13 Ways to be a HOT Leader!

What is a HOT Leader?

H-honest, O - open, and T- transparent.  

When you as a leader become a HOT leader you will begin to cultivate  HOT environment within the ministry.  

In this type of environment, people will be able to be themselves.  Now I know what your thinking, “Do I want everyone honest, open and worse yet transparent?”  YES!! You do!!

Mutual trust is the glue that holds the team together, without it you have a team dividing into cliques protecting their turf and forming alliances.  Welcome to your own version of “Survivor!”  The team needs to know their leader says what she means and means what she says.  Trust builds strong connections, and strong connections make strong relationships and relationships is what ministry is all about. 

Trust thrives in an environment that is honest, open and transparent. You are not expected to be perfect by your team, you are expected to be authentic and own up to your failures.  Trust can be totally flung out the window, when someone uncovers and discovers something you have been trying to hide.  If you aren't HOT with them they will withhold from you, because they don't trust you to treat them fairly. 

So here we go:

1 - Embrace simplicity it promotes clarity! And being clear about things is where we need to be. 

2- Be present in the moment. And while you are there be YOU!  Don’t check yourself out and bring in Sister Happy Homemaker Solver of the Worlds Problems.  You stay there with  your “bad self!”  

3 - Don’t try to impress! Instead share, help, inspire, teach, inform, persuade, motivate, make the place a better place. 

4 - Keep the Lights ON!! This means let people not only see you, but see in you and some will even see through you.  It’s okay.  Live a life where you have nothing to hide anyway.

5 - Don’t hide behind the position, the podium and the power.  Sit down like Jesus did and have a meal with people.  They will really get to know you when they see you eat!

6 - Avoid being evasive or vague you sound like a riddle.  

7 - Don’t get tied to a spot, or custom, or a tradition.  When we get comfortable in something we can camaflage so much better.  When we get outside our comfort zones we will show our true colors.

8 - Don’t get attached to your gadgets.  In this society, communication is through devices, yet when we do that we loose the nuances of tone and body language.  I personally use texting and messaging as a privilege.  Once the miscommunication starts,the privilege stops.  I would rather do face to face and will settle with the phone conversation, not because I don’t trust them, because I want them to see I am being open and transparent with them.  Some things just can’t be texted, messaged, or emailed it’s a cowards way out.

10 - To thine ownself be true.  Be  yourself!!! You are fearfully and wonderfully made!  When you are at home with yourself you are comfortable and sometimes naked, oh I mean transparent. :)

11 - Be credible.  

12 - Speak like a normal person!

13 - Engage people! Think of your audience like participants instead of passive listeners.  This makes the difference between someone saying “I felt connected to the message.” and “I felt preached at!”  When you participate with people you will be more upfront and open with them. 

Do you have some ideas to becoming more honest, open and transparent with people in the ministry? Do you have a time where there was no HOT in the group, what was that like? Leave a comment and share your experiences.