Workers’ Orientation Programme – How To Work Effectively With Your Leader 3

DARE TO DREAM CHRISTIAN CENTRE, IBADAN

WORKER’S TRAINING MANUAL

THEME:
WORKER’S ORIENTATION PROGRAMME

LESSON ONE (C):
HOW TO WORK EFFECTIVELY WITH YOUR LEADER (1Cor.16v10;
Phil.2v19-22).

INTRODUCTION

You are welcome back to our discussion on how to work effectively with your Leader. So far we have examined five important principles on how to be effective in your work with your Leader. Today by his grace, we shall be looking at more ways of working better with your Leader.

B. TIPS ON WORKING EFFECTIVELY WITH YOUR LEADER
6. Know your Leader’s heartbeat, not everything resonates with your Leader but when you know what your Leader is passionate about, it will help you to work better with him/her (1Thes.5v12: Rom.10v1-2).

How can you know your Leader’s heart?
– By asking questions. When you ask them, you will get what makes their heartbeat (Matt.7v7-8).
– By observing/studying your Leader (Dan.9v2; Pro.24v32).
– By walking with them (Matt.4v19: Pro.13v20 e.g. Timothy/Paul (Phil.2v19-22)

How to gain access to your Leader’s heart?
– Understand their vision/dream for the work. Knowing the vision of your Leader is crucial to knowing their heartbeat (Acts 26v15-22).
– Understand what they are passionate about (Rom.10v1-2).
– Understand what is on their mind i.e. what are their plans/agenda for the work
(Neh.2v10, 17-20).
How well do you know your Leader’s heartbeat?

7. Know the Kind of Leader you are working with. All leaders are not the same in terms of their conduct, approach, manners, training style, exposure,etc. Therefore, it’s important for you as a worker to know exactly the Kind of Leader you are dealing with if you want to be profitable in your work with them (2Tim.3v10-11,14; Matt.16v15-17). One major thing that can help you to know your Leader is to understand their Temperament.

Temperament – The combination of mental, physical and emotional traits of a person, natural predisposition. A person’s nature especially as it permanently affects their behavior.
There are four basic Temperament(s) and examining them now will help you to know the Kind
of Leader’s you are working with:

i. Choleric. Cholerics are naturally result-oriented. They have active, positive and
forward movement in a negative environment. They are extroverted, quick-thinking, active, practical, strong-willed and easily annoyed. They are self-confident, selfsufficient and very independent minded. They are brief, direct to the point and firm communicating with others. They love pressure and are easily bored when things are not happening fast enough. They are bold and like to take risks.
Choleric are domineering, decisive, opinionated. They like control and are visionaries and never seem to run out of ideas/goals. They are slow to build relationships, tend to have only a few close friends and don’t easily empathize with the feelings of others e.g. Apostle Paul (Acts 20v22-24: 21v3-4, 10-14).

ii. Sanguine. Sanguines are naturally people-oriented. They have active, positive
movement in a favorable environment. They are extroverted, fun-loving, playful,
activity-prone, impulsive, entertaining, persuasive, easily amused and optimistic. They are enthusiastic, expressive, very affectionate, personable, receptive, open to others and build relationships quickly. They are animated, excitable, approachable, accepting and trusting of others. They will smile and talk easily and often. They are the most versatile of all the four temperaments. They get so involved in conversation’s that they easily forgets about time and are often late arriving at their destination. Sanguine dislike solitude and often exaggerate what happened or leave out important details.
They fear rejection or not making a favorable Impression. They are very competitive, easily distracted and can change easily e.g. Apostle Peter.

iii. Phlegmatic. Phlegmatics are naturally service-oriented. They are passive in both favorable and negative environments. Not highly ambitious and lack a sense of Urgency. They are introverted, calm, unemotional, easygoing, indecisive, patient and agreeable. They are slow and indirect when responding to others. They live a quiet, private, low-key life-style and routine life free of the normal anxieties of the other temperaments. They seldom exert themselves or others. They are good team players and have sincere interest in others, preferring to have just a few friends. They are very loyal to friends and find it difficult to break long-standing relationships regardless of what the other person does or doesn’t do. They strongly resist change and avoid conflict. They procrastinate easily and often are practical, concrete and traditional thinkers e.g. Abraham.

