Trust September 21, 2009

What a great team!

Have you ever worked for a micro manager?  How depressing it becomes.  You know you will never live up to their expectations and whatever you do they’ll just redo it at some point or stand over your shoulder telling you what they want you to do – step by step.  When that happens you feel like saying to them, “Why don’t you just do it yourself?”

Leadership requires trust.  Now, if you’re a person of faith, then what I just said is a no brainer.  However, I’m not talking about just trusting God.  We do need to place our trust in God.  I’m talking about trusting your staff.  When we place our trust in those who work for us, we inspire confidence in them. When we hire someone to do a job, it’s our responsibility as leaders to provide them with the resources they need to do the job – and then let them get on with it.  Now, you might ask, “What if they do it wrong?”  Well, so what?  If and when that happens, you go back over it with them, help them fix it and then guide them through the process of learning what could have been done differently to produce a different outcome.  This is especially important if you’ve hired someone who has moved up to a new level of leadership and is experiencing some situations for the first time.   

Obviously, trust is something that grows as people learn to do a job and you learn to let go and let them get on with it.  However, when you place your trust in someone, you have to be willing to accept that they might fail in their task.  That’s the scary part. Now, it’s a bit different if you’ve hired someone who you know has experience to do a job and then through carelessness makes a mistake of huge proportions.  Well, you know that you’re going to have to do something about that!  However, in the day-to-day tasks that our staff must perform – from the front end employee to the supervisor – we need to trust them to do the job.

Micro managing your staff is counter-productive.  It says, “I don’t trust you.”  It also says, “You’re not good enough.”  That is not the kind of message that will help others develop and grow in their jobs.  It’s also an indication of a deeper problem – perfectionism.  There’s a difference between wanting to do a good job and needing it to be so perfectly done to our specifications that no one wants to work for us. 

We need to learn to let go. 

I’ve been off on sick leave for four months now and it is the first time in a very long time that I’ve been able to be away without having to worry about what is going on at work.  That’s because I placed my trust in my management staff.  Did they do everything perfectly while I was gone?  Probably not.  However, they did a good job and held their own through some difficult situations.  When they needed guidance, they called the right people.  When they needed to act on something, they did so.  When they needed to wait for me to return, they waited.  They carried on as if I were there and kept up the momentum. 

However, I had to let go.

God placed His trust in me by giving me the responsibility for our ministry.  I then passed it on. 

Pass it on!

grace… Kathie

I have a great staff!  Check them out:  http://www.caringplace.ca/who-we-are.html

The Really Hard Stuff April 5, 2009

One Terrific Management Team

Sometimes I hate what I do.  Well, not all of it, but parts of it.  Some of the things I have to do as a leader are quite difficult.  This week I’ve been faced with having to tell my management team that The Salvation Army has instituted some drastic policies regarding finances and budgets in response to our current global recession.  There will be no raises, no cost of living increases, a hiring freeze, no courses, no retreats, etc….  I have to say that I am so proud of their reaction and their dedication to ministry.  They were ready and willing to do what they had to do to make a difference.

I’m sure the decision to implement this policy wasn’t easy for our organization’s national leaders.  For many of our employees, that cost of living increase is very helpful and in hard times like this, badly needed.  To have to make the decision to forego this much needed increase for our employees this year must have been agonizing.  I know they didn’t make that decision lightly.

What can a leader do when faced with a situation that stretches us in this way.  For organizations or businesses that employ a lot of people, the largest single expense line on the budget is salaries.  It’s the easiest place to save money.  However, what looks great on the budget translates into a real crisis for real people on the other end.  Those employees that are affected have families, mortgages, car payments and mouths to feed. 

This past month the Board of the Christian school our children go to had to make some hard choices.  They were faced with a critical financial situation and in the end, some staff were laid off, one was a teacher with 8 years at the school.  Between the principal and the school they had to choose who would stay and who would go.  I’ve certainly been praying for them and the teachers who won’t be returning for another year.

Our community also suffered another blow when E-One Moli Energy laid off 220  employees at their battery manufacturing plant here in town.  Some employees had been there up to 20 years.  It was a very sad day for them. Unemployment in our community has risen this year and everyone is concerned for their jobs.   

When financial times are tough and there are hard choices to make, there are some things you can do to make it through.

• Pray.  Pray for wisdom, pray for guidance and pray for courage. 
• Be completely honest with the people involved.  Let your employees know that you’ve got some difficult choices to make.
• Involve your staff in problem solving.  They are important stakeholders and you will often find them willing to make some sacrifices to save someone’s job.  Give them a chance to step up to the plate.
• Be willing to make sacrifices for yourself as well – being a leader is more than being the boss.  It’s also being an example in tough times.

When all options have been explored and every possible solution has been discussed, and you still find yourself faced with having to lay off your staff, there is only one way to handle it. 

More prayer.

Openness and honesty.

Care and compassion.

How do you translate that into practical information?  Well, if you are at that point and have to lay off someone from your business or organization, here are some things to consider:

• No matter how hard it is, be direct – but make sure you show the concern you feel.
• Check an employee’s file – you don’t want to lay them off on their birthday
• Do it on a Monday or Tuesday and definately not on a Friday – it’s terrible to let them stew over a weekend.  Early in the week can let them start arranging EI benefits or visit an employment counsellor.
• The Golden Rule – treat them with respect
• They’re going to be hurting – remind them how helpful they were and affirm them as a valued employee.
• Keep the meeting private and have another manager with you when you deliver the news.  I always ask my officer husband to be there as he has the more pastoral role in our ministry unit.  When you’re the Executive Director, the employee can have strong feelings about you.  Ed always offers to pray with the person before they go.
• If you can, try to offer a severance package.  It goes a long way in the healing process for the person leaving. It shows them they’re valued.
• Talk to the rest of your staff right away – don’t let the laid off employee have to tell everyone what happened.

As leaders, it takes a concerted effort to do these things the best way we can. Every time I’ve had to let someone go from their job my voice has shaken with emotion.  One time I outright cried and tears poured down my cheeks as I broke the news.  It can be very difficult.  But we should remember what His word says, 

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1

Much grace…. Kathie