Once I had a professor in college say to me, “If you want to get something done ask a busy person to do it.”
Leaders are busy people, particularly women leaders. We wear many hats and seemingly spin many plates. In the words of Rosie the Riveter, “We can do it!” And we can. But the question we must ask ourselves is “Should we do it?”
Fill in the blank with your “it.” Clubs, campaigns, new ministry ventures, mentoring relationships, extracurricular activities, programs, projects or other time fillers may be worthy pursuits, but are they all personally necessary for us right now?
We ask ourselves questions like: “Where do I meet you?” “When will this begin?” “What is expected of me?” “How will I pull this off?”
But rarely do we ask, “Why should I do this?”
As leaders we want to be dependable, capable and trusted, yet at some point we need to re-evaluate our personal vision. We are not indispensable, and if we are not careful we can burn out quickly and lose sight of our essential purpose. We need to know our “Why?”
Before we seek to know the why for our ministry, business, or family, we must first know the why for ourselves. And when we know our personal vision we can then establish the “why” for the teams we lead.
Here are 3 keys to developing your personal vision:
- Ask God to reveal His vision for your life.
Prayerfully seek God’s will concerning your time and commitments. What matters most to Him? How will He have you serve Him with the gifts and talents He has given you? - Create a short, personal vision statement.
Ask questions like, “Where do I see myself in five years?” “What are my passions?” “What matters most to me?” Then write a one to two sentence vision statement that addresses these questions. Review it often. - Get help.
Proverbs 15:22 says, “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisors they succeed.” We don’t want to be lone ranger leaders. Share your personal vision with your spouse, team leader, pastor, close friends, and then see how they can help you fulfill that vision.
Women leaders, we can do it! When we know our personal vision we will achieve all that God has planned for us. Pray and ask the Lord to guide your vision as you faithfully walk in His will.
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