{"id":1748,"date":"2015-03-23T10:47:46","date_gmt":"2015-03-23T16:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/?p=1748"},"modified":"2015-04-07T15:44:02","modified_gmt":"2015-04-07T21:44:02","slug":"4-questions-you-should-be-asking-yourself-if-you-want-to-grow-as-a-leader-pt-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/?p=1748","title":{"rendered":"4 Questions You Should Be Asking Yourself If You Want To Grow As A Leader, pt. 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"4<\/a><\/p>\n

If you are a leader in ministry, the chances are slim that people are going to ask you questions to help you grow.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Most people\u00a0ask\u00a0questions of\u00a0leaders in\u00a0order to help themselves grow. \u00a0That’s why it is important for you as a leader to ask yourself four essential\u00a0questions that will keep you\u00a0growing. \u00a0Here is the first of\u00a04 essential questions that every leader needs to ask:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

The First question you should ask yourself is, “What are my primary responsibilities?”<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This isn’t a question that helps you pass the buck. \u00a0It is a question that helps you focus. \u00a0A great way to be ineffective as a leader is to take on more responsibility than is required for your particular leadership position. \u00a0The more you add to your responsibilities, the more diluted you become\u00a0as a leader. \u00a0If you are like me, one reason we\u00a0are prone to overcommitting is that it feels\u00a0good to be asked to lead. \u00a0When we are needed, we feel\u00a0indispensable to the ministry, and we\u00a0may even feel indispensable to God. \u00a0This is a powerful temptation that we need to fight against because good leaders are laser focused on fulfilling their<\/em> responsibility.\u00a0 They aren\u2019t \u201cjack of all trades\u201d leaders, and they don’t say, “yes,” to everything people ask them to do.<\/p>\n

The more you add to your responsibilities, the more diluted you become as a leader. – Scott Vermillion <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

For instance, David was a great leader. \u00a0God used him to provide peace for the nation of Israel militarily.\u00a0 Yet when he wanted to add to his responsibility as a leader by\u00a0making a home for God to live in, God said, \u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 That wasn\u2019t his responsibility.\u00a0 He was to stay focused on bringing peace to the people.<\/p>\n

Paul said in Eph. 2:10 \u201cFor we are God\u2019s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.\u201d \u00a0God isn’t asking us to do every good work. \u00a0He is calling us to do the good work he has prepared us to accomplish. \u00a0If you\u00a0are going to do the works that God has called only you\u00a0to do, then ask yourself every week, \u201cWhat are my primary<\/em> responsibilities?<\/strong>\u201d \u00a0Then build your week around the tasks essential to fulfilling those responsibilities. \u00a0Asking this question will give you a laser like focus on what it is that God has called you to do to follow him in\u00a0his work in your church or ministry.<\/p>\n

\n

Here are 3 ways you can gain clarity on your primary responsibilities:<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/blockquote>\n

1. Update Your Job Description\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Your job description shouldn’t be a dead document stuffed in an obscure folder in your filing cabinet somewhere that was only useful for your hiring.\u00a0 A job description should be a living document that gives your work focus.\u00a0 It should be on your desk for you to review every week.\u00a0 It should serve as a constant reminder of what areas you are to tend in your ministry.<\/p>\n

The problem with job descriptions in the church is that they are notorious for including everything and the kitchen sink.\u00a0 If your job description lacks focus, then you will too.\u00a0 I encourage you to work with your supervisor or elder board to update your job description so that it accurately reflects the responsibilities you are to cover in your work.<\/p>\n

2. Connect Your Goals For The Year To Your Primary Responsibilities<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Another way you can gain clarity on your primary responsibilities is to have your goals connected to your responsibilities.\u00a0 Your goals should help you further the areas of ministry under your leadership.\u00a0 If your goals are disconnected from your primary responsibilities, you will be spread too thin.\u00a0 You won\u2019t have much impact as a result.\u00a0 Instead, connect one goal to each of your primary responsibilities, and you will see your leadership impact deepen in that area of ministry because you are focused on the right things.<\/p>\n

3. Engage In\u00a0Conversations With Other Leaders<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Finally, most of us don\u2019t work alone.\u00a0 Even if we are the only paid staff in our organization, we work with volunteers who provide critical leadership.\u00a0 If you lack clarity on your primary responsibilities, then the chances are good that the rest of your volunteers or other paid staff lack clarity as well.\u00a0 Make it your goal over the next month to have a conversation with each leader to define each person\u2019s primary responsibilities in the organization.\u00a0 This means having a conversation with the leaders in your ministry.\u00a0 Don\u2019t hand out job descriptions.\u00a0 Have a conversation with your volunteers and paid staff to develop each person\u2019s job description.\u00a0 If a person has a say in their job description, then that person will have a stake in fulfilling it.\u00a0 Help motivate others by creating a conversation that will give everyone in your organization a focus and a purpose that matters.<\/p>\n

Great leaders don\u2019t do everything well. \u00a0If you want to grow as a leader, take the time to ask yourself, \u201cWhat are my primary responsibilities?\u201d \u00a0To gain clarity on your primary responsibilities update your job description, connect your\u00a0goals to your \u00a0responsibilities, and engage in conversations with your leaders to make your primary responsibilities your weekly agenda.<\/p>\n

What would change in your leadership today if you focused on your primary responsibilities?<\/strong><\/h1>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you are a leader in ministry, the chances are slim that people are going to ask you questions to help you grow.\u00a0 Most people\u00a0ask\u00a0questions of\u00a0leaders in\u00a0order to help themselves grow. \u00a0That’s why it is important for you as a leader to ask yourself four essential\u00a0questions that will keep you\u00a0growing. \u00a0Here is the first of\u00a04 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theawakenministry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/4-Questions-You-Should-Be-Asking-Yourself-If-You-Want-To-Grow-As-A-Leader-1.001-copy.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1748"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1830,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1748\/revisions\/1830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theawakenministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}