Don’t be a stranger in the locker room.
This piece of wisdom came from my boss, Chuck Carringer. (Chuck blogs here & tweets here. You’d benefit greatly from following his insightful thoughts.)
It’s a bit of wisdom I’m familiar with though never heard it phrased so well. You see, Chuck is a former basketball coach so leadership lessons in the form of coaching analogies are not unusual.
It simply means that by making it a point to be in the locker room, the players grow accustomed to your presence. As a ministry leader, my players are my volunteers. I rely heavily on a volunteer team to do the work of the ministry. And the quality of that work is contingent on the volunteer and their ability to take what I give them and execute.
And the best way for me to know how and if my volunteer is well equipped, is if I’m in the room.
Yet my presence in the room can make volunteers uncomfortable… if it’s unusual.
But if my presence in the room is part of my weekly routine… a routine volunteers are accustomed to… in fact, expecting. Then I have the privilege of seeing how a kidmin room actually runs. Within this reality, I can see where to focus training and equipping. I can see where volunteers are most effective in connecting with the kids. I can experience how engaged volunteers and kids truly are.
It’s easy to judge the effectiveness of the weekend based upon the large group portion of the hour. Yet if you don’t have presence in the small group segment, then you miss out on a significant element of the child’s experience.
I appreciated Chuck’s reminder of the value of our attention to this detail. If I’m a stranger in the locker room, I’m not positioned to speak into all aspects of the team.
This is so true. And it becomes even more important as you add campuses. I honestly don’t believe that you can have a true & helpful voice as you lead your team if you aren’t personally experiencing the ministry environment right alongside your staff & volunteers. The more you’re in the mix on Sunday as part of the team & not as the supervisor, the more helpful & real the feedback & evaluation become.
Our Directors schedule me where they need me almost every Sunday. Lots of variety & lots of different teams. I love it!