You cannot leapfrog leaders. This is a lesson I learned the hard way. I was once tasked with meeting with a stewardship committee to present the church’s plan for generosity. It was an exciting opportunity because I wanted to serve the church and these high-capacity leaders well who made up the team.
In preparation for the time together, I met with a staff member who I assumed (remember this word) headed up the team. Our meeting was full of energy and gave me tremendous optimism about the months ahead. There was a likemindedness in terms of vision and how to best serve those in need. The desires of the committee members were provided and seamlessly woven into our plan. We were excited to see what God was going to do.
The staff member was going to discuss with the team our conversation, provide them all the details and then plan on the next steps of the plan’s implementation.
I began to get a little concerned the day before the meeting when I mentioned to the Committee Chair how excited I was to be spending time with them. The announcement of my arrival was news to him as I was not on the agenda. I was undeterred as simple oversights are often part of the leadership process. In retrospect, this was a lack of self-awareness.
Then came the meeting.
When the meeting began I was pushed to the end of the agenda and the room was very cool to me. In my naivety and passion I was still undeterred and charged ahead as I figured when the plan was presented, which incorporated all their desires, I would win over the room. Of course, everyone would stand and cheer. They would thank God because He had providentially sent them a likeminded advocate who would serve them, break down their barriers to success and make all their Godly desires a reality.
I was wrong. Very, very wrong.
As I unrolled an 18-page plan, it was met with blank stares and indifference. At the conclusion of my presentation, a key leader stood up, slammed down my handouts and said, “There’s nothing new here” and walked out the door.
Looking back I do not blame the committee for this bad meeting. All the blame rests on my shoulders. The following are two big mistakes I made:
- Assumptions – Smart leaders never assume. I incorrectly assumed the staff member was the key influencer on the committee when in fact it was key members of the committee.
- Lack Of Organizational Awareness – I felt I prepared well. A meeting-before-the-meeting was scheduled. Information was gathered and incorporated into a plan. Next steps were discussed. But I had not done enough research. I had not asked enough questions. I had not asked the right questions to the right people. I had not dug deep enough into the church’s culture and DNA. A lack of awareness regarding the decision-making process was evident.
I had leapfrogged the leadership. I was wrong and suffered for it. Those we were hoping to serve suffered for it. The entire church suffered for it. The following are 7 Results Of Ignoring Leaders And Top Volunteers I learned the hard way:
- Leaders Feel Disrespect – The committee had put in a lot of work and even though I thought I was incorporating their ideas, because of my approach they did not.
- Leaders Are Disenfranchised – Because of my poor approach, the leaders felt their opinions and insights did not matter.
- Vision Becomes Limited – The role of leadership in local church is the advancement of mission and vision. If leaders are disrespected and disenfranchised, then they will not multiply vision. As a result, the congregation’s connection to the vision will be limited at best.
- Expectations Are Missed – The phrase “there is nothing new in here” is interesting. The reason there was nothing new was because I worked very hard to incorporate all their ideas. But because of my poor approach, expectations which should have been wholeheartedly embraced were emphatically rejected.
- Relationships Are Fractured – You never have to recover from a good start, especially in relationships. It was hard to forge fully-productive working partnerships thereafter.
- A Lack Of Trust Is Developed
- Improved Performance – After six negative results, something positive did come out of this. No leader is perfect. All leaders make mistakes. The key is do you learn from your mistakes and improve moving forward. When you leapfrog leaders and suffer the consequences, a smart leader will hopefully not make similar mistakes in the future.
What mistakes have you made in dealing with leaders?
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