I mentioned that I’d share some of the learnings from our/my interaction with Terry Walling. He was in town Saturday to share with a large group of leaders from all of Calvary’s worship gatherings, and he stayed through Tuesday, when he met with Calvary’s staff plus a few other local leaders. I got to spend a few hours with him one-on-one Monday afternoon.
Uh-may-zing.
I am sure that I’ve heard some of the principles that he shared at some point in my life. What seems to be life-giving and ground-breaking to me may be old news to you. But like a spelunker stumbling across a flashlight, I found Terry’s thoughts and teaching to be just what I needed in the moment.
The big takeaway from Saturday revolves around the 4 roles that a leader can carry. He listed them as Pioneer, Developer, Maximizer, and Re-Pioneer. Terry stated that some leaders have a mix of 2 adjoining roles, but seldom carry 3 of the roles. This info wasn’t new, but the application hit me differently than ever before.
For most of my life I’ve thought of myself as a Developer. But as I look back on more than 20 years of ministry, most of the successes have been in the Pioneer/Re-Pioneer realm. That’s a biggie for me. I’ve been pretty good at getting something started or re-tooling something that’s struggled. And I’ve struggled in a lot of places to take things to “that next level.” It’s not that I don’t see what changes or tweaks or improvements need to be made; I simply have difficulty getting where I want to go.
Turns out I need to find Developers/Maximizers to hand things off to when I get to the end of my capacity. I’ve been blessed to have some fantabulous Developers in my life over the years. Chief among those people is my lovely wife Kim. She has been the “behind-the-scenes” architect for most of the teams that have functioned well, the family that has grown exponentially, and the ministries that have had positive influence on people for 20+ years.
I’ve got more to share (Monday was a great day for me), but this is getting lengthy, so I’ll close. I may re-visit this another day soon, but here’s my parting thought:
I need to look at life like a race: not a sprint, not a marathon, but a relay. I’m a pretty good starter. I need to be on a team with others who will take things to the next level.
If you’re looking for some great leadership development coaching or resources, check out Terry’s site. He is making a difference in my life, that’s for sure.
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