I am starting to unpack some things from Catalyst and thought I would share some thoughts. The opening session was Andy Stanley and his question was:
What do you do when it dawns on you that you are the most powerful person in the room?
The fact is, Jesus says I have just showed you what to do, I have just set an example, I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than the master, no messenger is greater than the one who sent him. This is Jesus’ words and example, he laid the foundation for true leadership. You also need to look for ways to leverage your power for the sake of the other people in the room, in your organization and in your church.
I know I have been there, having all eyes on me and if you’re a leader, you have faced this question too. After September 11, 2001, I was laid off from my job and even though it caught me totally off guard, I made a few calls and landed a new job that very same day. It was not a long term position, in my mind, but it was something to do. A friend of mine was getting ready to open a new business in town and he needed someone to run it. I went down and helped him finish setting things up, he showed me a few things, then he was out of there. He had already hired a few people, so I had an instant staff. I think it was the first day we were open, something went wrong. (imagine that!) The problem worked it’s way through a few people and got to me. Now, I have a degree in business and I had management classes and spent 5 years in the business world, but since my career shifted to IT, I had gotten used to working on my own and not having to deal with things not directly related to me.
So, I’m totally out of my element working for a business that I know virtually nothing about and on top of that, I’m the boss! Needless to say, on day 1, I hadn’t exactly settled into this role yet. So, this issue gets up to me and my thought was like ‘Oh wow, what’s my friend, the owner, going to do with that?‘ Then, seriously, it dawned on me, my employees were all looking at me and I think there was a customer looking at me, and at that moment, I was the most powerful person in the room. I was the one that had the power to make a decision outside the norm, call the shots, resolve an issue and either satisfy a customer or tick them off. I think I was wondering what I was going to do as much as everyone else was. I don’t remember the issue and I don’t remember the decision I made, but I do remember that moment very clearly.
That job taught me a lot, it was very much a change from my normal routine but I seriously grew to love it. In my time there, I went from having minimum wage employees who didn’t care to minimum wage employees who felt valued beyond just their low pay. I learned to be intentional about who I hired and constantly let them know how much they were appreciated, plus helped everyone to see the big picture of where we were going. I had 2 shifts working 7 days a week and it was a huge effort to bridge the gap between the shifts and get everyone on board for our ultimate goal.
Nowadays, being the Tech Ministry Leader at church, I am finding myself in this situation once again. I am building multiple teams and leading us as we take technology to the next level and beyond in our church. We are doing things that we have never done before in this church and that’s difficult to overcome sometimes. But, I am amazed at the people that God is bringing into this ministry and it truly is God. I have prayed for people to come and God is faithful. He is providing many people with a heart to serve and a desire to learn, more people than I expected. (I’m glad He’s bigger than I am)
Now, I pray for the ability to effectively pull this team together and lead in a way that follows Jesus example.
So, what are you going to do when it dawns on you that you are the most powerful person in the room?