Another Leadership Tip from the Creator of the World

Remember we are discussing my 5 Leadership tips from the Creator of the World!  On Monday, the first tip was:

1. As a good leader we should instill important rules to help those that we lead.

Not being a rule “embracer” just for rules’ sake, it is difficult to be an advocate to establishing a lot of rules, however, please note we are focusing on IMPORTANT rules.  Of which, God’s rules are all classified.  He knows what is best for us.  We just have to trust Him and obey.  And, because He is the Creator we are willing to do this.  As Christian business owners we need to be able to explain our policies and guidelines and help our team to understand why they are important.  One of the key pieces of evidence comes from the second leadership tip:

1. God is a good leader because He also holds us accountable.

In James 5:12 He says “let your yes be yes and your no be no”.  When we make rules but don’t hold anyone accountable, when we pay for performance but don’t follow-up on results, soon our rules mean nothing and our expectations are no longer the goal.  God explained to Adam and Eve the simple yet most IMPORTANT rule.  Just don’t eat off the tree of good and evil.  I guess Adam and Eve didn’t think about the accountability part, but much to mankind’s dismay, God was a man of His word.  He held true to His rule and we are all living the results of that accountability.  Again, don’t forget the grace and mercy part.  Thankfully He also brought us Jesus to redeem us from our sins and reunite us with the Father.  God knows that we need a Savior.  In our homes, our children need parents and in our business our teams need a leader.

How are you doing with the accountability part.  I know we feel that as Christians we are supposed to be kind and forgiving.  And yes if someone is truly repentant we should also forgive just as God forgives us.  I still see many examples of individuals in the bible having to live out the consequences of their sin.  As a refresher:

• Moses never made it to the promised land.
• David had quite a challenging life after some of his iniquities.
• King Asa didn’t trust God who had protected him all along and made treaties with neighboring Kings.  Unfortunately, he had to stand alone with his treaties and things didn’t go well.

In contrast, Abraham obeyed, even offering up his son Isaac, and God blessed Him to be the father of nations.   I know it is difficult sometimes and as a leader we don’t want to be “the bad guy”, but holding people accountable to their commitments, to job performance, and to following the rules and policies will actually STRENGTHEN the team.  People will know what is expected and thrive with the structure and support.  They will know that the other people on the team are accountable to the same game plan and this will enhance collaboration and team work.

Do you feel bad holding your staff accountable for the expectations and rules of their jobs?  What is the source of your guilt?  What keeps you from establishing this firm foundation?