Week 4 :-: Mission, visions and goals

How time flies! 

I am certain you have heard this before. Time generally seems to fly when we are busy, but when we are not, time seems to be at a standstill. Why do we feel that way? Living without vision creates a false impression that you have a lot of time.  In the last 3 weeks, we saw that everyone is a leader because they are all created in God's image. We equally considered how limitations on our life negatively impact our efficiency as individuals. Last week, we looked at what makes for true leadership i.e. influence. This is not some kind of tool we use to manipulate people into doing what they do not want to do. A servant leader's concern is the well being of his/her people. In a bid to develop our ability to influence positively, we looked at developing and increasing our emotional intelligence. A lot in a few weeks, I must say. We are riding on, no breaks!

Maxwell observed that "Leadership Develops Daily, Not in a Day" 

Nothing either good or great comes easy. Improving your leadership requires commitment beyond a few classes, weekend seminars and/or listening to or watching motivational speeches. Such approaches to building leadership are good for building temporal and shallow personal ethics. We seek changes that are more permanent, in our character, to conform to the character of Jesus.

A servant leader is constantly thinking about their end and this should propel them into taking action, now!

The journey of a mile starts with a step ~ Lao Tzu

“Go to the ant…consider its ways and be wise…” ~ King Solomon

Leadership is about deliberately walking on the path of growth. It is a trip rather than a destination. Like other life skills, you need to continue on the path of developing your leadership competence, daily.  If you do not pay the price, you will miss the goal. 

Jesus, our greatest leadership model, talks about carrying your cross. Watch the video below and let us know what you think.

Are you willing to pay the price to walk in your values, develop your leadership ability, uproot the lids and empower the people in your sphere of influence? The small steps you take (or do not take) daily, will determine your true destination. 

These small steps (goals), are better enhanced and executed when linked to the leader’s visions. The visions you have for different aspects of your life, should be linked to your life mission. Let us look at the different definitions in the context of this particular session. 

Mission (Purpose)

Your mission defines the reason why God created you. Prayer and the following questions can help you determine your mission;

1. Why am I here?

2. What are my values?

3. What am I passionate about?

4. What are my talents and natural gifts?

5. What kind of legacy do I desire to leave?

Pray – The most important thing you will have to do to help you identify your purpose (also known as life mission) is to pray. Go to God, who is your Father, in humility and ask Him, “Father why am I here?’ Spend this week in prayer. You may even have a friend, leader or relative pray with you. God will answer these types of prayers which seek to know His will. As you receive some ideas in your spirit, write them down. I remember how I was moved by how much food was available in Cameroon and yet a lot of people still went hungry. Then I knew I was called to connect people with resources.  Mission in general comes from God. He sent you here on earth, on mission. What is your Mission?

     Inventory your talents and skills – What are some of your natural skills and talents? Are you good at encouraging people, sports, singing, and writing?  Write as many as you can identify.

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Inventory your values – What are your values? Values are like a personal code of ethics. This can be things like integrity, friendship, hard work, Godliness etc. They are attributes you stand by and cannot compromise.  Write as many as you and/or your friends and family members can help you to identify.

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Inventory your passions – What are you passionate about? Your passion may be helping old people, taking care of babies, seeing love prevail everywhere, encouraging friendship etc. Whatever it is, there is a reason why you are passionate about that domain. Write a list of your passions.

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What kind of legacy would you like to leave? – What would you like to be remembered for when you are no longer alive in this world?

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After responding sincerely to the questions above, take a look again at your answers then write what you believe to be your purpose in the box below, using all what you have received from completing this exercise.

Exploring My Purpose

I believe God created me to :

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:                                        Date:

Knowing your purpose is awesome but if you end there, you won’t accomplish much. This is the first step towards the right direction as you need to take intentional steps that will help you accomplish that purpose.  You must see how to get there (vision) and work with God and the people He brings into your life to craft a plan on how to get there (goals).

