People Don’t Follow Vision …

“People don’t follow vision. They follow availability.” Bob Goff, best-selling author of Love Does, made that statement at an event that I attended last week. While I don’t completely agree with Bob’s comment about vision, it made me think about what people follow. Why might your availability as a leader be as important as discerning a compelling vision for your church or ministry? Here are four things to consider:

• People rarely understand and internalize a vision based solely on public communication. Being available to others, especially leaders who are implementing parts of the vision, is an opportunity to clarify the meaning and point them in the right direction.

•  Most visions run into obstacles as they move from the clouds to the ground. Available leaders can help address these obstacles more quickly and effectively.
• Availability communicates care. Marcus Buckingham found that feeling cared for by someone at work is a strong predictor of employee engagement (First, Break All the Rules). It’s impossible to demonstrate care if you’re unavailable.
• No matter how powerful the vision may be, people are much more likely to follow someone that they trust. Trust is built through relationships, and relationships are nurtured by availability.

Bob Goff contrasted availability with “efficiency” in our use of time. The problem with efficiency is that it squeezes out availability – for people who need care or attention or direction, or even when God wants to interrupt. I will admit that this is a struggle for me. My task-driven nature pushes me toward making the most of every minute. But perhaps the way to truly make the most of my time is to be more available. What about you? It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>