MY THURSDAY

8:30 am – 2-hour meeting with two colleagues in a different department and a consultant I had hired.

10:30 am – Stop in for tail end of quarterly staff chapel and chat with staff I don’t see very often

11:30 am– Rush off to a 2-hour awards luncheon where I did not know anyone

Afternoon – back-to-back meetings with no time to even check email

4:30 pm – crash

MY FRIDAY

7:15 am — 3.5-hour breakfast and presentations for a leadership program I’m in where I have gotten to know some of the people who were at the event (and I got to get on stage for 5 minutes to talk)

11:30 am – lunch with someone trying to figure out what to do with his life

Afternoon – working back and forth with my staff on projects

5:30 pm – catch up on emails

7 pm – leave work with energy to go to dinner with a friend

How is it that I worked a longer day Friday and left feeling good? If you looked at my calendar on Outlook, the schedules would not appear that different. When we think about working in our strengths, it’s the nuances that really matter.

On both Thursday and Friday, I went to a long breakfast/lunch. The difference was that I knew people at one and that I got to be up on stage, which I love!

On Thursday, I was in meetings all day. As an introvert, that killed me. (For a colleague of mine, this would have been her dream day!) On Friday, I was around people all day, but it was people close to me like my staff (I didn’t have to “be on”).

How can you shift your schedule just slightly to make sure you are not ready to crash at the end of the day?  Look closely at how you book your calendar, and book some slots for things that make you feel strong and energized every day. Don’t book the draining activities back to back in one day. It’s pretty simple, but easy to overlook if you are not paying attention.

“What can you do that would change your workplace FOREVER?”

Check out what happened when great minds came together:

http://vimeo.com/24439535

And if you are in San Diego, join us for our next event on June 7 where we will discuss trust issues in the workplace.

In the article, he shares his personal reflections on the opportunities for connection between the church and the entrepreneur, as well as the mischaracterization and misunderstanding that he has personally experienced. His article explores some exciting connections that entrepreneurs can help the church make in the world, including the ability to critique the dominant culture, serve the poor and do justice, and reach the lost.

I hope you enjoy reading the article as much as I enjoyed getting it printed for 40,000 alumni to read!

I was bemoaning my dilemma to my boss the other day, and he asked a simple question: “What can you do to get out of the way and let your staff step into some of the roles you are filling?”

I must admit that I tend to have a strong sense of self-importance – if I’m not involved, something is bound to be missed. I am the one with the “big picture.” I can protect my staff from the mean people. If I give up CONTROL, everything might just implode.

You don’t have to tell me twice – well, ok, maybe you do.

One of my staff members recently kindly let me know that my helpfulness was impeding her ability to be effective and efficient. I typically serve as the go-between between my graphic designers and our internal clients. I thought I was saving her from the headaches of the back and forth. In the end, she had to interpret my interpretation of the client meetings. She had to wait for me to call the clients with questions. I had taken away her ability to manage her own projects.

Training up of the 12 disciples

We don’t have to look too far to see a model for how to handle this sort of leadership challenge. Consider how Jesus went about training his disciples. For the first several months, the disciples followed Jesus around and observed him. Through their observations, they learned about priorities (prayer and time with the Father); they learned how to have boundaries (not healing everyone); they learned how to respond with compassion to sinful people and to question the status quo of the religiosity of the day. They were with Jesus, sitting at his feet and learning best practices, so to speak.  

When the time came, Jesus took off the training wheels and gave the disciples all of the authority they needed to do their work. They had the power to cast out demons and to heal the sick. Their first assignments were local, and Jesus was still nearby to help if they needed Him. They had all the tools, guidance, and vision necessary to take on their leadership roles. In the end, they were fully equipped to act on their own after Jesus had been crucified.

Training up your team

In this same way, I need to make sure my team is equipped. They need time to observe me and get a sense of what they will be doing on their own. They need a vision. They need me to get out of the way and let them act on their own with full authority for the work to be done. Only then will they gain the confidence they need to take on more and more responsibility. This is the only way to know their real capacity for leadership.

Yes, some people might not step into their new roles with grace. They may stumble. They may actually realize that they really don’t have the capacity to do more than what they are doing. But others might surprise you and step up in ways that you would have never imagined. It’s not until you get out of the way that you will ever really know.

If you left your organization, would everything fall apart because you have not prepared your team members to succeed you? Are there people you are holding back because you are a control freak? Are there higher order things you could be doing if you just got out of the way and let others step up to the task?