To be or not to be a control freak?

To be or not to be….a control freak?  That is the question. So…are you one?

There are times when you need to be in complete control and others times when you need to take control and throw it out of the window.  Any guesses when that is? Control is good when you are new to your job and you need to know what is going on and how you can best reach your target audience.

Control is bad when you are on the job and everything is run by you, done by you and essentially controlled by you where no one else on your team (especially the volunteers) have any say or freedom to use their gifts for God.

What would it look like for you to let go of control and give those who work with you (whether they are staffers or volunteers) the ability to do it by themselves?  What do you think could happen.

Here are some things that could happen which would be really good:

1. They will feel that you trust them.  Trust is so important in a team.  Not only does your team need to trust you to lead them properly, but you need to be able to trust your team to do what is needed to get done…without you overtop of them all the time, controlling their every movement.  Trust is a very big deal in team work and by being hands off them, you are showing you trust them and they will appreciate that.
2. They will feel empowered.  They won’t have you looking over their shoulder.  You have trusted them to do their job.  And when they feel the control grip loosening, they will feel empowered to do their job better than ever.
3. They will feel the freedom to create.  Now that they feel trust and empowered, they will ultimately feel the ability to create and do things that they wouldn’t be able to do or try if you were still hovering over them.
4. They will be able to use their gifts that God gave them. Whether you are a control freak or not, hopefully you are giving people the ability to use their gifts. When you let go of control, your team can really use their gifts…maybe in a whole new way and they will grow because of it.
5. They will feel pressure. After all, they now have this ability to be creative and do it “their way”.  They don’t want to disappoint or let you or the team down.  So they will feel a healthy pressure to do even better than before.  And that is a good thing.

Take control…know what is going on and make sure nothing slips. But make sure that you give freedom to your team to excel and use their gifts for God.  When you do this, your team will feel these five things above.

So what do you think? How have you seen the benefits of letting go control in your situation?  How has it helped you and your team?  Share below what you are doing or on social media using #ymsidekick to connect with others.

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