10 Best Decisions.pdf

We can all describe the journey of our lives by the leaders who have impacted us. I remember Mr. Foladare, my 5th grade teacher. He was tough-minded, energetic, and determined that obstacles wouldnt limit him. His influence birthed in me a desire to write. In high school, Coach Pitts taught me that success isnt just about talent, but about maintaining discipline in the midst of adversity and cultivating a mindset of believing you will succeed, even when the odds are against you. Pastor Jack Peacock taught me the power of building authentic networks. And the list could go on.

I suspect you are on someones list. You said or did something at a strategic moment, or were involved during an important phase of someones development. You had an impact. You led. The truth is that people are watching and making decisions based on what they see in us, so it makes sense for us to be diligent in our personal development. Thats why Im writing this bookto encourage and challenge you to grow into a more effective leader.

Everything God does on earth, he does with the help of

October 2013

The 10 Best Decisions a Leader Can Make

THE SUMMARY

Published by Leaders Book Summaries. 872 New Britton Rd, Carol Stream, IL 60188 No part of this document may be reproduced without prior written consent. 2013 The Growing Leader. All rights reserved

1www.studyleadership.com

About the Author

Bill Farrel is a best-selling

author, international

speaker, and has been

a senior pastor, youth

pastor, and small group

pastor. Bill and his wife,

Pam, are relationship

specialists who help

people discover how to

be Love Wise.

leading a group in college, which turned out to be the most fulfilling thing I had ever done. Watching the guys I was investing in grow brought a deep sense of personal reward.

I didnt realize it at the time, but I was being introduced to the passion of leadership. Leading others is challenging work. We challenge people to become more than they are today. We lead people in pursuits they could not pull off on their own. We develop teams of people who accomplish things. And we often expose peoples insecurities and inabilities. Leaders must be committed to their calling in order to navigate those challenges.

I have been leading in ministry now for over 30 years because I am convinced that ministry is what God designed for me and it is vital in the lives of others. What people and pursuits are you passionate about? God created you to inspire others to fulfill their God-given design and to finish the course of their lives. We never know what word or action is going to forever change the lives of those we interact with. You are a leader. Embrace it.

Chapter 2: Decide to Pursue Your Personal Vision

God has deposited a dream in the heart of every person. It is evident in the unique DNA that only you have, and in the spiritual gifts God has given you. Its also evident in the internal drive we all have for something bigger than everyday life. Developing a personal vision is a way of identifying your dream in terms that give

leaders. Every great movement in history, every local expression of Gods body, every business, rises and falls on the choices and skill of its leaders. Leaders are everywhere, and the need for them cannot be overestimated. Leadership is a challenge and a privilege. May you grow in your leadership as you work through the principles in this book.

Chapter 1: Decide to Be a Leader

You were born to be a leader. No matter who you are, no matter what family you were born into or what talents you have, you are a leader. Your influence may be large or small, but you are a leader. Every arena of life needs leaders, and God has provided you as one of those leaders.

As I look back on my life, leadership was part of my journey before I was even aware of it. On the playground I was often asked to be a captain; as I grew older I realized that people often asked me for advice. Those and other things were the initial steps in my leadership journey. God was giving me previews of what was to come. I wasnt ready, but God had to start somewhere.

When I was 16, I gave my life to Christ, and ended up leading a Bible study with my brother. What started out with the two of us and three friends rapidly grew to a group of 60. We were much too young and inexperienced to guide that kind of growth, but we watched as God turned this group into a vibrant, challenging, and encouraging collection of like-minded individuals. From there I got involved in


Leaders Book Summaries: The 10 Best Decisions a Leader Can Make

sense to our aspirations, but there is no quenching the desire to be significant. If you are interested in making your vision statement clearer, start by asking yourself the following:

What do you love in life? If you love your work, you find ways of doing more of it. The dream God put in your heart will be reflected in all you do.

Where do you see God working through you? You will notice that some areas of your life work better than others, and have a greater impact on other people. Thats a hint as to how God has wired you.

