Years ago, I presented at the NCEA conference on the matter of the Principal/ Pastor relationship. It was a topic about which I was passionate at the time, having been the principal of a school owned by 5 different Catholic churches. The priests formed the corporate board which overlooked the managing board which was formed with lay persons. Every year, both boards held elections, and what with the diocesan practice of rotating priests every so often, the executive committees were ever changing.
The year I was a new Principal, the chairs of both Boards were very experienced. It was such a blessing to have the support of seasoned professionals. After a few years, when there was a change, I became one of the ‘seasoned” ones tasked with helping a new chair find his/her way. It was an eye-opener, having to shift from trainee to trainer!
What helped was having clear definitions as to each person’s role. It was important for the success of the community that we all respected the boundaries of each other’s role. John Maxwell speaks to the importance of respecting one another’s boundaries in his podcast: Increasing Engagement, Establishing Boundaries. “I love this topic and I think as we’re really leaders overlook the positive effect on employee engagement, of being able to establish boundaries.
I think boundaries are something that’s extremely important to a leader, especially for yourself, but also your team. I think it’s one of the things that if you don’t set properly, decrease the engagement level of your team.
Today’s Goal: Lord, teach me to treasure my boundaries.
