#2 Responsibility
This is a continuation of a series of blog entries dealing with my results of the online assessment of Tom Rath's book, Strengths Finder.
My second highest ranking strength is Responsibility
People who are especially talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.
Coming on the heals of a rather rough and stress-filled, week, this strength has given me pause to evaluate. When I say I will do something, when I give my word, I will bend over backwards to fulfill the expectations. I also have the tendency to take responsibility for things that I see falling through the cracks. It is usually those items that cause me extreme stress.
Matthew 5:37 says that we are to let our 'yes' be 'yes' and our 'no' be 'no.'
Christ shows the ultimate responsibility! Thankfully he took on himself the responsibility of paying for our sin. When God made the decision that he would send His son to earth to die, the Son stepped up and accepted the responsibility. Even while in the garden, moments before the soldiers arrived, he did not look forward to the path he was about to walk, but he held true to his commitment.
While this may be an inherent strength, I fall short of Christ's example of follow through.
#1 Connectedness
I'm drawn to personality and temperament analysis tools like bugs to the front of a car. I almost can't stop myself from taking them. When I started hearing about the Strengths Finder book by Tom Rath it landed on my Amazon wish list pretty quick. Not too much later I had my hands on it and started running though it. I took the online assessment and read through the results. I've decided to use the five strengths the assessment indicates for a series of posts.
My highest ranking strength: Connectedness
People who are especially talented in the Connectedness theme have faith in the links between all things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.
In reading through the more detailed description there are some terms that, I must admit, I do not buy into. To be fair, I am a Christ-follower and live, work and breath: Church, or better defined - the Community of Believers. When I read phrases like, "collective unconscious" or "life force" it does rub me the wrong way. That being said: I understand that the author is not coming from the same paradigm as me and will not let the terms get in the way.
I do believe that there is a link between all things. I do believe that there is a God who has created everything and is involved in His creation. I believe that we have free will and God will not override our decisions, even when we are making foolish decisions.
I do believe that 'nothing happens in a vacuum'. Decisions we make today will affect who and what we are in five years. Choices we make today will have intended consequences but also unintended consequences. How we choose to live, or should I say, for whom we choose to live will effect our eternity.
I do believe that we are too live as a community, not as individuals. The needs of the group should come before the rights of individual.
Yes, I believe that there is a connectedness through all things. I believe that God is in all things and through all things.
Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
The Front Fell Off
Sometimes being a public speaker isn't as easy as one would think. Only politicians and comedians can talk real fast without saying anything. Reminds me of the old "Who's on First?" sketch.
Develop or Deploy
There's a whole lot of talk about developing leadership in the church world. Unfortunately, more talk than action.
Your own leadership style has more of a determining factor on your ability and inclination to develop others than their willingness to be developed. The 'run and gun' leader is motivated by results and usually looking for people to recruit that will help them accomplish the objective. This results in deploying leaders instead of developing leaders. The 'run and gun' leader usually does a great job of plugging the right people into the right areas. This doesn't mean that they are great at developing people. Usually, these newly recruited leaders have been developed by someone else and then recruited and then plugged in.
I once worked for a man who worked on the assumption that development happens by osmosis... just being the the environment. There is some truth to that. It really does help to be in the environment. However, if osmosis is the chief development technique, there will be no long term success.
Developing others requires us to:
1. Be focused on their growth, not our goals.
2. Be willing to grow them and let them go.
3. Understand that not everyone will grow like we know they could.
Developing leaders takes time and energy. It is, quite frankly, much easier to hire a person of competence and let them run. It's easier to find a leader that to develop one. What has God called us to do?
Second Chair, Not Second Class
Everyone has a desire for their life to matter, to count, to be worthwhile. We want to be able to answer "yes" to the question: "If I wasn't here anymore, would I be missed?" There are few people that that are content to just get through life without making a contribution.
I currently serve in a "second chair" role on my church staff. I've no desire to sit in the first chair. I've joked with some that want that first chair that I think they are crazy. They aren't crazy, I'm just wired up differently than they are. I've taken stock of who I am and my strengths and weaknesses. I've learned some painful lessons, and I know where I best fit, and maybe more importantly: I know where I should not try to fit!
In our celebrity driven society, the 'first chair' leader gets most, if not all, the attention. Those who serve in second (or third or fourth) chair positions can be treated as second (or third or fourth) class. This is a dangerous trap, especially in the church world. Far too often those who are not primary leaders strive for that role instead of focusing on adding value from their current position.
Here are some ways that second-chair leaders can add value:
1. Do your job! This is your first priority. Fulfill the responsibilities you were hired for. You can grow in other areas, but if you do so at the expense of fulfilling your primary responsibilities you are failing.
2. Support your leader. This is your first priority. (Yeah I know.) A secondary leader who is not supportive of his leader will cause division and create problems in the organization.
3. Do what is needed. A secondary leader will need to step in and do things out of the normal responsibilities. Every now and then I have the privilege of speaking at our midweek service. I'm adding value, not because I'm an great communicator, but because I'm giving our lead pastor a break.
I have found contentment by adding value by doing what I am called to do: serve others and help them accomplish the dream that God is giving them.
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