Leaders are by definition visionaries. We're gifted by God to see the future before others can see it.
As we architect strategies toward vision achievement, that vision can begin to consume us. We eat, drink and sleep it. If we're not careful, we can become obsessed with the thrill of achieving the vision ... and the condition of our team can become secondary.
Leaders with the highest levels of vision and passion often have the lowest levels of awareness when it comes to the spirit of their team. Leaders can feel so responsible for the vision that they believe no one else is as committed as they are. It can be easy for leaders to think those who don't share the their same level of passion about the vision are not as important to the organization.
Don't get so addicted to vision achievement that the people you've assembled to achieve that vision become like equipment.
Willow Creek made five key commitments to fire up its staff to engage with the vision of the church:
1. Use an outside firm. We used an objective, outside firm to measure the temperature of the team when it came to staff engagement.
2. The entire executive team must own the "turn around." A culture will only ever be as healthy as the senior leader wants it to be. Willow's executive team took responsibility for the turn around.
3. Get serious about training those who manage people. People join organizations; they leave managers. Your organization will never reach its full potential until everyone on the team leads and loves well.
4. Raise the level of candor in performance reviews. Everyone on your team wants to know "How am I doing?" "Am I adding value?" Jack Welch says the kindest form of management is the truth. Willow Creek provides ongoing, truthful feedback to everyone on staff. We added three words to our twice-a-year performance evaluations: Start, Stop, Continue. We clarify what we're trying to move forward, and if it's not moving, we modify the plan to get the desired progress. We continue to call out the best in the employees and then fire them up to get better. Everyone wins when a leader gets better.
5. Resolve relational conflict, no matter how scary it is. We made a ruthless commitment to resolving relational conflict. Reconcile: Conflict Transformation for Ordinary Christians (John Paul Lederach) points out that relational conflict is an opportunity to strengthen a relationship instead of looking at it as a precursor to relational ruin.
According to Gallup, in the average Christian organization, only 54 percent of the employees are engaged in their work. In the corporate world, that number falls to 30 percent and internationally, the rate is half that.
At Willow Creek, our latest survey reported 81 percent of our staff was engaged. But it's heartbreaking to me that 19 percent feel underchallenged or disconnected from what God is doing. I won't be satisfied until 100 percent feel fired up about coming to work.
Bill Hybels is the senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church and the founder of Willow Creek Association. The author of more than 20 books, he is a leader committed to inspiring men and women to raise the stakes when it comes to leadership. This is the 20th year for The Global Leadership Summit, to read more about the upcoming Global Leadership Summit visit http://www.willowcreek.
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