When you find good teammates for any position in the church, non-profit or Christian organization, you sure want to keep them. Replacing teammates is not always that easy, as you may know.
First of all, it may become even harder to find the right people when it comes to leadership positions. Once you find them, it would be wise to discover ways to keep them with you.
Before you read about how to boost retention, here are 4 things to never do with your leadership team.
- Never coerce them to stay: “You have to stay on the team.”
- Never guilt them into staying: “You can’t leave the team; we need you.”
- Never take them for granted: “You’re always there.”
- Never overwork them: “You can do this additional task.”
Now, let’s talk about how to boost retention on your leadership team.
It goes without saying that your leadership team exists to lead your organization. It seems so obvious but many top leaders actually forget that their team members are not there to be slaves to their work or to have additional responsibilities without any additional benefits attached to the role. So choosing well the members of your leadership team is an absolute necessity.
Boosting retention is very efficient when it’s both generalized and personalized.
GENERALIZED BOOSTERS
- Pay them more. Yes, I said it, and I started with it. I know the budget is tight. Isn’t it for everyone? I know inflation is going up. These are actually reasons to pay them a little extra. You can’t afford it, you say? I would say you can’t afford not to! Better pay is still the best perk for more responsibilities. Of course, some people will think the added title is enough because some prestige is attached to it. As you know, though, that will only go so far and last so long. Money is part of the equation for boosting your retention.
- Perks are always important as well. Family days where everyone just enjoys a great time around a good old BBQ, pool days, baseball games, or whatever joins relational to professional life is a bonus. Other enjoyed perks will include a preferred pension fund, free car wash during workdays, extra insurance (health and others) plans, paid sabbaticals, or whatever would make your leader happy.
- Help them have a balanced life. Leadership teams usually have more responsibilities and oversee more departments than everyone else. Allow members to have personal and extra days off during the year. I know we live in America, and to many people, this may sound counterproductive. Yet, well-rested staff, with a balanced life, will benefit the entire organization.
- Give them an extensive orientation of the demands of the role. A major frustration for many leaders are the demands on their time that are not laid out in the fine print. Implied participation in events needs to become explicit requirement. If the role is a “work in progress” type, make sure your candidate knows this beforehand.
- Ask before you task. Many leaders assign tasks before actually asking. Obviously, you are the leader, and you can distribute the workload to whoever you consider fit for it, but asking is not about permission; in this case, it comes more with the notion of respect. Before handing new tasks to your team members, be sure to check in on each individual. Ask your go-getters if they’d like to tackle new challenges and your thinkers if they could map out new processes. All of a sudden, you graduate from task-master to leader.
- Celebrate your wins. You reached your quarterly financial goals, or you had a crazy busy Easter season that saw tons of new people join your church? Take time to celebrate who did what, and mention the names of those who need to be highlighted.
PERSONALIZED BOOSTERS
- Each person that will join or is already on your leadership team wants something. Some things need to be purchased with money, but others do not. Your time is a currency. Some of your teammates highly value quality time. You will boost their buy-in when you give them what they crave. Go have an extended lunch with them, or have some coffee time in your office without any disturbances.
- You can use the currency of encouragement. It is surprising how many leaders forget, willingly or not, to encourage their teams. The apostle Paul places this short verse in the middle of his final words to the Thessalonians and tells leaders to “…encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT)
- There aren’t much worse morale killers than the inability to perform a task that simply meets (or exceeds!) expectations. Compensate your team leaders with valuable training. More responsibilities often require more or better tools. Offering the ability to attend paid webinars are good. A paid conference in your state is great. Attending an out-of-state conference is the best.
- Training should also come in the form of offering personal coaching and mentoring. Can you imagine how appreciated a leader will feel and be when you offer them professional betterment? Make sure your leader understands it’s not because they are failing, but because you want to add new tools to their already full toolbox.
- Communication and feedback are so important. You will rarely have your people ask you to stop communicating with them. Find communication methods that work for them and that you feel comfortable with. Let them communicate. Be sure to listen well. They will let you know what they desire, and as their leader, you can help them reach their goals as they strive to reach your organization’s objectives.
- Caring for them is such a necessity. Forbes has this great article on how to care for your team READ IT HERE. Creating a care program is never as efficient as caring personally for your people. Know their stories, ask questions, learn, learn, learn!
- If caring for the team members themselves is important, imagine what additional boost it would be if you showed concern for their family members! The care that is given to each leader should be extended to the rest of their family. These family members also pay for each responsibility added to your team member. It is important to keep this in mind.
- If I could add one more thing, love your leadership team. For real. Like Paul says, “…if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2 NIV) Love is never about you; it is always about others.
If there was a secret formula to boost retention on your leadership team, the ingredients would be love, appreciation, and intentionality. Any of the above ideas applied without these 3 ingredients will be in vain. Execute these plans with these ingredients, and you won’t need to boost retention; your leadership teammates will want to stay!
