Tony Morgan posted this on his blog recently and I think it is something that a lot of us pastors and leaders face in our ministry life…”Am I a Leader or a Manager?”  Once you can answer this question and know how God has wired you, I believe you will be able to find your “Sweet Spot” in the work that God has called you to do! 

In their book First, Break All the Rules, Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman defined both roles like this:

Managers – “Great managers look inward. They look inside the company, into each individual, into the differences in style, goals, needs, and motivation of each person. These differences are small, subtle, but great managers need to pay attention to them. These subtle differences guide them toward the right way to release each person’s unique talents into performance.”

Leaders – “Great leaders look outward. They look out at the competition, out at the future, out at alternative routes forward. They focus on broad patterns, finding connections, cracks, and then press home their advantage where the resistance is weakest. They must be visionaries, strategic thinkers, activators. When played well, this is, without doubt, a critical role. But it doesn’t have much to do with the challenge of turning one individual’s talents into performance.”

That’s how Buckingham and Coffman described the two roles in marketplace organizations, but the Bible also distinguishes these two rules. The spiritual gift of leadership found in Romans 12:8 is very different from the spiritual gift of management (or administration) found in I Corinthians 12:28. Few people have both of these gifts, but both are needed within a healthy church body.

So, here are some questions to consider, pray about and discuss with your team:

• Are you a leader or manager? (How do you know?)
• Are you in a role that allows you to lead or manage according to your gifts?
• Do you know whether or not the people working for you are leaders or managers?
• Are they serving in roles that fit their giftedness?
• Have you defined what roles in your organization need leaders and which ones need managers

When one of those roles are open, are you trying to find the person who is best gifted to lead or manage?

So which one are you…a Leader or a Manager?  Are you in your “Sweet Spot”?  For the rest of the post, click here.