What are the ideas you just cant get away from?

What would you ask for if you could have anything?

What makes you feel as though your life was important?

What activities in your life cause real growth?

Once you write down your vision statement, live with it for a few weeks. This is important because we all talk better than we live. All of us have had ideas that turned out to be just intellectual preferences rather than deeply held values; life has a way of showing us how committed we really are to what we say is important.

Chapter 3: Decide to be Ready

guidance to your goals and decisions. You identify the dream in your soul, express it in words, and direct it with goals and activities.

A personal vision is one of the primary characteristics that makes you a leader. Everyone on earth has equal value, but every team, every organization, needs a leader. And God is the one who stirs up the heart of the leader with a vision that must be put into action. A vision statement is a simple summary of this vision that inspires you. You know you have discovered it when you read it and:

It makes sense to you.

It stirs you.

It contains a big idea.

You realize you have found what makes you tick.

You feel compelled to do something about it.

It is simple enough to remember easily.

Note: discovering your personal vision statement is a process. You might sit down once and have it all come together, but that isnt the norm. Its more common for your vision to clarify over time. I think writing your vision statement down brings a greater level of clarity, which will help guide your decisions and keep you from getting lost in the myriad commitments and issues you face on a regular basis.

God has placed a dream for significance in the heart of everyone he created. Hopefully we add discipline and common



abilities are expressed with humility, they add a lot to your life. But when they are undisciplined and expressed with selfishness, they are irritating and can even be damaging.

Your unique abilities are so central to who you are that you have no choice but to build your life around them. When you exercise those abilities, you feel more like yourself than at any other time. As a result, you are drawn to people who appreciate your uniqueness.

Part of your mission is to identify the unique abilities of the people you lead and find ways to utilize those abilities to accomplish your vision. People will continue to follow your lead when they feel valued and important around you and believe their abilities can make a contribution to your vision.

This idea of unique abilities is easy to think about but hard to apply. The challenge is to identify them and then apply them in real life. Finding them is like finding a hidden treasure. God designed life in such a way that the discovery process is a personal adventure. Your search will require courage, curiosity, and contemplation to clearly identify what you are best at. It takes that kind of effort because recognizing your unique ability elevates you to a place of high responsibility. When you know what you do better than others, you cant make excuses to avoid exercising your gift, and you cant be content with underachieving. Knowing who you are will motivate you to action.

When we are immature, we tend to not see our giftedness clearly because we are

On any given day, you will be asked questions, presented with problems, and confronted with new opportunities. You dont want to begin preparing for these after they happen. You want to live in a state of readiness so you can focus your efforts and resources on positive steps of progress. And while we cant prepare for every contingency, there are a few vital areas of our personal and professional lives that cannot wait.

The first area to give attention to is your body. Every step of leadership you take is done with your body. Every message you deliver, every task you accomplish is made possible by your body. The condition of your body will directly impact the effectiveness of your leadership.

That doesnt mean we have to become super-athletes and train intensely. But I do encourage anyone who wants to lead others to follow a regimen that develops physical stamina, weight control, and mobility. At the least that means implementing a habitual exercise program and being mindful of what you eat. There are a number of benefits that will follow:

You will be stronger.

You will feel better about yourself.

You will lower your stress level.

You will weigh less.

A second area to prepare in is the area of your unique abilities. You are a talented person and you work with talented people, and all of you have at least one unique ability. Those unique abilities are strong and demand expression. When those



9. Finances

Chapter 4: Decide to Be Real

As a leader, you are probably hard working and determined to make something happen in your world. The rest of us gain confidence from your forward thinking and can-do attitude. But there is only so much you can do, and we all know itso we look for leaders who are real. We want leaders who see life as it really is and deal with their own humanity honestly while also believing in the effectiveness of their leadership.

A big part of being real is accepting that at any time, at any moment, your life can change. Any day could be the day when a breakthrough takes place, a setback forges new character, or your purpose finds new clarity. Being real means we live with patient anticipationtoday could be a big day, or it could be a routine day thats about getting ready for one of those days.

