In this Operation Christmas Child journey I've often despaired of my perceived lack of leadership skills but have taken great solace in God's promise "My strength is made perfect in weakness."
As we sat in our first-of-the-year OCC area team meeting on Tuesday evening we rehearsed again God's goodness over the past year and we each affirmed that the increase in shoebox totals certainly didn't come from any brilliantly executed plans or from our great resources. We know God's strength was shown perfectly in our weakness.
On the other hand, I've been getting an interesting perspective on leadership strengths this week through a survey and reading of the book "Strength Finder 2.0" by Tom Rath in preparation for our upcoming Area Coordinators' retreat.
The premise of the book and survey is to uncover your strengths and maximize them rather than concentrating on trying to improve your weaknesses.
I'm enjoying mulling over this concept, which only makes sense since the survey I took revealed that my strengths basically lie in thinking. I've always hated the fact that I feel more like a thinker than a doer. But it turns out that thinking isn't all bad.
I've also felt very guilty for years because whenever I'm in a meeting where new plans are considered I immediately think of all the problems that could result from them. I've prayed about my negativity and finally decided that it would be best for me not to voice any of these negative thoughts.
According to this survey and book, my strategic thinking is a strength. The book suggests that when I share my concerns I also share a way to overcome the potential problems. Well, that's interesting.
The line between weaknesses and strengths is beginning to blur.
Now that's something to think about.
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