A few years ago, our student minister, Greg, asked me to meet him at a local coffee shop. I rarely turn down a good cup of coffee, so it was an easy invitation to accept. Once we both had our coffee, we settled down to have a conversation. I had been noticing Greg’s frustration for many weeks, but his expression was beyond pensive today. Greg wasted no time sharing his discouragement and unhappiness about his work. This was totally out of character for him. Greg was normally enthusiastic, engaging, and charismatic. Those very gifts were instrumental in attracting well over one hundred students to his ministry. I was surprised and confused. It sounded like he was barely surviving.
Greg’s primary frustration was the lack of depth and spiritual formation at the core of the student ministry. He did acknowledge how fortunate he was to have such a large group of students participating in the ministry. But Greg knew these students needed to grow deeper in their faith, and it felt like he was failing. His response was immediate when I asked if he had any ideas on how to address the situation. “ I know exactly what would help; I know what they need; I’ve dreamed it. I just can’t figure out how to do it.” We both sat quietly for a few moments while we finished our coffee. Then I asked Greg to tell me his dream. I was surprised at how specific and detailed his spiritual formation dream was. It was original, creative, and feasible. He could not figure out the next steps.
We spent the next hour diagramming and planning each step needed to activate his dream. Greg’s mood began to change. I saw joy creeping back into his spirit. When we left the coffee shop for our cars, Greg followed me, talking excitedly about the future. His entire demeanor had changed.
Most of us have been where Greg was. Even people of faith forget that Christ came so “that we may have life and have it more abundantly.” Sometimes, we just need a little help to maximize our natural gifts and thrive in our work. We are not all gifted in the same ways. Greg had the vision and the passion. He was willing to do the work. He just needed some help to describe the next steps.
Patrick Lencioni, American author and founder of The Table Group, has given us a language to use as we describe our strengths and acknowledge our weaknesses in his “Working Genius” assessment. This assessment helps individuals and teams discover their natural gifts and thrive in life and work. Greg has the gift of “Wonder!” He can see the great potential and opportunity in a given situation. The source of his frustration was his inability to define the next steps. Lencioni calls this next step “Invention.”
Until recently, I would have struggled to describe our afternoon in the coffee shop. I just knew that I spent a couple of hours with a colleague and then watched him create something that impacted lives in powerful ways for many years. I now know we were leveraging our strengths to allow us both to thrive rather than survive!
For more info on the “Working Genius” contact us!
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