Many leaders/managers that we see are much focused on tasks and events and processes, they

focus on planning and estimation and all of these things are important as leader but what goes
wrong is when we focus on these tasks all the time, a large part of a task/work/project etc. is
actually not dependent on task management, it has to do with the people on the projects or the
people performing the tasks. So we have or team members of course, the team the people are the
biggest asset to the task as well as the organization.

I have recognized the value of the people more than I ever had.

You are either task oriented or you are people oriented

If you find yourself being more task oriented you’ve got to remember that the ministry is the first
and foremost about people, people work trumps (outshine, outclass, surpass outdo) paper work,
perhaps we don’t do much paper work anymore, it’s all computer work phone work and digital
work but people work trumps that stuff.

Like I know a person who initially used to be so busy and task oriented and he would run around
the office doing this that and the other and sometimes people would stop him and ask him if he
was okay, the point is that he wasn’t mad or upset rather he was just so serious. (Just like leader
we saw here who ran by 50 people along the way, but his mind was so cluttered that he did not
even looked at them in the eye and say hello)

With your team members you need to cooperate with them at a level which is not just related to
the task that they’re doing in order to complete the work, you need to actually spend time with
them a little bit away from the task to really understand what makes each individual tick or at
least the most important team members on the task or your team leaders depending on the size of
the project. Find out what they are all about, find out what they enjoy doing, find out what their
strengths are because when you know those things you’re much more likely to motivate them
and actually inspire them to contribute to the project and that is where leadership begins.

And likewise with the stakeholders and clients, they can make or break the project, they are the
ones who pay the bills, they are the ones who decide what you were actually developing on your
project.

When you develop a successful relationship with them, you are much more likely to develop
what your stake holders need rather than what they want and you are more likely to avoid an
interpersonal conflict on your project so spend time with your key stakeholders away from the
normal project meetings, really understanding what they are all about, how they want you to
communicate with them, what they are worried about, what they see the success factors being of
the project.
At the end of the day ministry is about people, it is about people and loving people and just
slowing down and looking those precious people in the eye, learning their names, telling them
how much we love them and appreciate them, sending text messages, dropping them a card in
their mail. These are the things that people remember.

What in my opinion should drive a leader everyday should be generosity, just generosity and
love because that’s what people desire.

If you are more task oriented or even if you are more introverted and it’s harder for you to talk to
people like many leaders/managers hide behind the desk, they send you know emails as
supposed to picking up the phones or seeing people then it would be a lot more difficult to
manage different tasks and that is what we should try to get away from or the last resort left
would be praying to the god to help you in this area.

We have our stakeholders and when we build relationships of trust which are required to lead a
successful task, we cannot simply wear the “Task Management Hat” and tell people what to do.

However this does not mean that you should throw away your good task management but instead
you need to mix it in with good proportion of leadership skills and people management skills in
order to succeed.