Leadership in Context with Keith Tucci
Episode 021
Ask Yourself, part 2
Evaluation Questions
What do I do well?
What do I do poorly?
What needs to be done that I tend to avoid?
What do I do that needs definite improvement?
What can I invest in others so they can do some of the things that I am doing?
Last week we discussed the first two questions. Let’s dive into the last three…
3. What needs to be done that I tend to avoid?
Is there anything that you are avoiding that you know is important to be done? Just acknowledging that it needs to be done isn’t the right answer. When I was pastoring and I would sit across the desk from someone in a counseling situation and they responded, “I know, I know…”—I knew there was very little chance that they would change. They knew everything, yet something still wasn’t happening.
We need to identify what we are avoiding. Own up to it. Often leaders set themselves up for failure because they are avoiding the very thing they need to deal with. Often a pastor needs to preach a message on a certain subject that is very pertinent to that local church, or there is a personal meeting that really needs to happen with someone in the body or leadership to address a specific issue that is affecting the body—but we find reasons to neglect that, avoid it, and not get it done.
The Best Way Not to Avoid
Identify in yourself what you are avoiding.
Try to get a bit of understanding on why you are avoiding it.
Calendar when you are going to deal with it—the day and the time.
Tell someone about it, and ask them to ask you about it.
Pray about it, and ask God for the spiritual velocity and stamina to do it.
The things you are avoiding are the pitfalls that are knocking you off course many times. When you are avoiding something, it takes more emotional energy to avoid it than to do it.
4. What do you do that needs definite improvement?
What things are you not doing as well as you could? Do you need new tools, training, resources, a mentor? What do you specifically need to do to improve? I hear a lot of pastors say, “I’m just not good at administration.” I’m a big believer of delegation, but delegation is not dumping something overboard and hoping someone gets it. Administration is a critical area.
Often that area in our ministry that we are avoiding is the one that will show the greatest signs of fruition when we quit avoiding and plug that hole where the anointing is leaking out from our wineskin.
5. What can I invest in others so they can do some of the things that I am doing?
A lot of times we dump things on people; we don’t delegate to them. When you delegate something, there is a reason, a why, a timeline, there is an understanding from that person. When we dump something, we are asking someone to just go do a task, and hopefully it will get done. When you are delegating, there is a report system.
We have to invest in others, and not just get them to do the task.If you don’t invest in your people, you will wear them out. Good discipleship, good delegation is front-end loaded. Rather than just grabbing someone and saying, “Hey, would you be our head usher?” Approach someone and say, “Hey, let’s meet next week. I want to talk to you about being the head usher. I want to share with you 5 important points on why that is so critical to me.” When they then agree, have them read a book and ask them to point out the things your church is not doing well or what they’d like to improve. Now you are investing. Now you are training. It takes more time, but the effect lasts forever.
Take time this week to write down not just what you are avoiding, but when you are going to tackle it. Take time this quarter to work on improving in an area. Read a book. Find a mentor. Take a class. Then look at the next six months, and plan out who you can invest in and when.
Join us next week as Keith Tucci continues to put leadership truth in the context of the local church. And as always, please like, share, rate/review, and invite others to listen. See you next week!
