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Serving Leaders Produce a Thriving World: They Share the Mission
October 16, 2024
We have reflected on two actions that serving leaders take which produce a thriving world—they shape the vision and set the values. A third action serving leaders take to produce thriving is to share the mission. Again, consider Paul’s vision of the church body.
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead of speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work (Ephesians 4:11-16).
Paul describes a thriving world in which each part is doing its part and the body is growing to healthy maturity. In this issue, we focus on how serving leaders share the mission of the organization. The Serving Leader Model® calls this “Blaze the Trail™”. Mission addresses the question, “What do we do that brings value to those we serve?”
Serving leaders share the mission by clarifying priorities.
Paul reveals the mission of the body in this passage. There are “works of service” and an acknowledgment that “each part does its work.” There is work to be done and clients, customers, or members to serve. Each member has a part to play in fulfilling the mission and every organization has a unique way in which they add value to the world. Many leaders focus on making sure everyone is busy. But serving leaders share the mission with everyone by clarifying priorities so that everyone is busy doing the right things. They make it abundantly clear to everyone what work serves the customer/client/member in ways that ensure the mission is accomplished.
Serving leaders share the mission by teaching.
Paul encourages the leaders to “equip his [God’s] people for works of service.” He understood that thriving required the leaders to teach others how to do their work. Many leaders, especially founders of organizations, intuitively understand the special value that they bring and what special “flavor” of service they bring to the world. And they assume that in time others will learn it from them. But serving leaders realize that mission critical work must be taught. They are quick to say, “Let me show you how we do this in this organization and why doing it this way helps us accomplish our mission.” They teach, train, observe, correct and instruct until the work is done in the right way.
Serving leaders share the mission by removing obstacles.
Paul talks about the “waves” and “winds” that will distract people from the real work of the church. He recognizes that it will be easy to lose focus and start doing things that don’t really produce maturity. Over time many leaders slowly allow excessive reporting, unnecessary meetings, redundant tasks, and inefficient workflows to develop. But serving leaders work continually to remove obstacles to the mission.
Where the mission is clear and everyone knows how to do their part to accomplish the mission people thrive!
For further reflection and discussion:
- Reflect on your own leadership in this area. How effectively does my leadership share the mission of our organization? How does my leadership in this area impact the thriving of our team?
- How clear is our mission? What do I need to do as a leader to clarify what activities are mission-critical in our organization?
- What percent of my time is invested in teaching others how to do their work? What should it be? What do I need to do to move in the right direction?
- What areas of waste exist in my organization? (Consider inefficient movements, wasted time, meetings that are not focused, paperwork, time spent on email and other areas.) Which one of these will I do something about today?
- Read again the scripture above (Ephesians 4:11-16) considering your organization in the area of your mission. What is one step you can take this week to improve?
Until next time, yours on the journey,
Jon Byler
In the next issue, we’ll look at how serving leaders create thriving by synchronizing their teams.
Click here for a resource from Center for Serving Leadership to help you in this area: BTT Success Factors Discovery Tool A4 v.17
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