Best Practices For Female Leaders预览

 Invest in a Support System 

None of us can have it all, or at least not all at the same time. There are only so many hours in a day and so many things you can accomplish, no matter how well you’ve learned to lead. The good news is that you are a leader, and leaders know how to build and recruit a team. These are the top support systems that high-level female leaders invest in, regularly access, and have made the biggest difference in their life and leadership. 

Outsource as much as possible. From housekeepers, to restaurants on Christmas Eve, to asking fellow school moms to buy double the back-to-school supplies, leaders figure out what they can easily delegate. The key is knowing what your best contribution is to the people you love and outsourcing as many of the other things as possible, and letting go of the guilt that you can’t be everything to everyone. The goal is just to make sure the bases get covered by someone. 

Ask for help. People want to help you! Men certainly have no problem asking for help, so why do we? We live in a unique time. There is no way we can do everything a full-time stay-at-home housewife did forty years ago, plus lead, work, or volunteer in a significant way. It’s just not possible. When we are feeling the strain or are maxed out on what we can accomplish on our own, we need to reassess, figure out what we can let go or hand off, and then ask for help with the rest. 

Mix up your mentors. Don’t fall into a rut with mentors. Look for all sorts of people to learn from and model after, read broadly, listen to podcasts from different speakers and perspectives, and ask someone you admire if you can buy them coffee and then bring a list of thought-out questions. Too often we want a deep, personal, long-lasting, and time-intensive relationship to feel properly “mentored.” But this kind of relationship rarely happens, or at least not for very long. Give mentoring relationships room to breathe. Pursue learning, and God will bring the right people at the right time. And be ready, because they will likely come in unexpected packages. 

Network with professional women friends. Relationship and connections are hard for female leaders, but it is especially hard when we lead in church and don’t really have our church community to access, at least not at the same level of authenticity that we are used to. In addition, the dynamics of leading and being female are unique. If God has community and connection and authentic friendships available for everyone else in our churches, then He has them for us as well.