Lay-Staff to your weaknesses

I'm a vision-caster, teacher, strategist, planner... I'm not a detail person.
I'm an entrepreneur, not a manager.
Ben once told me that some personality types make lists and use them, my type makes lists and loses them.
I think abstractly and logically but more on the logical side.
I show emotion but sometimes when I'm thinking it seems as if I'm down.
I think aloud at times so when I toss back an idea, sometimes I'm just digging for the gold.
I always have a reason so people have to approach me having thought things through in order to get my attention.
I lead by example and from a distance, not with a lot of words or oversight.

I could go on about me but that's not the point of this post.

The point is that I know myself pretty well. I also know where I am weak. One big mistake that can be made when you're starting a church (or leading in most any field) is to try and cover your weak-side alone.

We hear this principle in various ways through various speakers in various books or conferences but the message should stick out to us like a neon sign: "Staff to your weaknesses stupid!" (That's how my sign would read for me, you may have a more calm and polite way to speak to yourself.)

In our recent shuffle that's taking place I've been more open and honest with my lay-leaders about my weak side. I've been inviting a gentleman in our church along to meetings and talk with him about decisions. He's proven his loyalty and respects my leadership so the area of trust is there... Now I'm tapping into one of his strengths... systems thinking.

Calvin is an organizer. He's a systems person. I tell him "This is what it needs to look like... Here are the things I hate about other systems and why... Here are things I would like to see out of our way of doing it... go make it happen." From there I move on and look for other areas that need improvement and put in some time thinking through them. You see, I'm good at evaluating what does and doesn't work. I'm good at creating ways to do more with less. I'm good at reading people. I'm good at motivating people. But I'm not good at long-term managing of systems that are already in place or coming up with checks and balances. I can do that stuff (and have) but it isn't fun for me. Systems are fun for Calvin. He likes taking concepts and creating structure... it fires him up. He's like the guy from the A-team "I love it when a plan comes together."

I've seen now in flesh and blood what it's like to have someone who can cover your weakness. I implore you to figure out where you are weak and get other people that are loyal to you and your vision around you. If they're the right person they will consider it an honor that you invited them in and they will bust their tail to make sure it's done right. Many of us are afraid to admit where we are weak. Just get over it and say aloud what everyone says behind your back :)

If you can't pay for it... Lay-Staff to your weaknesses!