THE TENSION BETWEEN BEING AVAILABLE AND BEING ACCESSIBLE AS A LEADER

by | Oct 16, 2018 | Leadership

Whom do I say yes and no to who would like to have some time from me? I don’t want to be available to everyone who wants me at any time, nor do I want to be unavailable to everyone all of the time. Somewhere there is reasonable and healthy middle ground. Ron Edmondson shares some helpful ideas on the tension for a leader between being available and being accessible.

Originally posted by Ron Edmondson

The Tension Between Being Available and Being Accessible as a Leader

The larger the church gets, or the more leadership responsibility God calls me to, the greater the tension I feel between being available and being accessible.

Leader, have you ever felt this tension?

And, I’ve learned to be effective, to protect my family and to avoid burnout I can’t always do both.

Truth be, there are too many demands on my time to always be available. Sometimes there are more requests for my time than hours in the day. Sunday is always coming. I receive dozens – some days hundreds – of emails, texts and phone calls, every single day.

I CAN’T ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE.

I must make the most effective use of my limited time.

I may not be the best person to meet with everyone.

I must spend time investing in the staff with whom I work.

I need to reserve ample time for Bible study, prayer, and sermon preparation.

I may sometimes need to refer people to someone who is more available at the time.

Some weeks, just being honest, sadly, I end up saying “No” more than I get to say “Yes”.

If time were limitless – I’d rather always be available. As with most leaders, it’s easier for me to say yes than it is to say no. I’m always more popular when I do.

But, popular isn’t a good goal. It’s seldom an effective goal.

I can’t always be available, but this shouldn’t mean I’m unreachable.

I TRY TO ALWAYS BE ACCESSIBLE.

I genuinely want people to be served and to serve people.

I can easily be found online. (I don’t hide my contact information.)

I respond to all emails and return phone calls in a reasonable time – hopefully by the end of each day.

I hold responsiveness as a huge personal value and lead our team to do likewise.

I always try to help people get the help or answer they need.

I realize even this doesn’t make everyone happy. Some want me always available – to them. But, the goal of leadership is not to make everyone happy – it’s to lead people to a better reality than today. To do this, I must make effective use of my time.

I share this because there are so many pastors facing real burnout. They are struggling with effectiveness. Their family life is suffering. All because they tried to always be available, when all they needed to be was accessible.

(By the way, the church leaders in Acts 6 understood this tension. Read it again to see how they responded.)

Pastor – leader – the tension is real. But, realize you can be accessible even if you’re not always available.