Picture yourself on a road trip. Are you the meticulous planner, with detailed maps, all stops planned and hotel or campground reservations made? Are you more of a free spirit, where you stop when you see something interesting? Are you someone who drives or flies straight to your destination, with as few stops as possible? Even though there are many ways to travel, there is still a direction and a destination. Your personal style may be this way. You may be a checklist person, where you need to write down all the small steps to your goals. You may fly by the seat of your pants to get where you're going. You may be single-minded and driven until you get there. The thing to keep in mind with leadership, is that you are driving a bus to your destination. You have responsibilities to your passengers. Even though you have a preferred mode of travel, it doesn't always work for the rest of your group. You need to look at their comfort, their safety, their preferences and motivation. They need to have the same destination as you. Your passengers get to choose what bus they're on. Are you on the same bus?
I've heard many in leadership lamenting about the lack of volunteers. If you lead a church or other non-profit, or are in direct sales, you lead an army of volunteers. Sometimes, your volunteers will not hit you over the head with their willingness to serve. Sometimes, they will. Are you ready to mentor them in their volunteer position so that they will be successful? Do you follow through with them while enthusiasm is high? I think we all believe we do. About two years ago, I volunteered with a non-profit in the Quad Cities area. It took several weeks just to be able to get through to the correct person to volunteer my services with. I was invited to attend an open meeting, where I spoke of the service that I was willing to provide. Although there was much agreement that my service would be a great addition to the service they were providing, and several follow up calls on my part, I never was given the opportunity to volunteer. A...
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