**Originally in 2010 I completed an epic quest to write an A-Z of Children’s ministry, Now because of the epic fail detailed on an earlier blog post I am reposting an updated 2018 version!
D… Doctrine, dynamic, Donald Duck, delusion, darts…
D is for Delegate…
I have seen it over and over in our team and in myself. You find yourself with a new volunteer who has a lot of potential to carry great responsibility. But after a few weeks they have faded into the background and either settled or possibly disappeared. Not every leader is going to hop on your ‘bus’, but I find to often brilliant leaders are sitting in the back row when they could be helping you navigate!
The missing ingredient is often authority. You have been great in delegating responsibility, but like a lot of leaders cling onto the authority either because you like to ‘be the boss’ or you don’t trust anyone to ‘do it’ as good as you!
Hey – it used to be that you weren’t as good as you are now and the only reason you are where you are today is because someone took a chance on you. Here’s a simple little procedure to help someone reach their maximum potential:
- Give them a simple task (very time specific) and follow up on it extremely diligently knowing that in the future you won’t have to be so thorough
- Thank the person in a big way and ask if there is any way they think we (the team) could do it better.
- Repeat a few times adding in the important ingredient – authority.
- If they rise to the challenge they become a leader – simple as that.
(There is a lot more to it than this but you get the idea… simple right?)
Final thoughts from Jim Wideman and his blog series Delegate or die:
Delegation is not an option for those who want to succeed in ministry. But to succeed you must take inventory of where you are. Start small and go from there. I try to recruit my team one worker at a time. Ask yourself and your volunteers, “What do I need to do differently?” What volunteers do you see potential in? Commit to coach volunteers and let them learn by doing. What are you waiting on? Delegate or Die!
Leave a Reply