The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work.
Proverbs 21.25 (NIV)
One of the most difficult aspects of being a Christian leader is disciplining those who are not pulling their weight. Many weak leaders will ignore the behavior or even have one of their other direct reports try to intervene. Not addressing the weakest link, can destroy a team.
Employee performance issues are an inevitable part of the workplace.
Do you know a leader who will do almost anything possible to avoid having to face the disciplining of the rogue employee? We all have met many leaders who lack the fortitude to lead! Poor performers are sometimes an inevitable part of the workplace and, as a Christian leader; you are called not only by the organization but also by the word of God to manage them. Now, don’t use this as a way to tell them the Bible told you so, but you understand the point. Be brave, leader; know that your motivated employees, your stars, want to see you manage the poor performer. You owe it to them.
Be passionate and direct and manage those who are hurting your organization and you will be ensuring that you are building the strong foundation of a ‘Kingdom Minded” Organization.
Help our community of readers
Have you encountered a poor performer at work? How did you address the situation? What was the outcome? Help our reader community by sharing your experiences.
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Mark Griffin is founder and Chief Consultant at In His Name HR LLC. Mark writes extensively on career and human resources related topics. Mark has over 20 years of HR experience. Want to bring Bible based practical HR programs to your workplace? Contact Mark today to see how his firm may help you: Contact
OUTRIGGER [out-rig-er] / ˈaʊtˌrɪɡə / (noun): a float or secondary hull fixed parallel to a canoe or other boat to stabilize it
If you are hoping for different results for your organization, but are stuck doing the same things over and over again…Outrigger is for you.
If your organization is looking for answers, you will find them at Outrigger.
Our presenters are exceptional. The fellowship and iron-sharpening-iron that you will experience during our round table discussions will strengthen you and your organization.
What will You Learn?
We cover the following in our roundtable/focused discussions: -Relevant business topics for Marketplace Leadership -Casting Your Organization’s Vision -Idea Generation and Execution -Cultivating Gift Donors -Media Relations (Earned Media) -Out of the Box Promotions -Strategic Planning for Your Future -Reaching the Next Generation -Donor Development vs. Serving Your Ministry Partners -Board of Directors vs. Bored Directors -Auditing Your Ministry -Creative Ideas for Raising Money -What is Your Ministry’s Brand (Customer Experience)? -Telling Your Story -and much, much more!
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
We have all had assignments that were, well, quite frankly, awful! I remember early on in my career finding myself on special assignment to a plant location that I had been led to believe was a prestigious assignment. Instead, it was wrought with labor strife and involved dealing with some incredibly difficult employee relations issues.
Soon after landing there, I realized just how bad it was. Well, I could have just as easily done my time, made myself look busy and navigated through the assignment for a few months and moved on, letting everyone know that, yes, it is bad, and it is not correctable. But I took a different stance. I looked at it like Joel Osteen would: “I am a victor; I am a conqueror; I can and will do all things through Christ.” I went in head on with passion and determination to fix many of the issues. Yes, in the beginning, I hated the assignment; there’s no denying that. But I worked countless hours counseling both leaders and union members, and, at the end, we came to common ground and both sides thanked me.
I can and will do all things through Christ
So, Christian business leaders, have you got the guts to go head on with determination, taking on the hard issues at hand for your companies? If you do, and you lead with conviction and passion, you will be blessed in the building of a “Kingdom Minded” Organization.
Help our community of readers
How do you navigate though the areas of your work that you hate? How have you helped others that have been stuck? Let us know. We love to learn from others.
8You will again obey the LORD and follow all his commands I am giving you today. 9Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors, 10if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
How long must we manage our organizations absent of God before we realize that prosperity comes when we include Him! Having met with hundreds of Christian business professionals, I seem to run into the same common thread: we go to church on Sunday and “turn off” our Christianity on Monday. How long must we all go until we come to the realization that Church is every day?
Christian Business Leaders Are Modern-day Apostles.
