Self-EvaluationSelf-Evaluation
One day I sat down to try to figure out what works for me personally with respect to life, work, relationships, etc. The exercise was motivated primarily because of some chafing with the administration of a school which shall not be named. I was the choral director at the time, and couldn't help but sense that their goals and ideals were counter to mine in a number of ways. Overall, it was good for me because it helped me understand how God made me. I suggest that you do this, too, if you haven't already done so.
I work best in a pure ministry situation.
I assume interest and require cooperation on the part of my singers want them to learn to serve God the way I've learned to serve Him: with the same enthusiasm and attitudes which He's cultivated in me. I have no desire to include non-sacred/non-Christian repertoire unless it has a well-defined use in ministry (for instance, as a way to cause the audience to look at something in a particular way).
I don't like having to give grades.
This probably is a result of my desire for pure ministry. I don't like having to rate people. There is an interaction between this and the requirement for students to be in class; a pure ministry situation provides an instant out for those who don't want to stay. I don't mind taking roll each day; I just have a hard time dealing with students who don't show that they care about the class they've selected.
I strongly prefer a sense of autonomy within clearly-specified administrative parameters.
Essentially, I want to know where the fences are, and need to operate freely within that arena. If the boundaries are fuzzy or ephemeral, I fell very uncomfortable. Part of music ministry is "pushing the envelope - but I can't push unless I know where the envelope is.
I need long-range scheduling projections and short-range scheduling confirmations.
I realize that my personal tendency is to set my schedule far in advance of most other people (Calendar Rule: "Them that gets on, stays on"). Since most other people don't plan anywhere near as far ahead, the result from those above (and around) me usually is [tacit] approval. I therefore operate under the assumption that all is going as planned, and when others plan their events without considering my projections, I become quite frustrated. This is especially true when my plans are overrun or disrupted rather than merely perturbed.
I need open, efficient, and complete communications.
If there is no communication, or if it is not timely and efficient, I am prone to charge ahead with what little data I have, sometimes to my own detriment. My problem here is that I tend to expect others to process information requests as fast as I would expect myself to process them (history suggests that my throughput rate is significantly higher than most). The flip side of my need for good communications is that I also need to learn more patience, especially when I perceive a need for quick information and it doesn't come immediately.
I prefer to work on a first-name basis.
My idea of ministry is that of family rather than hierarchy. I endorse the concept of "peer leadership" with an eye to leadership growth in the ministry through setting an example. I can live with honorifics, but chafe at them and so seek opportunities to eliminate their usage in all situations where I deem them unnecessary (which is practically always).
My innate habit is to work to the extremity of what those with me can do.
Ministerially, technically, and intellectually, I usually push the bounds of their abilities simply because God has made it my own habit to push my own boundaries. My personal philosophy is to bring them to a higher level rather than to meet them at whatever the lowest common denominator is. The risk associated with this is that occasionally my efforts, technically and communicationally, exceed the comprehension and endurance of those who are with me.
My brand of humor is sometimes unappreciated or misunderstood.
This is an artifact of the preceding items at times; in other cases, I suspect that I am insufficiently clear in my articulation/declaration to bring the point home. Clarity is essential!
My charges come first.
If I have to choose between loyalty to those above me and loyalty to those with me, my invariant tendency is to side with my colaborers. I have been to the wall more than once on behalf of my choirs and others who have been my compatriots, and so prefer to endure pain in their stead rather than allow them to suffer. This, of course, does not necessarily ingratiate me to those in authority over me!
My primary interest with respect to teamwork is to build an effective ministry team first, and to integrate it into the big picture afterward.
It is impossible to build quality into a large organization without having each of its individual components attain a certain standard of excellence. Likewise, it is impossible to have fully functional teamwork if subfunctions are not all performing at the same level of skill and efficiency. There are two obvious solutions to this disparity: decelerate the high performers, or accelerate the low performers. I will never endorse the former; I am willing to implement the latter.
My Needs: