by Troy Page, The Unstuck Group
Ministry staff wear many hats and rarely have the luxury of doing only one job. From counseling and vision casting to volunteer recruiting/training and service planning, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. My experience is that no matter how organized I may be, eventually something will fall through the cracks. When this happens, one of the hardest things to do is to proactively call the pastor/supervisor and fess up. It’s humbling because it admits failure, and scary because of the potential fallout.
Pastors and leaders hate surprises and when a plate drops they will always appreciate a heads up. Leaders don’t want to find out at the last minute that a staff member has a moral issue, costs were more than anticipated, the expected outcome isn’t happening, or that you’ve tried to cover up your mistake. It’s best to be completely forth-telling and let them know in advance.
You may have to take the heat, but in the end there may be some great benefits to taking the initiative to fess up:
- It builds trust. Your leader will begin to realize he doesn’t have to worry about cover ups, spinning the truth, or your integrity.
- It develops humility. Who couldn’t use a little more of this?
- It creates learning opportunities. You will be motivated to address the organization’s weaknesses as well as your own.
- It opens conversation. This may provide the launching pad for you and the pastor to discuss organizational/personal issues that need to be addressed.
- It diffuses the situation. It’s hard to come down too hard on someone who owns their mistakes.
Photo Credit: » Zitona « via Compfight cc
