Communication is an area where every church I know has room for improvement.

This is especially true when it comes to leading your staff.

Here’s a reminder for you:

The people on your staff don’t know what you need unless you tell them what you need.

Case in point – I recently noticed a small trend on our staff and I wanted to catch it.

I received several emails or voice mails asking me for a decision to get something printed, approve a purchase or other relatively small requests that should have been able to be handled quickly and easily by email or return call.

The only problem: I wasn’t given enough info to make a decision!

So we were left going back and forth on email or by phone when the staff member(s) in question could have been taking action.

For example, I might get an email like:

Is it OK to spend the money to reprint the cards?

Instead of being able to answer their question, I was left asking more questions like these:

• How much will this cost?
• How many are we printing?
• What cards?
• Has the design been approved already?
• Did you attach the card design to remind me?

See what I mean?

So, rather than just continuing to spend precious time going through this process, I simply shared with my staff the issue and asked them to make it a point to include all the information I need to make the decision.

Here are a few of the points I shared with them:

• When you send an email be as specific as possible about the money.
• Let me know the process used in reaching this decision.
• Did you get 2 other quotes?
• Be sure to remind me what you are asking from me.
• Never assume that I ‘just know’ or remember.
• If it’s a multiple choice decision, include which one you suggest we do and why.
• I’ll try to point this out if it happens (under communication or making assumptions is the issue) in the future but for now, take the extra minute and include all the facts.

Ultimately, I told them to ask:

If I were in Nelson’s shoes and needed to make this decision, what would I need to know?

And you know what… it helped!

Here’s  the key point: Being a leader involves, well, leading! And leading means that you have to tell people (sometimes again and again) what you want them to do.

So, what is your staff doing now that limits productivity?

What can you do about it today?

P.S. I’ve identified six “secret” skills that all leaders of growing churches possess – you can develop these skills with a  resource called “Leadership Skills for a Growing Church,” available for Immediate Download by Clicking Here.

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.