Decision Making as a Steward By Howard Rich

Define your leadership philosophy and it will guide your decision making as a steward.

 By Howard Rich ~

While I attempt to lead as a steward within the organization God has placed me, I sometimes find it difficult to practice stewardship in my actions.

To combat this, I began looking for ways to intentionally interact with others from the mindset of a steward. A few months ago I thought it would be a good idea to put my leadership philosophy in writing, so it would act like a stake in the ground and a reminder to me when I try to take back ownership and control from God.I would like to share with you how God is helping me let go of ownership and lead those He has entrusted to me.

I wrote what follows to help focus my thinking on how I can live as a steward leader in my workplace.

• As a steward, live your life with an open hand and an open heart toward those you lead.
• Be generous with your time, with words of praise, and with your money.
• Be generous by recognizing the effort others have contributed to your success, and to your organization’s success. Be generous when blame must be placed by accepting the responsibility on you as the leader.
• Be generous when conflict arises by being a catalyst for healing and reconciliation.
• Be generous with resources entrusted to you, whether they are organizational resources or personal resources.
• Be generous when mistakes are made and resources are lost by seeing the person and not the cost of the resource.
• Spend far more time listening and hearing others than speaking.
• Show those you lead how much you care about them, and the organization by getting to know people.
• Allow others to voice themselves before you try to give input. Constantly ask yourself if you are dominating conversations.

Do you have a written leadership philosophy to help guide you and the decisions you make each day?

 ####

Howard Rich is the Director of Operations for the Network of International Christian Schools (NICS).

If you want to define your leadership philosophy, steward life well, and pursue the honorable ambition of being a Christ-centered leader, then enroll in the  Credentialed Christian Nonprofit Leader (CCNL) program. Through the Outcomes Academy, you will study the eight core disciplines required for you to lead a nonprofit with God-honoring excellence.

Learn More About the CCNL –  Here!