Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Taking the Mystery out of Leadership

Archive for the tag “Supervision”

16 Jul 2018

Strategic Supervision

Leader vs Manager – A False Dichotomy *

Below are some general thoughts regarding the important function of leadership – managing the work of others.

  • Managing the work of others = supervision of their work
  • Leading people in mission and supervision of their work are essential –  “two wings on same plane” – we may have strengths in one or the other; good leaders must be able to manage some level of detail/operations; good managers must be able to lead people to accomplish agreed upon outcomes
  • Managing the work of others (not managing the people) includes:
    • Organizational competency, legal aspects, safe and healthy workers, awareness of implications of being an employee – i.e. policies are for individual and organizational protection
    • Emphasize that workers are a part of something larger than themselves, “going rogue” is not wise or helpful when resources are available to inform, help, and protect workers

Strategic Supervision is for Ensuring Execution

Below are some very practical aspects of how to supervise others:

  • Be proactive, not just reactive in your supervision!
    • Thinking ahead – scenario planning / What will we do if….?
    • Hope for the best and plan for the worst!
  • Be both Macro- and Micro-focused
    • Big picture, systems thinking, but also attentive to an appropriate level of detail
  • Provide oversight of the person and the task
    • Attention to the ‘leadership wake’ of people and task
    • Success is thriving people and mission accomplished
  • Ensure the execution and the completion of a task –  stewardship and ownership of the task
    • What are we doing; Why are we doing it?
    • Bring accountability for completion of a task
      • No 3-foot holes, when we intend to dig 10-foot holes!
    • Create a healthy, safe working environment where people can flourish
  • Give feedback (correction, improvement/affirmation) related to responsibilities and desired outcomes – i.e. annual progress reviews, personal improvement plans, personal goals, annual plans and budgets
  • Ensure alignment of people, resources, and task (doing the right things) to our mission statement
    • Aligning up, down, and laterally within the organization
    • Help create collaboration (working partnerships) with other people or functions in the organization
  • Empower people to accomplish their responsibilities and make their contribution (giving authority, providing the needed resources) – having clearly defined, agreed upon outcomes
  • Enable people to accomplish their responsibilities and make their contribution (removing obstacles, solving problems that people are not able to do themselves)
    • Not micro-managing, meddling or doing someone’s job for them
  • Provide excellent stewardship of God’s resources
    • Optimization of process, budgeting, positioning people to succeed, time management
    • Accountability for how and when decisions are made and how resources are used
  • Create healthy team dynamics
    • Ensure that team members are working well together as a team
    • Helping team members contribute in their strengths and protect each other’s weaknesses
  • Bring clarity when needed regarding purpose, process, or outcomes
    • Secure commitment to a common (shared) goal and purpose
  • Create a succession mentality – raise up your replacement from within your team, if possible

You must be doing both – leading people and managing their work!

*   These thoughts were compiled with the helpful input of Ken Hendren

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , ,
02 Apr 2018
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Creating a Platform for Influence

One of your primary functions as a leader is to develop those leaders around you, helping them grow in their capacity to contribute to the mission.  The ability to influence and help them grow is built upon the foundation of trust in the relationship that you have with them.  But, what do you do when you do not have that kind of history with them–when there is no real relationship established?

In a recent conversation with Paul Stanley, former International VP of The Navigators, we discussed how to address this challenge.  Below are some of our practical ideas on how to build this kind of relationship, especially one that is geographically distant from you, so that you can help them grow and develop.

  1.  The first step is to begin to create trust
    • Remember, the depth of your relationship will determine the impact of your influence
    • You as their leader and mentor, want to be viewed as a ‘value-added’ asset to their life and leadership
    • Mutual vulnerability will create a growing bond of trust, with you, their supervisor, initiating the self-disclosure and openness
    • Mutual confidentiality must be assured, for any ‘leakage’ will quickly destroy any trust that has been built
  1. Seek to create a sense where they know that you are in it with them – we are in it together to help them succeed
    • Join their team in spirit, becoming their fan and champion
  1. Help them see a bigger vision for their life and future contribution beyond their current role
    • Help them believe that their future destiny is more than what they can currently ‘see’
  1. Early on in the relationship, they must feel practically helped in their current responsibility
    • Identify 2 or 3 leverage points for them to focus on in the next 1-2 years that will truly help them make progress and bring change to their mission
  1. Help them clarify their responsibilities before God and the organization that they are to steward
    • Help them shape the stewardship of these responsibilities, seeking to prioritize them into what is most strategic at this time
    • Help them identify 3-4 key responsibilities to focus on for the next 1-2 years
    • Pray for them and with them over these 3-4 key responsibilities
    • Talk with them regularly about progress in these 3-4 items
  1. Help them grow in confidence as a leader
    • Affirm, encourage, advocate for, and champion them
    • Help them identify certain leadership principles that they are already doing that models good leadership
      • Ken Blanchard reminds us to, “Find somebody doing something right and tell them about it.”
  1. Help them grow in self-awareness as a leader
    • What are their personal strengths and weaknesses as a leader
    • Help them learn how to lead from their strengths and staff to their weaknesses
  1. As you supervise and mentor them, adopt the attitude of asking, not telling!
    • Lead with questions, not answers!
  1. Open the bible together and pray together on a regular basis
Posted in #3 DO - What a Leader Does, #4 REPRODUCE - Developing More Leaders and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
22 Jan 2018

