Skip to main content

Playing well with others.

Today's rambling.


Looking over some of my old school reports the other day and was amused at how some of the comments, that teachers made about me have shaped my life and in many respects made me who I am today.
One teacher wrote that I didn’t play well with others, I was 5 at the time maybe I had an excuse. Another teacher in my high school years, the wood working teacher or wood shop teacher for my American friends wrote; “If you value your life you will keep him away from power tools and other dangerous equipment. I can’t remember why he wrote this, obviously I did something that made him fear for his life.
Today as an adult I have to say that I don’t do well in committees, for most of my life I have been self- employed. I have steadfastly stayed away from power tools and other wood working equipment, basically anything that can cut something off and is a danger to life and limb.
Over the last 10 years I have been looking at and teaching about Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and political intelligence (PQ) and how these two areas of psychology are played out in the life of the Christian leader.  My observations and some of the conversational experiments I have conducted have shown me that in many cases these two areas, EQ and PQ, do not necessarily go hand in hand. In other words many Christian leaders don’t play well with others.
Before I get lynched by Christian Leaders for being overly negative towards them, let me say I am fully aware of human nature and how different personality types interact and react to each other. The question I ask is: Is not playing well with others affecting our ability to reach the lost for Christ and extend the Kingdom of God, is it continuing to weaken our image with those we wish to reach?
Let me give you a simple example; I met a Church Leader from a medium size church who told me that he that he would fellowship with any minister/pastor from any Christian denomination, except Roman Catholics. His narrow denominational and doctrinal beliefs weakened his position and blinded him to see the things they had in common, rather than ignore the things they didn’t.
There was and is a disconnection between his ability to play well with others and his EQ and PQ. His EQ can be learnt and developed and with time and experience he can overcome such prejudices. Political quotient or PQ is the ability to influence and persuade people to go in a particular direction, build networks and develop leaders, which will not only follow you but have others follow them. It is about building others up to take your place and move your vision forward. The psalmist wrote that God knew me and perceived my thoughts and he knew me in my mother’s womb and knitted me together. (Ps 139). In other words he made me who I am. Once I understand this I can then work on ways to work with others. Being a loner does not help build anything but your own kingdom and empire. As we know these will not last
Once we learn this (PQ) we learn to play well with others. Once we learn to play well with others we become stronger together.
Blueprint For Growth.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Part One of The myths of following a Christian Leader.

Christian Leadership disconnects. When I look to a Christian Leader to be my covering, I look for four things; are they biblical and scripturally sound? Do they have a vision? Are they good motivators? And lastly, can I trust them? On the face of it you may see, these things are obvious and self evident. I am not so sure though, sometimes I find a disconnect that is not always so obvious. Don't get me wrong, I want to sit under a great leader no matter what size their church. I want to know I am being taught sound doctrine and biblical and scriptural principles. I want to follow a great vision that is full of direction, purpose and passion. I want to be motivated not just by words but action and deeds. I also want to be able to say that the person I serve, I trust. As Christian leaders we have to accept that the world we live in is becoming more and more complex. We deal with issues that our New Testament counterparts say little, if anything about.   It is no longer g...
Post a Comment
Read more

Manifesto of Intentional Christian Leadership.

Manifesto: We Promise to do the following- with intent, when in Christian leadership: 1) People Matter. People are our purpose. People are not a means by which we can create our own ends. When we reach out to people they are our objective. 2) We will help people think. If people are our objective we will not get bogged down in the process. We will help people to think through our process in order to recognise our objective rather than just getting them to do and blindly follow. 3) Create great environments. We need to help people become great, not just fix their problems. We do this by creating great environments by which they can grow and build their relationship with God. 4) Create opportunities for initiative. People need to see and experience a spirit of excellence. They need to see opportunities where they can succeed rather than just avoid errors. 5) Be curious. As a leader you don't need to know everything even though a little knowled...
Post a Comment
Read more