7 Qualities of a Great Staff Member - #3
Great staff – strong leader. Great staff – effective ministry. Great staff – great church.
Getting the right people on the team is essential. Here is who I’m looking for.
First qualities are
1. Be A Problem Solver ( see blog #1)
2. Dedication to Personal Growth (see blog #2)
The third quality is:
3. Honesty
I am an open and transparent person. I do not tell everything about my life, or tell every thought I have but I want to be real and honest.
I don’t want to work with people who are ‘yes’ people. I don’t want people who just tell me what they think I want to hear….
“If you like it then I like it” creates a weak environment.
There is an appropriate way to express opinions. I don’t want to hear rude assertions of someone’s opinions.
I want to work with others who do not hide their fears, hurts or worries – but know how to be transparent while bringing strength to our team.
Sometimes people on staff hold back in talking honestly to me or other pastors on our staff, because they don't want to disappoint us or they want to avoid conflict.
Sometimes they just don't want to admit problems or frustrations they may have. But I want to be aware so we can work things out and clarify issues and expectations. I’ve had some people who just did not want to expose how selfish or trivial they had become.
I don’t want to hear our staff people say, “I’ve been feeling this way for a few months now…” That is dishonest and unfair.
The bible teaches us to ‘speak the truth in love.’
We should not speak the truth in effort to hurt or expose someone – that could be bad timing or bad taste.
We should not think – ‘I love them so I won’t tell them the truth, I don’t want to hurt them.’ – that is usually not really love.
On many occasions people will go to other leaders on staff – because it’s easier to express to someone other than the Senior Pastor. I understand that some people get nervous or intimidated so I’ve come to accept this dynamic but the key to this working is that the person who now has the information knows how to handle the situation.
If a person is hiding their problems because they think, ‘If I tell the truth (how I really feel or the problem I’m involved in) then I might get fired…” The dishonesty then can become an integrity issue as well as the other problem.
Handling confidentiality and integrity can be a struggle sometimes. People think “Love covers a multitude of sin – so I won’t tell my pastor about the moral or ethical sin in this person’s life.” This reasoning has caused so many people to be hurt. It can create a tragic situation.
I expect staff leaders to say to someone confessing to moral or ethical problems, something like this
"I want to respect your confidentiality but this is a very serious situation so I will give you 48 hours to tell pastor or then I will tell him. If I do not say this – then I will be violating my commitment, jeopardize my position on staff and my integrity."
Love covers a multitude of sin - so does lying - you should know the difference.
Honesty is the best way to handle most situations.
If you like this blog, you may also like:
7 Qualities of a Great Staff Member - #1
7 Qualities of a Great Staff Member - #2
7 Qualities of a Great Staff Member - #4
7 Qualities of a Great Staff Member - #5
