How to Prevent Sinking

This question was asked on our podcast: How do you stay positive in a negative moment or when someone presents a negative thought or are negative towards you? It gets into that life you guys were talking about...leaders are called to lift. How do you lift when things are sinking?

When things are sinking:

Look for the holes in the ship.

What is not working?
What are areas that don’t serve others?

Address them swiftly.

Lovingly talk to the people over these areas.
Be clear about the current situation. Jesus did this!

Luke 9:46-48 46An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. 47 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48 Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”

Ask them how they feel in this season. (You’d be surprised that some people are ready to move on to a different area.)

Call people to the standard.

If leaders are not leading at the standard that is required, tell them. Good leaders respect the standard. Bad leaders will be exposed by it.

Start with the standard.

When you share what the standard is, when the standard isn’t met, it is clear for everyone.

Moments are so spontaneous and unpredictable. These are the times that can shape us the most. This is where you must be ready as a leader. This is where the “filling” is most important. Always spend time filling up as a leader, so that even in the spontaneous moments, we are always ready.

The Language Every Leader Speaks

The language that every leader speaks is action.

Leaders see problems and get a plan of action to overcome that problem so they can lead others to change the problem into a victory.

It’s easy to point out what’s wrong, anyone can do that!

We’ve all known people who bring problems to the table. News flash: there will ALWAYS be problems in any organization.

People who lack leadership will want to delegate the solution to other people.

But it takes a leader to identify a problem, envision a solution and lead others to bring change.

Matthew 14:15-17

As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

If people are around you, you have everything you need.

The Language a Leader Speaks: A leader will speak vision. A leader will speak ideas. (What do you think about this? Have you tried this?) A leader will speak encouragement.

The Language Leaders Don’t Speak: Leaders don’t speak complaint. Leaders don’t speak gossip. Leaders don’t speak status quo.

Discussion Questions:

Have you ever known someone who always had a problem with everything?

Do you think you are good at coming up with solutions to problems?

How do you help lead someone who always makes excuses?

What is one area that Jesus is calling you lead?

Communication Killers

For any team or organization to be healthy, communication must be clear and effective. Many of us know some of the communication strategies that work. Sometimes we need to look at habits we have that we unconsciously do that end up undermining our communication efforts. Here are a few.

Assumptions

When we start to assume people get the message or know the information, we will sometimes find ourselves disappointed. Instead of assuming people know, we must assume people don’t know. That way we can communicate in a loving and clear way. A great strategy is to ask questions. This helps us know where those we lead are at. Jesus did this all the time. He asked questions He already knew the answer to. But He wanted those he led to share where they were at. Many times it was revelatory for that person.

If you have someone who leads you, you can ask questions to clarify how your role plays out in the vision. Leaders appreciate this so much.

Offense

When we get offended by someone and do not handle it swiftly, a filter gets put on our heart. We now view that person (and sometimes life itself) through that lens. Then what happens is we start hearing things they did not say, and not hearing things they are saying.

Incomplete pass

As leaders, we sometimes throw a pass, but it never gets into the right hands. It’s an incomplete pass. We must look at our level of communication and see where we need to add more. That way we don’t have great ideas that never get executed.

Broken systems

Systems are one a leader’s greatest tools. It allows an organization to grow and thrive. A broken system is a leader’s greatest nightmares. It can cause constant frustration for those involved. A great leader will look at their systems and scrutinize it in the best way. Some great questions are: Is it clear and obvious? Is it easy for people to get involved? Are there any holes that I need to fill?

Lack of Honor

Honor starts in the heart. When there is a lack of honor for others, we treat people less than what would please God. A lack of honor stirs up division. Whenever there is division, a team cannot thrive. When we learn to cultivate a heart of honor for people, we can treat them in a way that glorifies God and develops a culture of unity.