How to Lead Your 'Difficult' People
9 Considerations For Leading Your Worship and Creative Team
difficult /ˈdɪfɪklt/
adjective
needing much effort or skill to accomplish, deal with, or understand.
(of a person) not easy to please or satisfy; awkward.
“Jane could be difficult.”
Where there are people, there are difficult situations.
It doesn’t matter which church, worship, or creative team you choose; we all have people with unique personalities and idiosyncrasies. This is all well and good, but what do you actually do with these people?
How do you deal with them?
Over the years, it seems I’ve become a magnet for difficult people. You know the ones. You have them in your church, too. They’re the people that most of your team ignore, try to avoid, or talk about behind their back.
Sometimes these people are complex and intentionally challenging; other times, and I would say mostly, they have no idea they’re doing it. Then again, sometimes they’re nasty, and at different times they’re stubborn and unwilling to play as a team member.
Some people are complex because of trauma, abuse, or difficult life circumstances. We need wisdom to know how to deal with the different scenarios and not create more chaos than we can handle.
Some of the most brutal experiences of my life have been times when I’ve had the responsibility to come alongside and pastor difficult people. Having said that, they have also been ranked as some of the most encouraging when the situations have turned around. I’m sure you can relate.