"Leaders bring vision, faith and courage to coordinated effort. Vision to see what ought to be done. Faith to believe it can be done. Courage to persevere until it is done."

Lorne Sanny, The Navigators

By What Yardstick Do You Measure Your Leadership?

On my desk is a bent, coffee-stained card not much bigger than a business card. It is stuck in the yellow porcupine pen and pencil holder my niece gave me one year for Christmas. My niece just finished her student teaching and graduated from college. The card and the porcupine pencil holder have moved with me from Baltimore, to Michigan and most recently to Denver. Both hold special places in my heart.

I was given this card at a conference I attended in 1987. Some of you might remember this conference. It was a Christian Action Council Director's Conference in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Lorne Sanny from the Navigators was our keynote speaker and gave each of us in attendance one of these cards. He spoke about leadership. It changed my life. What Mr. Sanny taught us is condensed into a few words on that coffee-stained card. For as long as the card has been on my desk, it has given me direction and guidance for my leadership roles in the Pregnancy Center ministry. Those words have been the yardstick I have used to evaluate myself as a leader over the years.

On the front of the card it says:

Leaders Bring Vision, Faith and Courage to Coordinated Effort.

Inside the card on it says:

Vision
to see what ought to be done
Faith
to believe it can be done.
Courage
to persevere until it is done.

These are qualities and actions we must exhibit if we expect people to join us in our visions and trust us as leaders. Asking yourself questions around these qualities is a good yardstick to measure your leadership in your ministry. Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

Concerning Vision:

What is your vision?
How well do you articulate that vision to various groups and people?
How many different ways can you tell your ministry's story to connect with the people you hope to impact or include in your ministry?
Does everyone involved in your ministry know what the vision is?
How have you equipped others to articulate your vision in a diverse and helpful way?

Concerning Faith:

How do you build your own faith?
How do you encourage faith in others?
Who are you accountable to?
What is this faith based upon?
How does your faith and work interact, effect one another?
Do you use your faith to minister to others or to manipulate others to your point of view?

Concerning Courage:

How well do you persevere?
How is courage exhibited in your perseverance?
Where do you go to get encouraged?
Who holds your arms up when you are in the battle?
How do you encourage others?
How will you know when or if it is time for you to move on and allow someone else to carry the vision?

Coordinated Effort

Coordinated effort suggests that it takes more than one good leader to achieve a ministry's vision. The inclusion of others and coordinating everyone's efforts is essential in accomplishing your vision. Inside the card on the right hand side are listed four questions that everyone wants to know when they get involved in an organization or ministry. Be assured that everyone asks these questions whether they are voiced out loud or thought internally.

What am I supposed to do?
Will you let me do it?
Will you help me when I need it?
Will you let me know how I am doing?

How well are you doing at answering these questions for everyone who is involved in your ministry? A good leader anticipates these questions and has answers to these questions in the form of written materials, management systems, job descriptions, delegation, support systems, and feedback mechanisms designed and working within their ministry.

I believe that how we address these questions in our ministry has a direct link to staff and volunteer longevity or quick turnover. How you answer these questions is the yardstick that tells you how well you are equipping and communicating with those whom you are leading and without whom you could not accomplish your vision.

In future issues we will continue to discuss the various characteristics of leadership. We will look more in-depth at vision, faith and courage and how leaders can best coordinate their efforts in ways that would please and glorify Jesus Christ. Please write and let me know what you struggle with the most in terms of leadership and we will address those struggles in future issues.

"So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them  by the skillfulness of his hands."    Psalm 78:72 (KJ)