Don't Shirk the Dirty Work

By Glenn Reynolds

         As a small child, I was never allowed to get dirty.  My mother prided herself on keeping my clothes and me very clean!  One day, my mother left me with my aunt who decided it was time for me to get dirty—very dirty!  She let me play outside—not in dirt, but in a pile of coal!  By the time my mother picked me up, I was covered from head to toe in coal dust!  I was a mess.

            Sometimes, as leaders, we want to shirk the dirty work of leadership.  Every leader has to do things that upset and hurt people—even in the church.  As the leader, it’s your job to discipline employees, terminate employment relationships, initiate organizational change, confront issues holding the organization back, and deny budget requests.  Call it dirty work, heavy lifting, or making a tough call with an employee; leaders must do the hard things!

A leader who refuses to complete the dirty work of leadership can be guilty of emotional embezzlement!

            Most leaders never consider financial embezzlement—stealing dollars from the organization.  But, too many of us consistently commit emotional embezzlement—stealing the future of the organization by not doing the dirty work of leadership.  We don’t want to pay the penalty of upsetting people so we refuse to do the heavy lifting required.

            The best leaders don’t delay or duck the difficult; instead, they confront problems directly and quickly.  The most challenging question is often what to confront and what to leave alone.  Years ago, I heard a chapel speaker at Central Bible College assert that the hardest task of ministry is knowing the difference between what to confront and what to leave alone.  After 20 years of pastoral ministry, I think he was right.  So, before you make decisions you team isn’t going to like, what questions should you ask?

            IS IT NECESSARY?

            Reprimands, dismissals, changes in direction, and other moves are often the most effective choice when dealing with difficult staff situations.  But before you pull the trigger, it’s good to make sure it’s absolutely necessary.  The effective leader simply asks, “Why am I doing this?  Am I doing it because it’s right or because I’ve not thought of another solution?”  If there is a way to achieve the same result without having to throw a boulder in the water and deal with the waves, can you do it?  Or, is it simply necessary to make the tough call and deal with the staff consequences.

            DO YOU HAVE THE POWER AND RESOURCES CARRY OUT YOUR DECISION?

            Unfortunately, sometimes leaders who have every justification to make difficult decisions simply don’t have the power to do it the right way.  They may lack the support of key board members.  There may not be the organizational energy to complete the transformation that is needed.  They may not have the “change” in their pockets to see the decision through to the end.  As Jesus reminded us, it’s good to find out if we have all it takes to finish the task before we start building the tower.

            IS THE CULTURE ON YOUR SIDE?

            Whether by design or by default, every organization has a culture.  Culture consists of the unspoken rules of how we relate to one another in the organization.  Church culture can be an interesting and confusing place to work.  For example, most churches want the worship services to be presented with excellence, but may recoil at the idea of people having to audition for the choir!  After all, doesn’t God see our hearts and just ask us to make a joyful noise to the Lord!

            Before you plot your course, it’s important to take a look at the culture around you.  Is it on your side or is it going to work against you?  You may need to work on the culture before you can work on the problem.

            ARE YOU IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL?

            If you’re going to “cut and run” when the heat turns up then you’re not ready to do the dirty work of leadership.  If you duck out at the first sign of a struggle then you may need to simply need to find a different kind of work.  But, if you are ready to outlast the critic, follow the course God has laid out, to stay until the dirty work is done—then it’s time to make the tough calls involving your team.

            If you can answer each of those questions in the affirmative then you’re ready to do the dirty work of leadership.             

SEVEN KEYS TO DOING THE DIRTY WORK OF LEADERSHIP CLEANLY

So, how do you implement tough decision in humane ways?  After all, you’re the shepherd to those on your team, not jus the boss.

GET KEY LEADERS ON BOARD

Who are the major influencers in your organization?  Who are the stakeholders?  Before you get your hands dirty, it’s important to make sure they are behind you—but not that far behind you. 

IMPLEMENT WISELY

Leaders don’t have to be smarter than everyone else, but they do have to think more than everyone else.  Leaders think sooner, deeper, and longer than others in the organization.  When you’ve got tough staff or leadership decisions to be made, you’ve got to think about who is going to be affected, who is going to be opposed, who is going to be for it, what are the unintended consequences, and a host of other what if questions.  In addition, you’ve got to create an implementation plan to answer those questions before they are asked.

COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE

When you’re doing something the team or volunteers might find upsetting, it’s important to communicate early and often the necessity of the choice you’ve made.  Key volunteers, other staff members, board members—they all need to know why, not just what you are doing.  It’s often not the first meeting that matters.  It’s the second and third meeting that are important—after they’ve talked to their spouses or their friends about the issues, after they’ve had time to think about it for a while.  The effective leader does every possible to communicate to everyone who will be affected by the decision—and not just in a way that spins the positive results, but also in a way that details some of the negative issues that might arise due to the change that’s being made.

CARE ABOUT PEOPLE

Sure, you’ve got to do the heavy lifting, but as you do it important to remember that you should never humiliate, belittle, or bad-mouth staff members or volunteers on the other side of the issue.  If you set a tone that does not honor and respect others—even in conflict; then others in your organization will follow your lead in creating a culture of backbiting and name-calling.  Then, you’ll have a reall staff infection on your hands.  Finally, you can’t forget the skunk theory of conflict.  If you get in a fight with a skunk  before long both of you stink.  In the end, nobody can tell who the skunk is.                        

            KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT           

            The temptation to share confidential information to buttress your position lurks around every corner as you do the dirty work of leadership, but divulging sensitive or confidential information can harm employees, volunteers, your organization, and the trust others have in you as a leader. Don’t do it.

            BREAK THE CYCLE OF REVENGE

            You’ve seen the t-shirt:  “I don’t get mad…I get even”.  When you meet opposition to your choices, the tendency will be for you to shut that staff member out in the future, paint that volunteer in an unflattering light, or worse.  If you take up the urge for revenge, you’ve just made yourself the issue, instead of the solution to the issue.  When you make it personal, you lose the moral high ground and abdicate your spiritual authority.  The best leaders learn the fine art of emotional separation—how to divide the event from the person.  In old parlance—how to love the sinner and hate the sin!  As you make the tough decisions of leadership, it’s important to keep forgiveness close by your side.  It not only breaks your own vicious cycle of revenge, but it helps staff members and volunteers you may have hurt to let go of their anger, too.

DON’T DELAY

Too often, we think time will make a difference.  In truth delay causes more problems.  After all, hope is not a strategy.  Just hoping things change never makes the problem go away.  The effective leader refuses to delay painful decisions and actions.  You’ve got to decide nobody else is going to do your dirty work for you!  You can’t hire a consultant to do it or blame it on the board; you’ve got to do the hard work of leadership.  That’s why you’re the leader.  If it was easy, anyone could do it!

            So, where do you need to get your hands dirty?  What decision are you putting off?  What program needs to be started or stopped?  What key volunteer needs to be confronted?  What staff member needs to be let go?  Before you do the dirty work of leadership, you need to make sure you’re ready.  Then, if you follow the seven commandments, maybe you won’t get too dirty.  My mother will be proud.