If it wasn’t for people . . . There wouldn’t be unplanned creativity.
One of the nicest problems you the “leader” can have is people who come up with new bright ideas. Or is this really the case; aren’t bright ideas a pile of work waiting for someone to come along and do? Let’s take a look.
OK, you have a great organizational strategy and plan to go forward and someone comes along with an idea that sort of heads in the right direction, but maybe really doesn’t; an idea that might go in the right direction but you’re not sure if it is worth the risk? An idea that might require resources you couldn’t afford or maybe it is an idea that even conflicts with the goals and priorities set out for your organization or just won’t fit into the culture of your organization? These situations can be problems, but they can also be opportunities.
Sometimes these ideas just will not work based upon experience and resource constraints, not to mention that they may not align with your mission or core competencies. In those situations, you the “leader” must say “no,” but in a way, that does not discourage future enthusiasm and creativity. But then sometimes these “bright” ideas can be diamonds in the rough.
We had situations such as these happen several times when I was Executive Director of Officers’ Christian Fellowship. The ones I remember best were associated with the Growing and Building Campaign to raise funds to rebuild both OCF conference centers. The two OCF conference centers, Spring Canyon and White Sulphur Springs had very generous and faithful supporters; people who identified with a particular conference center and whom I greatly appreciated and admired. But during our fund-raising campaign, both these groups of supporters were in the process of taking on other projects, that while very important, seemed to distract from the main purpose of the campaign; to raise funds to replace major structures at these conference centers.
I really wasn’t sure what to do; encourage these efforts or try to put them in abeyance until the primary fund-raising effort was complete. After a season of prayer, I felt led to allow the efforts outside our primary fund-raising campaign to proceed. Yes, there were times when significant amounts of money came in to support projects that were not directly in line with the primary campaign effort. I kept thinking, those funds sure could help complete the campaign more quickly. But in the end, those special projects turned out to be incredible blessings. They resulted in new staff houses that were sorely needed and other renovations. And yes, the primary fund-raising campaign was completely blessed with success. Today, both Spring Canyon and White Sulphur Springs have been completely rebuilt and more so with the addition of those things that I originally did not see as contributing directly to the campaign.
The lesson here, particularly in volunteer organizations, is that the encouragement of enthusiasm is a better course many times rather than putting the brakes on something that you the “leader” feel doesn’t align perfectly with an organization’s original plan. Don’t misunderstand, I believe adherence to established priorities is important, but sometimes we need to make allowances for the fact that leaders are not the only ones with great ideas. There are situations where others can creatively add to the success of your organization even if at the time, they seem a little tangential to original plans.
The other lesson is that volunteers deserve special treatment. They don’t support an organization for financial gain, power, or personal recognition (although they greatly appreciated a thank you occasionally). Volunteers are part of an organization because they have deeply held beliefs in the tenants upon which that organization is founded. In the case of OCF that is: “to engage military leaders in Biblical fellowship and growth to equip them for Christ-like service at the intersection of faith, family, and profession,” (ii) where the two OCF conference centers have a significant role. Consequently, the ideas of volunteers need to be deeply respected and considered, particularly when those ideas contribute to the greater purpose of the organization and come with the financial backing and willingness to labor those notions through to completion.
Two verses from scripture convince me in this discourse: “. . . in Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to the others.” (Rm.12:5) and “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds . . . let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Heb. 10:24-25) Yes, sometimes you the “leader” must rein in an idea, but at other times, perhaps it is best to let the horse run free, and hopefully, they are all “one body,” one team.
