Good Sunday evening, Servant Leaders.
This morning, our preacher spoke from II Peter, highlighting what he calls Peter's gifts of the Spirit text. He's been working through them one by one, and this week's message was on self-control, or as one Greek definition puts it, continence.
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. (2 Peter 1:5-8, NKJV)
My pastor's choice of the word "continence" struck me this morning as highly relevant to both my faith and my work. In my faith, I strive to maintain a high level of continence in my relationship with Christ. I have to do the same at work - it's called "continuity planning."
You see, one aspect of our roles as servant leaders is to prepare our team and our company for when we are absent or incapacitated or when we depart. It's wholly unprofessional to leave the company and your team high and dry in your absence, but it's also poor leadership and leaves lacking our call to service. That means that we must take deliberate steps to equip, train, and guide our team in their roles as our successor(s).
We equip our team by ensuring those responsible for our duties in our absence have all the tools, accesses, and pathways to success created by our void. Does your "second" have active access and passwords to all relevant applications, and if not, do they know the process to gain emergency or short-notice access? Does the IT department know the process? Have you tested all communications pathways to ensure the VP of Widgets recognizes them in your stead?
We train our team with case studies, sample problems, and by side-seat (e.g., over the shoulder, knee-to-knee, shadowing) tasks that teach and test their abilities in real-world situations. We provide on-the-spot feedback and instruction while planning for the next training iteration. Do your peers recognize your "second" in meetings or do they only listen when you speak?
Finally, we guide our team by instilling in them our approach and vision and explaining the mission thoroughly so they not only understand but cannot possibly misunderstand. In the Marine Corps, we called it "commander's intent." In business it has the same effect - ensuring your team can continue in your absence.
So, Servant Leader, maybe now is a good time to take an honest inventory of your processes, procedures, tasks, and targets, and stress-test your team's ability to perform your job in your absence. After all, isn't that your true purpose anyway...to train your replacement(s)?
