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Leadership
for Saints,
Part 12:
Making Your Vision Specific by
Rodger Dean Duncan and Ed J. Pinegar
One way to develop
a vision for your calling is to consider specific questions related
to your stewardship. For example, if you are called to serve as
bishop of your ward, the early questions that can trigger some productive
thought might include:
• What
specific impressions have I received from the Spirit?
• What
counsel did my stake president offer when he issued the call?
• What
are the strengths of my counselors and how can I help them develop?
• Who
are the young men of the Aaronic Priesthood in the ward? What are
their needs? What, specifically, can I do that will bless them most?
• Who
are the young women in the ward? What are their needs? What, specifically,
can I do that will bless them most?
• Who
are the young children in the ward? What are their needs? What,
specifically, can I do that will bless them most?
• Who
are the Melchizedek Priesthood brethren in the ward? What are their
needs? What, specifically, can I do that will bless them most? How
can I help them be better husbands and fathers? How can I help them
enjoy the blessings of the temple? How can I help them serve faithfully
in all they are asked to do?
• Who
are the Relief Society sisters in the ward? What are their needs?
What, specifically, specifically, can I do that will bless them
most? How can I help them be better wives and mothers? How can I
help them enjoy the blessings of the temple? How can I help them
serve faithfully in all they are asked to do?
• Who
are the widows and singles in the ward? What are their needs? What,
specifically, can I do that will bless them most?
• Which
ward members are either inactive or less involved? How can we reach
out to them to offer unconditional love, encouragement and friendship?
• What
is the overall “culture” or tone of the ward? Is it
friendly and outreaching, or do visitors and new members have to
wait to be approached? What can I do to create a ward environment
that is loving, welcoming, inclusive and a haven from the world?
• What
is the reputation of the Church in our community? What are the opportunities
for our ward members to offer themselves in community service?
• What
are the missionary opportunities in our ward? How can I lead and
inspire our members in proclaiming the gospel?
STOP:
Compare your own list of questions for your own stewardship. Meditate
on the “big picture” of your calling. And remember:
great leaders often do not have the “title” of leader.
Great leadership is not at all a function of title. It is a function
of character and vision and behavior.
You’ll
notice that most of these questions (and you can think of many
others) relate to people, not programs. They relate to individual
children of God, not some abstract notion of “being in charge.”
As you consider
such questions you will begin to see your calling with both a microscope
for the details and a wide-angle lens for the big picture. The vision
you’ll need to lead your ward requires both perspectives.
As we mentioned earlier, your primary role is that of transformational
leader—influencing positive change in the hearts and souls
of real people with real challenges.
You’re
also called on to be a transactional leader—you need
to ensure that organizational details are appropriately handled.
In other words, ministering is your primary role, while
administering is also important but can be delegated to
a large extent. That dual stewardship must be accommodated in your
vision. And it must be accommodated by your personal mission during
the season of your service as bishop.
Start with your
vision. After writing down a couple of dozen questions like those
suggested above, look for patterns. Certainly blessing the lives
of individual people is one of the patterns. Other patterns might
include developing others so they can enjoy—and provide—the
blessings of service. Condense your vision to a few brief sentences.
After all, it’s not something you’ll post on the wall
of your office. It’s primarily for your use as a picture of
how you envision your ward and its people some time in the foreseeable
future.
At an appropriate
time you may wish to share your hopes and dreams with others—members
of the ward council, for example—who can work with you and
the Lord in making it come true. This kind of cascading sponsorship
is what is meant by “catching the vision.”
Remember: in
developing a vision for your service stewardship, your all-important
ally is the Lord. Seek the guidance of the spirit. Pray earnestly
and often. You will not be disappointed.
When you have
begun to develop your vision for your calling, we strongly recommend
that you make appropriate adjustments in your personal mission statement.
For example, as a new bishop you might decide to include “Interviewer”
as one of your roles that requires special focus (we’ll discuss
this more in a later section). Much of your work as bishop will
involve eye-to-eye, knee-to-knee confidential conversations with
your ward members. You, and they, will be blessed if you deliberately
include as part of your personal mission the development and use
of specific gifts and skills that contribute to effective interviewing.
Empathic listening, for instance, would be one such gift and skill.
This same pattern
will help you regardless of your calling.
In developing
his mission and vision for service, a quorum president will need
to address many questions regarding the spiritual and temporal welfare
of the brethren he is called to lead.
A counselor
in a Young Women or Primary presidency will benefit from considering
the strengths and needs of her president, the specific needs of
the youth in her organization, the circumstances of all the families
involved, and a range of other issues related to her stewardship.
