When Your Core Competency is not Bailing Water

“As a young leader, my biggest mistake was allowing my time to be eaten up with things outside of my core competencies.”

__Andy Stanley, The Next Generation Leader

As a younger leader, Andy Stanley’s quote resonated with me. It was good advice at the time.

But as an older leader I’ve come to understand that the reality is, life doesn’t align itself with our ideals. 

It would be nice if we could spend most of our time doing only those things that align nicely with our core competencies, but the truth is, we seldom get pick and choose what we do with our time. 

Most days what we do with our time is what must be done—the nitty-gritty chores and tasks that have to be done just to keep life moving forward into the next day. 

Most days you’re doing good if you can carve out an hour or maybe two to focus on your core competencies. 

Bottom line, don’t feel guilty for giving your best to things you’d rather not be doing.  We’re all in the same boat with you and we’re counting on you to help us row the boat forward (and sometimes bail water).

The ONE THING for today: Don’t forget that the best leadership is servant leadership and servants seldom get to call the shots on what they will do with their time.