Visions

While mission defines the purpose (the why) for your existence, what you see is what will help you get there. God gives us visions (an insight into how things are supposed to be) through His word and the Holy Spirit. A person with a good vision (sight) can tell where they are going to and walk that path confidently. In the same way, a young man/woman who has clarity of vision concerning the different aspects of their life, can tell where they are going to and will not be distracted by the things that society, social media, the internet in general and friends throw at them. They can see clearly based on what God’s word says and through the help of the Holy Spirit about;

·       Family;

·       Marriage;

·       Finances,

·       Education;

·       Health;

·       Spiritual well-being etc.

Such a young person may see the need to plan for financial independence by studying hard and to develop greater spiritual intimacy with God through practicing the spiritual disciplines of prayer, bible study and obedience. What are your visions for the domains listed below and where do you draw your inspiration from?

Domain	Vision	Source of inspiration
Spiritual
Physical
Family
Financial
Educational
Marriage
Career

 It is either:

“No vision, no direction and therefore no destination” or

“Know vision, know direction and hence know destination”. ~ I. forteh

Goals

While vision defines what you see by the grace of God in general, goals are those specific and intentional steps you take in time with the help of the people that God has brought in your life to help you get the results. Goals can be set to be accomplished during:

·       A long period of time (2 years and above) e.g., Build a hospital in the next 7 years for children.

·       A not very long period of time (6 months to 2 years) e.g., start rearing rabbits for commercial purposes with a turnover of at least 100 rabbits by the end of the year.

·       A short period of time (under 6 months). Read through my bible within the next three months and write a summary of all the changes God is asking me to make through His word.

As you may have noticed, while visions were general in manner, goals are very specific in nature and include a time factor. This makes them both memorable and measurable meaning they can be evaluated. If you cannot evaluate it, you probably did not make it. Our daily routines indicate the direction we are taking and which kind of foundation we are building. 

Servant leaders seek balance in their life by striving to have a vision for all the different aspects of their life. If you ignore an aspect of your life, that aspect will suffer. That is why you may see someone who loves God passionately but completely neglects their family. While a leader's life mission in principle should not change (because this is determined by the one who sent you on mission, God), visions can be changed, based on the circumstances of the leader and his/her team. A vision is what you see and this can come from either a burden based on what you experience or from God.  While vision provides a general picture of what needs to be accomplished, goals describe the possible specific steps that need to be taken to get there. Goals can be long term ( 2 years and above), short term ( 0 - 6 months) or medium term (6 months - 2 years) but they must be specific, measurable, actionable, relevant (to the vision) and Time bound (SMART).Making goals, SMART makes them measurable i.e. they can be evaluated. If you cannot evaluate it, you probably did not make it. When you set a goal ensure you are responding to the following questions:

What is going to be done (specific quantity)?

Who is involved?

When is it going to be done?

How is it going to be done?

Our daily routines indicate the direction we are taking. Do you kill or redeem time? Do you have too much time in your hands? Servant Leaders understand that activity is not necessarily accomplishment, hence they set relevant goals. Yes, you may be busy, but how is this helping you achieve your life mission? Goals give direction in life, promote enthusiasm and make you results oriented. 

Week 4 Assignment

      1. What is the mission statement of your organization (school, family, church, NGO etc)? Write the mission statements of your family, church, and organization.
2.  What is your life mission? Pray and use the five questions above to help you determine this.
3. Write down your visions for the following aspects of your life: spiritual, financial, career, physical and health, family, educational, personal development, relationship and social. 
4. Do you have goals that will help you achieve your different visions? Write down one short term goal, one mid-term goal and one long term goal for each of the aspects listed above.
Share what you have written with your spouse or someone close to you who can hold you accountable. Confirm in your report to your mentor if this has been done.
6.  Determine and write down one thing you will do daily within the next 17 weeks to help you develop your leadership. It does not need to take up a lot of time you just need to be consistent.

7.   Complete the Mission, Vision & Goals sheet and submit to your mentor. This will be updated through out the training and will serve as a tool for mentoring you beyond the formal part of this training.

7.   Write a brief summary of what you learned this week and explain why it is important for all leaders.

8. Email your assignment to your mentor and post on your blog a summary of what you have learned this week. Don't forget to share the link in your group.