Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

A Culture of Affirmation

One thing that I try to purposefully create with our church staff is a culture of affirmation. In past ministries, I have worked with staff members who were very affirming and others who were not affirming at all.  One thing I learned through those experiences is that when I was placed in a staff leadership position, I was going to affirm the fire out of them.

I don't do it perfectly. Not by a long shot. But I consciously and intentionally try to affirm every one of our staff members every single week.

This is actually not natural for me. It is very much a learned behavior, and it's one that I haven't mastered yet. But I'm getting better.  What used to feel forced and mechanical now flows easily. What used to be awkward for me is becoming second nature. As with anything else, practice really does make perfect.

The affirming culture that is being built is paying dividends.  It didn't happen overnight. It took a while. But I'm seeing the fruit of it in the way our staff relates to each other, the quality of our work, the passion for ministry, etc.

It's a simple leadership principle that can revolutionize a team. If you're in leadership of any kind (church, work, family, etc.), affirm your team today. And do it again tomorrow. And the tomorrow after that.

If you keep at this kind of affirmation, you will see affirmative results.