The Power and Potential of Correction

Following is an email I sent to my staff. I have the greatest staff in the world! I thought you would enjoy an "inside look" at some of the things we discuss and deal with as we grow in our personal and positional leadership. Here it is:

Dear Team,

Some of you may have noticed or felt more input, comment, or correction from me lately. Being an exhorter, it can be extremely difficult for me to say what displeases me. Us exhorters like to encourage people, not correct them. And on top of that, we like to be liked, and who likes being corrected or confronted.

However, as I’ve grown personally and in my leadership, I’ve realized that failing to correct people is doing them a major disservice. And it’s actually selfish of me to not to correct or confront you. How is it selfish? By not doing it, I am placing a higher value on what is better for me (not being uncomfortable dealing with an issue, fear of rejection or not being liked, and especially having my motives for correcting you being misunderstood or taken personally) rather than what is beneficial for you.

That is wrong, and it’s weak leadership. So please bear with me. I believe it’s important to cultivate a “culture of correction.” That is how we all learn and grow personally as well as in our positions.

The ONLY way we grow is though CHANGE; the only way we change is when we are CORRECTED. We could put it this way: CORECTION produces CHANGE produces CHARACTER.

So let me encourage you with this regarding any correction or confrontation you get from me:

1. NEVER take correction personally! It is NOT a personal attack. I strive to confront behavior, an attitude, or some action or decision you made, NOT you as a person. So PLEASE make my job easier and don’t get offended, think I don’t like you anymore, or allow any other ungodly thoughts to consume your thinking process. If I correct you, it’s because I DO love you, care about you, and want you to excel and fulfill your full potential.

2. ALWAYS be open to correction. Don’t allow yourself to become defensive or to make excuses for your behavior or attitude. And realize that we ALL have “blind spots” in our lives that we may not see or negative attitudes we may not be aware of. (Case in point: a few weeks ago, I was edgy with Jose. I got impatient when he didn’t immediately get a chord progression we practiced the previous Tuesday. However, I didn’t even realize that I offended him until it was brought to my attention. So I apologize to him and made sure our relationship was ok.) I think we need way more of that in our church, but I believe it begins with US as STAFF and leaders. We need to thicken up, toughen up and be able to take it as well as dish it out. Can you imagine where we could be if we ALL could be brutally honest with each other w/o fear that “so and so” is going to get offended, or get their feelings hurt. And then there is the game of saying you’re not offended, but God and everybody knows that you are because you get all quiet and subdued. Come on team, we are better than that! Let’s grow up….together.

3. REMEMBER the motive of authentic spiritual leaders is to HELP people bring to reality all their potential in Christ! Leaders don’t corrector confront because they don’t have anything better to do with their time. If they bring up an issue, attitude, decision you made, etc. that they didn’t like, it’s because they love you, care about you, and believe in you. So allow them to speak into your life and benefit from the covering that God has so graciously provided you.