For two months I have been taking the “Principles of Leadership” class with Truett McConnell University online. Every week they gave two tools to explore and relate to my leadership, so here they are!
Week 1 was the leadership iceberg activity. We discussed our thoughts values and beliefs and were they derive from. Family of origin – the environment that we grow up in and internalize, impact moments – whether positive or negative, mentors – coaches, teaches, pastors, etc, these are all things that impact our beliefs. It is important to know where your beliefs come from in general, but especially in leadership. I am the oldest of 6 children. There are varying interests within the family, so it is hard to spend time together. I have a very loving home environment with a home centered around Jesus. Some values imparted are eating dinner as a family, working hard in school, respecting adults, loving and taking care of one another in sickness and health or in problems and no problems.Some impact moments recently are training camp and the world race. Training camp for the world race in gainesville- this was the first time i encountered or was aware of Holy Spirit movement. I was hearing the Lord’s voice and people were prophesying over me and others. This made me realize that i want nothing for than for my future children to be best friends with the Holy Spirit and to know God personally. That is a firm belief i have. I also desire this for my siblings and my family. Seeing impoverished children all over the world affected me too. Seeing this further developed my belief that everyone needs Jesus. These kids are so joyful and full of life and love regardless of what their home lives look like. I have the belief that these kids are so important, and i want a career in the future where my values and beliefs will liberate these children from spiritual, emotional, and physical poverty. One of my favorite mentors is Dolly Pruett. She is my grandma the prayer warrior. I have watched her my whole life pray in the spirit and fight spiritual battles for me and my family. She imparted the value and power of prayer. She also imparted the belief that it is important to travel into other cultures to experience things. Without her support, i would have never gone on the world race.
Week 2’s tools were vison, values, and the here there path. Vision is a picture of what the future can be. It is your goals and dreams for your future. It also gives meaning, inspiration, motivation, and provides a framework for focus and decision making. Values are like our conscience or our internal compass, and are where we put our time and attention.The choices that we make are heavily rooted in what we value. It is important for us to be aware of our values in order to make healthy and informed decisions for ourselves. The here there path is knowing where I am and how to get to the end goal or the “there.” You cannot lead people without having a vision or goals for your leadership. Sometimes you need steps or a path to get there. My visions or my dreams include bringing justice truth and light to people who aren’t heard from. They all involve loving people like Jesus would, and cultivating healthy strong community amongst brokenness. My 5 highest values are communication, freedom, service, risk taking, love/affection. Once I had my wildest dreams, I figured out my values and then my vision. Some of my wildest dreams are justice for refugees fleeing war stricken countries, being a travel journalist writing about what God is doing in crisis stricken countries, improving water quality and availability, or educating people on how deforestation not only affects the environment but people too. These are just some examples. The common theme of all of my dreams, is that I care about justice for unheard and unseen people, by loving them in ways Jesus would. I care about creating a space where people are aware of the movement of Holy Spirit. I desire to share and teach what the Lord is sharing with me in a non condemning manner. My top values are communication, freedom, service, risk taking, and love/affection. Do you see how all of these line up with the visions for my life of bringing Kingdom on earth! This was amazing to know and now to have as an arrow to point where I should go.
Week three’s tools were the 80-20 rule and smart goals. The 80-20 rule tells you where to spend time and energy. Not everything you put energy into, will give you something in return. Some activities show no benefit, so you should not continue them. Some people do not return pouring into you. You should still pursue them, but not rely on them. The next tool is smart goals. Smart goals are defined as specific clearly defined and focused, attainable or within your control, relevant, time bound with a clear target date. I made three goals. My goal in community is to be on many people’s “build me up” list. Anyone that talks to me or is near me will leave feeling encouraged and uplifted. I will do this in my squad. 2, I will lead by example in positivity and hard work. I will do this on my team, by always having a positive attitude and working hard even when I don’t want to. My personal goal is to work through hurts the Lord is revealing to me. I will process everyday by sitting with the Lord for at least 20 minutes.
Week 4’s goals were the Freedom V and Project Mood curve. The Freedom V is an image of rules and self governance one needs to have. The higher you move up, the more freedom you have. Project Mood Curve is a way of measuring where you are emotionally and spiritually. The A, B, and C zones describe highs and lows, so you can accurately describe how you are feeling. Week 5 talked about Victim and Freedom Circle: they describe your state of mind. Are you looking at the world like it’s controlling you? Or are you controlling it? Also it talked about triggers. These are wounds from your past. These are good things to understand when leading, so you can point people in the right direction towards Jesus.
These have affected my leadership because it makes me think about other people’s struggles and not think only about myself. It has taught me to check on my teammates, and receive feedback from them. This feedback has been very beneficial because now I know how I need and want to approve. I plan to talk to the Lord about my growing points and plan some tangible steps with Him. I plan to follow up with my teammates again and receive more feedback. I am excited for what the future holds. This class has set me up well in leadership. I plan to lead by telling people to dream big, stick to your values, and to keep moving forward with the Lord. These were all takeaways from this course on leadership.
