One year ago this weekend Shelley and I flew to Fort Smith, AR. to interview for the role I currently serve in at Community Bible Church. Time is flying by! Being an introspective person, I will soon begin to deeply process the last year of my life. I will begin to think through what I have done and what I needs to change for year two. That is typically a healthy process for me when done well.
Regardless of the leadership roles I have held over the years they all have at least one thing in common, leading people is hard. Any leader who doesn’t admit that is probably not giving much attention to leading well. It takes work.
A few years ago I was walking through a stretch of frustration as leader, wondering if what I was doing was making any difference. I imagine other leaders walk through similar times.
During that season I realized that my leadership needed consistent evaluation by me, those that lead me, and those that I lead. Out of that realization I came up with this list of questions. I try to work through these a couple of times a year and make adjustments the best I can. Sometimes I “pass” other times the “grade” is less than impressive.
Leadership Questions
1) Is it clear where I am pursuing to lead us? Clear to me? Clear to those I am leading.
2) Are our vision/mission/goals easily understood in practical terms? Do those I am leading know what to do and why they are doing it?
3) Are my expectations clear and realistic as it relates to the leadership ability? Can they do what they need to do? Am I holding them accountable for what they need to do?
4) What are we producing? Is our fruit consistently moving closer to reflecting our long term vision?
5) Am I doing my best at what I do best? Do I know what that is? Am I ok with it?
6) Do I love those I lead for who they are more than for what they do? Do I view them as brothers and sister or workers? How am I guarding against reducing them from people with souls to producers of goods?
Doug Hunt 