A House Divided Cannot Stand

As a husband and father, I take my leadership role very seriously. I believe that I have the responsibility to lead our household, not as a dictator or an autocrat,  but by serving my family through love, understanding and compassion. It is not about my family serving me.  (No slippers at the door or an iced cold one while I kick back and wait for dinner to be prepared.) Sometimes it may mean that I make dinner or help out with some other task that isn't ordinarily mine.

My wife and I complement each other, each one helping where help is needed and working together for the good of each other and the whole family. For the sake of organization, we have mutually agreed that I should take the leadership of our home. This does not mean that my wife is subservient or that she does not have a leadership role. It just means that for any organization to function, there must be order, and that we each have different roles that enable us to best work together.

In today's society, it seems as though there is a lack of organization, communication, direction, and agreement in the home between husband and wife. This often leads to frustration and a lack of clarity and cohesion for entire families.  The world serves up many influences that can divide families, making it tremendously important for husband and wife to stand united with each other and with their children to take care of one another and support one another. In our family, it is our Christian faith that provides the solid foundation for our unity.

As a leader, I believe my role is to provide a vision for our family, and to support and serve my family. I am also charged with mentoring  my children and with loving each and every one in my family unconditionally.  It is not always easy, and it can be downright inconvenient and frustrating at times, but I believe it is all worth it.

Whether you have a single parent household or a two parent household, your leadership is desperately needed. The effect of your leadership will be felt in your neighborhood, your city, and beyond, possibly for years to come. The question is, will it have a positive or a negative effect?

I don't know about you, but I think household leadership is one of the most important forms of leadership in our society today, and it is being tested like never before.  Are you up to the test?

A house divided cannot stand (Mark 3:25).

The Wisdom of Investing in Your People

At a leadership conference I attended years ago, the keynote speaker was a very successful sales and marketing expert.  He told us the story of how he lost some really good sales people, because he spent the majority of his time coaching underperformers.

He shared with us that he spent 80% of his time and attention managing underperforming sales people.  After spending considerable resources on coaching, training, and workshops, the ROI was the same poor results.  Meanwhile his high performing sales people felt underappreciated and over burdened with having to take up the slack.

The truth of the matter was he knew he could count on his high performing sales team to keep performing at a high level, so he did not spend much time with them.   The result was several of his top sales people left the organization.   The reason?  Feeling underappreciated and letting underperforming team members get by with lackluster results.

As the dynamics of his team changed, he had to change how he led his team.  He realized that he needed to nurture, acknowledge, coach and listen to his top performers.
The underperformers were given a certain timeframe to improve their performance, and if they did not, they would be separated from the company.

After a time of realigning his team, the overall results took a dramatic upswing.  The entire team was focused and energized.
 
While reflecting on the actions he took to turn the team around he distilled them down to the following key actions:

• Hire good people.  No short cuts, hire smart and slow.
• Set the right expectations, they need to know what to do each day they come to work.
• Challenge and coach every team members to be better.
• Separate from the company individuals who do not accept coaching and continue to underperform.

The wise and effective leader invests consistently in their people to help them to grow, develop and achieve their goals.  While the underperformers will either “get it” or self-select out of the company.

Making wise decisions regarding your staff is essential not only to employee engagement, but to the profitability of the company.