foolishnotions.net

this week pastor norma came to me needing some promotional materials for an upcoming ladies’ retreat. it was sneaking up on us fast. i asked her to email me the particulars and i would get right on it. about an hour later she walked into my office with these two sketches.

i was so impressed. by taking the time to do this one step she set me up for success, huge.  this is how…

1. she had obviously considered my time.  i could tell she knew and respected the fact that i was very busy.
2. i think if you were to ask pastor norma if she is well versed in design or sketching out concepts she would probably tell you no.  still, she took the time to think about what she wanted and put her best effort into laying it out simply and thoroughly for me.  (this is my favorite quality about pastor norma.  she consistently surprises me by trying things that i know she has little experience with.  she always gives it her best, and she typically excels at these tasks right out of the box.)
3. i didn’t ask her, but i would expect she had some pieces in her office from other ministries that she used as spring board for here idea.  she prepared herself a long time ago for this moment by looking for and saving ideas for use in her area of ministry.
4. by sketching out her thoughts instead of showing me someone else’s finished work she freed me from getting creatively stuck.  it was just specific enough, but not so specific that i had to worry about copying someone else’s work or worse, getting creatively locked in all together.

my intern, lindsey, was coming in that afternoon.  i have her for so little time during the week - it is hard for me to get a project to her that she can actually finish.  by the time she starts, leaves and comes back two days later i’ve had to finish it up for her.  i would imagine this is frustrating for her… it would be to me, for sure.  this project was different, though…

1. i saved the template and all logos into a folder on the network.
2. i wrote down where she could find all the imagery we did not have.
3. i gave her specific instructions about color, fonts and layouts.
4. after she had all the information she could possibly need, she got to work.
5. an hour later she called me to come take a look.  we talked a little about fonts and alignment.  together we tweeked it.  i showed her some photoshop techniques.  but, aside from those minor tweeks, she nailed it…. first time.  we sent her first postcard to print on wednesday.

ok, so i know this was long and detailed but i learned something from this project.  it made me consider all the times i had set my team up for failure by expecting them to just take the ball and run.  i have, so many times, in my desperation for help  just blurted out instructions expecting them to just figure it out as they go and get it done.  what a recipe for mediocrity and frustration - for everyone!  [[yikes]]

what i learned…

• consider my team’s time.  prepare for every project like i have no help at all doing everything short of final execution.  pass it, set it up and let my team score the points.  i have a feeling if i do this often enough they will in time have enough confidence and knowledge to do the same for our future team members… 
• the result?  they are set up for success not only in execution, but for leadership as well.  
• the result of the result?  instead of a team faithful workers, i now have a team of well equipped leaders ready to set up their own teams for success.  

i’m so grateful for the way god tangibly teaches me with life experiences.  i’m grateful for wise and courageous leadership like pastor norma who continually lead and teach even when they aren’t trying.  i’m thankful for my team, who sticks around in spite of my shortcomings, serving along side each other with joy and excellence.  i’m thankful that i’m learning and so excited about where god is taking me.

so, what about you?  what are some ways got has shown you to set your team up for success?

No comments yet.

Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI