Middle managers have the hardest job. They are pulled in all directions – from the top, from below, from their peers and from within themselves. If you really think about it, we are all middle managers; we have someone or a group to report to. Who do the middle managers actually serve? If they keep the “company line” from the top, those who report to them will suffer. As employees, we are like plants: what isn’t cared for will dry up and die. We usually spend time taking care of those above us since they are usually the one’s who determine whether we keep working or not. When we focus solely on being a good follower, we neglect those around us: our peers who help us, those who count on us to lead and most importantly, we tend to neglect ourselves. Too many people in “leadership” positions exploit the phrase “a man’s life is not his own.” The truth is: they’re right! But our daily work life is the wrong focus of that phrase.

Jeremiah 10:23 “I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own, it is not for a man to direct his steps.”

The truth however, is that as middle managers we need to remember that we do not serve at the will of our bosses but at the will of God. “It is not for man to direct his steps” is the verse that God uses to remind us that He is ordering the events of our lives and not us. When we start thinking that we are in control, is when we start to get lost. Our lives are not our own because we are here to serve each other and give all of the glory to God for His work in and through us. This puts us right in the middle, right where God wants us to be. Focus on serving the Lord and do His will by letting Him direct your steps. Lead others by providing a good example of how to care for each other. As a “middle man” you can care for everyone around you; it’s a test of your faith. Remember, even if they didn’t help you get to where you are, they are helping you stay where you are; all because God is directing the steps.

Some people call it micro-managing, some call it accountability while others will call it babysitting; but looking after our flock is an essential function of leadership. The real issue is how you do it; as a herder you can walk behind them as they walk along the path and keep the strays in line or you can walk in front leading the way knowing that you’ll still have them when you turn around as a Shepherd does. How do you lead? The Shepherd concept of leadership is also important to how your people respond to you. Sheep herders use dogs to chase around the edges to keep the herd moving forward; if you find yourself chasing around the edges after your people, check your leadership style. You should be looking after your people but you shouldn’t have to chase them down. Maintaining accountability of assignments without chasing them down can be a real challenge. Using a good coaching model combined with a strong vision will help you lead from the front. The concept of rescuing them means that you will put yourself at some risk to help them. The best strategy for performing a “rescue” is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Spend time in the beginning to give them the training and tools needed to execute their jobs.

Ezekiel 34:12 “As a Shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all places where they were scattered…”

We are God’s sheep and it is great to have a Shepherd that cares about us as much as He does. He gave up His son for our salvation and ever lasting life. God is always with us, looking after us and will come to our rescue; even when we’ve put distance between us. We need to do our best and prevent the need for a rescue. We should be spending time with God, praying, reading the word and spreading the good news. On Easter, we were given the grace of God in the resurrection of Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. While you are focusing on being a good Shepherd in your vocation, focus also on being a good sheep (follower). Rejoice that your Father cares so deeply that He will risk a lot to rescue you from all of the places that you can scatter to.

Sometimes we are not lucky enough to work for supervisors who might care about their people like we do. There are times when we’ll need to create a little window of opportunity; to tell our boss what we want to accomplish, how they can help or what we think need to be successful. The higher up the “ladder” a supervisor goes, the less they pay attention to the things that their people need and we need to remind them that we’re here. Author John Maxwell describes 360º Leadership in his book with the same title; we can use this as a tool to help us achieve goals that we have set for ourselves. Being forward with our own supervisor is perhaps not something that feels natural but when we are dealing with our own future and our needs, sometimes we need to push a little. As leaders we often forget to take care of our own needs, just as the cobbler’s kids have no shoes. God has put you in this place and in this time for a reason, ask questions and seek opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Luke 11:9 – “So I say to you: ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Luke teaches us to ask the lord for what we need. We need to learn to put our trust in God so that He can deliver us what we need. The real truth of the matter is that what God delivers is not always what we want or plan for but what we need. Another thing that frustrates us is that God will not do it on our timeline but on His. Today, with the microwave we cook faster, with the DVR we get television on our schedule and the Internet gives us information in an instant. Luke reminds us to ask, seek and knock on the doors that God can open for you. God has promised not to leave you. He gave us His only Son in order to keep us close. Pray and have patience, He will open the door for you.

Matthew 6:34 – “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself…”

This is easy for Matthew to say, he didn’t have a shareholders meeting at the end of the month or wasn’t behind in meeting his goals for the quarter. Matthew didn’t have to manage his calendar, keep his inbox clear and answer his cell phone when it rang. All of these things that are designed to make us more productive, can at times, slow us down. We are too busy worrying about today that we seldom worry about tomorrow. Time management techniques are vitally important for today’s leader to be successful. A recent study has shown that it takes the average worker 25 minutes to recover from an interruption caused by e-mail. Think of the number of e-mails that you get during the work day that you stopped working to address immediately, how much time does that add up to? If you save just 10 minutes every hour of your day, you will add 80 minutes of productivity back to your work day; that kind of productivity gets noticed. Invest time in learning good techniques to manage your time like preparing for the next workday and limiting interruptions; you’ll be surprised how good you’ll feel about your work.

Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord…” God is at work in your life. He is executing a plan right now! We have all been bombarded with so much self help information and pressure to take care of “Number 1” that we don’t let God in to do His work in our lives. We have to remember that it’s God’s plan and His timeline. We shouldn’t be so worried about tomorrow that we forget what is important. What are you focusing your life and energies on? Living a Godly life is what our Father wants from us, the rest will come in time. So, don’t worry about tomorrow; let God do that, he can handle it. Give praise to God for each day and be patient – His plan for you will be revealed on His timeline. In the mean time, take care of today because tomorrow is taking care of it’s self.

Providing direction to our team members is one of the most difficult aspects of being a leader. We’d like to believe that people would see a need, understand what has to be done to meet that need and then execute it without us ever having to say anything to them about it. Now that would be utopia! We have to provide clear direction to our team so that they can function within set boundaries and provide them enough freedom to make decisions within those boundaries without the need to “checking in” with us. Weekly team meetings can help bring everyone together and are a great place to review the boundaries. Each team member should share what they are working on and what they need help with so that other team members can assist them if necessary. Knowing that your team members need help can also provide you with insight as you look to distribute new workloads while you find ways to help those that are struggling. If you have several team members struggling, the problem may be in the way you distribute work or in how you give direction. Take a few minutes to find out the answers before you start pushing your team harder, the trouble spot could be you.

Psalm 19:8 – “The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”

The direction and commands we have received from the Lord our God are pretty clear, yet we try to interpret them to meet our own needs. Many people argue that the Bible can be vague and has room for interpretation. This, of course, is the work of the devil in our minds. We were conceived in sin and carry that burden with us from birth. We are assured that salvation is found in the Life of Christ through the grace of God our Father. There is an old expression that we are born twice but only die once. We are physically born on earth and then again born into the life of Christ through baptism but we will only die once from life on earth to enjoy eternal life with Christ and God our Father. The bible has provided us with these truths, over and over in radiant words and images – giving light to our eyes. We are able to see eternal life through that light. Following the commands may be difficult and we will fail at keeping them – original sin is to blame for that. Despite those failings, God has given us His grace and we can be assured of eternal life through Christ – that is crystal clear!

Leadership is easy when times are good but can you continue to lead with the same passion when times get tough? It is easy to forget where the good comes from when we are successful. When times are difficult, we all have a habit of ducking down and hoping that we’re not next; it’s every man for him self. Don’t lose your bearings when things get harder, continue to seek the Lord. Maintain your attitude and Christ-like perspective, people will appreciate and respect you for it. Rely on God to keep you grounded; He’s the one in control, not you. You will be tested when things get tough, how you treat others, your level of honesty and caring and if you stay committed to serving others, you will lack no good thing. Don’t change your character because the times change. True leadership is shown in the most stressful times. When things start to look bad, you’ll have to step up your communication with the people you lead. They will be unsure and afraid, it’s your job to keep them focused and informed of what is happening. Do not hide the facts or conditions; people will surprise you with their willingness to work toward a common goal when they are part of finding the solutions.

Psalm 34:10 – “Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing”

Do you seek the Lord in times of trouble? Keep the Lord as your focus and continue to seek to understand His word as you develop your relationship with God. This will help you continue to seek the Lord. Seek Him in everything you do. Start your work day with a simple prayer “Lord, please guide my decisions and actions today so that I may bring glory to you and to care for those in which I am entrusted”. Keeping God as the priority in your life will bring good things to you. The old expression “when one door closes another will open” describes this Psalm perfectly. Just as you see things being bad, God will show you the good in the situation. If you are seeking the Lord in the good and the bad times, you will start to see the good things all around you. The thing to remember, and the hardest part, is that change in your life will be on His timeline and not yours. Remain patient and focused on the Lord, he will reveal His plans – have faith no matter how bad things seem to appear.