I must apologize, it has been a while since my last blog so I wanted to start the New Year out with a brief recap of what I have been discussing… I have been focusing on how to keep your emotions in check while effectively improving the productivity of your team. So that together, we can advance God’s Kingdom! Since September, I have discussed trust, conflict and commitment. Moving forward, I will focus on accountability and achieving results.
Holding people accountable is one of those slippery subjects because each team member has such a very different level of internal accountability. Some people are just easier to hold accountable than others. So then, how as Christians should we do it? I believe God gives us the Holy Spirit to remind us of our accountability to Him. Yes, each of us will have to give a personal account to God (Romans 14:12) For those of you who are really God-Fearing, that might just send a shiver down your spine and that is all the motivation you need to give 100% each minute of each day. For others, the unseen and unknown of our trial in Heaven is just too far off to think about so they deceive themselves and slack. Those people need an accountability partner here on earth. And as their leader, you are that accountability partner. You must ensure that poor performers feel pressure to improve because their actions often affect others on the team. The pressure points are going to be different for each person, some will only need to be told once, others multiple times and then others are going to need to be shown how to improve. The hardest are the ones that need to be reassigned to a position they can effectively do. In general, people want to be successful but sometimes the best thing you can do is to help them see when they do not fit into the role they are currently acting in and move them in a direction they can find successful. It is also hard on you to keep holding people accountable because you don’t always get to be liked and it is just human nature to want to avoid rejection. As the leader, you are going to have to control your emotional need for approval and accept that you will not always be liked. This is easier said than done. To achieve a healthy balance you need to know who you are in Christ and keep reminding yourself. You can let these statements remind you of who you are in Christ:
Nothing can separate you from God’s love (Romans 8: 35 – 39).
You are God’s work of art, His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10).
God does not condemn you (Romans 8: 1,2).
God loves you so much that the price He paid to have a relationship with you was His own life (1 Corinthians 6: 20).
God’s love for you is everlasting and unfailing. He wants you to lead like He would and He holds people accountable!
Start practicing Accountability,
Tammy