Our last few blogs have looked at positive leadership. This is a relatively new but important area in leadership development. The most recent blog considered an excellent article on the Michigan website that succinctly looks at 4 strategies of positive leadership. Again, for your reference, the entire article is found here. https://positiveorgs.bus.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/Glance-Leading-Positively.pdf. We reviewed two of the four strategies in our last post: enabling a positive climate and enabling positive relationships. Today, we will focus on a third strategy, enabling positive meaning, in a bit more detail.
The above referenced article states, “When people feel that they are pursuing a profound purpose or engaging in work that is personally important (in other words, a calling), stress, depression, absenteeism, dissatisfaction are reduced; commitment, effort, engagement, empowerment, happiness satisfaction and fulfillment are increased.”
In some respects, we, in the Church, have an advantage over most organizations regarding enabling positive meaning. Most people who work for the Church see their work as a calling. Few, if any, are there for the material rewards, which would tend to be higher for similar jobs found in the corporate world. So, what are the positive leadership strategies that we must embrace to provide positive meaning for our colleagues?
The article provides four suggestions that should prove helpful to you as a leader:
- Help your staff to see the positive impact that their work is having on others. Often, as the leader, you are the “face” of your organization. While this is often necessary and beneficial, it is important to provide opportunity, when appropriate, for your staff members to directly interact with those they are serving. This affords them the opportunity to better understand their role as well as the needs and expectations of those they serve.
- Point out the connection between what the congregation desires and how their function is helping to fill that need. The staff needs to understand how their actions are benefitting others in a way that is important to them.
- Help people see they are creating a legacy. This can be difficult because we get so caught up in the day-to-day tasks that we often miss the long-term implications of our efforts and programs. Often, lives are changed through the efforts of your team members.
- It is important to establish a sense of “team” so that team members understand their contribution to the overall impact of the team rather than focusing solely on their individual contributions. As the leader it is your responsibility to point out the synergy of their efforts in furthering the overall mission rather than the impact their specific program or efforts.
To summarize, we, as leaders, are seeking to create a positive work environment. The strong benefits of this type of environment have been borne out by extensive research. Our actions and behaviors as leaders create the work environment so it is up to us to make sure that it is overwhelmingly positive. Then, together with our team, we collectively create an overall positive climate which will result in optimal performance and productivity. This will allow us to achieve our mission and effectively serve others.