Seasons (Part 1) | by Zack Bair
Jesus challenged the Pharisees, “Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times…” (Matthew 16:3).
Just as we all know winter is upon arrival merely by the chill in our bone, the wet of our feet, and the sound of the trees, so should we also discern the seasons of our lives and leading. Contextually, this scripture is talking about the Son of God being right in front of the Pharisees and they not recognizing him, but there is a great lesson to be learned within this short discourse.
Here’s my thought: A great challenge for a leader is not only to discern the seasons of what he or she is leading, but also to articulate to his or her team before the season is entered. This description should be as real as our intuition for the changing of the natural seasons.
At 19north, I’ve located several seasons, and I’m sure I’ll continue to locate much more in the years to come. Throughout the next couple of days, I’ll be putting some of those out there.
The Season of Development
I fully believe that there should only be two or three months in a year in which there is not major evolution on the brinks of our leadership teams. Each time I’ve realized “we have a great team,” it seems that God begins to push us to further our team’s depth and creativity.
No matter how great the communication within the entire organization, teams will feel extreme stretching within this season. Most likely, there will be “casualties.” I feel that within the season of development remains the greatest risk of burnout within a volunteer organization, as many feel the need, but may not be able to articulate it. It is the leader’s job to see the objective and articulate the developmental vision in a fashion that is real to the team. If the team cannot see the vision, they will not seize it.
Quite honestly, this season feels like digging a trench–in the season of development, my head is down, I’m digging deeper to find the right spot for our teams; I can visualize what that trench is going to look like but feel constantly concerned about our calibration. Further, I find myself downing resources–nearly anything credible that I can get my hands on, from leadership books and CDs, to spending an immense time in God’s Word. Realize that if the leader does not have spiritual and developmental momentum, then his or her teams won’t, either. I’ll lock myself in my office for hours at a time reading, thinking, planning, and coming up with questions, evaluating, and coming up with the right words to communicate. Nearly every evening is spent meeting and planning, asking questions, not only for wisdom, but also for buy-in. And just when Lauren has had enough of hearing strategy…
…The plan begins to come together. The right players on the team begin to grab the things they should, and it begins to develop itself. The most important thing to know is that the team needs to begin develop itself. Quite honestly, it feels as if I’m letting a child ride the bike for the first time without training wheels–wobbly at first, but certainly not held standing by me.
[Next: Season of Transition]
