Stay, Observe, Listen

This blog is a reminder I received just this morning.

I was trying to get out of a specific meeting. As someone with a lot going on, like many of you, I always evaluate how my time went and where it’s about to go. Before committing to anything, I wanna be sure this is the best use of my time and best place to add value. This meeting didn’t seem that way so I tried to get out.

Thank God for honest and insightful team members who tell you when you’re making a mistake. One of my team members spoke up and insisted I be there. I pushed back: I didn’t know what to contribute so they’d be better without me. And she countered, “But you already don’t know what’s going on. Even being there would make a difference.”

Then it hit me. I was putting too much emphasis on what I was going to say and do. I failed to realize that I could add value by listening. The point of being at that meeting wasn’t to have the game-changing idea. It was to hear those ideas from our leaders. It was to see where they were at.

I remembered our meeting yesterday for our top campus ministry leaders. Our speakers included Pastor Steve Murrell (president of Every Nation) and Pastor Kevin York (executive director of Every Nation). Also in the room were Pastor Gilbert Foliente (executive director of Every Nation Philippines) and Pastor CJ Nunag (senior pastor of Victory U-Belt). All of them are very busy.

What surprised me was even before and after their talks, they stayed and participated in the whole event. They didn’t know most of the people in the room, but that didn’t matter. They wanted to stay, to observe, and to listen.

Leadership isn’t always talking. Leadership isn’t always executing. Leadership is also staying, observing, and listening. Doing this tells people you value them. They’re important to you and that’s why you’re making time.

This meeting is important to me. The people in that meeting are amazing leaders who carry a significant weight in our ministry. Now I’m excited to meet them.