LEADERS ARE ENCOURAGERS!
In their book, The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and Barry Posner present a model—The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership. The last practice, “Encouraging the Heart,” is a topic so important that the authors wrote an entire book about it—Encouraging the Heart: A Leader’s Guide to Rewarding and Recognizing Others. The “Seven Essentials to Encouraging” outlined in this work are helpful for anyone in a position of leading others, especially when applied for the purpose of ministry.
- Set clear standards. Communicate specifically to church and ministry leaders what God has put into your heart to do. It’s encouraging to followers when a leader clearly communicates where he is leading.
- Expect the best. Verbalize your belief in people and they will tend to live up to your expectations. It’s a prophetic declaration of their God-given potential and an indication of your confidence in them as ministry leaders/partners.
- Pay attention. As a leader, constantly be on the lookout for those who are being faithful to the vision/ministry. Pay attention for the purpose of acknowledging a person’s contribution.
- Personalize recognition. Individual acknowledgment increases personal involvement and a person’s sense of value. For recognition to be meaningful it must be personal.
- Tell the story. As a leader, tell those in ministry how they are helping you accomplish your vision/mission. When you publicly communicate how their partnership is making a difference, you add value to them.
- Celebrate together. Publicly testify how God is using the people in your ministry. This brings unity and shared joy. Celebration also fuels momentum.
- Set the example. Be an encourager—model what you want your church to become. You can’t delegate encouragement!
ENCOURAGEMENT IS ESSENTIAL TO KINGDOM ACCOMPLISHMENT!
As the leader, you should be the primary encourager. Remember, you reap what you sow. As you encourage others, you will receive encouragement yourself.
Mitchell Corder 
Thank you for sharing. I greatly appreciate your leadership.
Thanks Mitchell Corder!
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