The LDHR role can be tricky at the best of times. And for many of us, the last few years have not come close to being the best of times. A few of the things that I’ve noticed (they may not be common to all by any means) are that many of our staff have found post-pandemic life stressful, and anxiety has been a common theme. Changes in team makeup or leadership are part of everyone’s life, but some changes seem to have unsettled life more than usual. People seem a little lost and uncertain about their futures. This uncertainty seems to have produced a loss of hope in some people and anger in others.

Whether this has been your experience as an LDHR leader or not, there are many ways that LDHR.org can help you as you think about your challenges and priorities this coming year. Here are five ways to get you started.

• Do a course with your team: There are many good courses in the Learning Centre, but maybe the Empowering Others course could be helpful to do together. It would be encouraging for your team to know you value them and want them to grow in their leadership and responsibility-taking, and the result might just ease some of the burdens you’re carrying right now!
• Know how to deal with grievances: In many mission organisations, churches, and secular workplaces, complaints and frustrations have increased. It’s helpful to get ahead of this by knowing how you will deal with them ahead of time. This session in “Your First 100 Days in LDHR” might be a helpful reminder for you.
• Work on your Leadership Pipeline: In a survey by the Global LDHR team last year, we noticed that developing a leadership pipeline was a priority for many LDHR leaders. You can find all the resources needed to get you started here, and in a few weeks, we’ll introduce you to a new(!) “Lite” version of the process. Watch this space.
• Re-evaluate your LDHR function: It’s easy to get submerged in the day-to-day details of LDHR, but it’s good to step back once in a while and look at the big picture of what you’re doing. A little-known gem of a resource is called “Saira’s Journey.” It’s a story exercise you can do with your leadership team to look at how you are managing the staff lifecycle. Great for an out-of-the-office day away.
• Dig deeper into caring for your staff: Many of our staff, particularly our newer ones, need more support than maybe they appeared to need a few years ago, particularly concerning mental and emotional health and anxiety. Our Member Care section of LDHR.org walks through the jigsaw of elements that make up our staff care, but the session on Team Care might be a great starting place for you.

Over the next few weeks, for those of you who are part of the CCCI family, we will highlight one of these areas and dig a little deeper into the subject in our Workplace Group.

Look out for further details and join in the interactions. We’d love your experience to add richness to the discussion. Thanks.