Giving Feedback in Annual Reviews

We’ve said that leadership and supervision are two wings to the airplane of accomplishing God’s mission.  We lead the people and supervise (manage) their work.  Part of good supervision is giving feedback to those we supervise.  Giving feedback in such a way that it is received and acted upon is an art to be developed.

Below are some notes from an interview with former Navigator International President, Lorne Sanny, on giving feedback, especially in a formal feedback session like an annual progress review.  He framed the topic under the umbrella of leading out of love.

  • Love means we give people feedback on how they are doing
    • Use ‘progress reviews’, not performance reviews
      • Performance reviews – not best term because it means the work is already finished
      • Progress reviews a better term for it implies work is in progress and we can still affect the outcome
      • Progress reviews are based on agreed upon goals, outcomes, or “focus items”
        • Some personalities don’t like the term ‘goals’ – can use the term “focus items” instead
      • Have those we supervise evaluate themselves by asking questions
        • Many are harder on themselves than we would be, so we can affirm them and bring true perspective to them
        • “The imagination is often worse than the realization.”
      • A good question to ask, “Is there anything I can do to help you accomplish your goals?”
        • “What do you think you will need to accomplish this?”
      • End the review by asking, “Is there anything else you want to say to me?”
      • On difficult issues, help them think by asking reflection and open-ended questions
      • Don’t use progress reviews to correct problems!  Do that on day-to-day basis.
    • Romans 14:17-18  – a good outline for progress reviews
      • For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
        • Righteousness –  What is right?                  What
        • Peace –  Do I have peace (settledness in my spirit) about it?                                                           When
        • Joy –  Should be a positive experience         How

Certainly feedback takes many forms beyond just annual progress reviews.  Becoming a skilled giver (and receiver) of feedback will help you supervise well and ultimately accomplish your God-given mission.

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , ,
15 Jan 2018

Managing the Work of Others

Perhaps you have heard it said, “I’m a leader, not a manager.”  This suggests that these are two distinctive people types and implying (sometimes not so subtly) that there is a value difference between the two and that leader types are better than manager types.

While there are ‘type’ or design differences, this is really a false dichotomy.  Yes, there are gifting and design differences and individual strengths, but there is no difference in individual worth or value and both functions are necessary to accomplish mission.

Leading and managing are two wings of the same airplane.  We need both to fly or the plane will crash.  The ‘plane’ in this metaphor is the mission of God and those Kingdom people assigned to accomplish it.

We lead people into an agreed upon mission or task by clearly communicating vision for the mission, setting clear directions and outcomes.  Part of this leading function is then recruiting others and assigning responsibilities and resources to those who join up with us in the mission.

But once people are in place and moving, we now must manage their work.  Note, we are managing the work of people, not the people themselves.  We lead people and manage their work, all to accomplish our agreed upon mission or task.

Another synonym for managing is supervising.  We supervise the work of people by providing accountability, feedback – both affirmation and correction, review and reward related to their work.   Supervision seeks to ensure that the work done is the best possible and those working are contributing to the best of their ability and potential.

Some of us will have God-given designs that allow us to more naturally to function in the lead mode.  Some others will be more naturally gifted in the managing or supervising function.  Both are necessary to accomplish mission.  One can’t say, “Well, I’m just a leader and I delegate the managing side of things to others.”

While you may have a strength in one, you are ultimately responsible for both functions – leading and managing.  Yes, we do seek to operate in our strengths and delegate or staff to our weaknesses.  But we seek to delegate, not abdicate!  ‘Big picture’ types must be well-informed on details, policies, finances, operations, etc.  ‘Detail’ types must be able to band people together to accomplish task.

Self-awareness of your design is the beginning of a healthy, balanced impact.  Knowing your design can help you maximize your strengths and shore up any crippling weaknesses that are preventing you from operating in your strengths.

Posted in #1 KNOW- How a Leader Thinks, #3 DO - What a Leader Does and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

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