Communication: Indispensable to Leadership
- John Wasem
- Mar 31, 2008
- Series: Article of the Month
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The
ability to communicate effectively and appropriately is one of the most
essential components of quality new church leadership. A recent survey
revealed that 41% of people identified poor communication as the top mistake of leaders. Specifically, leaders are perceived to fail in five
primary ways:
- To provide adequate feedback, praise, and redirection (82%)
- To listen to or involve others in church processes (81%)
- To use a leadership style that is appropriate to the person, task, or situation (76%)
- To set and articulate clear ministry goals and objectives (76%)
- To properly equip and develop team members (59%)
- Performance management skills: allocate enough time to adequately lead your people, set clear ministry expectations, celebrate corporately and personally progress in fulfilling the vision, exercise the courage to provide honest feedback when team performance is lacking.
- Partnering skills: monitor continually the competence and motivational levels of your team, be more directive when circumstances are rather chaos or disrupted (normally 20% of the time or less), be more facilitative to encourage and empower your team to function, grow, and achieve (normally 80% of the time or more).
- Interpersonal skills: communicate with sensitivity, accuracy, and timeliness, listen actively, and make extra effort to disciple your team holistically with special focus on the spiritual and emotional dimensions.
A God-honoring new church leader dare not charge ahead assuming everyone will follow, understand, and contribute. A highly dominant, "command-and-control" leadership style will not build and sustain the morale and sense of ownership of your team. As is often said in the church world, everything rises or falls on leadership.