Engaged Leadership - Lesson 3

Welcome back to session three. We're going to make a transition because we've been focused on you as a leader or a manager. Now that you understand how you can adapt and become either or, or both based on the group that you're working with, it's time to do something that few people in ministry do.

And that's bring other people in to nurture them and manage them. Bring them from the outside to the inside because that's critical for engagement. And if they're not engaged, they will not stay with you for any length of time.

How do we know this? Because we need a diverse workforce to cover all the diversity and the options and the tasks that are out there. But the challenge is, is that differences often give rise to conflict. And if we see conflict as something adversarial, we're looking at it improperly because well-handled conflict strengthens the organization by building trust.

So when we think about that, I want us to understand that creating trust in the workplace is hard, but it is absolutely essential. So why in the world would we want to study trust when we're in a ministry environment and everybody's a believer and we're all headed towards heaven? Well, let's look at that specifically because trust strengthens relationships. It helps us retain not just good volunteers, but good people that work towards that goal.

You see, workers that have trust are 50% more productive. They're also 76% more engaged with what they're doing. Why don't we hear more about trust? Because there are multiple kinds of trust.

When people talk about trust, many of them are discussing different things. But let's knock it down to three basic questions. Number one, to trust a person, are you honest and kind? Do you possess good judgment? And are you steady or unpredictable? These questions are what we base measuring trust on.

There's a link below the video that will connect you with the trust assessment. The reason why I'd like for you to take that is because it'll give you an understanding of where you are as an individual and which aspects of trust come naturally to you. So that like moving from manager to leader or leader to manager, you can also adapt these trust constructs and involve them in your conversation and involve them in the way that you manage your predictability and involve them in the way that you empower them.

So let's talk about the five key skills of trust building. As you can see from the graphic, there are five essential skills. Interpersonal skills are skills that happen between two people.

Those skill sets are critical to another person accepting either your transparency or your relatability. Intrapersonally, inside of you, you have to be predictable. Otherwise, people are not going to trust you because a different person comes to work every single day.

But then there's the application aspect of is this plan actually feasible? Is this something that the employees and volunteers feel that they can be empowered to accomplish? And as we look at that, let's focus on why each one is important. For example, transparency helps your team trust your words. In other words, what you say to them, they can take to the bank.

But as important as your transparency is, you also have to be relatable. That allows your team to trust your heart. If you aren't relatable and there isn't a connection between you and them, and they don't understand that perhaps you failed at what you're asking them to do, they're not going to accept your direction.

But your predictability is extremely important also because it helps your team trust your actions. And if your team knows that you are going to be there whenever they need you, you're going to find yourself in a much more secure and trustworthy environment. But let's talk about feasibility.

Because if your plans, ideas, and concepts that you're trying to move on are feasible, then your team can actually trust the judgment that you've put into this process. And if they trust your judgment, they will learn to trust themselves because they feel empowered to move through the process that you've asked them to be involved with because they know they're going to get the kind of support that you and only you can give them. So let's think about each one of those skills and talk about some things that are critical for you to help communicate each of the five aspects and put them into action so that you build trust with your team members.

First of all, let's think about that transparency because it manifests itself as openness and accessibility of information. In other words, keeping your people in the loop is critical. Individually, group-wise, email-wise, newsletter-wise, whatever you have an opportunity to communicate, it makes even the most challenging news easy to digest.

Here's a key that I want you to remember. A transparent leader helps their team understand the reasons behind their decision-making. If the team does not buy into the decisions that you're asking them to make, they are not going to move along with the process.

So what are some actual best practices? First of all, tell your employees about your organization's strategy, vision, and shared purpose. It's going to be easier if you're that high IS with social mindsets, and it may be a little bit more difficult for the high DC because they just want to get on with making things happen. Secondly, share the reasons behind your decisions.

