CHAPTER 1
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VALUE

Those qualities regarded by a person or group as important and desirable of standards and principles

What is value driven leadership? Have you ever considered having a value driven leadership team? Or even a team driven by values and not a team having to be driven by the leader? That thought alone made me consider looking into the way I ran my teams and how I could do things better; this is the driving force behind writing this book. When you think about it, in everything we do as individuals or a team we should always be 'values driven' not impulse or need driven! If we are driven by values then we will always have a "why" in everything we do, and then we will do what we do with everything that is in us, come hell or high water (test, trials, pressure, set back or circumstances). We are born to be overcomer's so why not overcome and not sarcome to the way it always has been? I think the first thing you need to do is to consider what you determine to be the meaning of the word "value" for you and what you and your teams do!

As an individual, group or organization you need to establish what is important and desirable, what is your desired end results, or the value and values of the task/s you wish to undertake, this means before you even start, you need to establish the standards and principles you are going to drive your vision, yourself and all that follow you with.

Have a look at what you do. What do you want to achieve and why do you do the things you do? What is important? What is your desired outcome? What are the standards you want to achieve? What are the values behind everything you do?

I challenge you to list everything you do and then in another list next too it write down all the values for those things. If you cannot come up with a genuine value to what you do, I would ask you the question, "why do you do it?"

The listed below is what I had as a benchmark for all my policies for a value driven team player and leadership teams.

WHAT VALUE IS;

?What are the qualities regarded by a person or group as important and desirable; what is their set of standards and principles.

?To appraise: we need to determine or estimate the worth or value of what we do.

?Value is something which it is esteemed, desired, or useful, or the degree of the property possessed; its worth, merit, or importance.

?What is the force, importance, or significance of what we do?

?Value is excellence in one's field; capability.

?Value is to consider with respect to worth, excellence, usefulness, or importance.

?Value is to regard or esteem highly.

WHAT IS VALUABLE?

?Highly useful or serviceable for a particular purpose.

?Having admirable or esteemed qualities or characteristics.

?Of considerable use, service, or importance.

?Capable of having the value estimated.

When we are value driven leaders nothing will ever stop us doing what God has created and called us to do. A motto I live by is "By God's grace, I will pursue the vision with value that God has entrusted to me, no matter what, no matter who comes or goes." I will not let the opinions of others affect my own commitment to what God has called me to do with my life. Not even if the area I am leading is breaking records and achieving great success and enjoying enthusiastic support or falling behind and I end up alone, I will still pursue the vision and live by the value of following the call, God has given me. I know I am called to the vision, I am embodied in it and the vision is embodied in me.

Every team, every organization demands and deserves a "values driven vision embodier," someone whose life's values and commitments personifies the vision. Cut them and they bleed values. Your teams need and deserve leadership that is willing to personify vision with values from you, they have to see you embody the values and vision, they've got to see you live it out, every day.

A good leader lives out what they believe, not only teacher's what they believe. If any organization had this type of leader or leadership, that organization would be the better for it. I call this type of leader a servant-hearted leader, willing to serve as much as to be served.

Too many times people and organizations do things because some one thought it was a good idea, ideas will come and go, people will follow a good idea until they think it's a bad idea, if fulfilling the idea becomes to hard they will just give up on the idea and even pullout of the team. I have learnt that if you can establish what the value is you wish to achieve first, then come up with an idea to achieve that value, if the idea doesn't work it's not hard to change the idea when it is driven by a value, you can have many ideas to fulfil a value, but it is stupid to think that many ideas make or create value, no matter how many ideas you have the value can never change. When you do need to change the idea or programme it will be easier to change if you reinforce the value of why you did what ever it was you did, and focus on why the idea or programme is not achieving the desired end result of the value of what you started.

Don't forget to document the value (the important desirable standards and principles) of what you are doing so you and the people around you can read it and never forget the value of what you are all trying to achieve.

