To let them drop the ball or not when people don't follow through

So, what do you do when the person you give a task to doesn't follow through...do you let them drop the ball or not?

This is honestly one of the most challenging (and simultaneously rewarding) parts of leadership.

Let me explain.

As leaders, we get to equip and empower others to do more than they thought they possibly could, to become the best version of themselves, to reach their potential, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. In fact, it takes a lot of trust, power-sharing, and confidence in ourselves to lead well. So rewarding, yet so challenging.

Let me share what might be uncomfortable truth with you: If the success of your church, organization, or team hinges on you being involved in every single detail and decision, it is simply not a shared effort.

It means that you are not working with and through others. It might be easier this way for sure and take much less time. But let me ask you this: do you do what you do so that it gets done quickly and easily?

Leading this way simply does not require others, and in that way it’s not leadership at all (and in church communities, it isn't being the church either, am I right?).

The benefits of truly shared efforts are too many to count, but most definitely include creativity, diverse perspectives, interdependence, innovation, the best ideas, stimulating the gifts of others, increased shared responsibility, shared excitement, and the list goes on.

Creating this kind of team effort means that as leaders we must embrace equipping and empowering others.

So, if people are dropping the ball with things we’ve entrusted to them, there are four questions I want you to ask yourself the next time it happens before you do anything else.

What were the exact expectations you gave them for their role or task?

9 out of 10 times when someone doesn’t do something that we asked of them, we didn’t make our expectations clear enough. We always have expectations in our head about how something is going to be done. So, either, we didn’t explain it clearly enough or we didn’t model for them how to do what we asked of them.

It’s like when my 3-year-old wants me to play with him. He knows exactly what he wants me to do and I never do it the right way because he’s constantly telling me “no, not that way!” So I gently remind him, “buddy, if you have a specific way you want me to do things, you need to explain it in more detail to me because I can’t read your mind.”

And no one can read your mind either.

What was the step-by-step process you used to equip and empower them?

Once we explain what our expectations are, then, we need to make sure we have a process for equipping and empowering others to succeed with what we’ve asked of them.

We want to make sure that they not only know the “what” but most importantly the “why,” and often the “how” as well. When people know the why behind the what, we can be certain they will use our values as they go about their work.

So, what’s your plan to equip and empower those around you? I’ve created a free step-by-step guide for you if you need one. The reality is, for all leaders, and I do mean ALL, equipping and empowering others is a learned skill.

Creating a team effort means that as leaders we embrace equipping and empowering others. In order to do so well, we must learn to lead by values rather than rules and regulations and more rules.

How did you share your power with them?

You can always tell when leaders do not lead by values.  As soon as a new situation comes up, they simply add another rule to the rule book under the guise of “protecting people and the organization.”  The only real values-in-use are “don’t break the rules” or “everything must be done my way.”

Here’s the reality: micromanaging others kills creativity, innovation, motivation, and trust.  However, when you lead through values, there’s no need for micromanaging.

Value-based cultures are filled with individuals who are empowered to make decisions based on the values and culture of the church, non-profit, organization, or business.  Empowering others requires that leaders actually share their power, not merely loan it.

Shared power means leaders truly give others the ability and responsibility to make decisions and be held accountable to the outcomes, desirable or not.

Kouzes & Posner, The Leadership Challenge, 2012

Loaned power is much more common and is akin to helicopter parenting. There can be an appearance of shared power, however, as soon as the leader has the notion that things are not going the way they wanted them to go, they swoop in to “save the day.”  What this is really telling people is “I don’t actually trust you, so here let me help make it right.”

When power loaning is the overarching culture in an organization, it kills creativity, innovation, motivation, and trust.  It’s also the quickest way to lose your best leaders.

I was on a church staff once that saw 10 staff leave in an 18-month period, from admins to the executive pastor and everyone in between. Sure, some said they needed to move for family reasons, some were laid off, one was fired, and some said it was time for other opportunities. But in truth, it was because the leaders simply were unable to share their power, trust the very people they’d hired, and empower people to use their God-given gifts to serve the community.

When I see this happen, I can’t help but wonder if the root of this style of leadership is actually our inability to truly trust God, believe that God has in fact gifted everyone, and believe that the Church is nothing more and nothing less than the people, the Body of Christ.

I can’t tell you how many times I hear from people that they don’t have what they need in order to be successful in their roles. And almost every time it boils down to the leader not sharing their power with others so that they can make decisions, take ownership, and succeed.

What resources did you give them to set them up for success?

Lastly, equipping and empowering others requires that as the leader, we make sure to provide everything that others need in order to succeed in their role.  This means making sure they have all the resources, skills, training, and support they need to do their job effectively.

So take time to jot down all the resources you have given them to succeed. When you look at your list, can you honestly answer that you would succeed with only those resources listed?

I’ll be honest, equipping and empowering others might be the thing I get most passionate about when it comes to leadership because I’ve seen it done well and I’ve seen it done horribly. And the cost of ignoring how to do this well, especially in churches, is gut-wrenching.

So, before you are tempted to jump in to save the day again, will you please do yourself, and those around you, a favor and take 10 minutes to answer these four questions:

1. What were the exact expectations you gave them for their role or task?
2. What was the step-by-step process you used to equip and empower them?
3. How did you share your power with them?
4. What resources did you give them to set them up for success?

Equipping and empowering others is honestly one of the most challenging and simultaneously rewarding parts of leadership. But you can do this! And when you do, everyone around you will be better off for it!

Tell me in the comments below, what has been your experience equipping and empowering others? What part of it do you find most challenging? Is there a specific area you find yourself getting stuck?