Responsiveness is extremely important in leadership and organizational health. It’s one of the non-negotiables for teams I lead. (I wrote about those non-negotiables HERE.) Being responsive shows that a leader cares for others, recognizes their value, and is disciplined enough to follow through.
There are times, however, when I believe responsiveness is not only the wise or right thing to do, critical in terms of protecting the relationship. If you are leading in a church or a business, these individuals demand a timely response if there is any hope if keeping them.
Here are 4 times when responsiveness is critical:
Busy leaders – If the President of the United States ever calls you it would be best not to say, “I’m busy right now, I’ll call you back”. Some people simply live busier lives than others. They aren’t better than others, just busier. They aren’t more important, but they often carry more responsibility. If they extend you time, they expect a timely response.
First timers – Whether a new customer or first time visitor to the church, these people don’t trust you yet. If you let them down early, you’ll never connect with them.
Injured or hurting people – Broken people are more skeptical of trusting others. They’ve received disappointment in life, usually from other people. Unresponsiveness now is received as further rejection.
People in crisis mode – In the moment of crisis, people understandably become incredibly dependent, perhaps even somewhat self-centered. Unresponsiveness is akin to uncaring for them.
Let me be clear, I’m not suggesting you can solve the person’s concerns immediately or that you have to drop everything else to respond. What I am contending is that with these type scenarios, responsiveness becomes even more important to protect the relationship. It could be as simple as a message which says, “I’ll get back with you soon”, which is not a bad practice with everyone. (Just make sure you keep your commitment!) It might be that you quickly refer them elsewhere for assistance. You could even delegate the response to someone else on your team. With these specific groups of people, the key is that some response comes in a timely fashion if the relationship is valued enough to protect.
Do you agree with my assessment?
What other groups would you add to my list?
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Thanks, Ron, some great insight here. There is one group I to this list, though. You mention busy leaders in the context of leaders with more responsibility than you. What about the direct report leaders under you? I would think responsiveness to them would be essential to valuing, acknowledging, and building that vital relationship, too.
Thanks. That's a good addition. Should've had that one.
Very Informative – Thank You.
Thank you.
Twitter: mattgrube
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Great insight Ron! Thanks for sharing your wisdom. Another group that may deem responsiveness as critical may be someone caught in a miscommunication within a church or experiencing a customer service issue in a company. The best churches/companies tend to proactively respond to issues not hide from them.
Thanks Matt. That's a great add. I agree.
These 4 points are so true. I think the key in working with these types of people is building trust and making sure they know you have their best interest in mind.
That's true. Thanks Dan.
So true on so many levels. Can you make a group out of people who have never been led before? That might be too broad of a category and in fact includes 3 of the 4 groups you've already listed before. I see it countless times on a daily basis; people how have never been loved on by a leader before.
You encouraged people, in yesterday's post I think, that if you are studying to be a pastor, work another job as well. I can't speak enough to this. I work in retail. That would be my suggestion. Interact with the world in their setting. So many people crave leadership and they don't know it. It gives you a whole new appreciation for some people's felt needs.
I worked retail for 15 years. It was some of the best training for ministry I received.
I not only agree with your assessment but heartily agree.
i don't know of any group I can add to that (except maybe a young person who might desire some much-needed attention and/or advice. What I would like to know is how you respond to those who, by their very nature, think they deserve immediate attention and response. They have an over-inflated view of themselves and see that they are head and shoulders above others.
Bill, I am not shy about saying I'm not the right one to talk to them, but I always make sure they hear from me quickly.