Leaders are influential people who are on a journey and know how to take people with them. Leadership is never manipulation, though there are people out there who lead this way. Leadership is a key to any business.
There are four distinct leadership areas I want to cover in this series: increasing productivity, focus, hard work, and personal growth. I picked these because they are the four areas that demand the most of any business person, but especially Christians.
Being a leader requires more than sacrifice and more than allowing oneself to fall into an impetuous mindset. True leaders do not need the glory of others in order to lead their business. Accolades come but not at the insistence of the leader. The leader is goal oriented and functions as God calls them.
Good judgment stems from how a leader fairly deals with each aspect of his or her business. Proverbs 16:11 simply says, “The Lord demands fairness in every business deal; He sets the standard.” Only a leader can bring this ethic into a business. As John Maxwell says, “A business cannot and does not have ethics. Only leaders do.”
Increasing Productivity
I was sitting in a leadership conference when I heard this. I kind of shocked me. The North Atlanta church we sat in had about 8,000 attending at that time (it has grown to much more since). The pastor is the son of another prominent pastor in Atlanta. This pastor is Andy Stanley.
I could only have imagined how much work he had to do in order to keep up with such a monumental and fantastic task of running a church of that size. Andy was speaking at the conference, and he said that the secret of his leadership was learning to do less.
Do less? How does a leader have time to do less in such an organization? Then he went further to explain, that his staff told him that they cannot get anything done until he decided to concentrate on what he was good at.
Listen to this point. Often business leaders lose more productivity trying to do things they cannot do or should not be doing. Andy said he learned that as long as he took care of the three things he was good at, his staff could take care of the rest, and if they could not, then they could outsource or higher someone who can.
Now this might not seem like something a small businessman can do. But how much time do small businessmen spend while shipping products? What are you doing that you could pay a teenager to do just part-time?
The secret to more productivity is a simple formula: Doing Less + Delegating More.
Moses was leading the people out of Egypt. He was everything to everyone. He was a great leader but look at what his father-in-law says to him:
And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. So when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, "What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?" And Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws."
So Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself. Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace."
So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. Exodus 18:13-24 (NKJV)
Jethro said, “Both you and the people with you will wear yourselves out.” Here is Moses, a great leader, who stood up to the most powerful man in the world at that time. Moses, who through God’s grace, parted the seas. Moses, who through God’s gifting, called down great plagues on Egypt. Moses, who by God’s appointment, was leading over a million people. Moses was now being lectured by a shepherd.
And in verse 24, Moses is seen taking and applying that advice. Why? Moses saw the wisdom of delegating tasks. It also helps understanding that he would endure and the people would travel in peace.
If I am not at my best because I refuse to give up things that drag me down, I suffer physically and those around me begin to suffer emotionally.
You are the one who has to determine what you will focus on and what you can let someone else do. If you are in a family run business and everyone is together in the business, you have to decide what tasks to let family members help you with.
Now listen. Doing less does not mean not doing anything or is it an excuse to become lazy. Doing less means you find the three best things you are good at and concentrating on them. If you are really good are shipping products and you have an employee that is very good at selling, why would you have your roles reversed?
Learning to delegate means learning to trust others. This is great stewardship practice that should be instilled in your business.
"But I work alone! I do not make enough to pay myself part-time much less any one else."
Small businesses can practice this. For example, internet marketers can choose to learn new marketing techniques on down time instead of during business operating hours. You should have set hours you work your business (those three hour work days are not real – don’t be deceived).
eBay sellers can stop watching their items and start preparing products for shipping as soon as they get their first bid. Brick and mortar operators can learn to do time consuming tasks after-hours.
How is all of this delegating?
Delegating is learning to set aside time-wasting tasks. The more freedom you have to concentrate on the tasks that demand your attention, the more effort you can put into those tasks. Simply letting the answering machine answer your calls is a very plausible alternative to answering the phone while assisting a customer.
Stay Focused
Learning to stay focused follows learning how to be more productive and working more wisely.
A leader of good judgment gives stability; an exploiting leader leaves a trail of waste. Proverbs 29:4 (MSG)
Stability comes from good judgment. There are dozens of distractions that can take your time and keep you away from accomplishing various tasks.
Do you have a television in your workspace? Do you like computer games? Are there people you spend too much time with instead of working? All these come from a lack of focus.
The more we are able to fine tune what we are good at, the easier we can regain focus and get on task. Do you realize that when you are working on a project and you get interrupted by an employee, the phone, or some other distraction, that it takes on average four minutes to get back on track? How many distractions does it take for you to lose an hour of work everyday? 15! And we wonder where time goes?
Learning how to avoid distractions and maintain focus is essential to task management.
Do you want to know how focused you are? Do this:
- Keep a time log for a few days. Use an alarm set at every 30 minutes and record everything you have been doing
- Rate each activity - 1 for vital; 2 for important; and F for marginally useful. I say F because that is a failing task
- Analyze your time and identify your time wasters
- Reserve your prime time (your most energetic part of the day) for high level tasks and schedule accordingly
- Establish goals (long-term, mid-term, and short-term)
- Set priorities and keep a daily planner
- Slice complex tasks into manageable pieces
- Reward yourself for completing small tedious tasks
- Visualize how you want to get the job done and do it
- Perfectionism can be a big problem, learn how to leave well enough alone!
I know you have heard the saying, “The buck stops here.” The buck truly does stop here is you decide that since it is your business that you have the right to slack off.
What kind of work ethic does that establish? Good employees will go somewhere else if they think they are carrying your business!
The hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be put to forced labor. Proverbs 12:24 (NKJV)
Laziness and complacency are two business killers. They rot a business from the inside out. Before long, a business will lose out to its competitors.
To get the best out of your employees, you must never expect your employees to work harder than you. If you develop an atmosphere where employees feel intimidated to work after-hours and sacrifice family, then you can bet they will do it. They will also suffer along with their families. They will also become less productivity or have productivity spurts as they fight through problems created in a bad work atmosphere.
For those without employees, you have a more difficult task, but you can tell yourself that you should never expect your competition to work harder than you do – because they will. However, never confuse family responsibilities with work responsibilities.
Should hard work mean extra hours and more commitment? No. Hard work means get to work. Back to staying focused, when we are focused we tend to push through work. Wisdom grows out of being diligent. The more we know our business the more we can effectively reduce time wasters and work in ways that get jobs done without ever taking any shortcuts.
As a leader your people will follow your example. As you learn to work harder and smarter, they will work harder and smarter.
Grow Yourself
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7 (NKJV)
Learning how to properly attend to your spiritual life and relationship with God is the first step in knowledge. Everything you have to offer to your business and those you take responsibility for is birthed from your desire to know God.
To really set yourself apart in business, you have to keep learning. If you stop learning, you will soon stop leading. When you stop leading, your business will become stagnant.
Here are a few steps to grow you:
- Read the Bible
- Read trade magazines
- Read the newspaper
- Read a novel
- Go to conferences
- Learn something new (not just about your job)
Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you." Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many. Proverbs 4:5-10 (NKJV)
- Wisdom preserves you
- Wisdom keeps you
- Wisdom promotes you
- Wisdom honors you
- Wisdom adds years to your life
Learn More about Business Ethics:
There's No Such Thing As "Business" Ethics: There's Only One Rule For Making Decisions
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