What can you do to encourage your team? (135-4)

To be an effective over the long haul, a leader must be an encourager. Read Proverbs 12:25.

In the rough-and-tumble circumstances of life, members of your team will receive blows that will leave them emotionally battered, drained of their joy and grasping for a reason to hold on let alone do their best. During these times few functions a leader performs are more important than keeping hope alive.

As stated in a note found on page 1291 in Zondervan’s Leadership Bible, “During those times in which others are lost in a dark and seemingly endless maze of despair, effective leaders will drive away the darkness with positive projections for the future. They’ll infuse those around them with optimism regarding themselves, others and the future of the organization. They know when to draw alongside of someone. They sense whether a team member needs a quick admonition or a shoulder on which to cry.”

My mom, who had a thousand one-line sayings, used to say, “Encouragement to the downhearted has the same effect as wind for a sailboat.”

So what does encouragement look like? First let’s look at what encouragement isn’t:

• It certainly isn’t flattery.
• It isn’t false hope.
• It isn’t trying to manipulate or spin the facts or soft-peddling bad news to trick the discouraged into thinking the facts are different than they really are. When people are discouraged, situations can appear so difficult it really doesn’t look like there is any light at the end of the tunnel and they can smell an attempt to gloss over the truth.

Some elements that are part of true encouragement:

• An encourager will acknowledge the current situation but doesn’t dwell on it.
• Encouragement blends God’s sovereignty with current facts. Not in a flippant way i.e. this is God’s will so suck it up and love your current circumstances or by promoting an impending miracle, but encouragement is found in the nature of God’s character to be as consistent in His love and care for us now as He has been throughout history.
• Encouragement isn’t always fixing the problem. Sometimes encouragement comes from a hug or pat on the shoulder or crying with someone or bringing them a cup of coffee and taking a few minutes to be with them just to listen or just telling them they are doing a good job or that they are important to you.
• Encouragement can be as simple as assuring an individual of your accessibility.
• Encouragement couples God’s sovereign power with the leader’s genuine concern.

Do you sense discouragement on your team or with an individual? What can you do to encourage them today? What can you do to bring encouragement a few times over the next two weeks? How do you help others on your team to understand the importance of encouraging their teammates?