I like to see things get done. I like to see things get done well. I am hard working and dedicated. I am organized, detail-minded, and task oriented. All of these things are good, but sometimes they cause me to forget my role. Instead, of seeing where I can help out and doing my part well, I often try to play every role. I try to be the Visionary and come up with risky, challenging ideas that breed new opportunities with the big picture in mind, but that is not where I thrive. I try to be the Strategist and see what will work best and what will go wrong, to anticipate change and figure out how to deal with it, and though I can sometimes be successful in this area, it is still not where I preform best. I try to be the Builder and gather people and organize them do accomplish the task at hand, to implement systems and processes that flow, but this is simply not where I flourish. However, when I step into the role of the Operator and make step by step plans to see the task completed, make sure everything is in order and serving its purpose, I triumph.
This week, I learned about the principle of the 4 roles, Visionary, Strategist, Builder, and Operator. I discovered that they each represent the different ways we organize the world, tolerate change, and juggle variables. I found that the role we fall into directly relates with the kind of work that we will be most successful in.
This lesson was paired with a reminder of Paul’s teaching in the Bible on how God created us each uniquely with different gifts and talents. In Romans 12:4-8 he says, “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”
I was extremely convicted by the knowledge placed in front of me. It was exceptionally easy for me to recognize the role that fits me best. I immediately saw how I truly prosper when I operate in my God given role. With that though, came the realization that I so often find myself trying to take on other roles. Even when I knew exactly where I was supposed to be and what I would be most productive and beneficial doing, I still tried to take on more roles. There lies the downfall to the list I made at the beginning of this blog. I want to do it all myself, because I wrongly think that I can do it better than anyone else. I fall into the thinking of “If I want it done well I have to do it myself” or “It’s my way or the highway.” This mindset and my actions did not align with scripture or the commands I knew God had given us.
I realized that although, I know my role, I need to actually operate in it. I need to understand that God has given me specific gifts to work in a specific way and I need to do it and it alone. I need to recognize that there are many things that many other people can do much better than me and let them operate in their roles and work in the gifts that God has given me. By doing this, I will be more successful in my own life and I will be contributing to the One Body in the best way that I can be.