Leadership puts us in situations that expose our character, and often we dont get to plan when those situations occur. Someone walks into your office with a crisis that demands your attention. A budget shortfall hits. Sudden success raises peoples expectations of you. Moments like these force your priorities and personal character to the surface and reveal what you are really made of. When life is easy and stress-free, its easy to carry out a role and act properly. When stress is high and life is intense, the real you comes to the forefront. One of the most important questions a leader can ask

not ready to step into the lifestyle that logically follows. When we are stressed, its often difficult to focus on our giftedness as anxiety steals the energy needed to operate at a high level. We all have sophisticated defenses that protect our hearts when we arent ready for action. Once we are ready, the confusion lifts and possibilities become clear.

Your best decisions, strongest impact, and wisest problem solving happens when you are operating in your unique ability. You dont want to wait until you are in the middle of something before you figure out how your unique ability works. That is the point of being ready. As you develop your abilities, you will increase your influence because you will perform well when the time comes.

There has never been anyone with the exact collection of wisdom, talents, and intuition you naturally possess. And although there is no list of unique talents, they do operate in categories. Your unique ability is a combination of traits taken from these categories:

1. Physical Aptitudes

2. Wisdom and Insight

3. Technology

4. Relationships

5. Musical Talent

6. Creative Arts

7. Leadership

8. Communication



is Who am I, really? When the pressure is on, what will be truly important to me?

Leaders who are committed to be real recognize that we have power as leaders. Our words can heal emotional wounds, motivate or frustrate people, and encourage them to excellence. Our decisions can guide movements or cause momentum to deteriorate. Understanding this motivates us to be careful how we live. If we think our actions or words dont have much impact, we will live carelessly. A realistic view of your life will make you careful how you live because you recognize the power you have.

Another place where being real comes into play is in dealing with course corrections. Leadership involves guiding people in the pursuit of a vision by accomplishing goals. In the process, people and groups occasionally get off track. Whether an honest mistake or an attempt to influence the direction of the organization, real leaders recognize this tendency and do what they need to in order to get things back on track.

Leaders are passionate about their vision and goals, and can be quite intense in their pursuit. They can run over people in their zeal, and can pay a price personally, in their relationships, and in their health. Being real means you seek to be aware of those tendencies so you dont overreact. We are all emotionally attached to our areas of leadership, so its not uncommon for us to get angry, scared, or disappointed when things are neglected or distorted from our original plan. The leader who has decided to be real will face those feelings

without letting them control him.

Being real means admitting that we are all prone to the self-centered and self-absorbed conclusion that our lives are the most important topic around. The truth is that we are one part of a much larger story with God at the center. Thats why humility is so important. Humility recognizes that of course Im good at some things, because God has made me that way. Likewise, others are good at some things because God has made them that way, and I rejoice in all of Gods work.

One of the realities of leadership is that we will encounter obstacles. Real leaders arent surprised by thatthey expect obstacles and develop plans to overcome them. They are willing to adapt to the circumstances and adjust plans if needed. Too often when we face a challenge we just keep plowing ahead instead of making changesespecially if that means admitting that we made a mistake in the first place. And the presence of obstacles means leaders have to be able to persevere and not quit when they arise. Note: persevering is not the same thing as being unwilling to adapt!

Chapter 5: Decide to Team Up

Leadership means you are part of a team. If you were acting alone, there would be no need to lead anyone else. We form teams because there are goals we want to pursue that cannot be accomplished on our own. Maybe there is a need for more financial resources, more talent, or maybe the job is just too big for one person. In all these



cases, and many more, a team is needed.

While every team is unique, all effective teams have a few common characteristics that enable them to operate at their peak.

First is vision. All teams function best when they have a sense of purpose that is big, challenging, and audacious. In the absence of a clear vision, the team will naturally turn its focus on itself. Relationships between team members and individual needs become paramount. And since those needs are so unpredictable, putting the focus on internal relationships creates a very difficult environment for continual motivation and success. A vision that takes people beyond themselves tends to minimize self-focus, remove obstacles, and create working alliances.

