Leading the Right People
My family and I enjoy watching the show Lego Masters. On this show, brilliant amateur Lego designers compete to make the most dazzling displays. My oldest and I love to build Legos. We have put together numerous sets, but one thing that limits our ability to expand our building prowess is the lack of Lego bricks and specialty pieces. On the show, the contestants have an unlimited supply of bricks to choose from to complete their designs. The right brick placed in the right place makes all the difference when building a high-quality Lego project. The same can be said of leadership in the local church.
This is the second article in the series, “Leading Effectively in the 21st Century.” This series is designed around providing some basic insights in effectively leading the local church whether as a lead pastor or associate pastor. The second principle of leading effectively in the 21st century is leading the right people.
An individual is not really leading if no one is following. Leading is difficult to do if one is leading on an island.
An effective leader will gather individuals around him or her, whether paid or volunteer, who can help steer the ship in the right direction.
A leader will do well to lead the right people alongside of him. What does the term “right people” mean? Collins (Good to Great, 41) says, “If we get the right people on the bus, the right people in the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus, then we’ll figure out how to take it someplace great.” The health of the church or organization God has called you to lead will depend a great deal on who you get on your team. Other questions then arise, “How can I find the right people?” “How do I know they are the right people when I find them?”
Taking time to find the right person to lead in ministry is important for both paid and unpaid positions. One aspect that is lacking in the church is placing quality volunteers in areas of ministry. We often think that we need to place any willing volunteer in ministry to keep the ministry going. Here is a hint from someone who has made many mistakes placing the wrong volunteers in places of ministry service.
If there are no volunteers to serve in the ministry, that particular ministry is no longer valued or needed by the church.
We want to be able to lead the right people in the right areas of ministry for them and their giftedness.
When trying to find the right people, using the 3 Cs is a helpful tool in recruiting and retaining quality team members (Rainer, Christian Leadership Essentials, 207). The 3 Cs are character, competence, and chemistry. Notice character is first on the list. The reason character is first is because this trait will have the most impact on the individual, the team, and the organization. If you succeed in locating a person who loves Christ and walks daily with him, is humble, has integrity, and is teachable then you have discovered a quality person. When our church was searching for a youth director the first few questions about the individual were related to his character. If the individual is not walking daily with Christ and failing to grow in his image, then the potential team member will not add intrinsic value to the team.
The second C focuses on competence. While an individual may have a strong Christ-like character, you are hiring her and bringing her on the team for a purpose. The individual you bring on board needs to be competent in the area you are hiring her. This does not necessarily mean she needs to be an expert in the field, although it surely wouldn’t hurt, she does need to possess the basic skills in the area and is willing and able to learn and grow in the area you are hiring her. You can lose valuable time as a leader if you constantly must go over and check every decision each team member makes. This is not to say you are not actively mentoring team members, but you need to be able to trust the individual can do the job you need her to do.
The third C focuses on chemistry. Will this person be a good fit for the team or ministry? In other words, “Do they gel with everyone?” This question is also vital in finding the right person for your ministry team. While some may say this is an unchristian practice, examining an individual’s personality, temperament, and leadership style can prove to be preventative medicine for you and your ministry in the long run. One way to see if the prospective team member will have good chemistry with the team is to take him out to eat with the rest of team. This allows an informal opportunity to discuss work issues as well as get a feel for his thoughts on various other issues.
Taking the time to check chemistry before a hire is easier than trying to work around bad chemistry or going through the painful experience of dismissing a team member.
By using the 3Cs: character, competency, and chemistry you can find the right people for your team, and this can assist you in leading your church or organization well for the glory of Christ.
In His Grace,
BD
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Collins, Jim. Good to Great. New York: HarperCollins, 2001.
Rainer, Thom. “Selecting and Building Leadership Teams.” In Christian Leadership Essentials, edited by David
Dockery, 191-209. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2011.