1. Are you driving ahead of your lights? Is there a balance in your life in terms of “being” Vs. “doing?”
2. Are there unfinished character issues you need to deal with? “Do as I say and not as I do” repels people. Leadership is influence. Your character and your work must match in order to add value to other people around you.
3. Have you underestimated the need to develop a spiritual awareness in your life? This is not a matter of “just” attending a church. This is a matter of truly developing that spiritual part of your being by means of spiritual disciplines [Prayer, Solace, Fasting, Bible Reading, etc.].
4. Do you need to see a physician? Is there anything your doctor has told you in the past that you have discounted?
5. Are you failing to understand the context of the people you are attempting to lead? What is the geographical/social/economic environment in which they live?
6. Do you have a clear sense of what you are trying to do at your current position in life? How are you getting in your own way?
7. Are you focusing on secondary issues? Leadership development is primary…everything else is secondary.
8. Do you have differences in values with those you are attempting to lead? Make sure you understand the difference between moral values Vs. cultural values.
9. Do you fit with the people you are attempting to lead? Have you researched the “ethno-class/social class” of people you are attempting to lead?
10. Do those you are leading have realistic expectations of you? Have you clearly communicated who you are and what your gifts and abilities are?
11. Have you been insensitive to existing goals? Have you set your own agenda or have you asked people about their “life-calling?”
12. Are you resistant to feedback or do you worry about opposition to your ideas and resistance to them? The healthiest thing you can do is to identify areas of resistance and develop a strategy to deal with them.
13. Are you still a learner? Resistance to learning is related to unclear life goals.
14. Is your current assignment well fitted to your disposition? Have you taken the time to gain insight regarding God’s “hard-wiring” of your personality and temperament? May I suggest the Birkman Method. Have you ever experienced Executive Coaching for purposes of evaluation and strategic thinking about the accomplishments and purposes of your life?
15. Does your family background/upbringing have any bearing on the struggles you are experiencing? Are there unfinished tasks in your family history?
16. Do you struggle with work addiction? Are you energized in giving work away? Do you “clutch” your work because you are the only who can do this assignment?
17. How is your counseling load? Is your need for helping people greater than God’s call upon yourself to help them?
18. If you could be the best steward of gifts and abilities God has given you, in what kind of role would you see yourself?
19. Do you have a resource for professional coaching and /or counseling for yourself? I would suggest Shepherds Advantage’s Executive Coaching. For counseling I would suggest Dr. Ken Finch Ph.D LMHC – drfinch.net.
20. Do you tend to be “problem-focused” or “opportunity-focused?” Rule of thumb: work on opportunities until lunch, deal with problems in the afternoon.

Prepared by: Garry Brackett

Executive Director of Shepherds Advantage Inc.

www.shepherdsadvantageinc.org