Second, all teams function best when they share common values. The presence of a team means there is work to be done and a challenge to overcome. It requires effort and determination. When teammates are putting in the same effort, working with the same determination, and making comparable sacrifices, unity of purpose is maintained. When there is a discrepancy in these values, internal conflicts arise and productivity drops.

In addition to vision and values, teams are unified by a strategic operating plan that helps all members know what their role is and how to do their assignments. Without a plan people will do whatever they think will help, and the result will either be chaos or a lack of effectiveness because those efforts arent working together to make progress happen.

Chapter 6: Decide to Major in Motivation

Motivating others may be the most important activity a leader ever engages in. People who are energized and eager to get into action are much easier to lead than people who are confused, frustrated, or bored. Motivating people can be a complex effort, but some simple focal points can make us effective motivators. People do what they do for a reason, but the reasons form a short list. When it comes to motivation, there are four basic types of people, and understanding how each operates will help you motivate them effectively.

Accomplishers. Some of the people you lead are motivated by getting things done. They focus on tasks and believe life is better when something is happening. Naturally confident, they are attached to their own ideas (because they believe they are right) and can be pushy or demanding when deadlines get close. They love bumper stickers that say things like, Im not bossy, I just have better ideas or If I want your opinion, Ill give it to you.

When you communicate with Accomplishers, you need to be concise and compelling. Although they usually believe they are right, they arent necessarily stubborn. If you give them a better idea, they will quickly adopt it and put a plan together right on the spot. They just need a sense of ownership over the decision to change or else they will find it hard to harness much enthusiasm.



Here are some tips to motivating an Accomplisher:

Ask them to make decisions for anything they are involved with.

Put them in charge of teams, projects, etc.

Ask them to solve problems for the organization.

Delegate projects and let them figure out how to accomplish them.

If you want to frustrate an Accomplisher, assign them simple, repetitive tasks or micromanage them.

Assistants. Assistants live by the question, how can I help you accomplish what is important to you? They are just as hard-working as the Accomplishers, but they are more attached to your ideas than they are to their own. They show up wondering how they can make a difference by helping you accomplish what is on your heart. They tend to ask a lot of questions because they are interested in knowing what you want done and how you want it done. Its critical that you remember thattheir questions arent meant to challenge your leadership, they are just curious. And they tend to be fiercely loyal.

Here are some tips to motivating an Assistant:

Describe the plan in detail.

Describe how they can help.

Compliment them often for how their contribution is helping.

Review often what you want them to dothat gives them confidence.

Make adjustments quickly when they get off track.

Set priorities for them often. They want to do everything they can to help and can get overwhelmed with all the needs.

Authenticators. These are some of the most valuable and irritating people you will ever lead. They are analytical people with a well-established value system, and they believe everything in life fits their system. That results in black-and-white thinking without much room for negotiation. They believe they are right, and usually have evidence to back up their position. They are adept at setting up and managing processes and procedures because of their fierce dedication to what they believe is right.

Its really important to understand that their value system is just thattheir value system. They dont necessarily do what is right; they do what is right according to their values. Once they have reached a conclusion, it is set in concrete and is very difficult to change. If you have to challenge an Authenticator, you need to be concise and quick, and then back off and let them process on their own. For him to accept your input he will need to evaluate it for himself and incorporate it into his system. He wont accept something just because you said it.

Here are some ways to motivate an Authenticator:

Let them establish and run routine



procedures.

Make changes only when necessary.

Choose areas of your organization in which you always accept their opinion.

Leave them alone when they are focused.

If you want to frustrate an Authenticator, try to be authoritative over them, make changes that seem random, or use emotional appeals rather than logic to influence them.

Alliance Makers. These people love to be on teams. We is much more important to them than I. They love team goals, team decisions, and team accomplishments. Their ambition is to be a vital part of a team. They naturally believe that everyone has a piece of the puzzle, and when you combine the pieces the results will be better. They gain great satisfaction through the synergy developed when people work together for a common goal.

