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When it comes to leadership, one of the chief responsibilities is to identify and cast a clear vision. But then it keeps going, there is a need to strategize and manage, and sometimes we just need to jump in and do grunt some grunt work to show how something is done and to make things happen.
But before we lead others, we must lead ourselves. Further, if we want to lead a healthy, God-honoring group, we need to be healthy and God-honoring personally. Yes, leadership is partly about what we say, but it’s also about who we are and what we do.
[su_quote cite=”Anonymous”]You teach what you know but impart who you are.[/su_quote]
First and foremost, we must yield to Jesus and seek Him daily. And this leads to using our talents for His glory. As a leader, one of the things I do to faithfully steward the gifts God has given me is listen to leadership podcasts. I’ve begun listening to Craig Groeschel’s new podcast, and it is excellent. (You should follow it!)
I have loved it all, but two specific things he said regarding time management have inspired and challenged me, and I would like to share with you now:
- Schedule your values.
- Say ‘no’ to many small things to say ‘yes’ to a few big things.
Schedule your values.
Probably most of us are familiar with the rocks and a bucket analogy. If you have various shaped rocks and are putting all into a bucket, begin with the larger ones and then fit the smaller ones around them. Same thing with time. We have a limited amount of time; if we don’t schedule the important things first, then our time will fill up and there will be no time for that which is most important.
We all know this. But how often do we lose track. Following this simple advice, I planned a new morning routine. Now I am Waking up a couple hours earlier in order to prioritize the things that are most important (devotions, exercise, reading, and writing). And I love it. The pay off has been absolutely worth a little tiredness and earlier nights. I’m usually tired no matter when I get up, so I might as well be productive in the midst of it!
Say ‘no’ to many small things to say ‘yes’ to a few big things.
This is similar, but now specifically look at some of the small things that tend to consume your time or attention.
I’m still processing this one, but immediately realized that constant social media throughout the day both (A) consumes more time than I think and (B) is distracting. I’ve taken a couple steps to decrease my use of social media, and this has given me more time and also improved my ability to focus throughout the day.
Don’t stop growing.
I hope these ideas help you the way they have me, and please check out Groeschel’s podcast as a source of great ideas from an experienced leader.
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