Leadership: Choir Director or Soloist

Great leaders resemble a choir director more than a soloist.

We often look up to talented people. People who have a gift and can do something significant with it. These people are valuable and their gifts should be appreciated and put to good use. But leadership is not really about doing great things, it is about facilitating great things. Great soloists have an important place, but they are not the leaders among us.

Leaders are the people who can recognize talent in others and then inspire them to engage that talent with a team toward a worthwhile purpose. This means being trustworthy enough and influential enough that people will work with you and follow you. Then it means figuring out where people fit and how they can fit together. When a team of people are assembled appropriately and put forth their gifts in a unified effort, the beautiful music that leadership can provide is created.

Join Forces But Not All The Time

Sometimes you need to build your own house. There is a time to get a vision and run with it within your sphere of influence. People may criticize you for not including others or for joining others; listen nicely to the critics and then do the right thing.

Of course, there are other times to join together on things. I absolutely love the "Love Moose Jaw" project that churches in our city are joining forces on. What a great plan, what a great city, what a great demonstration of unity and God's love.

http://www.lovemoosejaw.ca/