Alliance Makers get confused when others cross lines of responsibility. They believe that decisions made as a team are binding and that each person will carry out his or her responsibility with focus and dedication. If someone else does something that was assigned to the Alliance Maker, they feel like the team is falling apart or doesnt exist, which will make them feel restless. To motivate an Alliance Maker:

Create team positions.

Assign clear responsibilities to each team member.

Help everyone see how their responsibilities fit together.

Celebrate as a team when goals are achieved.

If you want to frustrate an Alliance Maker, make unilateral decisions without consulting the team, isolate them from other team members, or do their job for them.

Besides the unique motivations each of those four carry, people are also motivated by their level of experience, and that needs to be taken into account when you think about how to motivate people.

Trainees are people who are brand new, and havent developed skill in a particular area. They are very dependent on the leader to make progress, since they dont know enough yet to operate effectively. They need explicit instructions, clear guidance, and tight supervision.

Performers are people who have begun to develop some skill but arent yet proficient. Their confidence is growing and they want to try new things. They need direction, boundaries, and your help in focusing their efforts.

Competitors are proficient and confident and start to take ownership of the process, even innovating how it is accomplished. They may become cocky and resistant to new instruction. As a leader, you need to become a coach, and give them opportunities to get involved with the bigger picture.

Trainers are proficient and independent, they can write their own goals and will



seek help if and when needed. The key to motivating trainers is to wait to be asked. Checking in too often gives the impression that you lack confidence in them.

Looking at what type of people you are leading and what their experience level is will enable you to motivate your people well.

Chapter 7: Decide to Be Relational

At the end of the day, life is about relationships. That means your leadership effectiveness is either energized or hindered by the way you handle them. If you want to be surrounded by responsible, compassionate, forward-looking people, you need to give them real responsibility and express confidence they can live up to the challenge. If you want to associate with emotionally healthy people, you need to be emotionally healthy, and do things like forgive whatever grievances you have against others. If you prefer to attract negative, underachieving, critical people, then criticize them often, micromanage them, and be unapproachable and demanding.

People can be challenging to lead; they can bring out the best and worst in us. Honest leaders accept that the journey is worth it, even with the challenge. Helping others is a roller coaster of victories and disappointments. It would not be hard to become selfish or defensive in dealing with people if we take a short-term view of their potential. We need to be in this for the long haul.

Deciding to be relational has a very personal aspect to it. What kind of people we are ourselves will overflow into our relationships. Leaders who are content will have better relationships because they are able to give more than they take. Wise leaders invest in their own contentment, and do things that foster it, like maintaining a personal devotional life, in order to not have to look to others to fill the needs that God should fill.

Likewise, our ability to keep our personal commitments has a huge impact on our relationships, and thus on our leadership. I often hear that there is a shortage of leaders today. The world is scrambling to find trustworthy individuals to be our leaders. One of the reasons for this is that we have lost our moral credibility. People who cant keep their commitments at home want to be put in charge of productive environments; people who cant answer their kids want us to trust the answers they give in the workplace. And people who fail to discipline their passions want us to pretend they can discipline the workflow in complex work environments.

Of course, there are no guarantees in any relationship because there are so many variables. However, people of solid character who are attracted to each other for good reasons are more likely to decide to work through issues together rather than use them against each other.

In deciding to be relational, there are three skills that are essential to develop:

1. Listening. Patient listening will enable you to get who people really are.



2. Setting boundaries. Human interaction is powerful, and the only way to manage the attractions that naturally arise is to set healthy boundaries. Boundaries say, I will not sacrifice long-term integrity for short-term pleasure.

3. Practical definitions. All healthy relationships are defined; people do this intuitively. Being able to define relationships will enable you to define the level and type of involvement you will have with someone.

Our leadership effectiveness will always be tied to our relationships, as we all become like the people we spend time with. It is worth working on your relational skills because they will determine the level of influence others will allow you to have in their lives. You are the best leadership asset you have!

