Stewarding the Team By Howard Rich

Stewarding a Team Towards God-given Success

Stewarding a team well requires great focus. Leaders often act like they have it all together, but as a leader, I have not been feeling particularly successful lately. I have been going through a period of operating in crisis mode and managing schedules rather than leading people. We all hit times when things go off the tracks, and we drop into a pattern of reaction. Recently, I have been reacting and, as a result, my team is suffering.

Reflecting on this period of coming home drained and defeated after a day at the office, I realize the main issue causing anxiety is that those I lead feel unsuccessful. When this happens, I cannot ignore I am failing to lead those highly gifted men and women as a steward.

The greatest reason I engage like a reactive manager instead of leading as a steward is because I do not take the time to develop my direct reports. I easily drop into a mode where I rely on my talents alone to accomplish every task, as opposed to mustering the combined talents of the team. This is horrible stewardship.

When leaders stop leading, the followers lose sight of what defines the “win.” We all want to win, but we can’t win unless we know what signifies a success. When success is not clearly defined, others will define it for themselves. When we don’t clarify the win, we force others to guess at it, and the team will spin in every direction.

We certainly do not want those we lead to feel useless and unsuccessful. As the steward of the team God has allowed us to lead, we must develop team members to excel in their areas of strength, rather than rely on the talents of one person. We must constantly clarify the “win” and help the people on our team develop their God-given talents to succeed in our tasks, thereby accomplishing our God-given mission. This is good stewardship.

Are you stewarding your team toward God-given success?

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

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