Dealing with chronically negative leaders

We all have them and we always will have them...chronically negative leaders. Ignoring them has serious consequences so we have to learn how to lead negative leaders. Griping about them will not help anything. These people need firm leadership and must not be allowed to wreak havoc in your ministry. Many times these are people who want to serve, want to make a difference, but for some reason always find ways to be negative. Nothing is good enough. There are always "other people" who are complaining to them. This type of leader always seems to be in crisis mode. These people need us to lead them and not give up on them because so many times these are just people who have been scarred in the past and they are serving "with baggage." They may not follow your leadership but here are a few things you need to consistently do when dealing with a chronically negative leader...

• pray for them >> Dealing with negative leaders is draining and when we are tired and operating in our won strength it is easy to just give up on people. Pray for these leaders. pray that God will give you wisdom in dealing with them. Pray that God will soften their hearts. God can do what we can never do in the lives of negative leaders.
  
• stay positive >> No matter what a negative leaders brings to you by email or in a meeting stay positive and never feed into their negativity. Negative people love negative company. Stay positive and keep revealing what good is happening all around the ministry.
  
• define reality for them >> Negative leaders often get stuck on one issue which leads them to not understand the big picture. We have to have courage and define reality for people who are stuck in a negative cycle.
  
• challenge them >> There will always come a time to challenge negative leaders. Challenge them to see the good. Challenge them to choose a better attitude. Challenge them to rethink their position. Challenge them to ask why they seem stuck!
  
• confront them consistently >> If you really want to help a negative leader you have o be consistent in confronting them when they get off track. Make sure you consistently communicate with them, encourage them, and lead them.
  
• be willing to let them walk >> At the end of the day we have to be willing to allow negative leaders to walk away from our church and our ministry. You can handle this with grace but there are times you just have to confront and allow them to walk away.

What are some things you have done to handle chronically negative leaders?