Wally Bock lists four reasons why being a boss is not an Olympic event. I think this is a terrific post that you will want to take a look at. Bock makes the point that the drive for excellence that we see in a top athlete is different than the drive for excellence that we see in a top leader. He’s talking about business leaders, but the concept applies to pastoral leaders as well.

Think of the captivating pastor or charismatic youth minister you know. Often, a stellar individual stands out from the crowd like a downhill skier or a figure skating virtuoso. The flip side of having such extraordinary individual gifts, however, is the shining star is often not especially effective at working with a team.

The four reasons why being a boss is not an Olympic event are:

• Winning isn’t everything, or even the only thing
• You don’t get to practice more than you play
• You don’t belong to just one team. In business, you belong to several teams at once
• There’s no closing ceremony

The last one is my favorite. Wally Bock explains: “Every triumph is the gateway to a new challenge. Every time you come up short you must learn from it. Every time your team changes, you have to adjust.”

To read his explanations of the other three, click here.

What do you think? What is one key to leadership that you strive to achieve in your ministry?