I don't like administration and for years attempted to avoid it until I realized my avoidance of it was a lid to my leadership. I'm not talking about managing the payroll of a 1,000-person company or stuffing envelopes and making the photocopier work. I'm talking about the small administrative tasks that get a job done while showing people you value them. Leadership and administration are inextricably linked and to realize so is to benefit yourself greatly.
In the classic passage, frequently used to explore biblical leadership, Jethro instructs Moses to get better at administration (Exodus 18:17-23). In a few short words, Jethro convinces Moses that administration is a key component to effective leadership.
It is impossible to be an excellent leader without great administration skills. I see it limit potentially excellent leaders all the time. Administration at its core, is establishing and respecting systems that help people. This is a primary function of any leader.
Often a leader will be well proficient in thinking strategically and creatively, they'll be charismatic and people will flock to them, they will be able to cast a compelling vision, but the gaps are in their administration.
The option frequently taken is to recruit some help to carry the administrative load. Regardless of how brilliant that help is, however, it's not comprehensive insurance to make sure that every text message is returned, phone calls are made, promises are fulfilled, thank you notes are written, promised coffee dates are actioned, emails are appropriately responded to, etc.
Leadership requires a dynamic edge of administration.
Administration is about honoring people and the commitment they are making. It is about valuing what people bring including their time, talent and energy. It is about making sure that the opportunity to pursue the vision is not squandered because of slackness, oversight or distraction.
A leader's administration is the key to moving a crowd member, excited about the vision they hear, to become a core member who will stand by your side.
If you're not a natural administrator, you need to find ways where your leadership and administration can complement and strengthen each another.
Addressing these areas might help you in ensuring your potential growth:
Communication
An excellent leader communicates efficiently and in a timely fashion.
Text messages are answered in a reasonable and respectful time frame, emails are acknowledged and responded to upon delivery, phone calls are returned at the first available and appropriate time, and social media engagement is valued and replied to when necessary.
This area is the greatest area of failure for many leaders, as they forget to attend to the detail, disappointing and eventually hurting others in the process.
An excellent leader realizes that people need to be valued for who they are over what they do.
A leader will do all they can to ensure when volunteers turn up their time is valued, that necessary preparation has been attended to, that they are made to feel welcome, so that the time a volunteer has to give can be optimized.
Information
A great leader knows that for their people to remain on task and operate most effectively they need to be well informed.
Some information needs to be communicated personally and prematurely. This cannot be forgotten. When a point leader discovers important information, at the same time as the team they lead, they feel devalued and obsolete, all because of poor administrative processes.
Reliability
A great leader will do what they say they will.
Don't ask someone out for a coffee if you have no intention of going or no time to do it. Don't commit to a task if you know you won't follow through. Don't offer to do something for someone and then forget.
These are all symptomatic of a failure to effectively combine leadership and administration. The failure of such, which will leave people feeling disillusioned and eventually hurt, not valued and ultimately despondent.
Rick Dugan previously reflected on Mother Teresa's leadership, recalling her teaching in the following way:
“Don’t procrastinate. Early in her career Mother Teresa became convicted that when the Holy Spirit revealed something small to do, she should do it immediately. If something needed washing, wash it. If something needed fixing, fix it. If a letter needed writing, write it.”
A lesson for leaders: take care of the small responsibilities in life and God may reward you with bigger responsibilities.
A leader cannot lead excellently without great administration skills!
Are you stronger in leadership or administration, which are you stronger in? What do you need to do about it?
Photo source: istock
| Rev. Ralph Mayhew has been leading people for more than 20 years. He is a lead pastor, author and seminary lecturer in practical theology and ministry and has a Masters in Christian Leadership. At the beginning of 2017, after 14 years of ordained ministry, he planted Burleigh Village Church; a local church encouraging people to think Jesus. He has written several books among them The Anonymous Leader: An Unambitious Pursuit of Influence and How To Create The Organizational Culture You Want. |
