February 2020

“People mean problems…”

To my shame, this is a phrase I have used in the past. And it seems like a fact of leadership… the more people we have around us, the more problems we can end up dealing with. We’ve just been through our annual appraisal season at The Message SA. On my good days, I recognise that the appraisal season is a good time to unearth some of the challenges that my team are facing and find constructive ways to deal with them. On my bad days, my insecurities emerge and I become unduly concerned that we’ll uncover latent problems that will absorb time, effort and emotional energy. Clearly, this comes from past challenges and hurts and can lead to the second element of the same myth: the more people we lead, the more problems we will face.

These attitudes can debilitate us from effectively leading our teams because it causes us to devalue our most important asset – those we are leading. The consequence is that the myth of people mean problems makes it impossible to be a servant leader because the foundation of servant leadership is that we value others as of the utmost importance. When we believe that people mean problems, we can end up isolating ourselves from people and building barriers rather than bridges. This is the antithesis of servant leadership because it is the antithesis of how Jesus viewed people.

Would Jesus have said ‘people mean problems’? Of all people – Jesus was qualified to make this statement because he didn’t carry the baggage of sin. He could have easily written us all off because we do carry problems. However, rather than write us off, Jesus invited those of us with insecurities, hang-ups, issues, and problems to come to Him:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30

Throughout his life on earth, Jesus continually sought out people with problems. He hang-out with those who no doubt drained him emotionally, frustrated him no end, and caused him undue stress. And in so doing, he called out latent potential and saw many ‘problem people’ be transformed (e.g. Zacheus and the Samaritan woman).

The beautiful reality that we now behold as leaders following in Christ’s example is that the same invitation that Jesus made 2000 years ago, is available to us today. So, when we encounter people with problems, we don’t have to be their solution. In fact, if we try and be their solution, we will just add to their problems. But we can ask Jesus to help us love and serve them in such a way that will enable them to take their stress, pain and sorrow to Him. He is the only one who can carry their burdens and heal their brokenness.

Yes, people do have problems and they carry problems and can cause problems. But we must never define people by the problems they carry. When we do that, we lose any opportunity to actually help and empower the people we lead to overcome those problems and become positive and constructive team members.

To really debunk this myth we need to reframe how we think about people. Here are four ways we can re-prorgamme our thinking to help us Grab a Towel and genuinely value people.

1. People are your priority. In Grab a Towel I write that we must Put People First! People must come before programmes, projects and profit. If we only see people as a means to an end, then we devalue them because we will judge them based upon their output and contribution to our agenda. This means that when problems do emerge, we are quick to write people off because they are no longer adding value towards our goals. If this is how we view people, then we need to have our minds and hearts transformed. People are our priority. If we accomplish great feats in life but hurt people, ruin relationships and blaze a trail of pain and fear, then I’m afraid that we have accomplished nothing of lasting value.

2. People have potential. At The Message we believe that every person has potential. We view our mission as uncovering dormant potential where others don’t see it… in prisons, gangs and tough communities. The reason we believe that every person has potential is because Jesus was not selective in who he chose to die for. His death was once and for all (Romans 6:10). The message of the bible is eternally inclusive! If Jesus thought every person worth dying for, then I need to get on the same page as Him and have faith that even people who may cause me the most problems, still have the potential for greatness.

3. People are your pride. I love how Paul talks about people. Whether the church in Thessalonica (see 1 Thess. 1:2-3) or individuals like Timothy whom he was mentoring (see 2 Timothy 1:3-5), Paul exuded great pride in his friends and team-mates. The secret to taking healthy pride in your people is to start looking for what they are doing well and praise them for it. An atmosphere of encouragement builds trust and enables people to fulfil their potential. Additionally, boast about your people to others… let people know that you take pride in your team. [On that note… I’m so blessed to lead the greatest team – so I’ll let the rest of you fight it out for second place!]

4. People are not perfect. At the risk of a seeming contradiction, this is critical to overcoming the myth of seeing people as problems. Sometimes the myth rears it’s ugly face because our expectations are simply too high… we’re asking people to be perfect. This causes all kinds of undue stress and strain. If we recognise that people aren’t perfect then it allows people the freedom to mess up, fail, and cause us the occasional problem. The environment we need to foster should allow people to make mistakes in the knowledge that second-chances are always available – because we recognise that we ourselves are not perfect. This contributes to a redemptive environment that fosters unity and hope.

Let’s not buy into the myth of writing people off as problems. In the diversity of our teams, there is so much we can learn. In the words of Eugene H. Petersen

People are not problems to be solved. They are mysteries to be explored.

As we put people first we will find that exploring these mysteries will lead us to become richer people able to better grab a towel and serve others.