Christ ordained his apostles and sent them back to work. Their work included fishing, accounting and even tax collection. Christ did not demand that they stop working; they ministered in the marketplace. So, today, all of us who are Christian Business Leaders are modern-day Apostles. If you’re Christianity doesn’t stop on Sunday nights, if you instead build it into your leadership and your organization’s values, you are building a “Kingdom Minded” Organization.
Help our community of readers
What has your organization done to bring Christianity to the daily workplace? What steps must you continue to take to break down the barriers? We would like to know, so that our community will grow.
5The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
From the very beginning of time we have been blessed with work! Work is an inevitable part of our lives. When we are not working, we are often thinking about work! Work seems to preoccupy all of us. Work defines us, feeds and prospers us. Work is the foundation of our society and our world. Work, my friends, is not going away. If work is inevitable, and we must take it straight on, why does it have to be terrible at most places of work?
If work is inevitable, why allow it to be bad?
If we are honest with ourselves, we know the reason, and it is leadership, plain and simple. Any workplace that employees feel is destructive will always point back to a lack of competent leadership. Work does not have to be a utopia; of course it has elements of discomfort because of its very nature — you’re not fishing or at the beach! Leaders make sure work is a good place for your employees. But work should be enjoyable and meaningful to those who go.
If you manage your business with leadership that creates a culture of inclusion, prosperity, and a shared vision, while fostering plain old family love and relationships, you are building a “Kingdom Minded” Company.
Help our community of readers
What do you do to make sure your workplace is palatable? If you could make further changes, what would they look like? Share with us and enhance others through your contributions.
9The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.
How many companies give thousands away but their employees can’t afford to buy their medical coverage? This happens more than you might realize.
Having worked at a variety of companies, both secular and Christian-owned, has given me the opportunity to witness a similar thread of generosity absurdity. Oftentimes our tendency to be generous involves looking outward to our communities, our nation or other continents. However, we should, as Christian Leaders, look first inward before looking outward.
Take care of your employees and they will take care of their communities
Let me explain in simple terms — help your employees first so they may be prosperous and go forth to help build the Kingdom. Not paying your employees correctly for the sake of having more dollars to give to a foundation, a foreign mission, or local charity is self-defeating. Ultimately, your employees will grow bitter and their fruit will never ripen.
Help our community of readers
What has your organization done to help your employees? Have you set a good foundation for them to grow, support their families, and build the Kingdom in their communities?
11Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.
One of the seven deadly sins is sloth. Many leaders look at their people and accuse them of sloth-like behavior, yet, if they examined themselves more closely, they would discover that they are equally guilty of being sloth-like, maybe not in the sense of their rate of production, but in the time spent in fantasizing about their business objectives.
Sloth-like leaders dream too much and yield little
We all have lofty dreams — big dreams and pie-in-the-sky thoughts. And organizational vision is paramount to the success of every organization! The problem is that dreaming all day won’t satisfy your customers or get the widgets out the door! As Christian business leaders, we all need some time to ourselves to dream big for the creation of our goals and vision for our companies. Sometimes, though, we have witnessed leaders getting so caught up in big picture thinking that they lose their way in daily transactional business leadership, and their teams go astray, feeling they have no leadership. Leaders: if you find yourself disconnected from your teams and your businesses because of your lack of attention, focusing only on your lofty goals, wake up! If you can balance both day to day focus and big picture thinking, you are building a “Kingdom Minded” Organization.
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.”
Christian business leaders should speak to their people where they are
In this verse, Paul brought himself to where the listener was. He spoke to where “they are.” This is important, because he did not rush into the conversation with judgment and condemnation; he actually praised them for being “very religious.” As the book continues, Paul brings to light what and how they needed to correct themselves. We learn a lot about Paul as a leader. How many times do you as a leader immediately jump to the negative with your people? Why not praise them first when it is appropriate on what it is they are doing right.
So, Christian business leaders, what say you? Do you compliment for effort, but guide your people back to the right direction with grace and peace? If you do, they will perform incredible acts of commitment for you and your organization. If you do, you are building a “Kingdom Minded” Organization.
Help our community of readers
Tell us about a leader that you have admired in the past, what they did to help you develop in the areas that you were weak. What was their approach? Why did you respect them?
