Friday's Answer: Are You Bossy?

I suppose my biggest question is: "How to make sure you don't sound too bossy?"

We love volunteer leaders--especially humble ones like this lady who desire to lead and do a good job, and yet not be overbearing or bossy to the ones she is serving. This important balance begins with the heart and then results with the tone and words of the tongue.

"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:45

Looking at this time-tested truth gives us a mirror by which to see our own heart. It also encourages within us the desire for a pure heart filled with good treasure from which will flow out the right words and tone for proper leadership. Here are 3 good treasures to safeguard in our hearts to avoid sounding bossy:

1. Grace ~ Graciousness is such a lovely word and lovely characteristic that we would love to embody it and exemplify it to our society. Graciousness always thinks the best of others, sees their best, overlooks their faults (because we all have them), and makes others feel comfortable and accepted without lowering one's own standards.



2. Gentleness ~ This fruit of the Spirit produces a kind and gentle heart that will always deal with every person and situation with the right tone of voice. Your members will see your gentle, caring spirit and know that your firm decisions are made with thoughtfulness, considering their perspective and keeping the group's best interests in mind.



3. Humility ~ Keeping yourself humble before God and man will give you the ability to lead without being bossy. If you never see yourself as better than those you serve, you can stand with the confidence of not overlording. This is a treasure of the heart that comes from spending time with God, realizing your own sinfulness because of the purity of His presence, repenting, and asking for a pure heart.

Our time here on earth will not be perfect and neither will our tone or motives always be right. But we can continue to store up wonderfully good treasure in our hearts so that our good works will be seen before men and glorify God. Through it all, we can rest and not worry.

Our tone of voice can be worked on, but it is ultimately only our heart that will keep us leading our group's families with grace and kindness. We all have different styles, different personalities, and different voices, but people will sense your humble, gentle and gracious heart from the treasures you are storing within.

Rejoicing in His perfecting power,
Denise & Kristen

http://www.homeschoolgroupleader.com/

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Not Everyone Likes Our Style...

We here at Homeschool Group Leader enjoy what we do and are constantly learning new things. We look upon our simple beginnings with gratefulness and look forward to an exciting future supporting you. We really want to fill a need in the leadership community and pass on hindsight wisdom that we've gained from our experiences and interviews to you.

Recently we received a comment as one person unsubscribed during the first sections of the FREE Mini-Course. We thought it might be helpful to you to see what our response was. The thoughts expressed were, "Too much praising God and not enough practical information."

We carefully considered their feedback and answered, "Thank you for your comment and input. We will take this into consideration and possibly revise to add more practical info in the future. The other points do add more information; however, this first one established whom to please to give clarity in actions as a leader. It is so easy to get tripped up trying to please people--and we can never please everyone. Remembering to look to Christ for our affirmation and direction gave us the stability we needed while leading. Thanks again!"

This served as a great reminder to us that as leaders we will never be able to please everyone--and that's ok. When you receive criticism for your work or efforts or faith, choose to wait before reacting--especially if you feel angry or hurt. Remember that we all have room for improvement. Prayerfully consider their opinion and ask God to show you any blindspots you may have through it. Use it as a catalyst to re-evaluate your vision and style and stand. Glean from it what you can, and let go of the rest. Then kindly, but firmly respond in humble strength and thoughtful confidence.

Your feedback is always important,

Denise & Kristen

www.HomeschoolGroupLeader.com

The Path to Encouragement

Have you heard the saying that humility is not thinking of yourself as small, but it is not thinking of yourself at all?! It is such an insightful saying and the key to successful homeschool group leadership!

Humility will enable you to encourage your members with a true genuineness. From a sincere desire to help others succeed, you can express many ways to lift them up on their home schooling journey.

There are several ways to put this desire to encourage into action as you communicate through speaking or writing that are good:

• open up about yourself--others will be able to relate in part or all of your story. It comes with risks to self, but the rewards are worth it.
• show sympathy to each--this is a response of sensing and sharing in their feelings, needs and experiences.
• compliment their talents--appreciate the work and special touch that each give to the group.
• give credit to all involved--success comes from the understanding that we did not get it done without others.
• always speak well of others--the biggest encouragement will come when they can trust that you always speak well of everyone in the group whether they are there or not.

Out of your humble leadership and genuine encouragement your group's members will feel safe, comfortable, understood, and appreciated. You will be establishing an environment for building some great friendships and supporting really great home schools.

Then when you see their wonderful smiles, their friendships, their confidence in home schooling, you can smile contentedly and give all the credit to whom it is truly due--the Lord Jesus.

Thanking my Lord,
Denise
www.homeschoolgroupleader.com

Announcing New Teleseminar!

Are you overburdened or stressed out?

This interview will greatly encourage you. Denise Grosse, a veteran leader from western Arkansas, will share her insight with us about what she has discovered it takes to lead with a stress-free attitude, greatly preventing burnout--plus, much, much more.

Denise Grosse and her husband have led their group H.E.D.G.E. (Home Educators Devoted to Godly Education) for the past 15 years. She lives in a very rural area of Arkansas and deals with homeschoolers who need a group to interact with that does not decrease their effectiveness at home.

She says that the challenge has been to keep their group an asset to all involved rather than add additional burdens to their already busy lives.

Denise and her husband also serve together on a steering committee for Arkansas' Education Alliance. This alliance works with the state legislature on issues affecting education. "It has been a tremendous blessing to be impacted by leaders all across our state and glean from their experiences," Denise said.

The Grosses are parents of six children, three of whom are still at home. She says that they began homeschooling when their eldest son was born 25 years ago, and are still in the thick of it!

You can register for this heart-changing seminar at http://www.homeschoolgroupleader.com/.

We look forward to you joining us!
Denise and Kristen
www.homeschoolgroupleader.com