…thx for being transparent and sharing
THIS IS DEAD ON… you dont even understand how this post resonates inside of me… WOW… DEAD ON…
Great reminder that as leaders, we have to give people an opportunity to “lead up” and not just follow all the time.Thanks.
I was first attracted to this post by an admitted lack of discernment TWICE in one conversation. THAT’s rare!
Your admittance to the power of Access is a sign of humilty and bodes well for your own Access to Christ to rekindle anew.
An overview of the Catholic Church finds the local parish priest in line to talk with many in authority, and few opportunities for the Pope and parish priest to meet one-on-one. The pews empty weekly as the priest suffocates from lack of oxygen access.
I read of a fellow stopping his attendance at Church. The minister eventually came to his home having noticed the nonattendance.. Both knew each other. Both knew what was going to be said. “Where ya been?”
But the pastor was silent. He entered the home and both men sat silently by the fireplace. Eventually, the pastor got up, took the tongs and thrashed the fire around.
He chose a glowing coal and pulled it out of the fire center, and placed it on the outside of the sparking-ember-catching-grate on a concrete corner. He sat down, silent again.
Both men watched as the glowing coal slowly died.
The pastor reversed the process and used the tongues of fire paraphenalia to lift the dead coal onto the fire center again. Immediately, the lifeless coal began to glow and soon turned orange red with heat and light.
The man who long ago began to skip church finally spoke.
“That was the finest sermon you have ever preached pastor. See you Sunday!”
The sermon contained NO words.
But the man had access to his pastor alone.
And the coal had access to the fire center…. to glow anew.
And the fire of the Holy Spirit connected the wisdom to the pastor, and the discernment to the parishoner who was not there at church to see or hear, into a man closer to God.
Access allows the Holy Spirit to take “two or more gathered” and perform miracles……even NOW in our times.
The writing above was good.
The humility better.
It is often the first trait discarded among those who reach the top.
Decline soon follows.
Even though these moments often blind-side us-Wow, don’t they make for great moments of self-realization and personal growth.
Aren’t we lucky when our jobs as leaders lead us to such discoveries about ourselves, and lead us to a clearer vision of our leadership goals?
Thanks for sharing-AHA, moments are so contagiously inspiring!
Excellent post. Well written. I’m glad you connected it with visioning and structure.
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Thank you for never condascending to me or anyone from the haven of rest no matter who they were! JESUS really comes through your entire families countenances and that’s an incredible example for others! Thank you for being my friend! I’m praying for your brother and I,m always here to let JESUS.thru me help you and newspring any way I can! Never me always CHRIST! Allen
What a self righteous self focused article and man.
Leah – I completely disagree.
Fantastic Post! I needed this reminder. I’m going to have our entire management team read this!
Shane,
Just read this post again and it is just as powerful as the first time I read it. When are you going to blog again? Miss hearing your insights.
So right on Shane. Thank you for sharing this!
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