Summit Life Today

Leaders who are popular will create a “positive” culture in an organization.  People will enjoy working there.  If they don’t get the job done however, the organization won’t be successful and good people will lose their jobs.  On the other hand, if you have a driven leader who always pushes to get the job done, he will be able to create a “productive” culture.  If the team members don’t feel valued however, the organization won’t be successful because good people will leave.  Your key objective as a leader is to create a culture that is both “positive and productive”.  There’s a great example in Acts about the early church making some intentional changes in team assignments in order to create a positive and productive culture.  Note how they went about this:

So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program.  And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.” Everyone liked this idea.”  (Acts 6:2-5a)

The whole team responded positively to this change in assignments because they knew it was going to be good for everyone.  You’ve heard Jim Collins ask: “Do you have the right people on the bus?”  His next question is:  “Do you have them in the right seats?”  Having the right people in the right seats all moving toward a common destination is essential for developing a positive and productive culture.  If you don’t already know your people, take time to get to know them.  Make sure they are the right people for your organization and then make sure they are in the right seat doing a job that interests them and matches their strengths.  Be sure your team members know you care about them and that you want them to succeed.  Be willing to come alongside in order to help them achieve individual success.  A lot of little individual successes will result in a big success for the team.  When team members feel valued, they will want to add value to the organization.  If they believe you want them to succeed, they will want to help you succeed.  Creating a positive and productive culture is a win for the team and everyone will benefit from the organization’s success.

“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.”  ~ Sam Walton