With your leadership team, sit down and work out what you want to achieve with the new venture or programme, list all the goals, then work out what the value to each goal is so you have a precise and clear objective, list your goals and values and make sure they can be achieved and easily executed. To follow is an example from one of my teams standards and principles meetings when we started one of our new programmes;

Regular Leaders meeting

GOALS VALUES WHAT STANDARDS AND PRINCIPLES WILL WE USE TO IMPLEMENT (THE IDEA)

To build a leadership team where people would feel encouraged in growing and developing. Growth and development. Once a month leaders meeting have time set aside to reinforce growth and development.

To train leaders to develop other leaders under them. Developing others to lighten the load and demands on leading a team well.Providing recourses and training to leaders at leadership meeting so they can train others. Having a training meeting for trainee leaders. To train leaders to find out the goals and ambitions of there team members and help them to achieve their goals and ambitions. Team members know that we are interested in them and their development not just fulfilling tasks. Caring for the individual. Building relationships with team members, helping them become the best that they wish to become. To have all leaders from all our departments relate and help each other. Synergy and teamwork. See ourselves as a team and not different individual departments.

To have a once a month leaders training and development meeting. Relationship, growth, input, training, development and teamwork Once a month leaders meeting To teach leaders the importance of team meeting. Together Everyone Achieves More Once a month leaders meeting Creating a leadership team of longevity. Longevity Role ownership and accountability Creating a leadership team with synergy. The beauty of working together as a whole body walking in the same direction. Looking out for each other. Having a policy to always sorting out differences and disagreements, building relationships by having social events Teach leaders to be examples not instructors. If you can't show people you have no right to tell people. Examples before instructors Only having people on the leadership team who have exemplified the heart of an excellent team player. Never selecting people due to knowledge but knowledge and practiced skill. As leaders to learn to have fun. Not to burn out and learn to enjoy leadership and remembering to spend time having fun. Organising social events and fun things to do with each other. Making these events mandatory.

CHAPTER 2
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VALUE
Appraise

'To determine or estimate the worth or value of'

The next step in developing great leaders and a great team is to appraise the goals and values of the venture or programme you wish to start or the re-evaluation of an existing programme. For the example of this step I am going to look at how I started a new venture within our organization; we had completed step one, which is to do our graft on the goals desired, and create the standards and principles for the venture, we worked out what values we wished to achieve and display. Then we went about selecting the right leadership and team to fulfil the task.

Now came the selection criteria, 'to determine or estimate the worth or value of' the leaders and teams to run this venture. To do this I looked at what the meaning of the word appraise was so I could select the right team to fulfil the venture we were going to undertake.

Appraise ? to evaluate; to estimate the quality of; to judge and to set a value on.

This was the criteria I used to select the team and leadership to accomplish the venture we were going to undertake;

I first evaluated the task and what type of leader would be best suited to accomplish the tasks, expectations and values of the venture. I have found that not all leaders are good leaders at everything, everyone has a special edge or heart felt passion. You need to determine the right person for the job by looking at their giftings, personality type and skills.

For example if the venture you are starting is very people or customer orientated you do not need a leader who is a powerful Choleric, driven by achievement and task driven. What you do need is a leader who is more a manager leader or Melancholy and works well with people.

When you have decided on the desired outcome of the venture you then select the right people to fulfil the tasks. I put all my possible candidates through a gifts and talents course I have written and then use the outcomes of that to place my people in the best place that reflects their giftings, personality type and skills.

Trevor's own ministry, Faith Works Itinerant Ministries, is available for seminars, training programmes and teaching on a variety of topics; some that he specialises in is the Ministry of Helps seminars and team and leadership development.

For further information regarding any of the above courses or for Trevor's own ministry, please feel free to contact him direct at:

FAITH WORKS
PO BOX 2702 NERANG
QUEEENSLAND 4211
0412 380 444
E-mail: lifestylets@optusnet.com.au
http://www.lifestyletrainingschool.org
http://www.sysm.biz

He has CD's available and has written the following books and training manuals:

Ministry of Helps
Leadership & group facilitation
Where have we Robbed God?
Basic for Believers

The Word of God, The Character of God, Supernatural Prayer, Evangelism, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Faith, Exposition of Ephesians (focusing on the new creation reality) Ministry Gifts & Talents, Heroes of the faith, The book of Mark, Abundance, Worship, Apologetics, Marriage and family, Thou shall Prosper,