I’ve watched managers and leaders screw up their own position so badly that they destroyed the operation itself.
This is not guidance you’ll get from a secular or Christian leadership seminar. This is guidance that comes from the Ancient Hebrew culture. This is about shepherding; it applies to the shepherdess, too.
First thing: Never, ever give a split second of thought to what’s fair for you. Justice does not come to you; it comes from you. If you aren’t there ready to sacrifice just about everything except your own character before God, then you aren’t ready. The onus is upon you to create the atmosphere of friendship and trust and you can’t do it when any part of you whines.
Your enemy is busy work, staying so involved in the paperwork and listed duties that you never create a community. A community spirit won’t necessarily kill office politics, but without community, raw politics will eat you alive. Your first and most important function is creating a sense of community. Obviously, with my criticism of secular behavioral sciences, you can’t simply learn a method. You have to have the soul of a shepherd.
It hardly matters what you imagine your personality type to be; as leader and manager you absolutely must act like a friendly and outgoing person. Get to know everyone; don’t allow mere procedure to get in the way. You don’t have to memorize first time, every time. You can ask the same question enough times for it to stick; people are more tolerant of that than you might expect. Keep asking until you recognize the person as a person and have some idea formed in your mind of what part they play in your world. You aren’t seeking objective truth; you are seeking accommodation to how that person reacts to you in the context.
Don’t be fake. At the same time, you need not divulge your life’s history to anyone. Be consistent. People are your most valuable assets and community equilibrium is your treasure. Don’t demand artificial peace. There will be friction, give and take, and some will never be your friends. But you are always friendly and aloof from petty nonsense.
Never, ever let them see you sweat. If you aren’t prepared for the most off-the-wall baloney, you aren’t prepared. It’s not as if you aren’t allowed to have emotions, but never let anyone see you lose control of them. Even when anger is wholly appropriate, use it as a dramatic element to get someone’s attention, not some fiery energy you don’t actually posses. The one thing you truly have to control is yourself.
Somewhere in the mix, you will need the talent for activating your natural allies. Never let it be a closed group; anyone is welcome who will pay the price of contributing to community equilibrium. Recognize when someone is operating from pure self interest and harness that, because you can’t do much to change it. Take folks are they are, and give them a chance to be helpful; most folks can’t resist the opportunity. Take advantage of whatever leverage naturally arises from your personal resources.
Your weaknesses will be exploited without mercy; you cannot hide them very long. Decide ahead of time how you will live with that, how you will come to terms and make peace with it.
