The Power Of Together In Leadership

A few years ago, I had a “grand” idea, in order to increase our family income and have a little something to leave the kids, we should invest in rental homes. At the peak of excitement, after many hours of thought, I arrived home to find my wife sitting at the dining room table. With the greatest of reserve and confidence (yea right), I began to vomit (excuse the terminology) my great plan into her unsuspecting lap. Needless to say, it did not go over well (as you can imagine). Outside of the facts that we had no money, and quiet a bit of debt, we had a much bigger problem, no agreement. I learned a lot that day about leadership. In the middle of the conversation, God arrested (or should I say rescued) me and revealed this truth: Be it your family, your business or your church, big or small, new or old if you desire to be productive, unity is the first step. 

I did not let go of the plan, it was a good one. I did; however, let go of the method. Today, we are unified and more productive in the pursuit than we had imagined.

I think we all understand just how elusive this state of unity can be, but we need to understand the power contained in such a position. Concerning unity, the psalmist writes;  (Psalm 133:3)  

It is as if the dew of Hermon
    were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,
    even life forevermore.

 

Three Lessons I have learned about the “power of together”.

Here are 3 leadership lessons I have learned, trust me when I say failure is a great teacher.

  1. Together requires intentional. Bringing people together requires letting them know where and how they fit. Having a system in place to know those you are working with is essential. In your family, you should have a good idea about; temperament, experiences and abilities, but what about your business or your church? When we help others grow in their understanding of themselves they don’t feel as obligated to try to be or do everything. They can focus on their strengths and what God has given them to bring value to the vision. There are many tools to assist you is developing a system to fit your organization. Personality tests, spiritual gifts assessments, or intentional time dedicated to getting to know your employees or volunteers is a great place to start. Be intentional.                                                                                                                                                           
  2. Together requires release. This may be the most difficult, especially if you, like myself, are somewhat of a “control freak”. But trust me, you can do it! You must do it to be more productive. Here are some things that may help. A. Create a safe environment. Shame associated with failure will shut folks down with a quickness. Let them know the major benefit of failure: GROWTH, either corporately or individually. Failure, leveraged correctly, can be very beneficial. This also puts you in a “mind set of grace” concerning those you are working with. B. Discuss expectations. This is huge! Failed expectations destroy many good endeavors. Write them down and make them clear UP FRONT! C. Expect a learning curve. We have a tendency to deal better with things that don’t surprise us.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
  3. Together requires “like” values. No way around this one. No matter how much you like someone, or want to include someone in the vision, if your core values are different save yourself the energy. Ignore me on this one if you like, just know, you do it to the peril of your goal. Too many life lessons and scripture on the topic to not include this point.
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