A stake high
councilor must consider not only his own assignment but the assignments
and interrelationships of all the other brethren on the stake Priesthood
Executive Committee. If he’s assigned to work with the priesthood
quorums in a particular ward, he needs to know the people and understand
specifically what the priesthood leaders are trying to accomplish
so he can be a useful resource. This will influence his own sense
of mission and vision.
The scriptures
teach that “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
(Proverbs 29:18) To be effective instruments in the hands of the
Lord, we must obtain and follow the Lord’s vision for his
people. We must understand the vision provided in the teachings
of the living prophets. And we must operate daily from our own spirit-filled
vision for our calling.
Great leaders
accomplish great things because they have vision. As Thomas S. Monson
said: “Vision without work is dreaming. Work without vision
is drudgery. Work coupled with vision is destiny.”
Quotes
to Remember
… there
are revelations dealing with the problems of the day. …the
Church, directed by mortal men, needs divine guidance in the solution
of current questions. Many of the revelations received by the Prophet
Joseph Smith were of this character. …The Prophet presented
his problems to the Lord, and with the revealed answer was able
to accomplish properly the work before him. – John
A. Widtsoe
… the
council should spend most of its time pursuing such agenda items
as the integration of new members, activation of the less active,
concerns of the youth, the economic plight of individual members,
and the needs of single mothers and widows. When organizational
reports are given, they ought to be measured in terms of meeting
those kinds of people-related goals. – M. Russell
Ballard
We know that unless we match our programs to our people and their
spiritual needs, we run the risk of unintentionally doing what the
Master meant concerning the Jewish Sabbath—that "ends
had been subordinated to means" until it seemed to the Master
that the Jews apparently thought man had been virtually made for
the Sabbath, not the reverse. – Harold B. Lee
We should humble
ourselves before the Lord and be in a position to be filled with
the spirit of our calling, with the Holy Ghost, and with the revelations
of Jesus Christ, that we may know the mind and will of God concerning
us, and be prepared to magnify our calling and bring to pass righteousness.
– John Taylor
Note:
The excerpts of Leadership for Saints posted on Meridian
are only a fraction of the contents of this 349-page book. To learn
more about this ground-breaking book and to order copies, click
here.
Contents
Section 1: Understanding the Role of Leadership
Chapter 1
- What Great Leadership Is
Chapter 2 - What Great Leaders Are
Chapter 3 - What Great Leaders See
Chapter 4 - What Great Leaders Do
Section 2: Getting
the Results You and the Lord Want
Chapter 5
- Planning the Work, Working the Plan
Chapter 6 - Councils: Strength in Unity
Chapter 7 - Creating a Climate of Hope and Energy
Section 3: Skills
That Help You Sleep at Night
Chapter 8
- Communication: Building Bridges to Their Hearts
Chapter 9 - Stewardship Delegation: The Great Multiplier
Chapter 10 - The Power of Influence
Chapter 11 - Gatherings of Saints: Think Purpose, Not Meeting
Section 4: Special
Challenges and Opportunities
Chapter 12
- Discernment: The Gift of Great Price
Chapter 13 - Personal Balance: Your "Being" vs. Your
"Doing"
Chapter 14 - Common Questions, Humble Responses
About
the Authors:
Rodger Dean
Duncan, a descendant of 19th century Protestant evangelists, was
baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at
the age of 18. Early in his career he was an award-winning journalist,
editor and syndicated columnist. He has been a consultant to cabinet
officers under two U.S. presidents, members of the U.S. Senate,
and senior officers of major corporations. He earned a Ph.D. at
Purdue University, and is founder and president of The Duncan Company,
a consulting firm focused on leadership development and organizational
effectiveness.
Brother Duncan
has served on several stake high councils, twice as bishop, as stake
president, and as stake mission president. Under President Spencer
W. Kimball he served on the Advisory Council that first recommended
the subtitle to the Book of Mormon, "Another Testament of Jesus
Christ."
Brother Duncan
is married to Rean Robbins-Duncan, a fifth-generation Latter-day
Saint. They have four children and two grandchildren. The Duncans
live in Missouri, only a short walk from Historic Liberty Jail.
Ed
J. Pinegar, a dentist by training and vocation, graduated from Brigham
Young University and attended dental school at the University of
Southern California. While practicing dentistry, he taught seminary
for several years, then taught the Book of Mormon and Gospel Principles
and Practices courses at BYU for 18 years.
Brother
Pinegar's Church assignments include stake high councilor, bishop
(twice), stake president, member of the General Board for Young
Men, and member of the Missionary Programs Advisory Committee. He
also presided over the England London Mission and the Missionary
Training Center in Provo, Utah. He is author of several books for
the LDS market.
Brother
Pinegar is married to Patricia Peterson Pinegar, former General
President of the Primary for the Church. They are parents of eight
children and have 32 grandchildren. The Pinegars live in Orem, Utah.
