Vision: October 2007 Archives
It's been over a week now since I last blogged on here, and the main reason for this is that i wanted to try to digest some of the stuff I've been reading before I went on any further.
And here's some of my thoughts...
I fully agree with the whole idea of level 5 leadership, and the idea of putting together a team who have the right attitude and personality to take an organisation further toward its goal. I also think that the idea of encouraging your team to discuss the stuff that's going well (or where improvements need to be made) is really valid.
My issue though, is that I know leaders at both ends of the spectrum - those who clearly show level 5 leadership in the way they build a team and mobilize them to "play to their strengths", and those who can clearly see where God is calling their organisation and can pretty much inspire anyone to get on board and run towards the goal without necessarily thinking through the whole strengths and personality issues discussed in "good to great".
So where does that leave me?
I guess, the big question in my head at the moment is - "if you work on the whole level 5 leadership and playing to strengths ideals, then won't you end up with a vision based on doing what the people on your team happen to be good at, rather than having a clear focus for the organisation as a whole that everyone will throw themselves into?"
Any thoughts on this would be gratefully received. But as for now, I guess it's back to the book.
And here's some of my thoughts...
I fully agree with the whole idea of level 5 leadership, and the idea of putting together a team who have the right attitude and personality to take an organisation further toward its goal. I also think that the idea of encouraging your team to discuss the stuff that's going well (or where improvements need to be made) is really valid.
My issue though, is that I know leaders at both ends of the spectrum - those who clearly show level 5 leadership in the way they build a team and mobilize them to "play to their strengths", and those who can clearly see where God is calling their organisation and can pretty much inspire anyone to get on board and run towards the goal without necessarily thinking through the whole strengths and personality issues discussed in "good to great".
So where does that leave me?
I guess, the big question in my head at the moment is - "if you work on the whole level 5 leadership and playing to strengths ideals, then won't you end up with a vision based on doing what the people on your team happen to be good at, rather than having a clear focus for the organisation as a whole that everyone will throw themselves into?"
Any thoughts on this would be gratefully received. But as for now, I guess it's back to the book.
One of the best books on Youth Ministry I ever read is called "Purpose Driven Youth Ministry" by Doug Fields. I read it when I was just starting out in youth ministry and it had such an impact on my thinking behind why and how we do youth ministry that I ended up re-reading it at least once a year for the following 5 years (at least).
Anyway, about 4 years ago, I decided to try applying some of the basic principles of Purpose driven thinking to my own personal development, and as a result developed draft personal vision & mission statements, which I had pinned up on my wall for several years, but never really did a lot with them.
Until today that is...
Today @ the NYSFC weekly team training session, Kathryn Deldafield (I can almost guarantee that I spelled her name wrong) came over from Ashby YFC to talk to us about... developing a personal vision statement, which was really helpful and has caused me to re-think the whole area of designing a plan for personal development.
I'm still thinking the whole thing through at the mo, but quite excited about refining my initial thoughts on the whole area.
One point that I'd love some feedback on is the difference between a "vision" statment and a "mission" statement. I've always thought that a vision statement pretty much describes the "island" that you're hoping to get to, whereas a mission statement really helps to define "HOW" we're going to get to the island. But today's session was looking at vision statements, but angled from the "how we get there" perspective.
Is there a difference when applied to personal development thinking, or are they one and the same and I should just get on with it?
Let me know your thoughts.
And thanks Kathryn for sharing your insights into this whole area. It really was very useful.
Anyway, about 4 years ago, I decided to try applying some of the basic principles of Purpose driven thinking to my own personal development, and as a result developed draft personal vision & mission statements, which I had pinned up on my wall for several years, but never really did a lot with them.
Until today that is...
Today @ the NYSFC weekly team training session, Kathryn Deldafield (I can almost guarantee that I spelled her name wrong) came over from Ashby YFC to talk to us about... developing a personal vision statement, which was really helpful and has caused me to re-think the whole area of designing a plan for personal development.
I'm still thinking the whole thing through at the mo, but quite excited about refining my initial thoughts on the whole area.
One point that I'd love some feedback on is the difference between a "vision" statment and a "mission" statement. I've always thought that a vision statement pretty much describes the "island" that you're hoping to get to, whereas a mission statement really helps to define "HOW" we're going to get to the island. But today's session was looking at vision statements, but angled from the "how we get there" perspective.
Is there a difference when applied to personal development thinking, or are they one and the same and I should just get on with it?
Let me know your thoughts.
And thanks Kathryn for sharing your insights into this whole area. It really was very useful.
Stats Counter
Powered by Visitor Stats