Our Mission trip to the Ukraine was a success! Much was accomplished and the foundation for further advancement has been set. Our Mission was simple: Develop the region’s businesses so that they can prosper and support their churches. The churches will in turn grow and prosper, and be able to develop schools for the orphans who are currently lost spiritually and educationally. During our trip, we specifically focused on helping to develop businesses in support of the trade school programs offered through the New Hope Center.
As our first order of business, we conducted an outreach luncheon during which my good friend Dave Balinski (Regional Director CBMC Central Pennsylvania) spoke on the topics of “Asking Good Questions” and “Developing SMART goals.” He closed the session by asking the most important questions that we all need to answer.
Besides the significant interest in the topics, there was also receptiveness to the invitation to consider the claims of Christ. We thank our incredible interpreter, Olga Rubel, who interpreted our English presentations into Russian and helped us deliver our message.
Dave and I visited a Christian Trade School which had just opened within the past few months prior to our visit. We were greeted by the first seven attendees of that school. Each of the students, all orphans, is fully engaged in career training and the Bible. At first, the students were very reserved, but as we shared our hearts with them, they warmed up.
The most difficult aspect for me personally was the realization that these teens never had earthly parents and will never understand that bond and security. In fact, it took me several weeks to get my arms around it. After randomly crying on the flight home, and then enduring several days of a heavy heart, I realized how hard it was on me emotionally.
But what saved my heart from further pain is that although they are absent an earthly father, they have one through their savior Jesus Christ.
You see, sometimes, even when you have an earthly Dad or Mom, you really don’t because they never loved you or respected you like God does.
We are plagued with kids that have parents who are incapable of loving them and helping them to develop to their potential.
So if you are in that circumstance, know that you have the greatest Father for eternity – a father who will never let you down, God our Father.
In Zaporozhye, we immersed ourselves into the culture. We ate with, shopped with, participated in Bible study with, and enjoyed companionship with a wonderful variety of people in a very short period of time. It seemed everyone around us was enamored with the U.S. and current events. And it seems the whole world continues to watch us to see how we will be leading the world into the future. Will our approach be principled? Moral? Will it reflect the foundation that the U.S. was founded on? Will God’s hand remain on us?
We had an incredible time meeting with a couple, Yura and Tanya, who recently started a Boys home to help male orphans as they leave the orphanage at the age of 15-16 to start their lives on their own. Their selfless dedication to helping these boys was breathtaking. For a young couple to do what they are doing is such a beautiful gift.
In addition to the luncheon, I presented an all-day seminar to over a dozen attendees on how to create a “Kingdom-minded business.” The seminar was based on my recently published book. I also spoke on the idea of “Servant Leadership,” which generated interest to the point of me being asked to speak in a local church the following morning!
During our stay, our host Vova (Vladimir Kiyanenko) was gracious and extremely informative about the culture, the business climate and the orphan situation. I am very grateful for his hospitality and look forward to partnering with him in the future.
So in closing, over the next few months Dave and I will be strategizing how we can take our next visit to the Ukraine to the next level. Hopefully advanced marketing and networking will help us increase seminar class size but also help to get the message out about how these few people are making such a great impact on Children’s hearts. Want to help? Contact us, I would love to have your support and commitment moving forward.
Enjoy listening to this recent recording, “People: Treat Them Right” – How did God intend for us to run our businesses? What can we do to influence the culture of a organization? Mark Griffin of In His Name HR brings his expertise to Tandem Radio.
Tandem Radio on the Bridge FM Saturday, May 5th with Featured Guest: Mark Griffin, In HIS Name HR
Dave and I visited a Christian Trade School which had just opened within the past few months prior to our visit. We were greeted by the first seven attendees of that school. Each of the students, all orphans, is fully engaged in career training and the Bible. At first, the students were very reserved, but as we shared our hearts with them, they warmed up.
The most difficult aspect for me personally was the realization that these teens never had earthly parents and will never understand that bond and security. In fact, it took me several weeks to get my arms around it. After randomly crying on the flight home, and then enduring several days of a heavy heart, I realized how hard it was on me emotionally.
