I love the week between Christmas and New Year. The office is quiet. The phones rarely ring. Email volume is down. It’s the perfect time to step back from the pressures of day-to-day leadership and take stock of your life and work.
If you’re like most people, there are some things that you’d like to get rid of in 2016. Forbes offers a list of 14 bad habits that can cost you at work. Read it here.
Five of those habits jumped out to me as especially problematic for those of us who work in ministry.
- Gossiping. People in ministry–whether ministry leaders or support staff–often know more about the challenges facing the organization than others. The New Testament describes gossiping as a sign of spiritual immaturity something than shouldn’t be true of those in ministry. Not only that, it tends to lead to negativity very quickly–somewhere that you don’t want to get stuck.
- Negativity. Ministry, like everything else worth doing, is difficult. Focusing on problems rather than solutions disempowers the rest of the team. Avoiding negativity isn’t the same things as unrealistic positivity–it simply means not allowing the “no’s” to shape the storyline of your life and ministry.
- Lateness. Five minutes early is on time. On time is late. Enough said.
- Isolationism. Silos are the enemy of an effective organization, especially a church. Ministry is about people and it’s about collaboration.
- Lack of manners. The inability to act in a polite, professional manner is detrimental not only to your own calling, but also to the mission of the organization. If manners isn’t your strong suit, consider enrolling in an etiquette course or asking a professional who is farther along to mentor you.
Check out all fourteen bad habits at Forbes. What would you add to the list?
Jeff Gissing 