I hear leaders say all the time that, “When we hire this ____________ (new staff position), things will get better immediately.” However, did you know this? Every new person we hire is a sinner? Just like us! They have their own challenges… just like us! They have their own scars. Just like us! They have their own personalities, quirks, strengths and weaknesses… just like us! So just because we add a new staff person doesn’t mean our problems are solved! One person can’t or won’t fix everything. One more hire can’t turn an unhealthy culture into a healthy one. It’s far more likely that if a culture has been unhealthy, it can and will drain the life of a great new team member. We need not look to hire a superhero and hope they fix our culture problems. It doesn’t work that way. Instead, let’s build the culture we want to build and plug a new team member into that culture. This means we do the heavy lifting up front. Before we add people to the team, we need to take an honest look at our culture. Do we have a culture where teamwork is valued and people can thrive? Do we have a culture of trust or a culture of suspicion? Do have a culture that fosters complete honesty and courtesy and teamwork? Do we have a culture that makes honest communication normal or does your culture inhibit conversations? Do we have a culture that fosters personal and organizational growth? Taking responsibility in advance of a new leader to set or reset culture, gives new team members their best opportunity to succeed. So what key issues need to be addressed in your culture before you hire the next staff person? Start addressing them now. You, and the person you hire, and the organization you lead, will be grateful.
Shawn Lovejoy
Shawn is the Founder & CEO of CourageToLead.com. CourageToLead coaches pastors and executives
around the world through what keeps them up at night. Shawn has been a real estate developer, church
planter, and a megachurch pastor. He now devotes himself to coaching leaders regarding their culture, teams,
and systems, and training other coaches to coach leaders all across North America and worldwide. Shawn’s
newest book, Be Mean About the Vision: Preserving and Protecting What Matters, released with Thomas
Nelson Publishers in 2016. Shawn has been married for 24 years to his best friend Tricia Lovejoy, and has
three children: Hannah, Madison, & Paul. They all live in Trussville, AL a suburb of Birmingham.
