Leadership is Hard: Loving People is the Answer
Being in leadership is hard.
It's hard when you're short-staffed, when it's busier than it was supposed to be, when the bus groups all come at the same time, when three people need you at once and you don't know what to do first, when you're stretched too far, when the proper communication didn't happen and you have to deal with the fallout of others' mistakes and bad days and grumpiness.
It's hard, and sometimes I just don't want to go to work and do it all over again. Yet, I come home after one of the worst days, and there's still something from my day that makes me smile.
How can I smile? What is there possibly to smile about?
People. The employees that I work with every day who are blessings, who are my friends. They are the reason I can still smile.
Don't get me wrong, I know sometimes they don't do their jobs because they're busy talking to a fellow employee or a customer, or they don't come back from break on time, or any number of other little pet peeves. But those aren't what I think of when I think of them.
I smile because they work hard even when it's a busy, rough day and they're tired and we're short-staffed. I smile when they say that for me, they'll do it. For me. Many of them are more than twice my age, but they'll do it for me. I feel their trust, and it squeezes my heart. I have only been their supervisor for less than a year, but they'll do it for me.
They warm my hands when they are (too often) cold. If they notice my face scrunched up in thought, they ask if I'm ok. They envelope me in a hug when they know I've had a rough evening.
They give back to me, for which I am inexpressibly grateful.
And yet, I feel the weighty burden of their trust.
Since they often come to me first, I want to be sure to give them the right response, the support they need. I wish I could say enough thank-yous to make them understand how much I value them not only as employees, but as individual people. I want to do everything I can through my position in leadership to make their work days better and easier.
And I love them with the love of Christ. Only with that love can I give them even a hint of what my heart feels when I see them individually, past their behaviors or attitudes that can frustrate me to no end. With God's help, I see past those things and see them with love, even in difficult situations and times I wish they would do this instead of that. With the Holy Spirit's guidance, I respond with better wisdom and grace than I would on my own.
Yes, leadership is hard. There are days I come home with a headache that I've had for hours, with tired feet and an exhausted mind. But with Jesus by my side every day, and the amazing employees that I get to work with, I can always think back with a smile, and with a laugh.
People are what makes this life special; relationships are what God designed us for because we are made in His image and He desires relationship with us. We were not meant to do life alone, and loving people has the greatest rewards.
"And above all things have fervent love one for another, for 'love will cover a multitude of sins.'" (1 Peter 4:8 NKJV)
It's hard when you're short-staffed, when it's busier than it was supposed to be, when the bus groups all come at the same time, when three people need you at once and you don't know what to do first, when you're stretched too far, when the proper communication didn't happen and you have to deal with the fallout of others' mistakes and bad days and grumpiness.
It's hard, and sometimes I just don't want to go to work and do it all over again. Yet, I come home after one of the worst days, and there's still something from my day that makes me smile.
How can I smile? What is there possibly to smile about?
People. The employees that I work with every day who are blessings, who are my friends. They are the reason I can still smile.
Don't get me wrong, I know sometimes they don't do their jobs because they're busy talking to a fellow employee or a customer, or they don't come back from break on time, or any number of other little pet peeves. But those aren't what I think of when I think of them.
I smile because they work hard even when it's a busy, rough day and they're tired and we're short-staffed. I smile when they say that for me, they'll do it. For me. Many of them are more than twice my age, but they'll do it for me. I feel their trust, and it squeezes my heart. I have only been their supervisor for less than a year, but they'll do it for me.
They warm my hands when they are (too often) cold. If they notice my face scrunched up in thought, they ask if I'm ok. They envelope me in a hug when they know I've had a rough evening.
They give back to me, for which I am inexpressibly grateful.
And yet, I feel the weighty burden of their trust.
Since they often come to me first, I want to be sure to give them the right response, the support they need. I wish I could say enough thank-yous to make them understand how much I value them not only as employees, but as individual people. I want to do everything I can through my position in leadership to make their work days better and easier.
And I love them with the love of Christ. Only with that love can I give them even a hint of what my heart feels when I see them individually, past their behaviors or attitudes that can frustrate me to no end. With God's help, I see past those things and see them with love, even in difficult situations and times I wish they would do this instead of that. With the Holy Spirit's guidance, I respond with better wisdom and grace than I would on my own.
Yes, leadership is hard. There are days I come home with a headache that I've had for hours, with tired feet and an exhausted mind. But with Jesus by my side every day, and the amazing employees that I get to work with, I can always think back with a smile, and with a laugh.
People are what makes this life special; relationships are what God designed us for because we are made in His image and He desires relationship with us. We were not meant to do life alone, and loving people has the greatest rewards.
"And above all things have fervent love one for another, for 'love will cover a multitude of sins.'" (1 Peter 4:8 NKJV)
Comments
Post a Comment