That's easy for a high I, but it may be a little harder for the DC who's so task-oriented, or the high S, because they are focused on making sure that everything is predictable. Next, keep your team members current about the organization's health and the future of the company. That's easier for the high S than utilitarian because they want to make sure that that structure is there so that people don't miss the boat.

It may be harder to understand if your leader is a high C because they're focused on details rather than the whole aspect of being transparent. Most of all, tell the truth, even when it's hard news. That's going to be easier for the theoretical and subjective person and harder for the high S. Now, what are the best practices? First of all, increase the volume of communication.

You see, by repeating the message, it helps other people absorbing it. Use different methods of communication because people can be visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners, and each way is going to give a different group of people better input. As we round that out, think about this.

You have to share the bad news with people along with the good news. Only then can they develop the empathy and the openness that they need to move ahead with the process. So let's move on now to another interpersonal skill, and that is relatability.

Why is this important? Because it builds bonds with your team. Being relatable doesn't necessarily mean that I'm likable. It can mean that the team has a reason to actually connect with their leader because a relatable leader helps the team understand their values and their heart to guide them.

So let's talk about four particular tactics that may be helpful to you. First, make an effort to connect with your employees individually and as a group. That's going to be higher for the more leadership-oriented, the IS, but it's going to be harder for the DC objectives.

Second, know your team members well enough to understand their challenges and how you can support them. Now that, for the objective mind, is going to be the road map that you develop. It's going to be harder for the high I because they like to shoot from the hip.

Thirdly, approach each team member uniquely based on their behaviors and mindsets. The more objective a person is, the easier that's going to be. It's going to be a little bit harder for the high C and the subjectives because emotions might be involved.

And lastly, listen to and act on your team members' feedback. The socials and the utilitarians are all about this because it's working through people and getting things done that can benefit others, where it's going to be more challenging for the objective, traditional, structured person that wants to do things their way. So let's talk about two best practices that will help you build this, even if it's not your strong suit.

Again, increase the frequency of communication. Make time to have conversations with your employees. This doesn't mean having an annual review with them once a year.

This means on a regular basis, find out where they are. But most of all, when you're doing that, share some of your failures. Our flaws humanize us.

And this is what I love about the Old Testament, is that each of the figures in the Old Testament were presented, quite frankly, with not just the good things that they did, but the flaws also. Abraham, for example, he believed God even when he couldn't see it. But he also had a fudge factor on telling the truth at times.

So we have to remember that we're all going to have flaws. But the important thing for you to remember is that those flaws can become manageable the more you let the Holy Spirit control the way that you interact when you're trying to build trust with your team. So let's make a transition now.

Let's move to that intrapersonal thing. What's going on inside of you that can actually make you trustworthy? And that is predictability, because consistency and persistence is really going to help you build stability and security. And for that highest person, which makes up 40% of our population, stability and security are critical.

Your persistence creates commitment to the goals and values of your organization and how those will be presented to each of the employees. You see, this is very important. A predictable leader creates a road which their people and team members can follow them on.

So here's four steps that you need to take. Number one, act in alignment with the organization's mission, vision, and values. We talked about that in each of our two previous sessions, because the people that are high SCs can take those and interpret them as it implies, where the high DI is going to be much more theoretical or traditional and want that structure so that they don't have to think outside the box.

Second, follow through and keep your promises that you make. The high IS that's very subjective and sees what's important to other people is going to want to do that because they want to be liked and they see value in what's going on. Our third step is hold yourself to the same accountability standards that you hold others to.

Very important to the high C and traditionals and those individualistic. But the high IS and the subjectives are going to kind of go with the emotions so it might be more challenging for them. So here's three best practices for you to grow in predictability, even if it's not your strong suit.

Keep your appointments and your promises. Be true to your word. Live out the organization's values before expecting others to do that. Lead by example and hold yourself to the standards of the company. Set values for yourself. That's important.

What is important to you as a leader is going to have an impact on whether your people and volunteers actually engage with you and whether they want to follow you moving forward. Your values have to be similar to and aligned with the organization's mission, vision and values. Otherwise people will not engage.

