Here are some quick leadership shifts – mindset shifts – to make the team better – and stronger.
It starts with less – not more.
Sometimes leadership improvement isn’t about adding more.
It’s about doing less of the wrong things so there is room for more of the right things.
If you lead a team, an organization, a ministry, or even a small group of people, here’s a simple leadership evaluation.
Ask yourself which side best describes the culture you are creating.
Less of you. More of them.
Leadership isn’t about making yourself more important.
It’s about helping other people become more effective.
More importantly, the more decisions YOU make – the less opportunity others have to grow.
The best leaders don’t have to have the best idea in the room. They create environments where the best ideas can rise.
Less control. More delegation.
If everything has to come through you, you aren’t building a team.
You’re building an unsustainable dependence.
Delegation means giving up the right to control every outcome. And never give responsibility without authority.
Less intimidation. More inspiration.
People may comply because of your position.
They give their best because they believe in where you’re going.
Your leadership position may give you authority. Influence is something you have to earn.
Less fear. More trust.
People usually know where they are falling short.
Great leaders also help people see what they could become.
And people excel best under leadership they trust – knowing if they fail they’ll be encouraged to go forward – more than they’ll be reprimanded or punished.
People need the freedom to make mistakes. It’s one of the ways leaders grow.
Less ambiguity. More communication.
Don’t make people guess what matters.
Clarify the mission, the expectations – and clarify the win. (They won’t know unless you tell them. )
Then communicate it again.
The unknown invites people to create their own scenarios – and they’re seldom better than reality.
Especially in seasons of change, you probably haven’t communicated enough.
Less complacency. More standards of excellence.
Grace and high expectations can coexist.
Healthy teams celebrate progress while still refusing to settle for mediocrity.
People deserve to know what excellence looks like – and they deserve leaders willing to help them get there.
Less appeasing. More inspiring.
You won’t lead well if your primary goal is keeping everyone happy.
Sometimes leadership means having the conversation, making the decision, or setting the direction people may not immediately prefer.
But give them something worth pursuing.
Leadership isn’t measured simply by how much you accomplish.
A better question might be –
Are the people around you becoming stronger, clearer, more confident, and more effective because you lead them?
If not, perhaps the next step isn’t to do more.
Maybe it’s less of you – and more of them.
