Let me start off by saying you’re not going to understand everything in this post or my Triple-Threat Leadership concept until you read yesterday’s post which you can find here.
Regardless of whether you’re a senior pastor, small group pastor, children’s pastor, youth pastor, administrative pastor (or any other kind of leader) you’ll find that the principles I’m writing about are universal for anyone in leadership. Yesterday I introduced the idea of the three critical leadership skills (casting vision, executing strategy, and fostering relationships). Today I want to demonstrate how each of the three are mutually supportive and ultimately mutually dependent.
Vision supports Strategy by providing the direction that strategies must take. Strategy supports Relationship by establishing the roles which define the organization’s relationships. Relationship supports Vision by providing a platform for accountability toward accomplishing the vision.
Vision supports Relationship by creating a common ground or shared goal. Relationship supports Strategy by greasing the wheels of communication. Strategy supports Vision by defining the details that accomplish the vision.
Not only do all three skills support one another, but leadership falls apart if any one of the skills is absent. Without Vision relationships have no foundation and strategy has no real direction. Without Strategy vision is fuzzy and relationships lack definition. Without Relationships strategy is cold and there’s no accountability to achieve the vision. All three must be present for leadership to work.
It’s true that leaders should play to their strengths and not worry much about their weaknesses, UNLESS their weakness is in one of these three areas. If you’re weak in any of these three leadership skills you are not being an effective leader, so you don’t have any choice but to improve on these weaknesses! Most weaknesses you can work around, but not casting vision, executing strategy and fostering relationships. So which of these three skills do you lack? In what area(s) are you weakest? Figure that out and you’ll understand why some things in your ministry just aren’t working the way they’re supposed to. Shore up your weaknesses and you’ll be a more complete leader!
