Lighten Up!
“It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously — take God seriously.” Micah 6:8 (MSG)
I remember in high school my friend asked me for advice because she was the leader of the dance squad but no one listened to her and they would laugh at her any time she tried to tell them to do something. I told her the reason why they were doing this was because she was too serious and needed to lighten up! As soon as she changed her approach, the team gained a new level of respect for her. Many leaders take themselves way too seriously. You don’t have to be so serious all the time. You don’t have to be so uptight! You need to lighten up! There’s power in light-hearted leadership. You don’t have to be a dictator to get things done. In a lot of companies there’s what I call modern-day workplace oppression. Those in positions of leadership treat their employees like CHILDREN (they’re constantly restricted) or like ROBOTS (they have to be a non-stop working machine) instead of treating them like humans. Too many managers are trying to control their team members. Any time you see someone trying to control others it’s because they feel like they have no control in their own lives. You may not be able to control your circumstances but you can control your attitude! Have self control!
There’s nothing worse than being led by an unhappy manager. Miserable people hate to see people happy! Misery loves company. They will rain on your parade and expect you to have a pity party like them! But don’t let anyone dictate your mood! Don’t give anyone that kind of power over you! An unhappy manager brings their outside of work problems/pain and dumps it onto their employees. That manager may look good on the outside but they have a lot of internal conflict. They’re an outward success but an inward failure. You can have position, power and pay yet still not be happy. Why? Because true lasting joy, success and peace comes from having a relationship with Jesus not from obtaining more things.
Leaders; you need to SMILE and LAUGH! Don’t let your job kill you! Create a fun work environment! You can have a good time and still get things done. I believe that work should be ENJOYED not endured. Employees shouldn’t spend eight hours a day being bored and controlled. Stop being a joy zapper and a fun police. Let your team have a personality! Knock the chip off your shoulder. Cast your cares on the Lord and treat people with the level of respect you’d expect. If you don’t build a relationship with the people you lead, it’s always going to be AWKWARD! They will avoid and distance themselves from you because you always kill the mood! Loosen up! Turn your frown upside down and let go of all that stress! Things will work out like they always do! You just need to trust God and make the choice to LIGHTEN UP!
