5 Ways Preparation Grows Your Influence With Your Team

by Tim Swanson

In my first year as the Music Director at Moon Valley Bible Church, I learned a lot. I also had a lot of fun. It was my first chance to try a lot of leadership stuff that I always wanted to do, but never had the chance. The thing I was the most excited to try was a Music Ministry retreat. So I called up Bill Epley, a mentor of mine. Him and his wife happen to own the oldest estate in Paradise Valley, and the both of them are absolutely stellar chefs. When I called him, Bill invited me over to eat breakfast and chat about the retreat.

During his time as my mentor, Bill had learned a lot about my leadership style. In many ways he probably understood me better than I understood myself. He knew about my strong predisposition to pursue a vision without much forethought. You've heard the common phrase, 'shoot first and ask questions later'. That was the best phrase to describe the way I naturally lead. What always caught me off guard was when I got stalled during the 'shooting' part because I never stopped to ask, "is this gun loaded?"

I was so excited as we ate. I blathered on and on about my vision for the retreat and what I wanted my team members to get out of it. If you're a visionary then you know the feeling of raw empowerment that comes from talking about your vision. Bill graciously sat and listened to me, probably for longer than he should have. Then he jumped in with a question, "Tell me Tim, where are you in your preparation for the retreat?" My enthusiasm trailed off. Of course I was not where I wanted to be, but he already knew that. Unprepared was my way of life. He then said something that I’ll never forget, “Your level of preparation will determine how your team views you, and it’ll influence how far they’re willing to follow you.”

The week before the retreat, I put in twice as many hours as I was paid for. It was the first time I ever went into something with the confidence that preparedness provides. Since then, preparation has become my sidekick. I’ve discovered that being unprepared was one of the biggest things that cut my legs out from under me when it came to leading my team. So if you are not a habitual preparer, I want to offer you 5 things that regular preparation will give you as a leader:

5. While unexpected things will always happen, your higher level of preparation will increase your ability to achieve your goals. If your goal is to get your team to work together, then a well planned team building event will go a long way in accomplishing that.

4. The more time you commit to preparation, the more you’ll work out the little kinks in your program. Your presentation, workshop, meeting, retreat, etc. will be a clean and clear occasion that you can be proud of.

3. When you are prepared, you will go into meetings, conferences, team exercises, or any other leadership with an extra measure of confidence.

2. Being prepared and confident gives you credibility with your team. It’ll increase their belief that you know what you’re doing.

1. Your team’s time is valuable. When you are well prepared you send a clear message to your team that you know that their time is important. On the flip side of the coin, if you get up in front of everybody and begin stuttering that’s filled with ‘um’s and ‘uh’s, you are showing your team that their time is worth very little to you.

Because my mentor’s words have helped me so much, I’ll leave you with them: Your level of preparation will determine how your team views you and how far they are willing to follow you.