Rules, policies, and many procedures are often just a scapegoat for real leadership. They are often an attempt to “fix” something we’d rather avoid. It’s easier to create a blanket policy for your entire team then have a difficult conversation with an individual team member.

But the truth is, there’s nothing more ridiculous than when an organization or boss puts policies in place because one individual underperforms or “breaks the rules”. It reminds me of being in elementary school when the teacher punishes the entire class because of one student’s misbehavior.

We’ve all been on teams where one person makes a mistake or does something they’re not supposed to do and the leaders of the church or organization enact a policy for the entire team. In essence, they are punishing everyone because of one person…and those types of policies are killing your team.

Management creates policies. Leaders address the individual by having a personal conversation with them about their performance or behavior.

Stop trying to hide behind your policies and procedures to solve issues in your organization or church. Management via policies will kill your team!