Put differently—unless you know yourself, it may not matter what else you know.
The great thing about this self-awareness is the freedom, both for herself and for others, that comes as we live into this awareness.
The pursuit of self-awareness starts by acknowledging that God has lovingly and wisely wired up each of us differently, and wants us to live fully into how we’re made. I don’t know about you, but coming of age as a Christian in an era of big names and big testimonies, I pretty much thought for many years that I was supposed to strive to be like those leaders I watched, heard and whose books I read. I thought if they were the model, I should be like them.
The problem with that approach is that it sets us up for confusion and the potential of a “bad fit”—a little like taking a size 10 garment into the fitting room when you are a size 14. The size 10 looks good on the rack; it may even be a color and style you love, but if it’s not sized for you, it won’t work!
There are all kinds of tests, inventories, surveys and tools to help leaders become aware of their gifts, abilities and personality—the Myers-Briggs inventory, the Enneagram, the Leadership Compass, the S.H.A.P.E. tool from Saddleback Community Church and any number of spiritual gifts assessment tools—these are all popularly available and helpful to the leader who is eager to lead well.
The awareness that can be gained from this stuff is exponentially magnified when the leader gets to know the unique style and gifts of those on her team. Suddenly what may have seemed like annoying traits and tendencies make perfect sense in light of how another processes information, makes decisions, or approaches a project. If you’re leading a team and you are frustrated, you may want to your group to take any one of the inventories mentioned above. I hope to share more about this in a future blog post.
This year, your Women Ministries coaching team is focusing on the spiritual gifts we receive when we enter into a saving relationship with Christ, reminding us that we are most effective when we accept and exercise our gift or gifts by serving the church with and through them. We’ve prepared a great training experience called Treasuring the Gift within You. It will be available at most of the fall retreats through The Leadership Connection (TLC), a yearly training component designed to equip and sharpen women leaders.
I urge and encourage you to check out TLC and to get there. The journey to self-awareness starts by acknowledging God’s love for you and the gift of the Holy Spirit that is ready to be received by the church!