So let's move on to the last category because this category is extremely important. You see, you can be as transparent and relatable and predictable as you want to be. But if your plans are not feasible and you don't empower your people, they will get lost in the shuffle and feel like you don't really care.

So let's address that first one in our application base. Employees know the difference between a good boss and a bad one. That's why we said earlier that 70% of people leave their job after five years in the faith-based community because of a good boss versus a bad boss.

You see, the way that you approach, train and treat your employees shapes their judgment and perception of you. Most importantly, these skills are affected by your team's faith in your ability to captain the ship. You have to demonstrate competence in order to gain followers.

You have to make the dreams into actual plans because dreams inspire people. But people will only follow a leader once based on their dream. Plans we follow realize, activate and catalyze the dreams in a way that just the dream by itself won't.

You see, a feasible leader charts a realistic path to achieve dreams, both theirs and the team's. So what are some of the steps that we have to take? First of all, do your homework. Be like that high C, high theoretical that's going to look and focus on the details.

Second, evaluate the plan as an opportunity to help and grow your employees. That's going to be very important because if they don't see you pouring into themselves, how likely are they going to be to follow you? Let's look at step number three. Identify and assess your organization's opportunities for success.

We know that the high D and utilitarian is going to jump all over that where the high I and S may struggle with that because they don't have their direction. Fourth, recognize the value of mistakes and see how they can create potential for growth. Why is that important? Because each team members want to feel like they are contributing something to the organization and they can use those skill sets and find themselves in a role within a group that actually brings value to their role.

So finally, let's discuss some of the best practices because these are key to building feasibility even if it's not your best attribute. Number one, make decisions based on information, not intuition. Take in all the information and perspectives before committing to a choice.

Building a team, you're going to go through steps. You're going to go through that forming, storming, norming, and performing stage. And those are stages where if the plan is not feasible, you're going to get objections from your group.

And you need to focus on taking all that information in because each person brings a specialty to the table. Next, keep a realistic path for yourself and your team. Unchecked ambition can be a team's downfall.

See, temper your expectations with the knowledge of possible obstacles. And when you do that, it becomes a realistic plan that people can actually buy into. Our last construct of trust is something that I often see not applied in ministry organizations.

So often, leaders in ministries just expect people to follow the dream and not be involved in the process themselves. And this causes breakdown in relationships. So let's consider a couple things that are very important in the empowerment process of trust.

First of all, a leader must encourage an employee's autonomy and self-determination. The difference between pedagogy and andragogy are teaching children versus teaching adults. When we teach children, we're very directive.

When we teach adults, they need to be a part of that learning process. And they need some of that self-determination to help them buy into the vision and then want to execute. You see, we have to empower employees so that they're aware of their abilities and the individual impact on the organization.

Because when they don't see their value, they will disengage. People become inspired when they feel encouraged and supported. Because an empowering leader encourages their people and team members to be self-sufficient.

So, how do you do that? Let's talk about four particular approaches that may help you in that process. Number one, trust them to fulfill their responsibilities and role in the organization. It's easy and hard for the subjective mindsets because they want to please you, but they may not understand the role if it's not well explained to them.

Coach them short-term and mentor them long-term to develop as individuals rather than dictate and demand. It's easier for the high-I, the social, but it's harder for the DC objectives. And it's even harder for the high mindsets.

Now, let's talk about the best practices for how to employ empowerment with your people. You need to know how to grow in empowerment, especially if it's not a strength. First of all, start delegating.

Choose the right people for the job and then define clear outcomes and deadlines. Second, create a channel for feedback that goes both ways. It's not autocratic or dictatorial.

Communication is always key. Allow for encouraging and educational feedback for and from your team. The important thing to remember is that we not only have to give feedback, but solicit feedback, as you're going to see in a future lesson.

Most importantly, give your team members the authority they need to feel empowered at managing their role. They're going to make mistakes. It's just like the whole concept of sanctification.

