When you finish college, it’s easy to think that there are only two drivers to an impactful and competent job or ministry leadership, but there are five…and one of them is a sham. Let’s look at the two drivers first.
- Qualified: If you have a degree in business or from seminary, or if you have a teaching certificate, you are likely to believe that your educational achievement is also a guarantee that you will succeed at your job, profession, or even at leadership. Not so. Being qualified is a good thing, but on its own, your degree or certification is not much. There are a few other factors.
- Landing the Job: Now that you are qualified and have a job…maybe even the job, it seems to many that they are home free. All is well; just show up and do your best. Not so. Landing the job is a very good thing, but it does not guarantee anything more than an opportunity.
So what could there be that is more important than achieving these two: qualification and the job? In ministry, getting your degree and becoming a youth worker, outreach guy, pastor, or missionary seems to be all that is needed to assure your successful ministry impact on people. Not so. There are three more steps… and one is a dead end.
- Competent: Seasoned people find it amusing that the qualified people who have landed their first job imagine that they are well-functioning and impactful professionals. Not so. If you show up for work with your smiles on and have the briefcase that your mom or spouse gave you, you are not guaranteed success. The most important thing to do is to consistently work to attain a worthy level of competence. Many people fail here, but by learning from their mistakes (suddenly less impressed with their own certificate or licensure), they grow and move on.
If this is as far as you get, that’s pretty good. A competent person with the job is a wonder. But there is an important distinction between moving beyond competence and achieving impactful leadership.
- Charisma. If you were a big deal in high school, this may be you. Charisma is a way to bypass many awkward relationships and credibility-building experiences on the way to the good result of people trusting and following you. Because it is a shortcut, charisma cannot help you meet the need for a plan, a reason, or a rationale. People with charisma are not known for meeting such objective needs. This can have two results. Either you keep moving to a new ministry as your charisma shifts from being an asset to a liability, or you hit the wall and learn the benefits of being ignored, rejected, and insecure at a later stage of life. See why charisma is a scam? And yet you know people who fit this description.
- Burden: If you are competent AND have a burden for your work, you are a rare wonder. Right now you can name a very few people who fit this much happier description. These are the people who do not just do their job well; they are ‘all in.’ They talk endlessly about their passion for whatever it is they do. They want you to be excited about it too; they refuse to take second-best efforts from their co-workers or employees; they read, talk, listen. They discuss this with everyone all the time, even on vacation. An older example: Dr. James Dobson; a younger one: Andy Stanley. This is where the best and even godly leadership comes from. Do not stop with competence and do not envy those who rely on their charisma.