Lead With Your Strengths

The Word for Today

'...I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit...' Isaiah 48:17 NKJV

In case you’re wondering whether or not God wants you to succeed, the answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’ He told the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.’ (Isaiah 48:17 NKJV) But you’ll only succeed if you know and do the right things. Only as the leader grows, will the company or ministry grow. It’s amazing how much time, money and energy we spend on things that can’t produce growth. Logos, websites, brochures and slogans are all important, but they’ll never make up for incompetent leadership. So what should you do? Once you know you’re walking in God’s will and your private life is in order, the keys to success are priorities and concentration. 

John Maxwell offers the following guidelines: 

(1) Focus 70% of your energy on developing your strengths. Effective leaders who reach their potential spend more time on what they do well than on what they do badly. 

(2) Focus 25% on new things. If you want to get better you have to keep changing and improving. That means stepping out into new areas. If you dedicate time to new things related to your strong areas, you’ll grow as a leader. 

(3) Focus 5% on areas of weakness. Nobody can entirely avoid working in their areas of weakness. (Note: we’re not talking here about sin or character weaknesses that must be dealt with.) The key is to delegate to gifted people the things that you’re not particularly good at. That way you’re free to concentrate in the areas of your God–given strengths.