Controlling What You Can Control…a Balanced Approach to Organizational Success!
In my posting prior to this one I discussed leadership versus management, if you have not taken time to read that leadership lesson, I encourage you to do that first by clicking here. It will give a bit more insight and maybe give this posting a bit more context of where I am coming from. I will also refer back to that post some, so it will give you a frame of reference as well. 
Previously, we discussed the 10% that is not going well in your organization and the 10 times longer it may take to identify, fix and change the behavior behind the 10% not going well. Why is controlling the 10% so critical to your organizations success? The answer lies in the fact that there is so much outside of your control that you absolutely have to control the things you can control. If you are only controlling 90% of the 100% you can control, then you and your organization are not hitting the maximum potential of the organization. And eventually that will be discovered and someone will be in place that will control 100% of what is controllable. Organizational success is based on 10% of what is outside your control and 90% what you do control. If you don’t control it someone else will.
Are You A 9-1-1 Leader Or A Manager?
9-1-1 Leadership. How do you know if you are a leader or a manager? Certainly if you Google this topic you will get a laundry list of different articles or answers. There are many well known spiritual leaders who have written numerous books on leadership; my favorite being Bill Hybels. I would like to take an approach that comes from personal work experience as well as a biblical example. I have never heard it explained the way I will attempt to in this blog. I like to call this the 9-1-1 approach to leadership. The “9” stands for the 90% that is working correctly in your organization day in and day out. Let’s face it, not everything is broken on a daily basis. If you are a positive person it is easy for you to identify the areas that are hitting on all cylinders. The first “1” stands for the 10% that is not going well and is causing you headaches. Some organizations recognize the 10%, while others do not even know the 10% exist. And the last “1” stand for the up to 10 times longer it will take to identify, fix and change the behavior behind the 10% not going well.
So back to the initial question, how do you know if you are a leader or a manager? In my opinion, if you focus and spend a majority of your time on the 90% that is going well…then I would call you a manager. However, if you spend most of your time and energy in the 10% area that is not going well…I would call you a leader. Managers keep the organization rolling and steering the ship on a day to day basis. They are there to “manage” what processes/policies already exist within the organization. They quickly identify situations that start to slip or get out of whack with what is the norm. Managers have typically been handed a proven solution and told to carry on the way it was designed.
Where is God Leading You?
Let me share a brief thought. We know that God is omnipresent… He is everywhere. Because we know this, we can never be without Him or His Holy Spirit. This is comforting news for you and me who know God as our personal savior. No matter what you or I do or where God leads us, we can never be far from God’s comforting presence. Psalm 139:7 says: “where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” What an awesome gift that God allows me to know Him like that.
So as God leads you in a new direction or even keeps you right where He has you, pray and ask God to touch those you come in contact with that they will see something different in you that will allow God a chance to draw them closer to Him. After all, reaching a lost world is our responsibility.
Which Chair are You in?
I would like to begin with saying I recommend that you visit the “My Testimony” from Blue Ridge Community Church to the right and watch video #3 which will cover this topic of a “Chair 3 Christian” in more detail. It is roughly 6 minutes long.
In many of my blog entries I have openly discussed that I grew up in a Christian home. I thought I was a Christian only to realize later that I did not have a personal relationship with God. I have a passion to share my story, because I believe it is much more common than others care to acknowledge. A majority of those people do not realize they may not have the relationship with Jesus they claim to have, just as I was unaware for years. I am certainly not casting judgment. However, if I can grow up in a Christian home, attend and graduate from an evangelical university, work for that same evangelical university, closely with a great leader, Dr. Jerry Falwell, and not have a personal relationship with God, then it can happen to anyone. In the book of Matthew, Matthew spent a lot of time on this subject of alerting individuals to the danger of thinking we are saved when we are not. (Matt 5:20, 7:21-23, 13:20-21, 13:47-50, 22:10-14)
I heard a message one time with a “4 Chair” analogy. The speaker started off by saying “the good news is, that all of us in this room sit in one of these four chairs. The bad news is, not all of these chairs are desirable positions to be in.” He then went on to explain each chair in detail.
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