Have you ever felt like you were working as hard as you possibly could and still at the end of the day were left with a pile of work that didn’t get done? Ever feel like everyone was coming to you for you to weigh in on every decision that needed to be made? Ever feel like what you thought was just going to be a busy season has turned into a normal way of work?
Pain points like this can be a gift because pain is an indicator that something is wrong and needs to change.
The good news is things can change. When you experience this kind of pain it’s time to ask yourself the following questions:
1. Have I Hit a Capacity Lid?
The first question to ask is, “What am I doing that is contributing to this?” Great leaders always start with themselves, not others. They take personal ownership for where they are and how they got there. Is there a new skill you need to learn or a new approach you need to take? Do you need to
increase your capacity and break through that lid?
2. What Needs to Change?
Do you need to learn to delegate more tasks to others? Do you need to empower others to make decisions and build strategies that get the team to designed outcomes? Are you doing too much as a high level generalist and it’s time to narrow your focus and allow other specialists to do a better job at what you were doing an OK job at? In other words, oftentimes this kind of ongoing experience can be an indicator that
it’s time for a growing church to restructure.
3. What Does the Church Need From Me?
Where do you bring the most value to the church? Where do your gifts, abilities and experiences advance the vision the most? Are you contributing greatly in that area? The thing that most people don’t realize is that as the church grows, the church actually needs something different from its leaders along the way, not all that dissimilar to parenting.
4. What Do I Want to Do?
Of all the things you find yourself doing right now, what do you want to keep doing? What would you give away to others to do if you could? Is what you’re doing right now moving you closer to the vision or further away? And do you want to go where that vision is leading you?