Chapter 8: Decide to Identify the Influencers

Key influencers are the people who really make things happen. They are the people others listen to and look to. They may or may not have positions of influence, but they are the determiners of what will actually happen when a decision must be made. If you are going to succeed as a leader, you need to learn to identify who those people are and find a way to get them on board with what you want to accomplish. (Ironically, I have often found that the people who intimidate me are the very ones I need to recruit).

Every organization contains key influencers

who determine the success or failure of any venture. Gain their support and you will be quite effective in your leadership goals. They will endorse your ideas, recruit favor from others, and commit time and resources to help move projects forward. Failure to include them will create all kinds of roadblocks. People who would otherwise be enthusiastic will hesitate if the influencers arent in favor.

So how do you identify the influencers? Here are a few things to look for:

The Look. In a discussion, you will often see people look over at someone to see what their reaction is to a new idea or point being made. Sometimes it is a stare, sometimes a quick check-in or glance, but it will often be aimed at the same person by different group members.

The Advance. Key influencers create momentum. When they get behind a project or endorse an idea, things start to happen.

The Wait. Once people know who the key influencers are, they will wait to take action until they know they have this influential persons approval.

As you try to determine who the most persuasive people are in your sphere of leadership, remember that they arent necessarily the loudest people in the room, and they may not have a position. They may not pursue you, and they may not be particularly bold. But they have a following.

How do you recruit them once you find them?

Look for common ground. You dont



have to be best friends, but you do need to find a way to build mutual trust.

Go to them first. They need to know that you respect and value them.

Ask them to evaluate your ideas. They are the people who will convince others that your idea is a good one. If they can give you feedback ahead of time (and you listen to it), they will be more invested, and things will go more smoothly.

Address their concerns. They care deeply about the things they are involved in. if you fail to address their concerns, they will raise them in public, and your chances of success will shrink.

Chapter 9: Decide to Rally to Risk

Risk is an inherent part of every leaders life. The reason people look to leaders is that life is a risky pursuit. They are aware of the difficulties and hard work involved in moving forward, and the potential for failure, and get intimidated rather than motivated. Its the leaders job to evaluate risk and lead the charge into the risks that make sense. If a leader takes risks that are too small, people wont be inspired. If the risk is too big, people will feel defeated. So how does a leader figure out what risks are smart to pursue and which ones should be avoided?

Use a long-term lens. Leaders look farther into the future than followers. Followers ask, What will this do for me now? Leaders ask, How will this affect us in 10-20 years? We cant always predict that

accurately, but looking at the long term changes our priorities and choices today.

Plant what you believe you can harvest. When you think about taking risks, you want to choose those that will reasonably turn into a harvest. Its easy to be busy with things that dont bring much of a return. Other activities can have a dramatic impact. If we want to take intelligent risks, we need to look for where the impact will be. (Looking at where it has been in the past will help you predict where it will be in the future).

Lean toward your strengths. Leaders activate their strengths. Effective leaders know their weaknesses are inefficient and time-consuming. Their strengths are effective, efficient, and impactful, so leaders spend time evaluating their strengths and the strengths of those around them, and seize opportunities that will take advantage of them.

Trust persistent promptings. The longer you lead, the stronger your instincts become. Experience teaches you over time what will work and what will only create conflict or disappointment. Some ideas catch attention for the moment, and then disappear; others persist, and often the more we think about them and discuss them, the stronger the prompting in our heart grows. Leaders take action when the stirring of their hearts remains consistent over a reasonable time period.

Chapter 10: Decide to Seek Supernatural Support



God created you to be a leader. He knows how you are wired, what you love, what frustrates you, and the vision he has given you. He knows everyone around you and how they can contribute to the vision. Learning to listen to the Holy Spirit in the midst of leading is one of the quickest ways to rally people to the cause and gain the wisdom you need to lead.

So how do you tap into the insight, strength, and resources that are available to you?

