De-Adulting: Becoming an Optimistic Coach

You have undoubtedly had the experience of being with a small child who called attention to someone who was different. The difference may have been due to skin color, physical impairment or some other factor. Inevitably, the child’s parent is embarrassed, but the child sees nothing wrong with what he said. He wasn’t making a judgment about the person’s inherent worth – the child was just recognizing that something was different. This fourth and final blog on “de-adulting” explores how leaders can change the way they supervise. As noted in the first blog in this series, too many “adults” deal with personnel problems as if their only choice is to act like a grim reaper, with punishment as the only response to performance shortfalls. While I favor of accountability, negative consequences are not the only option. A more “child-like” response would acknowledge that each person is different and therefore has different abilities. With that in mind, the supervisor’s first responsibility is to understand those abilities. Then based on that knowledge, the supervisor seeks to place the person in a role that fits their abilities and helps them to make the most of those gifts. It’s the approach of a coach. In sports, a coach’s goal is for the team to succeed. This means placing each player is in a position that suits her abilities and coaching her to be the best at that position. Some players are in more prominent positions and some get more playing time. The best coaches adjust their style to the needs of the individual players. The coach doesn’t give up on anyone on the team. The only exception might be a player who develops a bad attitude that starts to poison the team. Is there someone on your staff that is causing you great frustration right now? Have you considered the things that make them unique and how those gifts can contribute to a victory for your church or ministry team? It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>