Leading in the Workplace
Before I knew it, I had put in six years at the same job and with teams switching every year. I found myself to be the youngest and also the person with the most teaching experience on my team this year. I knew that God was moving me into a leadership position.
As I thought about leadership, the Lord brought to mind the way Moses led the Jews out of Egypt in the Old Testament. I thought of Moses and his lack of abilities (Exodus 4:10), the ways in which he worshipped God (Exodus 15) and sought His counsel, (Exodus 18).
It also brought to mind the way the Lord revealed his character to Moses, (Exodus 22:27b). There is lots to glean from the story of Moses on leadership. Below are a few ways we can lead in the workplace.
Come to meetings with an agenda
I have found it helpful to make a list of pressing matters (for right now) and things that I want my team to start thinking about including what is coming down the pipeline (in the future). Writing these things down allows me to keep meetings concise and also take notes regarding action items or how we, as a team, have decided to handle a given situation.
Say it, and say it with grace
This one is particularly hard for me. I, like Moses, do not consider myself to be the most eloquent person, however, this does not exempt me from having to carry out my duties so I have had to pray endlessly. Time and time again, I’ve prayed for grace to say things, not just in my professional life but also in my personal life too.
“Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. ”
~ Proverbs 16:24
I find that praising someone for going above and beyond or thanking someone for contributing to the team is much easier than saying something less positive like confronting an employee about coming in late. One thing that has helped me is to name the behavior and how it affects others. For example, saying something like “Sally, I’ve noticed you’ve been coming in late, is everything okay?” If there is nothing out of the ordinary going on with this person you should draw their attention to how being tardy affects the team and say “when you’re late, it takes time away from our team huddle.”
Check in
Even when you are in a leadership position, remember that you continue to be part of the team. I find that it is helpful to ask others what they are working on or if they need help with anything. This is not a way of micromanaging, but instead, it’s a way to let them know you are there for them. This could be something as small as bringing someone office supplies or helping them reach long term goals. Recently, I had my team share their “pros and grows” for the next semester. I wanted everyone to have a chance to celebrate the things that they feel they’ve done well (pros) and share an area they wanted to develop in (grow). That way we can all hold each other accountable (yes, even me!) by allowing us to check-in and see how we were doing with our goals.
When you share your goals with the people you work with, you remind them that you don’t have it all together and are continuing to work on things.
Never worry alone
In some cases, you will be able to help your team or employees. You’ll experience success and feel a sense of pride to have been able to move. In other cases, you’ll realize that you might not be as helpful as you might like. I’ve found myself in both of these situations. I encourage you to seek help from other people at your job and pray for God to move! If you’re in a company with a great work structure, you’ll be able to rely on other people for guidance in how to lead. You may have even worked with great leaders in your previous jobs that you can reach out to for help when navigating a stressful situation.