Zac and I are staycationing this week. We always intend to keep the conversation off church, seeing as that’s our job. But who are we kidding? Our first conversation was about our love for the Church. It’s part of the reason we fit so well together, we have a great respect and deep love for her. The Church may be where we work, but it’s also where our hearts lie.

But still, we try not to talk office, we talk us. We talk passions, frustrations, lessons learned, lessons shared. Prompted by a question Zac asked this week, here are some things I’ve learnt so far leading the Guest Services teams at Riverview…

LEAD TO CHARACTER, NOT DEMOGRAPHIC
I was continuously asked during my interview process how I would lead older people, the elderly? Organised people? (I am not naturally organised) How would I lead men? How would I include youth? Mothers? Shift workers? People still learning English? People of privilege, people of poverty?

I learnt quickly that demographics change, the young get old, the single become married, then parents, the busy become unemployed, the unemployed get jobs. If you adjust your leadership style for something as transient as demographic, you’ll erode yourself away. It really isn’t about people’s demographic, it’s about the foundation of their character and their heart – so lead to those things.

I’M STUBBORN AND DETERMINED
This is good, this is bad, this just is. I see it most when I’m changing something, creating a new culture or re-branding. I will simultaneously hold the extreme big vision and the minutiae that are the eventual result of that vision. I see it all, I see it all at once. It allows me to be incredibly thorough in how I want something to roll out.

I was talking to my coach the other day and expressed it like this, “If something needs to end, I will kill it until it’s dead, in every way, in every context. If I want something to thrive, that thing will be given every possible care, opportunity and resource to flourish.”

The downside? Exhaustion. Individuals have limits, even if their imaginations and stubbornness do not.

EVERY PART IS A GRAND PART TO PLAY
Whatever role I’ve found myself in, one of my favourite things to do is remind people of how they contribute to what Jesus is doing. I love seeing eyes light up and hearts catch fire with renewed passion. I have loved seeing dignity, passion and fun thrive in my teams. Did I bring all this to my teams? No, I’m not that arrogant! I like to think I have a gift of reminding people and teams of something already inside them, waiting to be called out.

STRUCTURE & PROCESS ARE THE BOUNDARIES THAT PROTECT & FREE ME
Again, not naturally organised, but this wild pony needs a paddock to run around in. Otherwise, I stampede and trample people. I run so hard I burn out. I whip up a herd into a directionless frenzy.

Paddocks are paddocks because they have boundaries, my paddocks are fenced by streamlined structure and efficient process. I am ruthless about reshaping these if they aren’t working for me or my team. Maybe it’s only because I’m not naturally wired to handle any sort of organisational complexity, but I like to think that a streamlined structure actually gives more freedom than it takes.

It’s this regular, routine work that gives me the assurance that the job is getting done well, it frees me to think forward instead of constantly worrying I’m missing something.

I’d never stopped to think this way about my experience leading this incredible team of people. I’m so glad Zac asked me this question!