iv. Melancholy. Melancholies naturally wants to do things right and are quality-oriented. They are driven to figure out what is right. They influence their environment by adhering to the existing rules and by doing things right according to predetermined
and accepted standards.
They are detailed-oriented; operate from a plan, very private, introverted, logical, analytical and factual in communication. They need information, time alone to think, and a detailed plan in order to function effectively without Anxiety. They respond to others in a slow, cautious and indirect manner. They probe for the hidden meaning behind your words. They are timid, may appear unsure, have a serious expression, self-sacrificing, gifted, conscientious, picky, sensitive to what others think of their
work and can be a perfectionist. They have anxiety about now and the future.
Melancholies are well organized; need reassurance, feedback and reasons why they should do something. They can be moody, fear taking risks, making wrong decisions and being viewed as incompetent. They are skeptical about almost everything but are creative and capable people e.g. Moses.

Things to note about these temperaments:
a. They occur in various levels of intensity i.e. classic, moderate and mild or simply put very strong, strong and more mild.
b. They have both strengths/weaknesses.
c. They occur in various combinations or blends e.g. Melancholy-Choleric, PhlegmaticSanguine, Sanguine-Melancholy, Choleric-Phlegmatic etc. Everybody has a blend but one is the major/predominant one.
d. Your temperament never changes; you just become a transformed temperament through the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word (Gal.2v20; Acts 4v13).
e. Knowing these temperaments will help you to relate/work better with others. So knowing them will help you to work better with your Leader(s). The more you know the temperament of your Leader, the better you are able to work with him/her and getting along with each other (Jn.14v8-11).
How well do you Know your Leader?

8. Be Proactive. Be Proactive in your approach/way you work. Don’t be reactive in nature. A Proactive worker is an Asset to their Leader (Philem.v21; 2Thes.3v4; Phil.2v12) e.g. Paul (Acts9v19-22, 26-29).

A Proactive Worker/Volunteer:
– Takes Initiative for the Work. They Know how to make things happen
– Do more than is Expected. They work beyond the norm (Philem.21; Philip.2v25-30).
– They ask how they can be of help/assistance (2Cor.7v16).
– They take corresponding Action(s). They are action-oriented (Jam.2v26: Acts11v25).
Are you an Action-Oriented Worker?

9. Be an Excellent Team Player e.g. Timothy (Phil.2v19-22), Titus (2Cor.12v18),
Phoebe/Aquila/Priscilla (Rom.16v1-4). A Team Player is someone who puts aside his personal goals and work well with others, doing what they need to do to strive for a common goal. You make your work easy with your Leader when you become this kind of Worker!
An Excellent Team Player has the following Qualities:
– They are reliable and responsible
– They respect/support their team members
– They adapt quickly/easily
– They understand the goals of the Team
– They help/encourage their team members
– They are committed to the team
– They are always ready to help
– They recognize when they are wrong
– They do more than asked
– They solve problem(s) for the Team
Are you an Excellent Team Player?

10. Support/Encourage your Leader. Leadership is not easy neither are Leaders perfect. A Wise Worker will support/strengthen their Leader(s) by every possible means (1Thes.5v12-13; Heb.13v18; 2Cor.7v5-6; 2Tim.1v15-18).
In what ways can I support/encourage my Leaders?
– Be there for them. Stand in with them (Phil.2v20-22; 2Tim.4v9-11; Jn.6v66-69).
– Pray for them regularly (1Thess.5v25; 2Thess.3v1; Col.4v3).
– Believe in their Mission/Vision (Neh.2v11-20).
– Support the vision financially (Lk.8v2-3).
– Promote the vision Aggressively (Matt.11v12; Jos.1v16-18).
Are you a supporter/encourager of your Leader(s)