Leadership Thought: Take Time to Get to Know the People with Whom You Work

Dear Friend,

Leaders take the time to know their people.

You and I have taken a lot of tests in school in our day, but I bet you have never taken a test like the following. A professor gave his class a pop quiz that seemed fairly easy. One student breezed through the test without any difficulty, but then he came to the last question. The question read, “What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?” The student thought to himself, I had seen the cleaning woman several times, and she was tall, dark-haired and in her fifties, but how would I know her name? He handed in his paper leaving the last question  blank. Just before the class ended, one student asked If the last question would count toward his quiz grade.

“Absolutely.” said the professor. “In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello.” I have never forgotten that lesson, the student said.

I shared this same story a  number of years ago while serving at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, a large church with over 400 employees. Everybody knew the name of Pastor Bob and a number of the other pastors on our staff, but how many knew  the names  Brad, or Phil or Shayla, or Chuck or Jeannie, or Jen or Bruce, or Todd, or Jason or Mike or…………………….. These were the names of just a few of the employees who were a part of the facilities' department who took care of the grounds, cleaned our offices, or helped make sure we were properly fed and served in the church restaurant? They were our unsung heroes who were a very important part of the Calvary Chapel team. 

This story has always served as a good reminder to me to make a special effort to get to know the people who serve alongside of me whether in the church, school, or workplace. They are an important part of the team,  and you and I need to be alert for opportunities to recognize and affirm them for the services they provide and the contributions they make. 

One way we can do this is to  greet them by name, and if we don’t know their name,  simply thank them for what they do and then ask them to tell us their name. Compliment and thanks them for what they do. “I have been noticing  the wonderful way you greet people and make them feel so special" or "how diligent you are in responding to whatever needs I have," or "I want to thank you for making the grounds looks so beautiful. Could you tell me you name, so that I might be able to pray for you?"

There are many ways to make people feel special, and if we have a heart in tune with the Lord, He will show us the ways to help people feel special.

We all need to keep in mind the words of Paul who taught us that “God has arranged the parts in the body, everyone one of them, just as he wanted them . If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye can’t say to the hand, I don’t need you! And the head cannot say to the feet, I don’t need you! Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat them with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given even greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” 1 Corinthians 12:18-27

Oh yes, in case you wanted to  know the name of  the woman- it was Dorothy.

Yours in faith and friendship,
Pastor Tom