Whose Time Are You a Slave Of?

Matthew 24:45-47  "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in  his household to give them their food at the proper time?  It will be good for that servant whose master finds him  doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions."

First, let me thank those of you who participated in our e-leadership survey. Your input was very useful and informative. One subject that many of you requested I write about was time management. As a leader, what should we be spending our time on? What should we do first? 

 

It should be no surprise to any of us that we live in a fast-paced world that is getting faster all the time. Recently, I pondered whether or not I could leave my computer at home and my smart-phone e-mail off when I travel for a vacation next week. Like many of you, I am more in fear of returning to hundreds of emails at the end of my vacation than spending some time working during it. We can't help thinking that the barrage of e-mails at the end of our trip might be much worse than the alternative.

"Now more than ever there is certainly a blur of when our workday ends and our family life begins." 

 Much of our leadership lives are becoming more and more virtual, with the onslaught of e-mail and social media being integrated into the business and church world. Now more than ever there is certainly a blur of when our workday ends and our family life begins. With social media being used to topple governments, no one knows when change will level off. It may never level off. So what strategy will we use to manage our time? Will any plan work for very long? 

An Alternative to the Corporate Ladder

 

Technology makes you more accessible, making time
management even more difficult.

I have a few practical ideas for you to consider. Sharing the first one might result in receiving a few letters, but I will share it anyway. Here it is: if your goal is to climb the corporate ladder, consider instead buying your own ladder and climbing it.

Friends, many of you know of more than a few friends who have become the slave of big business, and yes, even big church. They are only off work they are asleep. Their work has become unhealthy for themselves and their family, and their organizations are so detached they cannot tend to their people. Many don't even want to. In these cases, it may be better to move on, to join a smaller organization or start your own.

Learn to Manage Leading By Following

 

For those of you that have a life, or can actually manage it, here is an idea of how to shape your day.

Focus on asking those in authority over you to supply you with a list of things they want you to do, and do those things first. If a board oversees your position, ask them what they prefer you focus on. Ask them one-on-one or in a group.

 

Our passage today describes a selfless approach. It helps us all understand that following a leader is an important aspect of developing as a leader. This should be not surprise to anyone. I know of no one who would disagree with the following statement, “If you can't follow, you cannot lead.”

 If all agree, then why do we find so many who cannot follow? Even if you are at the top of your organization, certainly this passage also implies that God is not going to give you a larger assignment to lead until you begin to listen and follow His current directions. Don't be a slave of your own instructions.

 

So I ask you all this question: are you following the directions of your leader at work? If you are the CEO, ED or senior pastor, are you listening to your Lord, your board, and following directions? If you are not, I challenge you to change.

Larger assignments await you.