Practice spiritual breathing. On a daily basis exhale any spiritual impurities by confessing any known sin and asking forgiveness. Then inhale by asking the Holy Spirit to fill you afresh and choose to yield to his guidance. Over time you will become increasingly comfortable having the Spirit in the drivers seat.

Cooperate with the Holy Spirit. Following the Spirits lead involves planning and adjusting because there is nothing passive about following. We must plan with our hearts fully invested in what we are doing, while being willing to adjust as the Spirit leads. Often He gives us the guidance when we need it; not all of it comes ahead of time.

Learn to worship. One of the biggest challenges to figuring out what God wants in our lives is getting our eyes off ourselves. By nature we are self-centered, but leadership is other-centered. Worship gives you something bigger than you and better than you to focus on. The more you worship, the more other-centered you become. Often this is a prime time for God to speak to you.

Some other things you can do include learning to pray out loud, fasting, and identifying lies you have believed and replacing them with the truth. The Holy Spirit wants you to grow, and if we cooperate with him, we will. Becoming a leader who is guided by the Holy Spirit will help you significantly impact those around you.

Conclusion: Pursue Your Dream

Imagine if leaders didnt lead. The results would be disastrous!

If leaders didnt lead, the innovations we rely on every day would never have existed.

If leaders didnt lead, the morals of our society would deteriorate even more rapidly than they already are.

If leaders didnt lead, disorganization would be the norm (it takes a lot of energy to keep things on track).

If leaders didnt lead, people would become distracted and aimless.

Leaders are needed; they are central to how God operates in our world.

Like most of us, I am in a hurry to get thereI want to be smarter now, stronger now, more successful noweven though my head knows that some things just take time.

You are an important project, and your development as a leader will take time. The world with all its complexity and challenges needs your leadership today. It will need it tomorrow and in the future. It



will be needed as long as God gives you breath. Decide now to do your best to become the leader he has called you to be.

The Pastors Perspective

I think Bill Farrel nailed the key areas a leader needs to give attention to. The important thing to me is to make a decision, a commitment, to the areas he mentioned. It highlights the reality that as leaders we must be intentional about those things; they dont just happen.

To be fair, some will. We are all wired with different strengths and things we just do naturally. But I suspect few of us are people who naturally do all ten of the things mentioned well, which means we will have to be deliberate about growing in those areas.

The more I go on in leadership, the more convinced I am of the importance of being intentional. We have a lot more freedom than we realize to set our own agendas, even if we arent the top leader in our organization. No matter what our position or role is, we can choose to be relational, motivate others, and be ready for whatever comes next. Im also more and more aware of how many excuses I can conjure up to let myself off the hook. Being intentional is a discipline, and one I dont always want. But Ive seen the difference it makes, in my life and in others, so Im committed to keep learning and growing in my intentionality.

I personally grabbed hold of the chapter on

Decide to be ready. He emphasized being physically ready by taking care of yourself, and identifying your unique strengths or giftedness and focusing on and developing those. I completely agree with the importance of that, but I find it challenging to do. The reality in ministry, (and I suspect in most organizations), is that there are a lot of things you just have to do because they have to get done, whether you are good at them or not. At least that is what most of us think, and that creates a time and energy challenge.

This points at an area where my thinking has really changed. After planting three churches, I find I am much more able to live with things not happening. There are a few essentials that I have to do, but a lot less than I first thought. Doing the things I do welland doing them wellhas a much bigger payoff for me and for the church than doing all the other essentials. Ive become more willing and able to say to the church, This is important, but I cant do it. Either someone else has to, or we will have to live without it. Most people actually understand that, and most of the time it results in someone else stepping up to fill those shoes. Even when it doesnt, it isnt fatal, so to speak, and my life is much more manageable and effective if I dont buckle under the pressure I may feel (usually self-produced). Few people, if any, have really gotten angry or offended.

I want to encourage you to think about what you can let go of, so you can do well what you are gifted for. I know of some pastors who have started a stop-doing list to go with their to-do list. If you have too much to do, I encourage you to



consider it. You may have a lot on your plate that doesnt really need to be there.



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10 Best Decisions.pdf