We're forgiven for our mistakes because oftentimes we learn better from mistakes than we do from doing it right. Allow them to make decisions that's going to boost their confidence, but it must be used cautiously as you approach trust. Now, I know you probably have some questions, and I'd be more than happy to answer them at this time.

Student: You've been talking about empowerment, and I've been thinking through all the mistakes I made when I was pastoring. I figured after three or four years of preaching, people knew me and they would trust me. This is both staff and people, and it turns out that they didn't.

I'm assuming that no matter how long you're in leadership, you still need to take these steps to generate trust. You just can't assume that they're going to trust you after a long period of time. You probably have to be more careful early on because people won't automatically trust you, but even if you've been around 20 years, you still need to take these steps of including people and that kind of stuff. Is that an accurate assessment? 

Dr. Coker: It is so accurate, it's almost unbelievable how accurate it is. Remember this, that 66% of our population is subjective. Therefore, they are more emotionally driven, and they react in situations and circumstances to the way that we communicate ourselves.

So, you may be the same person, you may be predictable, but if they're at a high stress level, then the emotion is going to overrule everything that you've built up. And we see it in certain personality types. They can be very giving people, be there whenever the doors are open or whatever, but you say one thing wrong and they're out the back door.

This is because of the emotional response of fight or flight. So, the more we can invest in them from this perspective, the better the opportunity for us to maintain the level of trust. And the way that you do that is by minimizing the number of statements that you make and maximizing the number of questions that you ask.

Because there's only two things that an individual can respond to a statement, and that can either agree or disagree. But when you ask a question, you invite them into the conversation, and it now becomes a collaborative process. Once it becomes collaborative, statistics show us that 80% of all problems can be solved collaboratively. I hope that helps. 

Student: So, I have a question on the subject of trust and distrust. How do you recognize when there is distrust and what are some of the effects of that? 

Dr. Coker: The answer to that question can tend to be just a little bit sketchy because when there is distrust by an employee or a department within an organization, there is often a lack of interaction and engagement.

So, when an employee or group or team becomes disengaged, the communication level and interaction level will actually drop. And we know that this tells us that there's particular problems that have not been addressed, especially if there's turnover or internal conflict within that particular area. Simon Seenak tells us that over 55% of the CEOs in America today realize that they have trust issues among their employees and that it is probably the major reason for disengagement and lost productivity.

However, less than 25% of them actually know what to do about it because people tend to withdraw during that process. So, when you're not getting full interaction, full volunteerism, lack of giving maybe a little bit of extra effort, you know that there's the potential for disengagement. And if there is disengagement, it's because of a lack of trust.

So, when you have a situation where there's distrust involved, what do you do about that? Well, I think the most important thing that any leader or manager can do is be transparent. That is the first thing that as you bring people into it and you're transparent and then become relatable by saying, "You know, we have probably done something to make this challenge persist. Therefore, I would like your feedback, both individually and as a group."

First of all, let's take the group. "What suggestions would you make as a group to help build the trust back?" And then individually, you may find that there is some resistance by one or two people that are actually initiating or catalyzing the distrust within the whole group. Then you can focus on the individual if that's particularly necessary.

But the first thing that you can do is be transparent and relatable. And then once that is brought to bear, then you can identify whether it's a predictability, feasibility, or empowerment issue, and you can address that specifically. As we wrap up the application skills, Remember that your people know the difference between a good boss and a bad boss.

The way that you approach them, train them, and treat them shapes their perspective of you. And most important, remember that these skills are affected by your team's faith in your ability to captain the ship. When you demonstrate competence, you're going to gain followers and build their trust in you as an individual.

And as you build that trust, you will much better be able to handle the natural conflict that's going to occur when people with different mindsets come in trying to approach the task a little bit differently. But if there is no trust, conflict can escalate and become a significant issue in the way that you develop your team and manage your organization. So as we move on to our next class on conflict, remember that if trust does not exist, you cannot find the good in conflict.